Sarawak is ready to declare a haze emergency if it’s needed.  

The state govt says this is pending an official declaration by the national committee on disaster management.

Under the guidelines, all non-essential govt and private sector offices would be ordered to close when an area’s API exceeds 500.

This, as Serian reported a hazardous API reading of 470 this morning.  

Meanwhile, Kuching, Samarahan, and Sri Aman all reported air quality readings of over 300.  

Very unhealthy air quality has been reported in Sarikei, Sibu and Mukah.  

14 other locations in Sarawak, Sabah, Labuan, Kedah, Penang and Perak had unhealthy API readings of over 100.  

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The PM has announced several immediate measures to help Malaysians with concerns such as higher living costs.  

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says this includes restoring the 300 litre basic monthly quota for BUDI95 petrol, starting tomorrow.  

Meanwhile, eligible diesel pickup truck and jeep owners will enjoy a higher BUDI Diesel subsidy.  

The Prime Minister also announced an increased allocation of RM1.5 billion school maintenance allocation, which will cover all types of schools...  

He adds that that 100,000 youths will receive free subscriptions and access to selected AI applications for three months under the AI for the Rakyat programme.  

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In other news

Police are hunting down a motorist who allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian in Shah Alam yesterday morning.  

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Wisma Putra says 55 Malaysians in Nepal, and 36 in China remain uncontactable following the recent massive landslides there.  

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Meanwhile, Nepal says its death toll has now risen to nearly 800, while 2,500 others are still missing.