Clean air is a human right.Haze pollution affects everyone whether in small or big ways. Whether it's not being able to do outdoor sports, or exacerbating a pre-existing respiratory lung condition. We want to hear your story on how you've been affected by haze pollution and what you think should be done about it!
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Read stories below:
Pua Lay Peng is a chemist. She and her neighbors staying in the agricultural town of Jenjarom began complaining of headaches, respiratory problems, skin allergies and other ailments. An unpleasant odour in the air became routine for residents of Jenjarom. Children were falling sick more often than usual, and one local teacher said she was finding it hard to concentrate at school because of how disturbed her sleep had become. Together with other community members, she wrote many complaint letters to local authorities and usual responses were “the process takes time, local authorities have capacity and cannot do much”. She says: “Air pollution is hard to monitor. At night, their machines were operating at their highest capacity, but you can’t see the polluted air, so what can you do? Even if you can smell it, you can’t trace it.” - Pua Lay Peng, Secretary, Kuala Langat Environmental Action Association In Sungai Petani, Kedah, shortly after the factories arrived in the spring of 2019, more and more people began presenting with breathing difficulties. We noticed a 10-20% increase in the number of respiratory cases admitted to hospital. Our team used to cycle in the area until we discovered the wastes. We have since stopped patronising the terrain due to the choking toxic smell emitted from the wastes. - Dr. Sunny Tneoh Shen Jen, Doctor at Metro Specialist Hospital, Sungai Petani & advisor of Persatuan Tindakan Alam Sekitar Sungai Petani |
Dr. Benjamin Loh is a senior lecturer at Taylor’s University in Selangor. He recalls being affected by the transboundary haze pollution episode in September 2019. I always can smell something strange and never knew why. My two children have always had tracheitis. When the air quality changes or if someone burns rubbish, and they inhale the smoke, they will need to see a specialist to be treated with a nebulizer. - Kathy Tan Fuang Ling, Jenjarom local resident |