More than 24 years of smog… what now?

It is time the people of Asean make their governments accountable for their environment and human rights instead of waiting for disasters to strike time and again.

COMMENT

By Kua Kia Soong

Do Malaysians know how long we have been suffering from this never-ending smog pestilence that we are subjected to every year and the abject failure of the government to solve this problem? For your information, I wrote this article ‘Lessons from the smog’ on 1 October 1997 (Kua Kia Soong, ‘Malaysian Critical Issues’, SIRD 2002):

“If the ecological disasters of recent years have failed to shake Malaysians out of their complacency, the recent smog crisis will have succeeded in forcing them to take environmental protection seriously. While the authorities may try to put the blame totally on the Indonesian forest fires, we should be more concerned about the invisible gases created by industrial and vehicular pollution that are trapped in the smog.

Negligence through vested interests

Negligence on the part of the authorities is beyond question when the problem of air pollution in Malaysian cities has already existed since the Sixties. During the early Eighties, especially between 1982 and 1983, the problem worsened and an ‘Action Plan’ was mooted in 1984. (Note the date!) But as soon as the smog cleared, the Government reverted to “business as usual.”

At the time, the Environment Ministry admitted that local industrial pollution, vehicular emissions and open burning were contributing to the problem. In the early Nineties, Kuala Lumpur already stood at 14th among the most polluted cities in the world. Our reputation further deteriorated when Emperor Hirohito could not fly to Ipoh during his scheduled visit to the country in 1991 because of the smog.

“The worst haze problem in Malaysian history”, 1991

It was in 1991, described as “the worst haze problem in Malaysian history”, that a National Committee on Haze was set up. (Note the date!) The Environment Ministry announced “short and long-term awareness programmes” to prevent a recurrence of the problem. However, few if any measures were adopted as the Mahathir Government pursued its “economic miracle” of untrammelled growth.

Then in 1993, a Clean Air Action Plan was submitted to the Cabinet. Its recommendations were based on a commissioned study by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) which cost RM10 million. The details of this plan were not made public but it was known that, among other recommendations, it called for:

– Industries to switch to using natural gas;

– Siting new factories in non-residential areas;

– Vehicle manufacturers to meet emission standards by mandatory installation of catalytic converters.

The JICA study warned that air pollution in the Klang Valley would reach a critical level by 2005 if serious steps were not taken. Unfortunately for Malaysians, the Cabinet decided to shelve this Clean Air Action Plan. Going by local newspaper reports, it was clear that the Mahathir Cabinet had given in to those with powerful vested interests in the motor industry and trade associations who were against these measures since this would have increased their operating costs.

It was totally hypocritical that the same people who could accept a better quality car fitted with catalytic converters for foreign markets were prepared to settle for internationally sub-standard and polluting cars in the local market.

Even worse haze problem in 1994

The smog pestilence in 1994 was even worse than that of 1991 when the air pollutants reached the ‘unhealthy’ level of 185 micrograms per cubic meter. (Note the date!) There were more reports by the Department of Environment (DOE) in 1995 and 1996 on the crisis and the need for “immediate action.”

Besides the RM10 million study by JICA, other expensive studies were carried out, one by the University of Malaya, another by Australian consultants and yet another by the Danes. On July 28, 1997, the DOE was reported to have said that “a proposed two-year study by the DOE to tackle the haze by pinpointing its specific causes has yet to begin despite being mooted almost a year ago.”

Lack of law enforcement

Government inaction against industrial polluters has been evident in the lack of enforcement of environmental protection laws even during the thick of the 1997 smog crisis when I wrote this article. And when the air pollutant index (API) had breached the ‘hazardous’ 300 level, the authorities decided to change the ‘emergency’ level to 500. One can only assume that this was to protect the vested interests of those in industry that would have had to cease all air polluting operations if an emergency had been declared.

What about health & safety of workers?

On this point, do we hear about protection of the health and safety of workers when the ‘unhealthy’ API level has been breached? Rightly, the schools have been closed in such exigencies but what about the workers? Has the government, the employers or the Occupational Safety & Health people said anything about ‘Stop Work’ for all workers working outdoors? Do those with vested interests in construction and other industries come before the health and safety of workers?

Industrial and plantation interests are the culprits

Through the years since the smog crisis started in 1991, no coordinated action had been taken because powerful Asean industrial and plantation interests were involved in the forest clearing. That is why the pious indignation expressed by Asean governments today after the problem has got out of hand continues to ring hollow.

At first, the official media had tried unsuccessfully to put the blame on small farmers and “shifting cultivators”. At the time, the “43 Malaysian plantation companies” involved in the forest clearing in Indonesia were only exposed when the crisis had become too hot for the government to handle and they had to divert the people’s wrath away from itself.

It is time the people of Asean start making their governments accountable for their environment and human rights and not wait for disasters to strike time and time again.

Dr Kua Kia Soong is adviser to human rights group, Suaram.