“Acrid haze thickened over Malaysia as smoke from a large number of forest fires in nearby Indonesia shrouded the peninsula's heavily populated west coast, officials said on Wednesday. An officer at the meteorological services department said that winds from a dry annual southwest monsoon were blowing the haze across to Malaysia. The fires causing the haze were located in forests on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, which is separated from Malaysia only by a narrow waterway. Burning in Indonesia and some parts of Malaysia to clear land for crops causes an annual haze affecting the region. The fires are set mainly by plantation owners.”
- pic was taken from my unit at 11th floor of Vistana Condo
In fact, on the same month last year, Malaysia's leader declared an emergency closing workplaces and calling on mosques to hold special prayers for rain to rid the country of hazardous haze drifting from forest fires in neighboring Indonesia. All educational institutions and government and private workplaces were suspended, including factories, construction sites and quarries. Road works were suspended and the use of personal cars and trucks were discouraged due to reducing visibility.
Date Scribed: October 02, 2006
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