Pull up Indonesia at Asean summit for 'haze crime'

 

When Malaysia offered to help Indonesia battle the raging forest fires and end the haze misery, the offer was not taken up immediately.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who made the offer when he met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Sept 18, was probably expecting a positive response from the Indonesian leader.

Instead, the only answer was that Indonesia welcomed the kind gesture and Malaysia had to wait in suspense whether Indonesia would accept the offer.

After a long delay, the answer came at last on Oct 11 and it was disappointing.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir spoke for Jakarta when he merely briefed Malaysia about the steps taken by the giant neighbour to combat the widespread forest and land fires.

He told Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan that Indonesia had deployed more than 60,000 personnel and 48 helicopters and aircraft to tame the flames.

Perhaps Prabowo (above) had delegated Arrmanatha to give the long-awaited response following a call earlier in the week from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to the president to express concerns over the worsening haze.

The pertinent point is not that Jakarta is doing all it can to put out the fires. The overriding issue is whether "Big Brother" is willing to accept aid from Kuala Lumpur.

‘No, thank you!’

On offer are firefighting aircraft, three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel - all primed to cross the border to attack the "common enemy".

But no thank you. When Prabowo himself thinks the whole matter has been blown out of proportion, he gives the impression that the haze is not his number one priority.

With a population of more than 280 million people, Indonesia can very well do the job on its own. Sure, Indonesia can, but that's beside the point.

The haze is a transboundary issue. It has invaded other countries and affected people’s health badly. The wildfires started sometime in August, and Jakarta was unable to control them.

Is it national pride that is preventing Indonesia from admitting it has lost control of the situation and needs urgent international aid?

Big "abang" (brother) could have easily reached out to the band of Asean brothers for assistance, and the ecological terrorists would have been soundly defeated at an early stage.

It need not necessarily be an Asean operation only. Prabowo could have also sought assistance from countries like the US, which have the expertise and the equipment to deal with large-scale fires.

It's like fighting in a war: sometimes, you need a coalition of international forces to confront the "enemy" on all fronts.

If Indonesia is still powerless to overwhelm this yearly adversary, what action can Malaysia further take?

It is unlikely that Anwar would dial Prabowo again because diplomatic nicety must be maintained. Moreover, you might offend him if you keep pushing him for solutions.

Next Asean meeting

However, the skies might be clearing up soon when Asean leaders gather for their annual ritual summit next month in the Philippines.

According to Mohamad, haze will be on the agenda and all eyes will be on Prabowo when he delivers his "report card" on how his country is tackling this number one foe.

But before Prabowo heads to the Philippines, which will be hosting the meeting as Asean current chair, the haze will probably worsen further.

So, will he announce soon that Indonesia will accept the offer of aid from Malaysia as well as from Singapore?

If he still keeps mum, then Malaysia must vent out all its pent-up frustration and anger at the summit in a language hot enough for Indonesia to feel the heat and snap into prompt action.

Soft diplomacy and friendly persuasion are ineffective tools to deal with issues like haze that cut across borders and cause serious harm to the health of the country.

You can put environmental pollution on the same page as economic sabotage.

What Malaysia wants to hear at the summit is how Asean can draw up a concrete, long-term plan to ensure haze will never return to haunt us ever again.

Indonesia must take the lead and must crack down hard on all those - farmers and plantation companies - responsible for this environmental crime.

Take culprits to court

If Malaysian companies are also the culprits, impose the severest punishment possible not only in Indonesian but also in Malaysian courts.

The culprits must be the same people who, year in and year out, are getting away scot-free or just a mere slap on the wrist for harvesting the ill-gotten fruits of their labour.

Indonesia can surely identify them and publish their names to shame them for their despicable act.

Next month, the ball will be in the Asean summit court. It is up to the member states to resolve a stubborn issue once and for all, even if they must be harsh on this largest country in Southeast Asia.

At the end of the high-powered meeting, the communiqué must be short on glowing boasts about strengthening Asean solidarity but long on fighting the enemy on your doorsteps. - Mkini

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PHLIP RODRIGUES is a retired journalist.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT