Malaysia shuts 400 schools as thousands of children fell ill

Students across the country complained of breathing difficulty and vomiting as a result of chemical pollution.

Pasir Gudang: Thousands of children fell ill as a result of chemical pollution in southern Malaysia for the second time in three months. After reviewing the situation the government has shut more than 400 schools in the state.

Authorities were unable to discover the cause of the pollution.

However, the education ministry ordered 111 government schools and several hundred private educational institutions in Pasir Gudang district in Johor state to close for three days starting Tuesday after many students complained of breathing difficulty and vomiting.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday that authorities are still trying to identify the companies behind the pollution and warned stern action will be taken.

In March, more than 5,000 people fell ill due to the chemical pollution caused by illegal dumping of toxic waste into the river.

Authorities said that the waste from that event was cleaned up and the two incidents are unrelated.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad said that the recurring pollution was 'unfortunate'.

Four people, including two Singaporeans, from a tyre processing factory in Johor, have been charged in court over the earlier pollution incident.