WITH the help of long-time friends, Amrul Nizar Anuar was able to raise funds for what may well be the country’s first private cloud-seeding operation, carried out by his air services firm, AFJets, last week.

The idea was sparked when Amrul felt his health was being impacted by the transboundary smoke from forest fires in Indonesia, and was moved by the predicament of millions of Malaysians affected by the air pollution.

And so, the AFJets CEO decided to look for ways to assist his countrymen.

“We always expect the government to help us, but what is our contribution to the country?

“We decided to help, since we have the expertise,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Amrul said he mooted the idea in a chat group comprising friends from secondary school – and unexpectedly received positive responses.

“We set up a fund on Wednesday, and we limited collection to only one day.”

His friends spread the word, and the fund got the required amount before the day’s end. The cloud seeding was conducted on Wednesday over Klang, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.

Amrul declined to reveal how much was raised, saying there have been social media posts on the operation that hit out at the government.

He said AFJets’ private initiative was not aimed at making a negative statement about Putrajaya with regard to the latter’s efforts to combat the smoke issue.

“We just had a desire to help.”

AFJets is no novice at cloud seeding. “Weather modification”, to cause rain, is one of the services it provides, in addition to private aircraft charters, aviation consultations, aerial surveys and tours, and plane maintenance.

“We have the methods and the technology… similar to the Meteorological Department’s,” said Amrul.

A Cessna, which is a light aircraft, was used in last week’s cloud seeding, he said, adding that the operation was completed in an hour and 15 minutes.

AFJets deputy CEO Faidzal Ghazali said cloud-seeding operations do not require large aircraft.

“There’s no point having big planes but no intention of helping others. A small aircraft can be used for good if we have the desire to help.”

The company’s cloud seeding took place about a week after the country’s smoke woes worsened, resulting in air pollution index readings in many areas breaching the “very unhealthy” category. The worst hit was Sarawak’s Sri Aman, which recorded “hazardous” air quality.

The Health Ministry has reported a spike in the number of patients seeking treatment for asthma and conjunctivitis, while more than a million children were affected by school closures in several states.

Faidzal said AFJets’ cloud seeding last week was a voluntary operation and part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.

“We just want to complement the efforts undertaken by government agencies.”

Amrul said the firm is mulling conducting another such operation, this time in Malacca, in the coming days to ease the state’s water shortage problem.

It is not the first time that AFJets, which has 13 years’ experience conducting cloud seeding, has offered to carry out such operations for free, he said.

“We volunteered to do cloud seeding in Kelantan during the 2016 dry season.

“We have worked with the government for some time on this matter. The government previously engaged our cloud-seeding services during dry seasons.”

He said operations are usually conducted in the morning due to high humidity.

Cloud seeding is one of the areas that the company plans to further develop, to support water technology and food production.

Amrul said this comes with a greater awareness of climate change, which must be addressed to mitigate its effects on people worldwide.

“I believe that by exploring these areas, we can help people cope with the effects of climate change.” – September 23, 2019.