(Oct 21): An emergency motion on the smoke problem caused by Indonesian forest fires will be debated at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Deputy speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee approved the motion by Hee Loy Sian's (PKR-Petaling Jaya Selatan) for the matter to be debated at 4.30pm today.

"I have studied the motion and found that it is specific, urgent and of public interest. As such, it will be debated today," he said.

Smoke has blanketed Malaysia and Singapore in recent weeks due to forest fires in Indonesia as a result of land-clearing activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The resulting hazy condition has forced schools to stay closed, flights to be disrupted and thousands of people forced to seek treatment for respiratory problems.

A total 2,528 schools involving some 1.7 million students in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur remain closed for the third straight day today.

The smoke problem has persisted for years and remained unresolved, prompting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to urge scientists at an international meeting last week to come up with ideas to tackle the annual problem from Indonesia.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar recently said the signing of a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia to tackle the issue was postponed for the second time, because his Indonesian counterpart was engaged with the handling of operations to put out fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo said it would take three years to put an end to the forest fires in his country. – The Malaysian Insider