SHAH ALAM: Open burning incidents in Selangor have reached an alarming level and must be viewed seriously, says the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad.

       Nor Hisham said for the first two months of the year, 283 cases of open burning involving farms, plantations, forest, bushes, peat land and landfills had been recorded throughout the state.

       "From the total, 26 open burning cases involved farms and plantations, forest (40), bushes (112), peat land (2) and landfills (103).

       "With the current hot and dry weather, we fear the numbers may increase...compared with the 220 open burning cases recorded for the same period last year," he said after presenting Selangor Fire and Rescue Department’s Service of Excellence Awards to 130 recipients at the Selangor Fire and REscue Department headquarters, here on Thursday (March 7).

       Nor Hisham said part of open burning cases involving farms, plantations, forests and bushes was due to opening up of new areas for farming and such incidents need to be handled by all relevant agencies to prevent incidents of cross border haze.

       He added that open burning in Selangor was sensitive to the position of Malaysia in terms of statistics related to hot spots in the region, due to the number of hot spots in the state.

       According to Nor Hisham, the incidents of open burning in Selangor normally involve four hot spots, namely Kuala Langat Forest Reserves in the North and South, Kampung Johan Setia and Raja Muda Musa Forest Reserves.

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       Last year 24 open burning cases were recorded in hot spot areas and as of February this year, two cases have been recorded, he said. - Bernama