{
  "id": 13674287,
  "title": "Phone calls aren’t enough — Vivekananda Sukumaran",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/phone-calls-arent-enough-vivekananda-sukumaran",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-11T07:18:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/what-you-think/2026/10/11/phone-calls-arent-enough-vivekananda-sukumaran/238675"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "October 11 - Much of Malaysia has been breathing unhealthy air for two months now. The Air Pollutant Index (API) in Serian reached 519 on September 4, prompting an emergency across the region. By October 8, 38 areas, from Johor to the Klang Valley, reported unhealthy readings. Health impacts are evident; Ministry of Health data shows asthma cases up 259% and upper respiratory tract infections up 124% in just one week of August. This is not just a weather situation, it's a public health crisis disproportionately affecting children, the elderly and those with heart and lung conditions. However, the government's response has been notably absent. Despite the Cabinet reviewing National Day celebrations and moving indoor events due to haze, no discussion took place on the haze or measures to address worsening conditions during three international sporting events on October 30. Prime Minister's personal call to Indonesian President Prabowo and increased cloud seeding are steps in the right direction, but they don't constitute a comprehensive public health response. It's the Rulers who have acted. On October 7, the Regent of Johor ordered all schools in Johor to close, affecting over 617,000 students in 1,198 institutions. The next day, the Agong urged schools to close in areas where the API remained above 150 to 180 for an extended period. Only then did the Ministry lower its closure threshold from 200 to 180, and to 150 for three consecutive days. While commendable, this should never have been necessary. Education falls under the federal government's jurisdiction, and schools should have been shut down earlier when the API exceeded 200, the level classified as very unhealthy by the government's own index. Malaysians deserve protection from toxic air, not just royal decrees. Neighboring countries demonstrate how governments can treat haze as a matter of public health and law. Singapore, for instance, has a Haze Task Force, daily advisories, mandatory air purifiers in schools, and ready-to-use mask stockpiles. Singapore's Transboundary Haze Pollution Act holds companies, local or foreign, accountable for causing or contributing to haze, with fines up to S$2 million. Indonesia has also taken action this season, shutting down about 50 companies across eight provinces, revoking the licenses of five concession holders, and pursuing others for substantial state losses and restoration costs. Indoors, Indonesians are holding their government accountable. Recently, a class action accusing President Prabowo and nine other officials of gross negligence opened in Pontianak. Thailand, grappling with its own PM2.5 crisis, closed over 350 Bangkok schools, made public transport free for a week, and urged employers to allow remote work. Its Parliament voted 611 to 3 to revive a Clean Air Bill that would recognize the right to clean air and make polluters liable. As a legal professional focused on criminal justice, I am concerned about enforcement in Malaysia. Open burning is against the Environmental Quality Act 1974, section 29A, which now carries a fine of RM25,000 to RM1 million, imprisonment up to five years, or both. However, the Minister noted this week that 1,447 open burning complaints from August 3 to September 29 resulted in only 41 directive notices, 27 compounds, and three court cases. An ineffective law deters no one, and a mere fine is not a conviction. The bigger issue lies in transboundary cooperation. A transboundary haze law has been under consideration since 2018, but Malaysia is still examining Singapore's model and cautions that drafting such legislation is complex. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that Malaysian companies operate in Indonesia and affirmed Malaysia won't defend any found to have contributed to the haze. That assurance rings hollow unless Malaysian law has jurisdiction over these companies. I urge the Cabinet to act without further delay on six fronts: treat the haze as the public health emergency it is; assign one Minister responsibility for the national response and provide regular public briefings rather than leaving the matter unresolved.",
  "summary": "OCTOBER 11 — Large parts of Malaysia have now spent two months breathing air that the Government’s own...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}