KUALA LUMPUR: Side discussions will be held on the transboundary haze issue although it is not part of the agenda for the Asean health ministers' meeting here, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
"There is none (on the agenda) but we will have side discussions among our ministers," the Health Minister told a press conference on the 17th Asean Health Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings here on Thursday (Sept 10).
He said the matter can also be discussed in the meetings among senior officials.
"In the light of our clusters (meetings), we can embrace that," he added.
When asked whether Malaysia plans to discuss the matter with Indonesia bilaterally, Dzulkefly replied that the matter was raised.
"We must follow through," he said.
Indonesia recently saw an alarming surge in land and forest fires over the past month, with thick haze from burning in Kalimantan reaching Malaysia.
According to forest monitoring platform Nusantara Atlas, around 182,000ha of land and forest were burned in July alone, nearly twice the total area burned during the first half of the year.
High air pollution index (API) readings were reported across the country and schools had to be shut.
An emergency was also declared in Serian recently.
