Proposal on setting up of special committee on hot weather to be brought before Cabinet

A proposal to set up a special committee to discuss an action plan to face the hot and dry weather will be brought before the Cabinet on Friday.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said a permanent committee must be set up to provide information to the public on action that had to be taken, seeing the hot and dry weather phenomena occuring from time to time.

"The Cabinet will decide if the committee will be placed with this ministry or the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry because both have related roles," he told reporters after a special meeting to discuss the hot weather inundating the country, Wednesday.

The meeting also involved several ministries and government departments including the Malaysian Meteorological Department, Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Drainage and Irrigation Department and the National Water Services Commission.

In addition, Wan Junaidi said a proposal on comprehensive guidelines to face the hot and dry weather and the heat wave phenomena would also be tabled before the Cabinet, which among others, encompassed measures that could be taken by the public in planning their daily activities including on healthcare.

Wan Junaidi said the guidelines also involved an action plan for government departments and agencies including concerning schooling activities which could be affected by the hot weather.

"A heatwave occurs when the temperature in an area rises to 35 degrees Celcius for five continuous days and two degrees above average temperature for 20 years or 37 degree Celcius for three continuous days," he said.

He said heatwaves did not occur nationwide and its locations was detectable by Malaysian Meteorological Department stations.

Commenting on the hot and dry weather experienced by several areas nationwide currently, Wan Junaidi said it was not caused by the Equinox phenomena but El Nino which was expected to end in the middle of the year.

He said the five areas recording the highest temperatures were Chuping, Perlis; Alor Setar, Kedah; Lubuk Merbau, Perak and Batu Embun and Temerloh in Pahang.

Wan Junaidi said from mid-March to mid-April, temperatures in the north of the peninsula could reach 40 degrees Celcius while in other areas it could reach 35 to 37 degrees Celcius.

In order to tackle the hot and dry weather, he said several steps had been taken including activating the Open Fire Prevention Action Plan nationwide from Jan 12 and the Standard Operating Procedures Operation Programme for Prevention and Management Of Frequently Burning Peatland.

He said the Department of Environment had detected 617 cases of open burning nationwide from January until March 14 with 52 cases compounded and investigation papers prepared for three cases to be charged in court.

The Fire and Rescue Department reported 6,893 fires nationwide involving farms and plantation, jungles, shrubs and dumpsites.

In addition, he said five dams recorded water levels below 50 per cent capacity as of March 15, namely, Labong Dam, Johor (14.4 per cent); Gemencheh Dam, Negeri Sembilan (22.2 per cent); Bukit Kwong Dam, Kelantan (31.5 per cent); Padang Saga Dam, Kedah (35 per cent) and Timah Tasoh Dam, Perlis (40.8 per cent).