KUCHING: Childcare centres (TASKA) in Sarawak will be closed immediately once the Air Pollutant Index (API) reaches 200.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the directive was issued by the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in its media statement on Aug 12.
She said the directive currently applied only to Sarawak but could also be followed if the haze spread to areas outside the state.
“We do not want children, especially, to be exposed to the haze and for this to cause difficulties for them and their families.
“So, for now, this is the directive that we have received,” she said to reporters after officiating the ‘Majlis Penyerahan Program Bantuan Lesen Memandu Kelas B2 Tahun 2026 Anjuran Parlimen P193 Santubong’ event at Wisma SABATI here today (Aug 22).
She added that the directive concerning the closure of TASKA centres was comprehensive at the state level to avoid confusion should separate directives be issued by the ministry.
“This is not just us, but it is comprehensive. Therefore, the ministry does not need to issue another directive because people would become confused. This is a directive for the state,” she said.
Commenting on the welfare of working parents should the TASKA closure directive be implemented in the state, she said the matter needed to be managed by the Sarawak Government as it involved state jurisdiction.
“In Peninsular Malaysia, for now, we are still implementing the work-from-home (WFH) approach.
“Meanwhile, for Sarawak, we need to wait for the directive from the state government,” she stressed.
For the record, the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) issued a statement on Aug 12 following concerns over the haze situation, stating that the closure of schools, TASKA and TADIKA would be implemented immediately once the API reading reached 200, in line with the National Haze Action Plan.
However, on Aug 13, Minister of Women, Children and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK) Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said in a statement that TASKA and TADIKA would be allowed to operate to cater to the needs of working parents, even when API readings reached 200 and above.
Fatimah said that children’s attendance at the institutions would be subject to the consideration and choice of their respective parents in dealing with the ongoing haze situation in the state.
