I find it a bit humorous that our government should offer to help douse the open burning fires in Sumatra.

In Kedah, twice a year, people have to live with a haze far thicker than what hit Kuala Lumpur last week. This is due to the burning of padi fields. Yet we never get the luxury of an emergency, because if an emergency was declared every time the API reached 'hazardous' levels, the Kedah state would surely go bankrupt. The haze in the state can last for more than a month or two.

Now, open burning season is starting again in Kedah. Who needs a haze from Sumatra when we can make our own? Because housing estates and schools are interspersed with padi fields, most people are often no more than two kilometre away from any hotspot.

When the fields are on fire, our eyes and lungs burn from the thick, acrid smoke and there is no escape because the whole town is 'on fire'. Ashes from burnt padi stalks blow into our houses and floors not to mention into our hair and lungs.

Sometimes, when the fields next to the highway are burnt, the smoke can be so thick, you can't even see the front end of your car. Pile-ups occur and people get hurt in needless accidents.

Yet, the government encourages the farmers to burn their fields, year after year. After spending millions of ringgit on agricultural research, can't they figure out a better way to solve this problem rather than to put people through this sickening haze twice a year?

So I find it rather funny that Malaysians should criticise Indonesians for open burning when we are doing exactly the same. Before we rush to put out fires in other people's countries, how about putting out the fires in our own country first?