JAKARTA: The government is under pressure to tighten its crackdown on polluters and accept more international assistance in putting out forest and peatland fires, as transboundary haze continues to choke the region.
The raging fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra hit a critical phase this year, resulting in toxic smog that blankets neighbouring countries including Malaysia and Singapore.
On Sunday (Oct 11), the Malaysian environment department reported unhealthy air pollution index (API) readings in Kuala Lumpur, Johor and 12 other locations, or about one-fifth of all monitored regions across the country. Johor, Malaysia’s second most populous state, announced a week-long closure of all schools and educational institutions starting on Monday, citing rising public health risks.
In neighbouring Singapore, air quality readings were also recorded at unhealthy levels on Sunday, with the city-state mulling suspending classes and national examinations if pollution reaches the “hazardous” level.
Around 60,000 joint personnel have been deployed to battle wildfires across six provinces prioritised for aerial firefighting and weather modification operations in Indonesia: South Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
The Foreign Ministry in Jakarta has also reasserted its compliance to the regional framework on cross-border haze known as the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which requires regular reporting on fire activity data and firefighting responses.
The statement came as regional haze worsened over the past few weeks, prompting Singapore and Malaysia to offer firefighting assistance.
Assistance offers
On Saturday, Singapore Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu, who has been in touch with her Indonesian counterpart Jumhur Hidayat, said she was aware of ongoing efforts in Indonesia and that Singapore “stands ready with assistance to combat the fires, as we have done in previous years”.
Malaysia, meanwhile, first offered in September three helicopters, an aircraft and 52 personnel to help extinguish fires, a gesture President Prabowo Subianto welcomed.
But Malaysian spokesman Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said on Saturday that Kuala Lumpur had yet to receive an official response from Jakarta to its offer to help contain forest fires in Kalimantan.
Fahd Pahdepie, an official at the Government Communications Agency (Bakom), said on Sunday that Jakarta was still coordinating with its counterparts in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to ensure smooth and clear firefighting assistance.
“Indonesia remains open to international cooperation in managing forest and land fires,” Fahd said, denying any suggestion that Indonesia is reluctant to receive international assistance.
Accountability pledge
Pressure has also been mounting for Jakarta to tighten its law enforcement following reports of unchecked slash-and-burn agricultural practices allegedly perpetrated by individuals and companies.
Environmental watchdogs Greenpeace South-East Asia and Pantau Gambut recently named a Malaysian palm oil company and four Singaporean agriculture holdings operating in Indonesia as among the twenty largest sources of the regional haze, fueling calls for Jakarta to disclose the identities of polluting companies.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last month that Kuala Lumpur would not shield any Malaysian companies if they were found to be behind the fires.
At home, Prabowo and dozens of local and central administrations are facing an ongoing lawsuit filed by indigenous and civil society groups in West Kalimantan, which accuse them of negligence for failing to prevent and properly handle wildfires that have paralysed parts of the province.
But the court in the provincial capital of Pontianak had to postpone the first hearing that was scheduled on Thursday last week to Oct. 21, as almost all of the defendants did not come to the hearing.
“We deeply regret that the central government failed to attend the hearing, as that also delayed the handling of the worsening wildfires,” Glorio Sanen, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said on Sunday.
The government maintained its respect to the legal case and will closely follow the proceedings, Fahd of Bakom said. “[But] we have done, and continue to do, many things that are expected by the public,” he said, referring to ongoing firefighting operations and investigations into 95 companies.
The government, he added, would not tolerate any deliberate arson resulting in the widespread wildfires, pledging firm enforcement against violators. “The government will later disclose the names of companies according to the progress of the ongoing law enforcement." - The Jakarta Post/ANN
