I REFER to your report “Act against irresponsible firms, PM urges Jakarta”, and “School’s closed for two days” (NST, Oct 5).
Ordinary Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians have lost their patience with the thick haze caused by the annual burning of land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil in Sumatra and Borneo.
This has been going on for over two decades with no solution in sight by the Asean leadership so far.
The irony is that Indonesia has turned down Malaysia and Singapore’s offers of help.
Singapore has decided to take legal action against companies, in accordance with its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act 2014, with over 200 firms under investigation by the Indonesian authorities.
Malaysia must follow suit.
The dangerous and unhealthy level of haze have caused 6,798 schools in 11 states to be closed for two days, affecting 3.7 million students and more than 300,000 teachers.
It is also affecting preparations for the Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia examinations.
The haze has become a persistent annual problem.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for Indonesia to act against irresponsible firms that continue to employ the slash-and-burn method to clear large tracts of land.
These have caused disruptions to human lives, cost the governments of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia billions of dollars, and leaves millions at risk of respiratory and other diseases, which the El Nino phenomenon has exacerbated.
The human costs from health implications of breathing in the thick air pollution are severe. The particles in the pollution can increase the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as cancer.
More than three million people die prematurely each year from prolonged exposure to air pollution, according to a new study from the World Health Organisation.
Our government is doing the right thing to close schools when necessary, based on the Air Pollutant Index reading; urging people to stay indoors; and cancelling or postponing sporting programmes and other events.
This is particularly so as the air quality in Shah Alam hit 308 on Sunday and a record high of 2,000 in Kalimantan, which is four times more than the point required for Malaysia to declare an emergency.
Hopefully, something concrete will come out of the ongoing Asean ministers’ meeting in Singapore to deliberate a regional action plan that would set out policies and measures to prevent the recurrence of haze, and that it will not take three years to resolve, as announced by Indonesian president Joko Widodo.
Malaysia must apply pressure on this matter for we have been pushed to the wall and we are choking.
n C. SATHASIVAM SITHERAVELLU, Seremban, Negri Sembilan