KANGAR: About 90% of the 600 fires recorded in Perlis from January to April are open burning cases, says state Fire and Rescue Department director Snr Fire Supt I Mohd Zaidi Ma'at.
He added that the open burning occurs in undergrowth areas, orchards, fields, recreational areas and farmland, as well as roadside areas that could pose a public safety risk and advised the public not to conduct open burning during the hot season as it would pollute the environment and could cause losses.
"Stop all open burning. If you really need to, control the fire so that it doesn't spread.
"There have been cases where wildfires grow out of control till it destroys workshops, vehicles, causes property loss and threatens lives," he told Bernama recently when asked to comment on the Malaysian Meteorological Department's forecast that the south west monsoon that began on May 17 would last until September.
He also said that property losses recorded from the 600 fires from January to April totalled RM2,366,350. – Bernama
