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Jakarta declines aid offer

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia has turned down Malaysia’s offer to help put out fires in Sumatera and Kalimantan which have been named the main cause of the current cross-border haze.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said his ministry, the Defence Ministry and relevant agencies were prepared to assist Indonesia, but the latter was not receptive to any form of assistance.

“We’re angry and frustrated about this (haze), but there’s nothing much that Malaysia can do as the problem is based (in Indonesia).

“The public must understand that the haze is not caused by us. If it’s an internal issue, we could have detained the offenders and brought them to justice.

“But, we can’t do so with Indonesian companies involved in slash-and-burn and open burning. Even Malaysian-owned companies in Indonesia are subject to their laws,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Wan Junaidi said a number of Malaysian-owned companies had declared that they did not practise slash-and-burn clearing of the jungle, but it was still up to Indonesia to investigate the matter and take action.

“We believe Indonesia is taking action against the people who caused this,” he said.

On Singapore’s move to take legal action against Singapore-owned companies in Indonesia, Wan Junaidi said it was feasible as it was in accordance with its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014.

He said Malaysia, however, did not have an act to sue the parties responsible for burning activities in Indonesia. However, he said, such an act was still in its proposal stage in the ministry.

Wan Junaidi said the ministry had been requesting for a one-day meeting with Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister, Siti Nurbaya Bakar to, resolve the transboundary haze issue, including discussing details of the Transboundary Haze Act similar to Singapore’s.

“I had requested for a one-day meeting, yet there has not been any reply from Indonesia so far. We can only resolve this if both parties sit together.”

Speaking on environmentalists’ calls for Malaysia’s top leaders to push the Indonesian government to take action against those conducting open burning, Wan Junaidi said: “We can’t make assumptions without knowing if they have or haven’t taken action.

“Indonesia has investigated about 200 companies to date. There is also open burning done by the locals. We’ve been informed that they are stepping up enforcement.

“It doesn’t matter whether its Indonesian, Malaysian or Singaporean companies, Indonesia must take a tough stance against anybody who does it.

“They must have a strong political will to enforce the law,” he said.

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