An Australian tourist who complained about the haze during her visit to Kuala Lumpur ended up reassuring Malaysians who apologised for her experience.
While she was disappointed by the conditions, she said she felt worse for those who had to live with them every day.
Said she had picked a bad time to visit
In a Threads post, the tourist said she had “picked a bad time to visit Kuala Lumpur”, estimating that visibility was only around one to two kilometres at best.
She also shared an image showing an IQAir US Air Quality Index reading of 172, labelled “unhealthy”, for Kuala Lumpur at 2pm on October 21.
In the same post, she blamed Indonesia for the haze.
Malaysians apologised and invited her to return
Her post prompted several Malaysians to apologise for the conditions during her stay.
One commenter encouraged her to visit again when the weather was better.
Rather than directing her frustration at them, the tourist expressed sympathy for residents.
“It’s not your fault,” she replied. “I feel really bad for you all living in this day to day.”
When another commenter apologised, she similarly reassured them that they had nothing to be sorry for.
Surprised to hear it was a recurring problem
One commenter described the haze as an annual occurrence and claimed that conditions had been worse that year.
The tourist responded that she had not realised it was a recurring issue, adding that residents should not have to put up with it.
In another reply, she thanked a Malaysian for their warm welcome but said an apology was unnecessary.
She added that she was upset to hear from commenters that they had experienced worse conditions and faced the problem repeatedly.
“You don’t deserve to have to live this way,” she wrote.
Still enjoying her visit
Despite her frustration with the haze, the tourist made it clear that she was still enjoying her time in Malaysia.
When someone wished her well for the rest of her trip, she replied simply:
“Not your fault and I’m still enjoying it.”
