Haze: Malaysians from Riau to arrive home tonight

173 Malaysians who were evacuated following the worsening situation of the haze in Riau, Indonesia is expected to arrive at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang, here at around 7pm today.

According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, the process of bringing home the people involved two C-130 RMAF aircraft handled by the Foreign Ministry together with the National Security Council.

Most of those returning home were students and their family members living in Pekanbaru.

Meanwhile, an operation room has been established to monitor the situation in Riau which recorded an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 900.

On September 15, the Indonesian government declared a state of emergency because of dangerous levels of air quality.

Its President Joko Widodo had ordered Indonesian authorities to arrest those responsible for the illegal agricultural fires.

On Wednesday, Indonesian police have detained seven people whose companies are allegedly connected with illegal agricultural fires that have cloaked Southeast Asia in haze, in rare arrests over the annual smog outbreaks.