Jerebu rentas sempadan jejas Sarawak dibawa ke Asean

Sarawak's Deputy Premier, Douglas Uggah Embas, highlighted the need for the state to remain vigilant about the fire risks in Baram and Kuala Baram due to its proximity to Brunei. The issue of cross-border fence burning in Sarawak requires further discussion at the Asean level through the Subregional Ministerial Leaders' Council on Smoke Pollution from Fence Burning to find the best solution and minimize its impact.

The Deputy Premier's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, representing Malaysia at the relevant forum, will propose measures to tackle the issue. "We need to be cautious as a situation like a forest fire in Kuala Baram would pollute Brunei... so all issues related to this will be discussed at this meeting before being forwarded to the relevant ministry," he said, according to Bernama after attending the award presentation ceremony for the State Craftsmanship Festival in Kuching.

Meanwhile, Uggah, who also chairs the State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) in Sarawak, said his team has sent a request for fog seeding operations and is investigating the suitable time for such operations. Recently, he reportedly said that the fog seeding initiative was taken to tackle the prolonged hot and dry weather phenomenon, which could threaten water supply sources and worsen the air pollution situation in some areas.

Since August 8, fence burning has spread to several areas in Sarawak following weather conditions that carry smoke from hotspots in neighboring regions to our country. Areas with the highest Air Pollution Index (API) rating under the "Very Unhealthy" category are Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Sibu, Bintulu, Samalaju, and Miri.