KUCHING (Sept 8): Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he has no objection to a fireworks display as part of the Malaysia Day celebration on Sept 16 here, provided the air quality does not reach ‘emergency’ levels.

“A fireworks display would not necessarily produce significant smoke compared to vehicle emissions.

“If the situation in Kuching reaches the level of an ‘emergency’ because of the haze, then everything should stop,” he told reporters when asked about calls from certain quarters for the cancellation of the Malaysia Day fireworks display due to the current haze situation.

He said if the API remained in the ‘unhealthy’ or ‘very unhealthy’ range, people could still attend celebrations while taking appropriate precautions, including wearing face masks.

Abdul Karim said he had been asked about the same issue in his constituency of Asajaya but gave the same response.