Signing of haze agreement delayed again, says Wan Junaidi

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has announced that a new memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia to tackle the trans-boundary haze problem has been postponed. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, September 20, 2015. 

The signing of a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia to tackle the trans-boundary haze problem has been postponed again, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said today.

Wan Junaidi said the deal, postponed for the second time, was because his Indonesian counterpart was engaged with the handling of operations to put out fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

“The new date has yet to be fixed as the minister might be very busy with the fires."

Wan Junaidi however said he remains confident that the MoU, meant to tackle the perennial haze problem could be signed within this year.

The initial date of MoU signing was supposed to be on September 18 and was then pushed to September 25.

"I’m confident that we will sign it this year,” he told reporters at a Press conference after officiated the Giant Panda Conservation Centre at the National Zoo in Hulu Kelang today.

Among the main points in the MoU included the enforcement of laws, zero burning practice for parties in Indonesia, peat soil management and collaboration between countries when fires broke out, he said.

The Malaysia-Indonesia MoU was agreed during the 17th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

"We will still discuss even though the haze season will end due to the monsoon change in the last week of September.”

He also urged Malaysian not to conduct open burning activities following detection of four hotspots in the country; two in Kelantan, one in Pahang and Johor respectively.

"So far, only Seri Manjung in Perak has a high API reading of 95,” he said.

Bernama today reported most areas had recorded moderate reading on the Air Pollutant Index (API) and there were no more areas with unhealthy API.

Until 8pm yesterday, only Balok Baru in Kuantan, Pahang, recorded unhealthy air with API reading of 101, while in other areas, the air quality was either moderate or healthy.

Seven areas in Sabah and Sarawak recorded healthy and they are at Miri Industrial Training Institute (28), Limbang (32), Sandakan and Kapit (36), Kota Kinabalu (39), Keningau (43) and Miri (44).

An API reading of 0 to 50 indicates good air quality; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy and 300 and above, hazardous.

- TMI