Then, it was that conceited idiot Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who seems to think he's been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. He can't even keep his stupid countrymen from starting illegal forest fires and polluting the air over half of Asia and he thinks he's in the running for a Nobel? Pordah!
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono:
conceited idiot deserves a tight slap; maybe even a kick up the backside
Malaysians have had enough of haze woes
PETALING JAYA: We've had enough! That just about sums up the feelings of Malaysians when once again they have to bear with the blanket of haze that has left those suffering from respiratory problems gasping for breath.
Non-governmental organisations, greenies and government officials have slammed the Indonesian authorities for the haze that is originating from forest fires in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Riau province and other parts of Indonesia.
Readers have sent e-mails and SMSes expressing their anger and frustration.
Even Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid is hot under the collar. "Frustration is an understatement," he said as he showed reporters the "view" from his 13th floor Putrajaya office on Thursday.
How many more years will it take for the Indonesians to solve the problem of forest fires and open burning? How much longer do we have to suffer? These are the most commonly asked questions.
Sarawak, one of the worst hit states, is already preparing for the worst and has activated operations rooms in all the Resident?s Offices.
Schools in Sarawak will close when the air pollutant index (API) reaches the hazardous level of 300 and above.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said this was decided by the state Cabinet during its weekly meeting on Wednesday. A state of emergency will be declared when the API hits 500.
According to him, schools would usually only be closed when the API level was at 400.
"However, for the sake of the children's health, the Cabinet has agreed that all schools be closed when the API breaches the 300 mark," he said.
Cloud-seeding has been carried out in the state since Wednesday, but there has been no rain. In the past week, the API in most parts of Sarawak registered an unhealthy level of 101 to 200, and Petra Jaya recorded a very unhealthy reading of 213 on Wednesday evening.
A state disaster relief committee meeting, to be chaired by Dr Chan, will be held next week to discuss the next step of action.
He added that the number of respiratory cases was increasing due to the haze.
"In some areas, it has doubled or tripled, and we advise people with respiratory problems not to go outside," he said.
On giving assistance to Indonesia to put out the fires, he said that was a matter to be decided at Federal level.
The Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board has already distributed more than 200,000 masks to the public.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia field officer for Sarawak Jok Jau Evong said: "The Malaysian Government must apply constant pressure on Indonesia to take action. We should not make noise only when the haze gets bad.
"Malaysian authorities must also ensure that Malaysian-owned oil palm plantations in Indonesia are not involved in open burning."
He added that Indonesian NGOs have also told him to get the Malaysian Government to pressurise the Indonesian authorities into taking action.
Malaysian Nature Society executive director Dr Loh Chi Leong said the society was very concerned that the problem had dragged on for so long.
"Asean has a working group for the haze, but exactly what has been planned has not been revealed," he said.
Dr Loh said the group had to present to the region what steps needed to be taken, and a timetable to execute the steps.
"A number of issues must be addressed, including the poverty in Kalimantan and Sumatra, and also the enforcement of rules and regulations," Dr Loh said.
"Plantation companies must also cooperate in these initiatives."
Global Environment Centre (GEC) technical officer David Lee said the action taken should not only be at the policy level.
"Everyone gets worked up when the haze comes every year and a lot of talk takes place. But once it's over, everyone forgets about it," he lamented.
Lee said the economic loss from the haze was huge, with its capability of grounding airplanes, affecting tourism and also reducing the intensity of sunlight, which would affect crops.
"The problem needs strong political will to solve and it is unfortunate that Indonesia is not able to commit by ratifying the Asean transboundary haze agreement," he added.
Lee said GEC would work with Indonesian locals and educate them on other methods of clearing land other than the current slash and burn practice.
"However, if nothing is done, especially in terms of enforcement, the haze will be back again," Lee said.
Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee said there was a great need for Malaysia and Indonesia to take effective and long-lasting steps to eradicate trans-boundary haze.
"International law recognises a sovereign state's right to protect its biosphere and it is its duty not to injure another's," chairman Lim Chee Wee said in a statement.
"In order to ensure greater ecological security, both countries must take their respective obligations under international environmental law seriously.
"Negotiations should address fire and haze prevention measures and attention ought to be shifted away from the mere incidental issue of financial reparations," he said.
Datuk Ch'ng Toh Eng, Selangor environment committee chairman, said: "It is unfortunate that we cannot choose our neighbours, so we need to tolerate it. Let the Ministry of Environment or Wisma Putra relate our deep frustration to their counterparts.
"On our part, we have to ensure that there is no open burning in Selangor. We will do our part, and we want others to do theirs," he said.
Transparency International Malaysia president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said the Government should convene an urgent regional conference to discuss the haze in the region and come up with concrete and long-term solutions.
He also questioned the effectiveness of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution signed in 2002 in tackling the issue.
"The agreement is not producing results. Year in, year out, we see the haze continuing to occur due to illegal logging or open burning in Indonesia. What is ASEAN doing about this?" Navaratnam asked.
Indonesia smoke blankets region
The haze has raised pollution in Singapore to near-record levels
Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have been hit by smog from illegal bush fires burning on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Visibility in parts of Borneo was reduced to 50 m while Singapore recorded its worst pollution levels since 1997.
Flights were cancelled, cars put their headlights on in the middle of the day, and Singapore warned citizens against taking exercise outdoors.
Indonesians use the fires for land clearance despite a government ban.
Hundreds of fires
Visibility was down to 50 m in Central Kalimantan, on Indonesia's part of Borneo island.
Environmental agencies reported from 500 to 2,000 fires burning in the flammable peat soils of the region.
"The worst situation is in Central Kalimantan now. Most areas in the province contain peat," Malaysian forest fire chief Purwasto told Reuters news agency.
"We cannot estimate the extent of the fires now."
Singapore's environment agency recorded a pollution index level of 128 early on Saturday and said satellite data showed 506 fires burning on Sumatra island.
The pollution index is the highest level seen in Singapore since smog covered the region in 1997, causing billions of dollars in damage and lost tourist revenue.
The index had been at 80 on Friday. Any level above 100 is considered harmful.
Plantations blamed
Indonesia has outlawed using fire for land clearance but the laws are widely flouted in remote areas of the country, and the government seems helpless to control the situation, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Jakarta.
Pungent smoke from the fires is an annual problem across south-east Asia during the dry season.
Farmers have traditionally used brush fires in agriculture, but environmentalists claim the problem has become more serious in recent years due to timber and oil palm companies clearing land for plantations.
"The fires are seasonal and very predictable, but the government never implements effective measures to prevent and manage them," Nordin, a spokesman for Indonesian environmental group Save Our Borneo, told AFP news agency.
Indonesia urged to aid smog fight
Malaysia says Indonesia is "dragging its feet" on pollution
Malaysia has urged its neighbour Indonesia to sign up to regional plans for fighting pollution from forest-clearance fires.
A thick haze has been spreading across several countries, with visibility in some places down to 200 metres.
Indonesia is the only country in the 10-member Asian regional grouping not to formally approve plans to co-ordinate a response to open burning.
The situation has forced Singapore to issue a health warning.
Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have been hit by smog from illegal bush fires burning on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
'Costing billions'
Pungent smoke from the fires is an annual problem across South-east Asia during the dry season.
Flights have been cancelled, cars have put their headlights on in the middle of the day and Singapore has warned citizens against taking exercise outdoors.
The worst case of smog ever recorded was in 1997, when a choking cloud engulfed large areas of South-east Asia, costing local economies billions of dollars.
Our correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, Jonathan Kent, says the the smoke form this year's fires is less severe than last year but the fact that the annual smog has reappeared at all has caused annoyance.
Waiting for Indonesia
Saying Indonesia was "dragging its feet", Malaysia also asked for offending firms to be prosecuted.
Malaysian Environment Minister Azmi Khalid said he did not know why Indonesia was "dragging its feet" over the agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (THP) approved in 2002 by the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean).
The THP agreement envisages the creation of a regional co-ordinating centre for reacting rapidly to the haze, which is mostly attributed to slash-and-burn farming methods.
Mr Amzi told the BBC that his counterparts in Indonesia assured him in June that they had plans in place to prevent a repeat of the haze. However, he says these do not seem to be working.
Indonesia has outlawed using fire for land clearance but the laws are widely flouted in remote areas of the country and the government seems helpless to control the situation, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Jakarta.
Environmentalists say the problem has become more serious in recent years due to timber and oil palm companies clearing land for plantations.
"The fires are seasonal and very predictable, but the government never implements effective measures to prevent and manage them," a spokesman for Indonesian environmental group Save Our Borneo, told AFP news agency.
Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
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