Schools to be closed on Monday and Tuesday due to haze

PETALING JAYA: All schools – with the exception to those in Federal Territory Labuan, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah – will be closed on tomorrow and Tuesday due to the worsening haze situation.
However the afternoon sessions for schools in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu & Johor today will proceed as usual.
Posting the announcement on his Facebook page, Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid (pix), said all the schools involved do not have to replace the sessions due to this closure.
All public examination – PT3, STAM, SPM and STPM this year will proceed as per schedule.
"All the candidates involved in these examinations will be assisted and constantly reminded of the instructions during the haze period," Mahdzir said.
The air pollutant index (API) recorded by the Department of Environment (DOE) showed unhealthy air levels with several areas in Selangor hitting hazardous levels.
API readings up till 11am, showed Banting (252), Port Klang (246), Petaling Jaya (257), Batu Muda (264) and Putrajaya (238) with air quality continuing to worsen.
An API reading of 0 to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 300 and above, hazardous.
Meanwhile Bernama reported that the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department is prepared to assist Indonesia in putting out forest fires in that country which has been the main cause for the cross-border haze in the country currently.
Its Director-General, Datuk Wan Mohd Noor Ibrahim said the department was willing to offer aid if they (Indonesia) needed external support including from Malaysia to help in tackling the haze problem which was becoming critical lately.
"Usually, when a foreign country requests for help from our country to resolve a disaster, they will certainly contact our government beforehand.
"As such, we are prepared to help if the situation warrants, but it depends on the government itself because it will decide whether to send the fire personnel to join the mission to put out the forest fire in Indonesia," he said.
He said the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department had the complete assets and skills needed if the department was chosen to carry out the mission to put out the forest fires in Sumatera and Kalimantan.
On Saturday, Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Datuk Madius Tangau said in a statement that the severe haze affecting the country since the middle of last month would ease briefly from Oct 6 to 9 and return on Oct 10 following a tropical storm forecasted in eastern Philippines if the fires in Sumatera and Kalimantan were not extinguished.