Malaysia should convene an emergency meeting of the Environment Ministers of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia for urgent common ASEAN action to deal with the haze emergency choking the three nations.
The haze condition in Johore state in general and in Johor Baru in particular continues to be in hazardous condition with the air pollutant index (API) readings in Kota Tinggi and Pasir Gudang reaching 314 and 323 at 11 am respectively.
Malaysians can still remember they were told that the government would declare a state of emergency once the API reached 301, but there seems to be a singular lack of seriousness whether by the National Disaster Relief Management Committee or the Ministry of Environment with the current haze emergency although hundreds of schools in Johore have been closed in the past few days because of the haze emergency.
Who should be the Malaysian “czar” in the war against haze in the current environmental disaster – the new Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the National Disaster Relief Management Committee or the Environment Minister? Is it Datuk Shahidan Kassim or Datuk Seri G. Palanivel?
Nobody knows, as there has been deafening silence from both the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the National Disaster Relief Management Committee and the Environment Minister, as if the haze emergency currently choking the people of Johore is the least of their problems!
The time has come for both these Ministers to break their silence, not only to inform Malaysians what contingency plans they have to deal with the deteriorating air quality particularly in Johore, but what common action they propose to take with the Indonesian and Singapore governments to control and end the peat and forest fires in the Riau district of central Sumatra, including exposing the identity of errant companies which originate from Malaysia responsible for the slash-and-burn fires for the sake of quick profits at the expense of the health and environment of citizens in three countries.
#1 by Winston on Friday, 21 June 2013 - 4:38 pm
On the one hand, the Indonesian government takes a lackadaisical attitude towards the yearly open and brazen burning of cleared trees.
On the other, it is fighting the fires!!
Isn’t that very clownish?
And Malaysia, on its part just take the usual course of action.
No action all talk!
And that has been going on for more than a decade!!
This is also one of the reasons why Malaysians are so eager to get rid of the ineffectual federal government.
And the sooner, the better!!!!
#2 by buylower2003 on Friday, 21 June 2013 - 5:22 pm
How about we burn the whole stinking lot of them bumnos? I’m sure we won’t mind the slightly higher temporary haze… after that we can put in EFFECTIVE government to put a stop to important problems.
#3 by omeqiu on Friday, 21 June 2013 - 9:27 pm
It is the ASEAN spirit that all should suffer the haze because of political dominance!
#4 by tuahpekkong on Friday, 21 June 2013 - 11:25 pm
The API readings near the hot spots over in Indonesia must be very much higher than the readings recorded here. Life seems to be going on as usual there. Either they are ignorant or they just don’t value their lives. Perhaps life is too tough. Some Indonesian officials initially suggested that Malaysian and Singaporean plantation companies involved in the Indonesian plantation industry might be responsible for causing some of the fires. For God sake, these firms are under Indonesia’s jurisdiction and Indonesia has the responsibility to track the firms down and charge them in court. Cutting down trees for planting/replanting and burning the trees is the easiest and cheapest way to clear the land. It is unlikely to stop any time soon.
#5 by yhsiew on Saturday, 22 June 2013 - 8:45 am
GE13 was already over mah. Why should ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department bother to take action?
#6 by yhsiew on Saturday, 22 June 2013 - 9:45 am
Do you think people really care? Even Singapore which criticized plantation companies for putting profits before human health allows its construction workers to toil in thick smog!