As haze beckons, Malaysia wants its plantation firms in Indonesia to formally report forest fire measures

SINGAPORE: In a bid to stave off the threat of haze, Malaysia is looking at requiring its plantation subsidiaries operating in Indonesia to formally report how they are working to prevent forest fires.

Countries in the region are gearing up for a higher risk of transboundary haze amid warmer and drier conditions in the coming months, in what has become an almost annual affair in the region.

Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said many Malaysian plantation companies in Indonesia are working closely with local governments to keep a lid on forest fires.

“At the same time, we are in the midst of talking to Bursa Malaysia, our stock exchange, to get our plantation companies to reveal what they've done and all that in order to address this problem,” he told CNA on Friday (Jun 9).

“This is something that we want to play our part for ASEAN as well.”

Mr Nik Nazmi was speaking in Singapore after meeting representatives from four other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states - Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia - to discuss the issue of transboundary haze.

He said the member states agreed to work together on the issue rather than point fingers at each other, and more closely share weather monitoring data to come up with more comprehensive mitigation measures.

Transboundary haze has sometimes become a flashpoint for ASEAN countries.

In 2019, Indonesia said some forest fires in its territory had started on land used by subsidiaries of Malaysian companies, as the neighbours traded blame for blazes that spread haze across the region.

“It will definitely be good for the plantation companies to illustrate that we are playing our part,” Mr Nik Nazmi said on Friday, noting that these are big, listed players who want to be seen as “doing the right thing”.

The minister said he has received reports from such companies before, but is looking at “institutionalising” it with the Malaysian stock exchange. When asked if this means putting it into law, he said the government will have to work out the “best” way.

“We want greater transparency, because with transparency comes accountability … So through that, rather than a punitive approach … transparency is how we see it is best to deal with (the issue),” he added.

Despite that, Mr Nik Nazmi said Malaysia is still considering whether to move with a law to penalise local companies that burn their Indonesian plantations and cause haze in Malaysia.

Farmers usually take advantage of dry conditions to burn and clear the land of vegetation in preparation for crop cultivation.

The law, drafted during the Mahathir Mohamad administration in 2019, has been shelved by previous governments.

Singapore has introduced its own Transboundary Haze Pollution Act and in 2015 investigated four Indonesian companies in relation to causing or condoning fires that resulted in unhealthy levels of haze in Singapore.

But the law has produced no prosecutions amid difficulties in obtaining evidence in other jurisdictions.

“We want to see how effective it is. For example, in the Singapore experience, how many prosecutions, how many were successful and all that,” Mr Nik Nazmi said.

“For us, it has to go beyond having a symbolic legislation. So, we will look at it through a very broad lens.”

In the bigger picture, Mr Nik Nazmi said the ASEAN members he met agreed to play their part in tackling transboundary haze.

“We were all committed that if anything happens, we will all assist one another. We won't just say: ‘Oh, this is an Indonesian problem, Singaporean problem or Malaysian problem,’” he said.

“But where we can and where is needed, the assistance within the ASEAN family will be given to deal with this issue. So … we are in it together.”

Mr Nik Nazmi said ASEAN has also made “good progress” on sharing weather data and monitoring resources to propose a “very powerful” approach in fighting haze, pollution and forest fires.

This includes countries sharing data from their respective weather stations and geological departments to conduct weather surveys, he said.

“Now with all the big data technologies that are coming into play, sharing of data will be very crucial,” said Mr Nik Nazmi.

“Moving forward as we go towards El Nino and all that, we really have to ensure that this cooperation is being built upon, so that we can face even the worst possibilities.”

El Nino is expected to bring about reduced rainfall and a higher risk of haze in the region, and Singapore last month advised people to prepare N95 face masks and air purifiers.

Mr Nik Nazmi said on Friday that Malaysia has not gotten “to that level yet”, although authorities continue to monitor the situation. Potential measures include N95 masks, postponing outdoor activities and increasing hydration, he said.

“The plan is already there, but we will obviously monitor which stage of the situation we are at before we make the necessary announcements,” he added.