Kuching’s Malaysia Day fireworks display on Sept 16 can proceed despite the current haze, provided air quality does not deteriorate to an “emergency” level, said Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
The State Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts said there was no objection to holding the fireworks display as planned, but the situation would need to be reassessed if the Air Pollutant Index (API) reached the “hazardous” range.
“A fireworks display would not necessarily produce significant smoke compared to vehicle emissions,” he told reporters when asked about calls from certain quarters to cancel the Malaysia Day fireworks because of the haze.
However, Abdul Karim stressed that public safety should take priority if the haze situation worsened.
“If the situation in Kuching reaches the level of an ‘emergency’ because of the haze, then everything should stop,” he said.
He added that if the API remained at the “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” levels, people could still attend the Malaysia Day celebrations, provided they took appropriate precautions, including wearing face masks.
Abdul Karim said he had also been asked about the issue in his constituency of Asajaya, where he gave the same response.
He reiterated that any decision on the fireworks should ultimately take into account the prevailing air quality and the safety of members of the public.
