Malaysia’s fury rises as Indonesian haze shuts schools, blankets region, and sparks calls for accountability

The regional pollution crisis caused by Indonesian wildfire haze has resulted in significant frustration among neighboring countries, including Malaysia, where schools and sports centers have been closed, and mass mask distribution has been necessary.

Malaysian parliamentarians have criticized Indonesia for its inability to control the fires, which have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Although Malaysia has offered assistance to combat the blazes, cooperation has been delayed.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreement on transboundary haze pollution lacks enforcement, prompting calls for greater accountability and cooperation to address the issue.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Closed schools, shuttered sports centres and mass mask handouts. Indonesian wildfire haze has caused a regional pollution crisis and prompted growing frustration in neighbours, including Malaysia.

“You need to treat them as an outcast in the region,” Malaysian parliamentarian Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman railed this week talking about the Indonesian fires.

His comments go much further than the gentle diplomatic pressure Malaysia’s government has so far applied, but they reflect a simmering frustration with Indonesia’s inability to control the fires.

“Malaysia and Indonesia are close neighbours, but that relationship must also come with responsibility,” Malaysian parliamentarian Syerleena Abdul Rashid told AFP.

“Why should Malaysians continue paying the price for irresponsible actions beyond our borders?” she said.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday defended the approach, saying the South-east Asian nation “has done everything we can” to engage neighbouring Indonesia on the issue.

‘Do the right thing’

But at the popular Batu Caves tourist site, visitors and workers alike expressed frustration.

“You cannot see,” tour operator Diddy Hamidon told AFP, looking out at a vista now shrouded in haze.

“The Indonesian (government) needs to do the right thing,” he added.

Malaysia has been forced to close schools over the haze, and has offered Indonesia help fighting the blazes.

But not until Wednesday did the offer appear to finally have been taken up, after talks involving disaster management officials on both sides, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said.

“The form of cooperation will depend on the outcome of the discussions,” he told local reporters.

“But the authorities of both countries have, for the first time, begun talks on how we can work together to tackle the haze, which appears to be getting worse.”

Indonesia experiences wildfires regularly during its annual dry season, but this year’s blazes have been exacerbated by a strong cycle of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which tends to bring drought to the country.

The fires have burned through hundreds of thousands of hectares in Indonesia and caused air pollution spikes in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and East Timor, where schools closed this week due to the haze.

The crisis is not the first caused by Indonesian fires, and in 2002, members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) inked an agreement on transboundary haze pollution.

But that deal is widely seen as “not worth the paper it’s printed on,” said James Chin, professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania.

It has no enforcement mechanism, and previous efforts by Singapore to hold companies linked to wildfires legally culpable have also stalled.

Malaysia has asked Asean for an urgent meeting to discuss the latest crisis, and this year’s summit host Manila confirmed the issue will be on the agenda at a foreign ministers meeting next month.

“Asean members are more than willing to help,” Malaysian parliamentarian Hassan Abdul Karim told AFP, “provided Indonesia is willing to swallow their bigger ego and pride.”

Anger about Indonesia’s inability to control the haze was stoked further by comments over the weekend from Jakarta’s communications agency chief.

“We do not just send smoke... The oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia also comes from our forests,” said Syahganda Nainggolan in a video that swiftly went viral and prompted furious responses.

Syerleena called the remarks “downright insensitive”.

“We value our relationship with Indonesia, but that should not prevent us from speaking up when remarks are inappropriate,” said the parliamentarian.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on Monday ordered the government to mobilise maximum efforts to battle wildfires that have been raging for three months in some places.

‘Very, very careful’

The growing public frustration in Malaysia but also neighbouring Singapore, which has topped global major city pollution rankings in recent days, is pressuring governments, said Chin.

But he forecast little progress.

“Asean is very, very careful when it comes to what they call domestic sovereignty. So they are unlikely to do anything,” he said.

Syerleena urged accountability at a regional level, with companies linked to burning held responsible whether they are Indonesian, Malaysian or Singaporean.

“What we need from Jakarta is greater transparency, stronger enforcement against companies responsible for illegal burning, and closer cooperation with neighbouring countries.” — AFP

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印尼山火烟雾造成的区域性污染危机引起了邻国（包括马来西亚）的极大不满，马来西亚的学校和体育中心被迫关闭，大规模分发口罩也势在必行。

马来西亚议员批评印尼未能控制火势，而厄尔尼诺现象加剧了火情。

尽管马来西亚已提出援助以扑灭火灾，但合作却迟迟未能落实。

东盟关于跨境烟霾污染的协议缺乏执行力，因此有人呼吁加强问责和合作来解决这一问题。

吉隆坡，10月16日——学校停课，体育中心关闭，政府大规模发放口罩。印尼山火造成的烟雾引发了区域性污染危机，并引发了包括马来西亚在内的邻国日益增长的不满。

“你们应该把他们视为该地区的弃儿，”马来西亚国会议员赛义德·萨迪克·赛义德·阿卜杜勒·拉赫曼本周在谈到印尼火灾时愤怒地说道。

他的言论远比马来西亚政府迄今为止施加的温和外交压力要强硬得多，但这反映出人们对印尼无法控制火势的日益不满。

“马来西亚和印度尼西亚是近邻，但这种关系也必须伴随着责任，”马来西亚国会议员赛琳娜·阿卜杜勒·拉希德告诉法新社。

她说道：“为什么马来西亚人要继续为境外不负责任的行为付出代价？”

马来西亚总理安瓦尔·易卜拉欣周四为这一做法辩护，称这个东南亚国家“已经尽一切努力”就此问题与邻国印度尼西亚进行接触。

“做正确的事”

但在热门旅游景点黑风洞，游客和工作人员都表达了不满。

“你什么也看不见，”旅游经营者迪迪·哈米顿望着眼前被薄雾笼罩的景色，告诉法新社。

“印尼政府需要做正确的事，”他补充道。

由于烟霾，马来西亚被迫关闭学校，并向印度尼西亚提供灭火援助。

但外交部长穆罕默德·哈桑表示，直到周三，经过双方灾害管理官员的会谈，这一提议似乎才最终被接受。

“合作形式将取决于讨论的结果，”他告诉当地记者。

“但两国当局首次开始就如何合作应对雾霾问题展开对话，而雾霾问题似乎正在恶化。”

印度尼西亚每年旱季都会发生野火，但今年的火灾由于厄尔尼诺现象的强烈影响而加剧，厄尔尼诺现象往往会给该国带来干旱。

印尼的火灾已烧毁数十万公顷土地，并导致马来西亚、新加坡、菲律宾和东帝汶的空气污染急剧上升，东帝汶的学校本周因雾霾而停课。

这场危机并非印尼火灾造成的第一次危机，2002 年，东南亚国家联盟（东盟）成员国签署了一项关于跨境烟霾污染的协议。

但塔斯马尼亚大学亚洲研究教授詹姆斯·钦表示，这项协议被普遍认为“毫无价值”。

它没有强制执行机制，新加坡此前追究与山火有关的公司的法律责任的努力也陷入停滞。

马来西亚已请求东盟召开紧急会议讨论最新危机，而今年的峰会主办国马尼拉也确认，该问题将列入下个月外长会议的议程。

马来西亚议员哈桑·阿卜杜勒·卡里姆告诉法新社：“东盟成员国非常愿意提供帮助，前提是印尼愿意放下他们更大的自尊和骄傲。”

印尼未能控制雾霾的言论，进一步激起了民众的愤怒，雅加达通讯机构负责人周末发表的言论更是火上浇油。

“我们不仅排放烟雾……新加坡和马来西亚的氧气也来自我们的森林，”Syahganda Nainggolan 在一段迅速走红并引发强烈反响的视频中说道。

Syerleena称这些言论“简直是麻木不仁”。

“我们珍视与印度尼西亚的关系，但这不应阻止我们在听到不恰当的言论时挺身而出，”这位议员说道。

印尼总统普拉博沃·苏比安托周一下令政府全力以赴，扑灭部分地区已持续燃烧三个月的野火。

“非常非常小心”

Chin表示，马来西亚以及邻国新加坡（近来在全球主要城市污染排名中名列前茅）日益增长的公众不满情绪正在给各国政府施加压力。

但他预测不会取得多大进展。

他说：“东盟在对待他们所谓的国内主权问题上非常非常谨慎，所以他们不太可能采取任何行动。”

Syerleena 敦促在区域层面追究责任，与焚烧事件有关的公司，无论其是印度尼西亚公司、马来西亚公司还是新加坡公司，都应承担责任。

“我们需要雅加达方面提高透明度，加大对非法焚烧企业的执法力度，并与邻国加强合作。”——法新社

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