WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Experts told CNA that ASEAN member states must revisit their cooperation under the existing transboundary haze agreement to ensure forest fires and regional smoke pollution are minimised or prevented.
Fredolin Tangang of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) told CNA that the relevant authorities involved in the respective countries seemed to be largely reactive rather than proactive.
“Every El Nino season can be forecasted at least six months in advance. We have a good understanding of how El Nino evolves and how it exerts its impacts in the region,” he said.
“Six months is long enough for the authorities to plan and strengthen cooperation in preventing forest fires and haze,” he added.
From an ASEAN perspective, Varkkey noted that while the bloc has regional assistance mechanisms in place to facilitate firefighting and other emergency support from neighboring countries, their deployment depends on the affected country’s request or consent. This requirement is explicitly written into ASEAN’s haze treaty signed in 2002.
“When there is haze, assistance from neighbouring countries should be able to immediately come in based on prior agreed guidelines, without waiting for diplomatic approval,” she said.
Specifically for Malaysia, environmental group Greenpeace urged Putrajaya to enact a comprehensive Clean Air Act that addressed transboundary air pollution.
It said that such legislation could hold Malaysian citizens and businesses accountable when their overseas operations contribute to haze pollution.
Singapore enacted the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in 2014, making it an offence to cause or contribute to any haze pollution in Singapore.
The law empowers individuals and organisations in Singapore to sue those who are responsible for the pollution and who cause them to suffer economic loss.
“Malaysia has previously acknowledged that cross-border environmental legislation is possible. The opportunity now is to build on this recognition and take the necessary steps to turn it into reality,” Greenpeace country representative Heng Kiah Chun had said in a recent open letter to Arthur Joseph Kurup who is the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability.
The Malaysian Cabinet agreed in principle in February 2020 to introduce a Transboundary Haze Act, although the proposal was subsequently shelved after the change of government.
Individually, people should mitigate the impact of the haze on themselves by taking precautions, said Devi, the Johor Bahru-based doctor.
She said that households should consider using an air purifier as the haze causes the air to be dry, and to mask up when outdoors when the API is at high levels.
“Try to breathe in clean air indoors and (take precautions) when going outdoors – that would be my best advice,” said Devi.
