The haze is back with a vengeance. I had a hard time cleaning up my garage yesterday afternoon as it was covered with ashes.

And this morning I woke up to find my housing estate enveloped in a thick haze. At first I thought it was a morning mist but when I walked out to my garage, I was hit with the pungent smell of smoke.

As I was sending my wife and my son to work, I could see the seriousness of the haze. In some places, visibility was only four to five metres. It was no wonder that cars had their headlights on.

As usual, the culprits for the current haze are mainly the moonlighting farmers who burn roadside land for cultivation of crops to earn some part-time income. These people have no regards for the dire consequences of their actions. They often play a game of hide-and-seek with the authorities. They start the roadside fires and then disappear. Sometimes the fires started by them rage out of control and the fire brigades have to be called in to help put out the fires. Later these farmers come back to claim their “territories” and start planting crops like corn.� This happens every year.

A few days ago, the mayor of Miri warned of stern actions against open burning. The authorities would impose fines on those caught in the act of open burning. But as these farmers always play hide-and-seek with the authorities, it is not easy for the authorities to catch them.� The mayor� thus reiterated that the authorities would no longer hesitate to destroy the crops planted by these moonlighting farmers. I hope the authorities will really carry out their threats to destroy the crops planted by these moonlighting farmers as these farmers need to be taught a lesson. Go Mayor go!

When will we see haze-free days in Miri again? Sigh………..

The haze in Borneo is really getting worse. Despite efforts by the local authorities, the haze in Miri has reached an unhealthy level.� I know a lot of the haze is due to forest fires in Kalimantan, most of which have been deliberately lit to clear land for oil palm and paper plantations. But here in Miri, there are also a lot of local part-time roadside farmers� in Tukau, Kuala Baram area and other areas who indiscriminately start fires to clear land for growing crops.� These� people would disappear once the authorities are present but when the authorities are not around, they will start again.� They seem to be playing a game of hide-and-seek with the authorities. These people are in my honest opinion very selfish people. They encroach on state or private land to grow crops and in the process do a lot of damage to our air quality through their open burning.� Once the fires have cleared the land, you will see these people stacking their “claims”� to the land by using nylon strings to mark their “territories”.

This morning when I was sending my wife to work, I noticed that the haze was really bad. In some areas visibility was badly affected. I really feel sorry for those who have respiratory problems. It must be tough for them with the unhealthy haze enveloping the whole town.� The air quality is bad and the heat is often suffocating. And then there is the also the much-dreaded Influenza A or H1N1 that is spreading across the world including Malaysia. The total fatalities in Malaysia due to H1N1 has risen to 32 according to the latest report and that is starting to scare a lot of people.

This photo was taken at the Lutong traffic lights this morning.

Taken on the flyover near the Boulevard Shopping Complex this morning.

Another photo taken on the flyover near Boulevard Shopping Complex...visibility was badly affected.

According to newspaper reports, the haze will be� be around for a few more weeks and that is bad news. A heavy downpour will bring much relief……so let’s all pray for it.� May it rain cats and dogs soon!