Parents want Kuching schools closed

NST: KUCHING: Anxious parents are urging schools here to be closed until the haze clears.
But Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan has said that there were no immediate plans to do so.
Schools would only close if the situation worsened and the air pollutant index breached the 400 mark, he said.
An API reading of 101 to 200 denotes unhealthy air quality; 201 to 300 very unhealthy; and, above 300 is considered hazardous.
Dr Chan, however, advised school not to have any outdoor activities until the air quality improved.
President of the Sarawak Teachers Union William Ghani Bina felt that that medical and health experts should be the ones deciding on whether schools should be closed.
But, he said, this might not be the right time to close the schools as it would disrupt the ongoing Penilaian Menengah Rendah examinations for Form Three students.
"I think to close the schools at this point would be disruptive unless the examination is allowed to continue," he said.
Although cloud-seeding operations were carried out in several areas yesterday to induce rain, there are fears that the Kuching International Airport may be closed if the haze continues.
Although an official with the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) declined to comment, the public relations officer of Hornbill Skyways, Zawawi "Awek" Abdul Rahman, said they had been told by the DCA that the airport would be closed if visibility is reduced to 91 metres.
Yesterday was the sixth consecutive day that Hornbill Skyways, the state’s largest helicopter operator, had grounded its fleet of 10 helicopters.
The move has affected the state’s Flying Doctor Service which depends on the helicopters. But emergency flights would still be carried out if the pilots feel that it is safe to do so.
Cloud seeding was carried out over Kuching, Miri, Limbang and Mukah yesterday.
While it rained in Miri and Mukah, Kuching continues to have dry weather, and the haze has reduced visibility to 200 metres.
Despite the poor visibility in most parts of the state, the DCA has not banned aircraft from flying.
"It’s up to the operators and their pilots to decide whether it is safe to fly," said Sim Chai Choon, the supervisor on duty at the DCA call centre.
The visibility problem, however, had disrupted Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Fly Asian Express domestic flight schedules in Sabah and Sarawak.
Delays are now the norm and some of the flights were cancelled at short notice.
MAS Kuching airport station manager Awang Habu Sabtu said four flights to Kuching had to be cancelled yesterday and another two had to be diverted to Sibu.