Published: Friday August 7, 2009 MYT 5:33:00 PM
Updated: Friday August 7, 2009 MYT 6:11:37 PM

Thick haze in many parts of Sarawak

By STEPHEN THEN, JACK WONG and HILARY CHIEW

MIRI: Traveling along the Pan-Borneo Highway has become a very dangerous affair as visibility has been reduced to less than 100 metres in some stretches due to the worsening haze, made worse by the forest fires raging all over the state.

The Star on Friday found some stretches of the highway along a 50-km route between Sarawak and Brunei shrouded in thick haze.

In some areas where the forest fires are raging not far from the highway, the visibility has been reduced to such low levels that it is difficult to even see the vehicle that is in front of the driver.

Even the signboards along the highway have become shrouded in haze and smog.

Sarawak traffic authorities have issued warnings to caution motorists of the dangers.

Their notices were posted in strategic places, especially near the Sarawak-Brunei immigration and customs checkpoints.

A check with the Miri traffic police showed that, apart from the Sarawak-Brunei border, visibility along the southern routes of the highway, especially in Niah district, some 120kms south of Miri, was also bad.

''We have issued warnings to motorists along the routes to be extra cautious. The headlamps must be turned on all the time, even during the day.

''There have been numerous reports of accidents because of the poor visibility,'' said a spokesman of the traffic head office in Miri.

The bad visibility has affected trans-boundary travel between Sarawak and Brunei and vice-versa.

The Star reporter found traffic being reduced to very small volumes along the entire Miri to Bandar Seri Begawan route, a distance of some 250kms.

The smoke from wildfires raging along the highway are so thick they produced a choking effect.

The visibility becomes even worse at night and in the early morning hours.

A check with the Miri Fire Department showed that there so many fires along the Pan Borneo Highway that the department has lost count.

''We received more than a hundred calls per day for the past one week from residents affected by these fires. We have deployed firefighters to the highway to contain the fires.

''However, many of these fires are burning far away from the highway and there are no access routes to reach these hotspots,'' said an officer at the Miri Lopeng Fire Station.

As of Friday, there are more than 900 big forest fires scattered throughout Sarawak.

Meanwhile, in Kuching, the state Natural Resources Environment Board (NREB) has revoked three open burning permits issued to plantation companies.

Its deputy controller Peter Sawal said another 26 permits had been put on hold because of the prolonged dry spell.

“We will give the green light to the 26 permit holders (to carry out open burning activities) once the weather condition improves,” he added when asked Friday.

The department has banned open burning activities, and warned offenders that they would be punished with on-the-spot compound.

Sawal said the compound would depend on the severity of the offence, and could go up to RM9,000.

The department has compounded 18 offenders, with total fine of some RM120,000 this year.

He said the department officials had briefed all plantation owners here and in Sibu, Bintulu and Miri on Thursday about the ban on open burning activities.

Sawal said the number of hotspots statewide dropped to 60 on Thursday, down from 164 a day ago.

He said the haze in Miri was localised and that firemen were still fighting forest fires in several localities.

Air quality in several towns remained at unhealthy levels at 11am Friday, with the air pollutant index (API)in Samarahan stood at 148, Sibu 123 and Miri 117.

Meanwhile, state Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Development and Communications Bolhassan Di said more than 20,000 villagers in three drought-hit settlements in Beting Maro in southern Sarawak were facing a shortage of drinking water.

The villages are Beladin,Sepinang and Batang Maro.

Bolhassan, also Beting Maro assembly man, said the Baladin water treatment plant had no more raw water to process.

He said asked the Public Works Department to urgently send drinking water to the affected villagers.

Meanwhile, Environmental advisor to the Sarawak state government Dr James Dawos Mamit said he would advise the Natural Resource and Environment Board (NREB) to review its current practice of issuing permit to plantations on peat soil to use fire in their operations.

Sarawak should outlaw the practice of open burning on peat soil which is contributing to peat fires and the consequent annual haze problem.

On Thursday, satellite images showed a high number of hotspots in Sarawak with a significant numbers in Sibu, Mukah and Miri divisions, indicating forest fires.

The hotspots also coincide with oil palm plantation estates on peat land.

Haze map released by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre in Singapore showed that Sibu is shrouded in thick haze and the smog is generated locally.

While open burning is banned in other parts of Malaysia, plantation operators in Sarawak could apply for an open burning permit under Section 30(1) (a) and (2) of the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance.

In the application form, applicant is asked to state whether the land is mineral or peat soil.

“It is a known fact now that it is detrimental to use fire on peat as it is very difficult to put out the fire.

They should look at it objectively,” said Dawos in reference to certain quarters in Sarawak that had dismissed environmentalists’ criticisms of oil palm development on peat.

Dawos is also the president of the newly-formed Malaysian Peat Society.

On Aug 1, at the inaugural Malaysian Peat Society seminar, Natural Resource and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas disclosed that the ministry is finalising the National Action Plan on Peatlands to be tabled to the Cabinet this month.

“It will look at wise use of peat lands in an integrated manner,”Said Uggah.

Peat expert Faizal Parish of the Global Environment Centre urged plantation companies to avoid peat soil as 95% of peatland in Sarawak were deep peat (more than 3 meters).

“Plantation should only be allowed on degraded areas and not on peatland. The state government should reconsider permitting open burning on peat,” he said.

This article is from The Star Online 
http://thestar.com.my

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