Old Photo Of Kuching’s 1997 Haze Brings Back Painful Memories For M’sians | WeirdKaya

Some photos bring back happy memories. Others remind us of days we would rather not experience again.

A photo shared on Threads showing Kuching’s waterfront covered in thick haze has prompted Malaysians to recall their experiences during the 1997 haze crisis.

From smoke entering hostel rooms to a father giving up his face mask for his child, the replies show how deeply those days have stayed with people.

Waterfront barely visible through the haze

Photo via Threads/ @hatimkamarulzaman

The photo, shared by @hatimkamarulzaman which carries a date stamp of September 20, 1997, shows a thick blanket of haze obscuring the view across the river.

In the accompanying post, a Threads user recalled the haze emergency in Sarawak and an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 650.

The user described opening the door to a wall of white haze before asking whether others still remembered it.

The world needs to know that Indonesia never learns its lesson when it comes to burning forests.

This was in 1997, during the haze emergency in Sarawak. The API was 650. You’d open the door and see white haze.

Who still remembers?”

According to the Department of Environment’s historical records , Sarawak was placed under a haze emergency from September 19 to 28, 1997, after API readings exceeded 500. The episode also coincided with El Niño, which prolonged the dry season.

Photo via Utusan Malaysia

A father gave his child his mask

One of the most touching replies came from a Malaysian who was still in kindergarten at the time.

They recalled seeing their father wearing a face mask and crying because they wanted it for themselves.

Their father eventually gave in, handing over his mask before riding his motorcycle to work without one despite the severe haze.

The commenter ended the memory with “Al-Fatihah buat ayah”, a prayer for their late father.

Smoke entered a university hostel room

Another commenter recalled being a first-year university student when the crisis happened.

According to their account, the smoke was so bad that it entered their hostel room. They also said they were admitted to hospital with a severe respiratory infection.

Alongside the comment, they shared an old newspaper front page carrying the headline “Darurat di Sarawak”, or “Emergency in Sarawak”.

For them, the haze was something they remembered through both the conditions around them and their own hospital stay.

Remembering the firefighters who went to Indonesia

Another reply brought up the Malaysian firefighters sent to help tackle fires in Indonesia.

The commenter recalled the difficulty of fighting the fires manually, including the challenge of finding water sources.

Malaysia’s assistance was part of Operasi Haze, which saw Malaysian firefighters help Indonesian authorities battle forest and plantation fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Others shared memories of later haze episodes

The discussion also prompted Malaysians to look back at subsequent haze episodes.

One commenter shared a photograph they said was taken in Klang in 2015, showing the surrounding area largely obscured by haze.

While the original post centred on a photo from 1997, the replies revealed memories stretching across different years and stages of life.

For some, it was a frightening time spent in hospital. For another, it was a small act of sacrifice by a father that they still remember today.

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