Malaysian Haze 2023: What You Should Know About the Ongoing Haze

The issue has also sparked friction in Southeast Asia, with our own Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad sending a letter to the Indonesian government this week calling for a regional response to the toxic smoke drifting across the nation. This letter was sent following instructions from Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and comes just weeks after countries in Southeast Asia committed to a haze-free region by 2030.

In recent weeks, air quality in parts of Malaysia and Indonesia has spiked into the red, with indexes consistently showing readings above 150—putting it in a bracket where people can experience health effects, and those with sensitive conditions could suffer more serious problems.

On the Indonesian side of Borneo Island, visibility was reduced to less than 10 metres. Meanwhile, Malaysia is mulling the idea of shutting schools and will begin seeding clouds to induce rainfall if air pollutant index (API) readings hit more than 200.

Malaysia has blamed the haze on Indonesia, saying that smoke from forest fires drifts over the border. Every few years, during the dry season, smoke from "slash and burn" land clearing engulfs much of the region––largely to make way for oil palm, pulp, and paper plantations. These pose a threat to public health, education, and businesses such as tourism.

Despite pleas by Malaysia this week not to "normalise" the haze, Indonesia has flatly denied any responsibility.

Indonesia's environment minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said on Friday that forest fires had declined and no haze was detected moving toward any neighbouring country. Indonesia has been addressing the fires by water bombing via helicopters, she said. In the past, Indonesia has taken legal action against companies suspected of illegal burning, but each year fires continue with varying degrees of severity.

You may recall that in 2015 and 2019, Indonesia was struck by catastrophic blazes that burned millions of hectares of land, causing record-breaking emissions and engulfing some places in toxic yellow smoke.

If you feel the same frustration as us, here’s why: under Indonesian law, burning by small-scale local farmers is permitted provided that it occurs on a maximum area of two hectares and necessary prevention measures are in place. Meanwhile, all large-scale planters are obligated to comply with sustainable palm oil standards, which prohibit burning. Indonesia is the world's biggest palm oil producer and the product is one of the biggest export earners after coal.

The regulations mean that “slash and burn” techniques continue to be used by small-holder farmers who rely on cheap land clearance methods and for whom compliance to the standards is voluntary.

Opaque supply chains, overlapping land claims, and the aforementioned regulatory loopholes mean that large companies––which are in some cases owned by firms based in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore––can sometimes avoid responsibility for illegal land clearance.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently launched a coordinating centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC). This centre is intended to help members prevent, mitigate, and monitor transboundary haze and is in line with ASEAN's commitment to achieve a haze-free region by 2030.

This week ASEAN agriculture and forestry ministers also agreed to take collective action to minimise and eventually eliminate crop burning.

Former US President Donald Trump previously called climate change a “hoax” and we wish it were true...but it’s definitely not the case. Indonesia is home to the world's third largest rainforest area and the government needs to take more action, environmentalists say. The country is experiencing exacerbated dry conditions due to the El Nino weather pattern this year.

Greenpeace Indonesia says climate warming is increasing the intensity and frequency of forest and land fires, which are in turn fuelling the climate crisis.

Do you still think that our government could be doing more to solve the issue? DM us or email us at [email protected] with your thoughts.

Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ananda Teresia and Kate Lamb, Additional reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Naveen Thukral)