A firefighter douses the flames during a bushfire.
KUCHING (Feb 26): Sarawak has recorded 35 open burning cases since Feb 20.
An infographic shared to the media by Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Sarawak director Datu Khiruddin Drahman stated that Miri had recorded 12 cases, Kuching six cases, Sibu five cases, and Limbang also five cases.
Three cases were reported each in Samarahan and Bintulu, while Sri Aman recorded one case, the infographic indicated.
Of the total number of open burning cases, 22 involved bushfires, rubbish with seven cases, and forest fires, peat and other wooden fires with two cases each.
With Malaysia to experience the Southwest Monsoon, going on from late May to September, Khiruddin called upon the public to refrain from conducting open burning to reduce smoke emissions.
He pointed out that open burning could lead to increased smoke concentration in the air, causing haze and other environmental impacts over the localities.
“The fires need to be put out immediately to reduce smoke emissions and haze that could affect the locations and the wellbeing of the communities.
“Cooperation with the communities, particularly local farmers, is needed to prevent this from happening,” he said when contacted today.