KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has advised the public with health problems to get immediately medical treatment following the current severe haze. He said the haze is quite severe in several areas on Monday while, the children, the elderly and asthma patients must take precautionary steps.
He said in his latest posting in his Facebook account here on Monday that if need be, go immediately to the nearest government clinics or hospitals to get assistance. He also included the Department of Environment’s website http://apims.doe.gov.my/v2/table.html for the public to get the latest information on air quality.
The air quality in most states continued to deteriorate, and as at 1 pm on Monday, 18 areas recorded an unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) reading. Meanwhile, in another posting on his Facebook page, the Prime Minister said he hoped parents understood the government’s decision to close the schools because of the haze’s effects on their children’s health.
He said he understand the parents’ disappointment that the schools’ closure due to the haze had disrupted the children’s study sessions. He added he also hope the parents can understand that the government’s decision had taken their children’s health as a priority.
In a statement issued today, the Education Ministry said all schools in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Samarahan in Sarawak, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Kunak in Sabah as well as Muar, Ledang and Segamat in Johor will be closed tomorrow due to the haze. According to the statement, the closure affected 3,029 schools and 1,909,842 students.
