SINGAPORE: In a social media post on Thursday (Sep 24), Pritam Singh said he was thankful for the clear weather the night before, as the lack of haze made house visits to Damai easier.
Haze conditions hit him differently this year, added the longtime Aljunied Member of Parliament and secretary-general of the Workers’ Party (WP).
“For some reason, this year’s haze has managed to get to me more than previous episodes from years past – raspy throat, dull headache at times, and irritated eyes. All said, like many Singaporeans, I was thankful for the heavy rains and change in wind direction over the last few days which has helped keep the haze at bay,” he wrote.
Indeed, haze had worsened earlier this month, with four of Singapore’s five regions recording unhealthy air quality on Sep 14. The central region reached a Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) of 136.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA) at the time, smoke from fires in Kalimantan and southern Sumatra was drifting towards Singapore due to winds shifting east-southeast.
Conditions were better this week, with the rains helping out, as Mr Singh pointed out. On Thursday, the NEA said the PSI forecast was expected to be in the moderate to low-unhealthy range. At 6:00 pm, the 24-hour PSI was moderate, ranging between 62 and 76.
Thus, the WP chief called his haze-free house visits at Damai “enjoyable, with great conversations all around.”
He wrote that some residents had asked about the timeline for the HDB Home Improvement Programme (HIP) that had been announced for Jalan Damai. While the actual dates for the programme have yet to be announced, Mr Singh wrote that based on the timelines for the Jalan Tenaga HIP announced in 2025, he believes that voting is likely to take place next year, followed by actual works the year after.
