‘Somebody has to pay’: Serian chief says Sarawakians are fed up with yearly haze from Kalimantan Barat

SERIAN, Aug 14 — Serian District Council chairman Dato Peter Minos has voiced his frustration over the worsening haze, saying the town’s iconic mountain view had been “lost in the haze”.

He said residents were asking where the mountain range, normally visible from the Serian District Council building, had gone when he was in Serian at 10am on Thursday.

According to Minos, Serian was experiencing its worst haze situation in recent years, which he attributed to smoke from Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia, being blown into the area by prevailing winds.

He said many were anxious after the Air Pollutant Index (API) in Serian reached 202 on Wednesday, a level classified as very unhealthy.

“The haze is one big headache for us in Sarawak, being a bad health hazard. The hardest hit are our young children and the elderly,” he said.

He also pointed out that all schools in Serian had been ordered to close due to the deteriorating air quality, questioning when they would be able to reopen.

Minos questioned why the authorities in Kalimantan Barat appeared unable to prevent open burning, particularly by large oil palm estates during planting activities.

“If we Malaysians can do it, why can’t they? We just do not burn. And if we burn, NREB will hit us hard,” he said, referring to the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB).

He said the recurring haze had affected Sarawak year after year, causing losses beyond health impacts, including school closures and reduced tourism revenue.

Expressing his frustration, Minos said Sarawakians were “unhappy and fed up” with the recurring haze.

“It gets on our nerves. Haze is human-created, not natural, and so somebody has to pay for it,” he said.