Malaysia aims to slap ‘disaster’ status on transboundary haze at Asean meet

Malaysia plans to address the issue of transboundary haze at the upcoming ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting to seek stronger regional solutions for this ongoing problem.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan highlighted that existing ASEAN mechanisms do not classify haze as a natural disaster, necessitating special attention.

Attempts to control fires in Indonesia are challenged by poor visibility, hindering aerial operations, with ground efforts limited by geographical and environmental constraints.

Malaysia acknowledges Indonesia's efforts but urges more effective action due to the impact on the public.

SEPANG, Oct 13 — Malaysia will raise the issue of transboundary haze at an Asean foreign ministers’ meeting ahead of the bloc’s 49th Summit in Manila, the Philippines, next month to discuss more effective regional mechanisms to tackle the problem.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the haze issue required special attention as it was not covered by existing Asean mechanisms for natural disasters.

“We already have an Asean mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster.

“So, this will be one of the issues that I will personally raise at the meeting with my counterparts,” he told reporters after attending the departure of Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the Bunga Raya Complex here yesterday.

On the latest efforts to extinguish fires in Indonesia, he said his counterpart, Arrmanatha Nasir, had informed him that extremely poor visibility in affected areas was hampering aerial firefighting operations.

“Indonesia has between three to four aeroplanes and 34 helicopters, but they cannot take off because visibility is so poor that it is unsafe for any flights in the affected areas.

“However, they have deployed 60,000 people to work on the ground,” Mohamad said, adding that Indonesia also faced challenges because the fires were located deep inland, water supplies were limited and fires continued to smoulder in peatland areas.

He said cloud-seeding operations could not be carried out in Indonesia at present because suitable cumulonimbus clouds were absent.

Mohamad said Malaysia acknowledged that the Indonesian government was doing its utmost to extinguish the fires and sympathised with the situation facing the country.

However, he said Malaysia hoped its neighbour would take more effective measures as the current situation was adversely affecting the public. — Bernama

MOH will push for absorbing contract dental and pharmacy officers, says Dzulkefly

Pack of eight stray dogs attacks child at Johor playground; Iskandar Puteri council launches raid

Deputy ministers warn ‘influencers’ against exploiting religious rituals for content

马来西亚计划在即将举行的东盟外长会议上提出跨境烟霾问题，以寻求更有力的区域解决方案来应对这一持续存在的问题。

外交部长拿督斯里莫哈末哈山强调，现有的东盟机制并未将雾霾列为自然灾害，因此无需特别关注。

印尼的灭火工作面临诸多挑战，包括能见度低导致空中作业受阻，以及地面作业受到地理和环境限制。

马来西亚认可印尼所做的努力，但鉴于对公众的影响，敦促印尼采取更有效的行动。

雪邦，10 月 13 日讯——马来西亚将在下个月于菲律宾马尼拉举行的东盟第 49 届峰会前夕的东盟外长会议上提出跨境雾霾问题，讨论更有效的区域机制来解决这一问题。

外交部长拿督斯里莫哈末哈山表示，雾霾问题需要特别关注，因为它不在东盟现有的自然灾害应对机制的涵盖范围内。

“我们已经有东盟应对自然灾害的机制，但雾霾并未被纳入其中，也没有被归类为自然灾害。

“因此，这将是我将在与约旦对口官员的会议上亲自提出的问题之一，”他在昨天出席约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世在班加拉亚综合大楼的离境仪式后告诉记者。

关于印尼最新的灭火工作，他说，他的同行阿尔马纳塔·纳西尔告知他，受灾地区能见度极低，阻碍了空中灭火行动。

“印尼有三到四架飞机和 34 架直升机，但由于能见度太差，受灾地区任何飞行都不安全，所以它们无法起飞。

“然而，他们已经部署了 6 万人到现场工作，”穆罕默德说，并补充说，印尼也面临着挑战，因为火灾位于内陆深处，供水有限，而且泥炭地地区的火灾仍在闷烧。

他表示，目前印尼无法进行人工增雨作业，因为缺乏合适的积雨云。

穆罕默德表示，马来西亚承认印尼政府正在尽最大努力扑灭火灾，并对该国面临的困境表示同情。

但他表示，马来西亚希望其邻国采取更有效的措施，因为目前的情况正在对公众造成不利影响。——马新社

祖基菲里表示，卫生部将推动吸纳合同制牙医和药剂师。

柔佛州游乐场发生八只流浪狗袭击儿童事件；依斯干达公主城理事会展开突击搜查

副部长们警告“网红”不要利用宗教仪式制作内容