KUALA LUMPUR: Asean countries have to intensify their action plan and improve enforcement against offenders responsible for causing man-made pollution in a bid to curb the annual occurrences of transboundary haze in the region.
Natural Resources and Environment minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said as transboundary haze pollution remained a major and persistent challenge in the Asean region, the leaders should continue to find concrete solutions and retain their momentum in tackling the perennial problem.
"Malaysia is hopeful that nations affected by transboundary environmental pollution, such as during the recent haze episode, will be able to find a joint solution in the spirit of Asean solidarity and continuously take preventive measures," he said.
Speaking at the 13th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Environment in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wan Junaidi said all Asean nations should strengthen existing cooperation either multilaterally or bilaterally to improve measures to mitigate environmental issues affecting the region.
He said Asean environment leaders should take advantage of the existing strong Asean spirit and work closely in enhancing technical knowledge and develop capacity building to solve the current environmental issues, which were transboundary in nature.
Environmental management, he said, played an important role in the region as Asean representative countries have faced challenging environmental problems in the past decade.
“These environmental issues have caused a significant impact towards our respective country’s economic growth, healthcare sector and the public welfare of our people.
“We, as the leaders of environment in this region, need to have the foresight on environmental issues that occur repeatedly on an annual basis.
“This would allow better mitigation efforts and if needed countries in this region should provide the necessary expertise and knowledge to solve the problem,” he said in his statement.
Wan Junaidi reiterated the country's pledge and commitment to continue supporting fellow Asean countries to undertake preventive measures to prevent any transboundary pollution.