Indonesia “problematic” in dealing with haze, says Palanivel

Datuk Seri G. Palanivel today described Indonesia as “problematic” when it came to the haze issue.

The Natural Resources and Environment Minister said Indonesia wants to keep the discussion by both countries strictly on a government-to-government footing and did not want to disclose details to agencies involved in dealing with the haze problem.

"They (Indonesia) are willing to provide photographs of the hotspot areas to us but not to the Asean secretariat overseeing the issue,” he said at a press conference today.

Palanivel said he has been receiving reports from Indonesia, but frowns on their arrangements regarding ways to prevent the haze from recurring.

"We have some problem still with this 'closed door affair' rule. I am worried as I do not want our schools here to be closed down again," he said.

Palanivel was told by his Indonesian counterpart Dr Balthasar Kambuaya said they will only ratify the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution after the republic’s parliament endorses it in December.

The agreement was brokered in 2002 and is aimed at stopping the haze caused by forest fires. It also requires parties to prevent burning, monitor prevention efforts, exchange information on the problem and provide mutual help.

Since Wednesday, the northern region of Malaysia has been hit by haze but rainfall early today helped clear the haze in Penang, Kedah and Perak as the air pollutant index (API) readings improved.

The number of hotspots in Sumatera, Indonesia also went down to 99 yesterday evening.

As at 7am today, the highest API readings in the nation were 92 in Bukit Rambai, Malacca followed by 79 in Seberang Jaya, Penang.

Yesterday afternoon, Seberang Jaya and Sungai Petani, Kedah recorded unhealthy APIs of 103 and 104 respectively for several hours before the rain at night.

At dawn today, Sungai Petani's API was 71 while the APIs in Penang island and Port Klang were 78 and 72, respectively.

API levels between 0 to 50 are rated as good, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous.

Malaysia experienced its worst haze in June when the API in Muar passed the 700 mark.

Schools in Johor, Malacca, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur were also shut down when the API level hit the 300 mark.

However, two weeks ago, the education ministry revised its directive on the shutting down of schools due to haze, lowering the API level to trigger the closure to 200.

The haze from Indonesia affects countries in the region during the dry season between May and September.

Indonesian farmers clearing the land for the planting season compound the problem.

Yesterday, Indonesia's Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan announced that haze-related cases have been handed over to the police.

“The police have arrested dozens of people. Let’s just wait until the investigation is completed. Those, either local business people or foreigners, found guilty should be punished.