Malaysia mosques pray for rain

The Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic Affairs, Jamil Khir Baharom, called on all mosques on Tuesday to perform "Istisqa" (prayer of rain) in order to reduce the smog resulting from the illegal deforestation and incineration of forestland in Indonesia. Baharom said in a statement on Tuesday that he hopes all governmental and non-governmental religious institutions in the country cooperate by performing the rain prayer, noting that the prayer would be performed at the National Mosque today following the afternoon prayers. The Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Najib Abdulrazzaq has declared earlier a state of emergency in a number of Malaysian states, including Kuala Lumpur, due to the rise of air pollution indicators to dangerous levels, exceeding 500 points, as a result of the trans-boundary smog.