Yeo: Transboundary haze in the agenda at Asean ministerial meeting

KUALA LUMPUR: The transboundary haze issue will be among the items on the agenda of the Asean Ministerial Meeting for the Environment this month.

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Mestecc) Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the matter will be brought forward in the meeting held in Cambodia from Oct 7 to 10.

"There have been specific discussions that were held (before) but Munira will be raising the issue in the meeting," she said, referring to her deputy Isnaraissah Munira Majilis.

She said this at the Sustainable Brands 2019 conference at the Majestic Hotel here on Tuesday (Oct 8).

According to Cambodia's Ministry of Environment, other issues that will be discussed include climate change, environmentally sustainable cities, biodiversity conservation, preserving coastal and marine environments, environmental education, water resource management, and chemical and hazardous waste management.

To a question on the four Malaysian companies implicated in the Indonesian peat fires, Yeo added that she has not received any updates or feedback from the Indonesian government on the issue.

"The latest updates have to be checked with the Indonesian government. Indonesia has to investigate and those who flout the law will have action taken against them," she said.

Meanwhile, she said the government had allocated RM8.5mil for matching grants for four companies for their research and development efforts in creating new technologies to benefit society.

She said the companies had at least 51% Malaysian ownership and the lead researcher at these companies is Malaysian.

Yeo added that her ministry had also called for proposals for companies interested in conducting research into bio-resin, but said there had been no takers yet.