Our health should not be left to fate and which way the wind blows, says Yeoh Siew Hoon who found herself in the thick of things last week in Penang.
I remember many years ago, while on holiday in Hawaii, we had such fun running away from clouds.
Everytime clouds would gather over our heads, blocking the sun rays, we would hop into our jeep and scoot off to the nearest cloud-free spot. On an island such as Maui, that was easy to do.
But where do you run to hide in a country like Malaysia?
Last week, the haze got so bad in parts of the Klang Valley that a state of emergency was declared for two days (Thursday and Friday) over two towns as the Air Pollutant Index soared over 500 – considered dangerous levels. Schools and offices were closed as residents struggled to breathe in the acrid air.
Ironically, the Air Pollutant Index is API for short and API means fire in Malay, but nobody was laughing.
Of course, there's another scandal brewing in Malaysia – the AP (Approved Permit) issue which has got the country's Trade Minister Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz in quite a fix.
But again, nobody's laughing at the coincidence in acronyms either – AP, API, APA Next? (Which means AP, API, What Next?)
Anyway, some of my friends living in Kuala Lumpur got in their car to escape the haze. Some drove north to Penang for the weekend, where I happened to be headed on Friday.
But as luck would have it, the winds shifted and blew the haze north. Thus when I landed in Penang, it was to a smog-covered island.
My friends cursed their luck. "What lah, we come to Penang to breathe fresh air and now this?"
That didn't stop them from tucking into their usual quantum portions of assam laksa and char koay teow though. Hello, they told me, the haze does not affect appetites, only our lungs.
It reminded me of those days during SARS when I would see airline passengers wearing masks but as soon as meals arrived, off came the masks and down went the food.
Anyway, I woke up on Saturday morning, unable to see that ugly skyscraper that has come up in our neighbourhood. I didn't miss that but I sure missed breathing fresh air.
And it reminded me of those dark, hazy days in 1997 when most of South-east Asia was enveloped in thick haze – Sarawak, Singapore, Malaysia, Jakarta, Sumatra, even Phuket – and the Malaysian authorities were in a state of denial.
Haze, what haze, they would ask reporters at trade shows when quizzed about the smoke, and authorities refused to publish API levels, saying they would scare away tourists.
I remember getting an earful from a minister who accused me of trying to sabotage the country's tourism industry.
This time round, the Prime Minister has asked that API levels be published.
This is good news. But what would be better news is if once and for all, they did something about this annual environmental disaster.
I, for one, am fed up of hearing that yes, something will, and must, be done each time the haze returns and, as soon as things return to normal, it is promptly forgotten until the next time …
Just because the haze has only affected Malaysia so far this year doesn't mean other countries should be complacent. Surely we shouldn't leave our health in the hands of fate – ie which way the wind blows and then we all hope it will blow everybody else's way but ours?
That's not neighbourly nor is it sensible.
Also, think about poor folks like my mother who cannot practise their traditions and beliefs just because some businessmen are just too greedy and irresponsible.
I was home in Penang for the Hungry Ghosts Festival, the seventh month of the lunar new year when the dead roam our earth.
As she began prayers at our home on Saturday morning, I asked her if we could refrain from burning paper money and if we could cut down on the number of joss-sticks, so that we would not make matters worse.
She was indignant at first. "Your poor father and grandmother." But when she saw the grey skies outside, she said, "You are right. They will understand."
I am not sure I can be as benevolent as her about those who cause us to choke and gag each year.
The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.
Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'. Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460Check out Siew Hoon's new website, www.shy-connection.com, which features a newly-launched e-zine with a difference. 
