Indonesian politician asks Malaysia & Singapore to help prevent haze

JAKARTA: A lawmaker from Indonesia recently said that Singapore and Malaysia should help prevent the fires causing the haze in parts of his country that now threaten to cross boundaries, with southern and southeastern winds carrying the smoke toward Singapore.

Marwan Dasopang said on Aug 21 that instead of merely complaining about the haze, Indonesia’s neighbours should do something about it by way of fire prevention and management. His argument is that Singaporeans and Malaysians also own and operate oil palm plantations in Indonesia.

He therefore urged regional cooperation, rather than mere criticism.

“Malaysia and Singapore also have plantations in Indonesia. They should not just protest, but also take part in prevention efforts,” said Mr Marwan, who chairs the House of Representatives’ Commission VIII that oversees religious and social affairs.

He also underlined that Indonesia has a large territory, and controlling fires across Kalimantan is a complex and difficult matter.

Singapore and Malaysian plantation interests are in areas affected by the fires, Mr Marwan, who called for individuals and companies from both countries to acknowledge that they also played a role in the matter, added.

He said, “From a state-to-state perspective, we can apologise and ask for help, but in terms of activities on the ground, they also have a role there.”

Although haze is by no means a new problem, Indonesia has seen a resurgence of the issue due to a combination of unusually dry conditions, peat and forest fires.

There have been widespread fires this year, especially in Kalimantan and parts of Sumatra. As of Aug 27, Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry reported 717 high-confidence and 12,696 medium-confidence hotspots. Over 107,000 hectares have already burned in the first half of this year, more than all of 2023. In July alone, more than 94,000 hectares burned.

Singapore’s National Environment Agency said the regional hotspot and haze situation was relatively subdued, but dry conditions are expected to continue, and the risk of transboundary haze remained. /TISG

Read also: NEA: Haze risk in SG could increase in the coming week if dry conditions continue and regional fires persist