Wan Junaidi: Haze, La Nina expected from June to October

Malaysia is expected to experience transboundary haze from next month until October following the hot and dry weather in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia said Natural Resource and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said however, the haze might be moderate, as the La Nina phenomenon was expected to occur within the same period and would bring rainfall in some parts of the peninsula.

“Based on a study, conducted by the Singapore-based Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), the hot and dry weather (in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia) can cause peatland fires and the wind will push the smoke towards Malaysia and lead to haze.

“However, rain is expected to occur within the same period and may cause floods in several states especially Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, which will help reduce the impact of the haze," he told a press conference at his office in Putrajaya today.

Wan Junaidi said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Malaysia and Sumatra province to tackle the perennial transboundary haze issues that was signed before would not be implemented, instead the problem would be addressed through government-to-government (G2G) cooperation.

He said the ministry had accepted Indonesia’s explanation to discontinue the MOU because it seemed to be ineffective, as tackling the haze problems not only required cooperation from the local government in Sumatra but also from the Indonesian government.

As such, he said a technical meeting would be held on May 30 in Indonesia to discuss the instruments needed under G2G to tackle the transboundary haze problems.

In the meantime, Wan Junaidi said the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution meeting held today in Singapore had agreed with Malaysia’s proposal to conduct a study to assess the impact of the 2015 haze on the South-East Asian region.

He said the Asean secretariat had been tasked to collect the relevant data from each member country to identify the impact of the haze on the economy, health and social activities.

Wan Junaidi said he had also informed the matter in the cabinet meeting today and all ministries or agencies affected by the haze had been asked to provide the data or information needed for further action.

“We hope that all the data and information can be collected as soon as possible, which will be submitted to the secretariat and presented to Indonesia,” he said.

- Bernama