PETALING JAYA – Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) melalui Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran menyokong permohonan peruntukan tambahan bagi membersihkan dan mendalamkan sungai serta parit di daerah Pontian, Johor.

Timbalan Menteri Kerja Raya, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan berkata, permohonan tersebut dikemukan ke Kementerian Peralihan Tenaga dan Transformasi Air (PETRA) termasuk bagi peruntukan penggalian muara-muara sungai dalam daerah Pontian.

Johor Bahru: "Malu sebenarnya nak minta tolong, tapi saya terpaksa kerana tinggal sehelai sepinggang selepas banjir besar tempoh hari."

Itu kata mangsa banjir, Wan Md Rosanizal Wan Hasan, 50, ketika menceritakan kisahnya yang tiada pilihan melainkan memohon bantuan orang ramai menerusi satu hantaran di Facebook (Fb).

Dalam hantaran itu, Wan Md Rosanizal memohon sesiapa yang sudi menyumbang pakaian buat anaknya untuk dipakai ketika hari raya nanti, selain tikar, selimut dan tilam selepas tidak sempat menyelamatkan barangan keperluan apabila rumahnya dinaiki air pada 20 Mac lalu.

Bercerita lanjut, kawasan rumahnya di Kampung Pasir, dekat sini, mudah banjir setiap kali hujan, namun kejadian terbaru tempoh hari adalah yang terburuk pernah dialaminya.

"Tapi syukur kami sekeluarga selamat, cuma barang rumah seperti peti ais rosak, periuk nasi yang baru beli pun hilang, begitu juga beras dan gula yang dihanyutkan.

"Kiranya, tak ada apa yang tinggal. Saya pula perantau yang berasal dari Kelantan dan tak tahu nak minta tolong dengan siapa," katanya ketika dihubungi Harian Metro.

Wan Md Rosanizal tidak menyangka perkongsiannya mendapat perhatian hingga ramai menghulurkan sumbangan. "Alhamdulillah, ramai yang tolong, malah ada antaranya memberi duit dan baju raya terpakai untuk anak saya.

"Terima kasih, tak terkata kerana terharu dengan bantuan yang diterima.

"Semoga Allah SWT membalas kebaikan semua yang membantu," katanya yang mempunyai tiga anak berumur dua dan lima tahun serta tujuh bulan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Isu jerebu merentas sempadan - yang berulang di rantau ini - dijangka menjadi antara topik perbincangan utama pada Sidang Kemuncak Kelestarian Kuala Lumpur (KLSS) yang kali pertama diadakan pada 14 hingga 16 Oktober depan.

Menteri Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, berkata KLSS diadakan sempena Kepengerusian ASEAN-Malaysia 2025.

Beliau berkata, ia bakal menghimpunkan pelbagai pihak berkepentingan utama dari negara anggota ASEAN bagi mempercepatkan langkah tindakan iklim serantau. "Isu jerebu merentas sempadan juga dibincangkan secara aktif di platform ASEAN.

"Kita juga ingin melakukan beberapa perkara berhubung isu berkenaan pada mesyuarat ASEAN tahun ini, jadi saya rasa itu antara isu yang akan kita bincangkan pada KLSS nanti.

"Dengan matlamat untuk menghasilkan Deklarasi Kuala Lumpur mengenai Daya Tahan Iklim, KLSS berhasrat menjadikan bandar raya ini sebagai platform utama bagi membincangkan daya tahan iklim pada masa hadapan," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita pada Majlis Prapelancaran Persidangan dan Pameran Antarabangsa Teknologi Hijau dan Produk Eko Malaysia (IGEM) 2025 dan KLSS, di sini, hari ini.

Nik Nazmi berkata, KLSS akan menampilkan ketua-ketua pemikir dari seluruh rantau ASEAN dan Asia Pasifik.

Beliau berkata, ia bakal meliputi aktiviti seperti podcast, ucaptama serta perbincangan panel serta meja bulat yang semuanya memfokus kepada strategi boleh laksana yang mampu memberi impak pada peringkat tempatan, serantau dan global.

CHIANG MAI: A bright orange helicopter races over the jungle to dump water on a raging wildfire that is adding to the air pollution choking Thailand's northern tourist hub of Chiang Mai.

Chutaphorn Phuangchingngam, the only female captain in Thailand's national disaster prevention team, draws on two decades of flying to steer the Russian-made chopper through the thick smoke.

Forest fires are burning in several areas of northern Thailand, contributing to the annual spike in air pollution that comes with farmers burning stubble to prepare their land for the next crop.

Chiang Mai had the sixth worst air quality of any major city in the world on Thursday morning, according to monitor IQAir, and the city governor has warned residents against staying outdoors.

Chutaphorn told AFP the dense forest and hilly terrain made helicopters the best tool to fight the blazes. "We use (helicopters) to put out fire in areas that are difficult to reach, especially in the mountains," she said.

Chutaphorn and her six-member crew flew over Huai Bok reservoir, collecting 3,000 litres of water each time before heading two kilometres to the fire zone, spread across more than 1.6 hectares (four acres).

Northern Thailand is the latest area around the world to suffer significant wildfires, after South Korea – currently battling its biggest on record – Japan and California.

While the causes of forest fires can be complex, climate change can make them more likely by creating hotter, drier weather that leaves undergrowth more prone to catching light.

As well as damaging important forests, the fires are fuelling Thailand's anxieties about air pollution, which causes millions of people to need medical treatment each year.

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants – dangerous cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs – were almost 15 times the World Health Organisation's recommended limit in Chiang Mai on Thursday, according to IQAir.

The government banned crop burning early this year to try to improve air quality, with violators facing fines and legal action, but authorities said the measures have proven ineffective.

"There are still large numbers of farmers who continue to burn their fields," said Dusit Pongsapipat, head of the Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Chiang Mai.

Danaipat Pokavanich, a clean-air advocate involved in drafting the Clean Air Act – a bill to curb pollution in Thailand – praised the firefighting efforts but called them a "temporary fix."

"The law alone won't stop farmers from burning," he said. He recommended offering financial incentives to encourage sustainable farming practices and investing in technology to reduce the need for burning.

Until then, Chatuphorn and her team remain ready to take to the skies to do their part to clean up the air by putting out forest fires.

"Flying a helicopter for disaster work is different from flying passengers," she said, citing limited visibility as a major challenge.

She remains committed to her childhood dream. "I just wanted to touch the cloud," she said, after the helicopter landed. "Though now all I feel is just the smoke."--AFP