Malaysia shuts 6,798 schools due to smoke from Indonesia

Malaysia ordered the closure on Monday and Tuesday of 6,798 schools due to a cloud of smoke caused by the burning of plantations in neighboring Indonesia.

The measure will apply to 11 states in the Malaysian federation, except one in the peninsular region where the air quality on Monday morning oscillated between moderate and unhealthy, according to The Star newspaper.

Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid said he does not rule out applying the measure to the remaining jurisdictions in Borneo Island if the pollution levels rise.

Khalid said the matter should be resolved correctly and quickly as it can cause a setback for many schoolgoing children, adding around 3.7 million students and around 300,000 teachers have been asked to remain at home.

Earlier, the ministry had temporarily shut down 4,561 schools in the second half of September after pollution exceeded levels considered healthy.

Every year, plantation owners in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, which have a wide forest cover, intentionally set fire to their land, as a cheap measure to clear land and add more territory to their plantations.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi blamed Indonesia for their failure to address the problem, which also affects Singapore, and lamented the lack of a shortterm solution.

“While we are grateful that the Indonesian government is doing what they can to solve the issue, we think the plan takes too long for us to see the effectiveness,” Ahmad Zahid told broadcaster Alhijrah.

Indonesian authorities, who have mobilized around 3,000 soldiers and policemen to contain the fires, arrested seven executives of companies allegedly linked to the fires, while another 20 firms are under investigation.

Former Indonesian President Susilo Yudhoyono had to apologize in 2013 to Singapore and Malaysia for air pollution from fires in Sumatra.