Haze Shuts All Schools in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya on Tuesday as Unhealthy Air Spreads to 23 Areas

October 12: Malaysia will close all schools in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya on Tuesday, October 13, along with schools in four districts of Selangor and two of Pahang, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek announced on Monday, as transboundary haze pushed 23 monitoring stations into the unhealthy range, SAYS and The Star reported. The closures come a day after schools in several of these areas reopened.

Key highlights

• The highest readings were at Pasir Gudang (174) and Kota Tinggi (170) in Johor, followed by Seremban (166) and Nilai (163) in Negeri Sembilan, SAYS reported.
• In Selangor, schools under the Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Petaling Perdana and Sepang district education offices will close; other districts operate as usual, the state education department said.
• In Pahang, schools in Kuantan and Rompin will close.
• Schools in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Penang, Perak, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak will open as usual.
• At 8.46 am on Monday, 22 of 68 stations were unhealthy, Malay Mail reported. By the evening announcement, the count was 23.

Where schools close on Tuesday

By our count, four states and federal territories close completely, two close in part, and ten open as usual. Malaysia closes schools when the Air Pollutant Index passes 180, according to the Education Ministry’s rule reported by Malay Mail on October 8, but the readings above are below that level, and the ministry did not say what triggered Tuesday’s closures.

The worst readings on Monday

Johor, which has been worst hit through this episode, has four of the eight stations in the table, and Putrajaya, which also closes on Tuesday, read 146 on Monday morning, according to Malay Mail. Our earlier report has the closures through last week: Haze: schools in KL and Selangor districts shut, Johor all week.

What to watch

• Tuesday’s 2 pm readings, which decide closures for Wednesday.
• Wind forecasts for Kalimantan and Sumatra, where the fires are burning.
• Singapore’s PSI, which tends to rise when Johor’s readings do.

What it means

The haze is not easing in a straight line. Schools that reopened on Monday close again on Tuesday, a sign that parents should expect day-by-day decisions until the wind shifts or the fires in Indonesia are brought under control. The pattern also shows how far the problem has spread beyond Johor, to the Klang Valley districts and the east coast.

Sources

• SAYS: Schools in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Putrajaya to close 13 Oct due to haze
• The Star: Haze: Schools in four Selangor districts to close Oct 13
• Malay Mail: Haze rebounds across 22 areas in Malaysia even as schools set to reopen
• Malay Mail: Schools in Malaysia to close from tomorrow if haze index tops 180, Education Ministry says

Written by

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The International Desk covers world and Asian affairs, diplomacy and conflict, with a focus on what they mean for India. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.

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