06/09/2026
๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐พ๐. ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐.
Monday morning as I was driving to work, something felt different.
The air was thick with haze. So thick that I could barely see the tall buildings less than a 500 meter away. And the view that usually gives me my little morning boost - the majestic Mount Kinabalu - was completely swallowed by the haze.
But beyond the view that we have lost, I found myself thinking about the people who cannot simply step indoors and wait for the air to clear.
What about the construction workers, labourers, road workers and other outdoor workers who still have to show up for work, breathe this air, and put food on the table? Some of them could be the fathers or mothers of the children sitting in our clinics. They may be our patients' parents, working outside because they have no choice.
And then my thoughts went to the children with asthma.
What happens to them when the air quality continues to deteriorate? What happens to the child who already struggles to breathe, when the air they are breathing becomes an additional burden on their lungs?
With school reopening soon, I can't help but worry about the parents who may be wondering:
" ๐๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ข๐ง๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ? "
" ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด โ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉโ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐น (๐๐๐)? "
" ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ป๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด? "
" ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด? "
" ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ? "
" ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐บ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ? "
These are not merely numbers on an air-quality monitor.
Behind every API / AQI reading is a child trying to breathe, a parent worrying, and a worker who may have no choice but to continue working outdoors.
As healthcare professionals, perhaps this is the time for us to do more than simply tell families to โavoid the haze.โ
We need to help parents understand how bad is bad, what precautions they can take, how to recognise worsening asthma, when to keep their children indoors, when to seek medical attention, and how to prepare before school reopens.
Because when the air outside becomes unsafe, breathing should never become a privilege.
Our children deserve to breathe clean air. And until the skies clear, we need to make sure that those who are most vulnerable - especially children with asthma - are protected as much as we possibly can.
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Today, I spent the better part of the day going through the latest guidelines and available recommendations, and put together this 9-page information guide for all of you to refer to - not just now, but hopefully whenever you need it in the future.
I know itโs quite a lot to read, but I hope these pages will help parents feel a little more prepared, a little more informed, and perhaps a little less worried when it comes to protecting our children during this haze.
Iโm sharing this in the hope that it will be useful - and if you know a parent of a child with asthma, please feel free to share it with them.
Stay safe, take care of one another, and hopefully clearer skies are ahead.
Cheers, and breathe easy. ๐ค
