Malaysia can get Indonesia’s cooperation for proposed haze law, says academic

 

Peatland forest fires have been causing transboundary haze pollution in Southeast Asia on an almost yearly basis. (Twitter pic)

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia can ensure that a proposed law aimed at cutting down transboundary haze meets its goals by taking into account Indonesian sensitivities in the matter, an academic said.

Universiti Malaya associate professor of environmental politics and governance Helena Varkkey said getting Indonesia’s cooperation was not impossible.

She said Malaysia has always taken a more diplomatic approach to addressing the haze issue with Indonesia.

“To change the approach to something a little more legal-based and black-and-white would of course be risky or a bit out of the ordinary. Of course, there would be some hesitation or reluctance there,” said Varkkey.

She said Malaysia must learn from the difficulties encountered by neighbours Singapore after it introduced its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in 2014.

“Technically, it (the Singapore law) was quite sound, but in practicality, there were some limitations, especially since they were having difficulty getting Indonesia’s cooperation with their investigations, such as evidence-sharing,” Varkkey told FMT.

She said Singapore encountered resistance to the enforcement of its law as Indonesia was uncomfortable with the fact that the legislation was drafted to hold even non-Singaporean persons and entities liable.

“So, now that we know how Indonesia looks at it, we can work around it.

“I think we should take it as a learning opportunity to create a better and more effective Act, rather than steering away completely from it,” said Varkkey.

She suggested that Malaysia limit the enforceability of the proposed legislation to its own citizens and entities operating overseas.

That would mean only holding Malaysian companies and citizens responsible for haze experienced in the country due to open burning activities carried out overseas.

Former energy, technology, science, climate change and environment minister Yeo Bee Yin is also among those who have been pushing for the legislation.

Her proposal involves requiring Malaysian citizens and companies to report all purchases of land intended for plantation in “high risk countries” and furnish details of how land clearing will be carried out.

“Most of the big companies don’t slash and burn (the forests) themselves, but we do not know whether or not they buy land that is cleared by slash and burn,” said Yeo, who also wants Indonesia to commit to sharing satellite data on hotspots.

Varkkey, however, believes that such demands may not go down well with the Indonesians, saying it may run counter to the Asean spirit of good neighbourliness and non-interference.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace regional campaign strategist Heng Kiah Chun said holding Malaysians accountable for haze pollution would see its citizens and entities showing greater consciousness for the environment.

“They want to be sustainable, so they have to make a stand and not be involved in forest destruction,” he said, adding that Malaysia could also learn from shortcomings in the Singapore law.

Peatland forest fires have been causing almost annual transboundary haze pollution in Southeast Asia, with smoke blanketing parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand in recent years.

According to The Star, Cheras was the top among eight locations in Peninsular Malaysia that recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings yesterday morning, with a reading of 157.

Selangor saw unhealthy API measurements of above 100 recorded in the most number of locations – Banting (registered a reading of 156), Klang (155), Shah Alam (153), Johan Setia (153), and Petaling Jaya (143), according to data from the environment department’s API Management System website. - FMT