KUALA LUMPUR: If you think the haze will end anytime soon, think again.
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry predicts that the smoggy conditions is expected to continue until at least mid-November.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said this was mostly due to the effects of the cyclones caused by the El Nino phenomenon.
“The smog has yet to dissipate due to the effects from El Nino. If the northeast monsoon is on time, a change in wind patterns may bring some relief by mid November," he said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia wants Malaysia to continue deploying its assets to continue fighting the blaze in Sumatra.
Wan Junaidi said requests have been made by Indonesia for the Malaysian team to remain in Sumatra.
"The aircraft, however, had to be flown back to Malaysia (temporarily) for its scheduled maintenance. Malaysia will continue deploying firefighting missions to Indonesia until the fires are put out.
"This is in line with our commitment and Prime Minister's Datuk Seri Najib Razak's promise to find a solution to the haze," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
The minister had earlier told the Dewan Rakyat that the Indonesian government has ratified the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) by depositing the ratification of the document to the Asean Secretary-General on Jan 20.
He said the agreement was reached through the Conference of the Parties to the AATHP and Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution meetings which were held periodically.
"Apart from collaborative efforts with Asean state members, Malaysia is also expected to sign an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), which was postponed for the second time. We are pushing for it as we have yet to get a date from Indonesia.
“It will allow collaborative measures to address the matter including maintenance of peat soil that is prone to fire and monitoring to ensure that land-clearing activities including for agriculture do not involve slash-and-burn methods," he said in response to a question by Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad (BN-Kuala Kangsar) who wanted to know Malaysia's role as the Asean chairman in persuading the Indonesian government to ratify the agreement.
Wan Junaidi said Indonesia had claimed that only three per cent of the fires involving land-clearing was the fault of companies, while the remaining were caused by small holders (individuals).