Forest Fire Smoke Lingers Over North MalaysiaWorst hit by the smog were three northern states including the resort island of Penang which has been swathed in smoke since Friday.
Environment Minister Law Hieng Deng told reporters he had voiced Malaysia's concerns about the lingering smoke pollution to his Indonesian counterpart by telephone.
``They have given the guarantee that they will take action. Whatever we can do here, we will,'' he said.
The government said six towns, five of them in the north, registered unhealthy air quality levels, stirring memories of Indonesian forest fires in 1997 which blanketed South East Asia in smoke.
``Things have not improved at all since last week because it hasn't rained for a while,'' Mohamad Ayob, an office worker in Penang, said by telephone.
``Some people have started buying masks due to health concerns,'' he said.
Law said Malaysia had detected 206 ``hot spot'' areas hit by bush fires. They were mostly in Indonesia's Sumatra island neighboring peninsular Malaysia and Kalimatan on Indonesia's side of Borneo. Six towns, including Penang, Tuesday reported unhealthy air quality levels, he added.
A reading between zero and 50 on the Air Pollution Index (API) is considered to be ``good,'' 51 to 100 is ``moderate'' and above 100 is considered ``unhealthy.''
The minister said the government would not officially lift a ban on public reporting of the smog pollution index levels. The ruling has been in place since the beginning of last year.
Law, who at the weekend bent the rule by releasing API readings for the first time since the ban, said the ruling would stay. ``This is a decision of the cabinet,'' he said.
``Sometimes this index is abused by certain sectors to portray Malaysia as a country that is always affected by the haze, and dissuade tourists,'' he added.
Opposition leaders accused the government of playing down the severity of the smog situation after Law said Sunday the smog was no cause for alarm.
A Malaysian newspaper linked to a ruling party Tuesday backed opposition calls for the release of API readings.
``Let's clear the air -- the haze is back and Malaysians have the right to know the state of the air we breathe,'' the Star newspaper said.
The smog, or haze as it is referred to by officials of Southeast Asian nations, returned to Malaysia this time as Olympic Council of Asia officials arrived to study the country's bid to host the 2006 Asian Games.
Government officials said they privately feared the smog might ruin Malaysia's chances. The OCA will decide on the venue in November from a field that includes India, Qatar and Hong Kong.