Indonesia Wants Singapore And Malaysia To Understand Its Efforts To Tackle Haze

By Azeman Ariffin JAKARTA, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Indonesia on Monday sought Singapore and Malaysia's understanding of its efforts to tackle the problem of haze which is becoming more serious. Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Teten Masduki was quoted by local news portals on Monday as saying, the haze problem could not be overcome very quickly because the areas under fire at oil palm plantations and peat forests were very large. Masduki confirmed having received notes of protest from Singapore and Malaysia on the haze which was related to the burning of forests in Sumatera and Kalimantan. He said the Indonesian Government was not keeping quiet about the fires and was taking numerous initiatives to ensure they did not recur in the future. He also noted that Singapore and Malaysia had been enjoying the fruits of Indonesia's forests, not just raw materials but also forest industry products, and Indonesia had also contributed oxygen to the two countries. "I feel Singapore too have been enjoying all these while the supply of oxygen from Indonesia for nine months and we also know many farm products are exported to Singapore," he said. It was reported that Singapore would be taking legal action which could result in heavy penalties against Indonesian companies which burned their plantations and forests resulting in an unhealthy air quality in the city state. The Singapore government in a statement recently said, five Indonesian companies including multi-national, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) were set to receive notices of legal action. --BERNAMA