Govt to propose changes to haze law in Parliament; firms linked to fires must give up access to info

(From second from left) Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu during a meeting with various company representatives at the Treasury Building on Oct 28.

Published Oct 28, 2026, 05:00 PM

Updated Oct 28, 2026, 05:00 PM

SINGAPORE – Singapore will be proposing changes to give its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) more teeth when Parliament sits next week, said Senior MInister K. Shanmugam on Oct 28.

Under the amendments, firms linked to the haze must give appointed investigators full access to information, corporate documents and business premises.

Currently, the THPA does not give the National Environment Agency (NEA) – the agency administering the law – the powers to request firms to appoint investigators to study a firm’s operations, corporate relationships or supply chains.

This resulted in practical challenges in obtaining information, to investigate and to enforce against transboundary offences.

NEA will be given the authority to do so once the proposed changes take effect, and failing to comply will be considered an offence, Shanmugam said.

The next parliamentary sitting begins on Nov 3.

His remarks were directed to executives from 10 Singapore-based companies that were issued notices under the THPA on Oct 23.

They had been summoned for a closed-door meeting at the Treasury building with Shanmugam, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

Also in attendance was Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, whose law firm will advise the Government and oversee the coordination of the panel of experts appointed to look into the transboundary problem.

All 10 Singapore companies were represented at the meeting.

Bumitama Agri was represented by its chief executive and executive chairman Lim Gunawan Hariyanto

Golden Agri Resources was represented by its chairman and chief executive Franky Oesman Widjaja

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Company, APP Company (China) were represented by Bernard Tan, senior adviser to Sinar Mas Group, the Indonesian conglomerate that owns APP

First Resources was represented by Ciliandra Fangiono, its chief executive and executive director

Indofood Agri Resources was represented by Mark Wakeford, its chief executive and executive director

Kencana Agri was represented by its chief executive and executive director Albert Maknawi

TSH Global Plantation and TSH Oversea were represented by Kelvin Tan Aik Pen, the chairman and co-founder of TSH Resources which owns both these firms

Wilmar International was represented by Kuok Khoon Hong, its chairman and chief executive

The meeting with the company representatives came five days after the NEA first issued notices to the 10 Singapore-based firms under Section 10 of the Republic’s haze law on Oct 23.

Under this section of the law, firms are required to furnish information about their links to companies in Indonesia contributing to the haze.

Failing to comply could result in a fine of up to $5,000, a jail term of up to one month, or both, for representatives of uncooperative firms.

According to the transcript, Shanmugam told the firms: “I will say this plainly, non-compliance with Section 10 is an offence. They are not routine requests for information. We expect your companies to respond fully, accurately, and promptly.”

Senior Minister K. Shanmugam speaking with the media at the Treasury Building on Oct 28. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Senior Minister K. Shanmugam speaking with the media at the Treasury Building on Oct 28.

He also told them that the Singapore Government expects “substantive cooperation and transparency, not merely technical compliance or lawyered responses which don’t deal with the substance.”

The Government had also announced on Oct 23 that it will be convening a specialist panel of experts to identify and hold accountable firms that may be responsible for, or have contributed to the haze-causing fires in Indonesia.

Comprising firms in the legal, audit and investigation fields, the panel’s work will be coordinated by Davinder Singh Chambers, which the Government said has extensive experience in cross-border inquiries and complex legal structures.

Those firms that had been identified by the Government as being linked to the haze will have to engage professionals from the panel to conduct thorough inquiries into their operations, corporate relationships and supply chains. Audits will have to be submitted to the authorities.

Fu said the list of firms selected to be on the panel will be published by the Ministry of Law, and the 10 companies issued notices will have to engage those firms at their own expense.

“Singaporeans should not have to bear the health and environmental costs of irresponsible business conduct. Even as the haze condition improves, we will not relent,” she told the media.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu speaking with the media at the Treasury Building on Oct 28. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu speaking with the media at the Treasury Building on Oct 28.

During the meeting, Shanmugam had also said that third-party information or experts may also be tapped, such as geospatial analysts being called in to examine data from satellite images of hotspots.

Shanmugam told the media afterwards that the Government made clear to them Singapore’s position on the matter

“We told them the intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats. The Singapore Government will do what is right. We need to make sure that the companies here conduct their operations in a manner that doesn’t affect Singapore or the region,” he said.

“I told them we are determined to act, and that we are giving full attention to this issue, and that we will pursue all available legal and regulatory avenues, and we will use all the powers we have to establish responsibility where there is responsibility, and we will hold those responsible to account.”

He added that if the facts show no wrongdoing, “we will proceed on that basis as well”.

“I told them we expect full cooperation from their companies, and in the meeting, the companies said they will cooperate fully.”

Aqil Hamzah is a transport journalist at The Straits Times. He is also interested in issues related to crime and technology.

Ang Qing is a journalist covering local and international breaking news at The Straits Times, with a focus on the environment, crime, technology and social issues.

（从左至右）10月28日，副总理颜金勇、高级部长尚穆根和永续发展及环境部长傅海燕在财政部大楼会见各公司代表。

发布于2026年10月28日下午5:00

更新于2026年10月28日下午5:00

新加坡——新加坡高级部长尚穆根于10月28日表示，新加坡将在下周国会开会时提出修改方案，以增强其《跨境烟霾污染法》（THPA）的效力。

根据修正案，与雾霾有关的公司必须允许指定的调查人员全面查阅信息、公司文件和营业场所。

目前，《泰国住房和城市规划法》并未赋予国家环境局（NEA，负责执行该法律的机构）权力，要求企业委任调查员研究企业的运营、公司关系或供应链。

这导致在获取信息、调查和打击跨境犯罪方面面临实际挑战。

尚穆根表示，一旦拟议的变更生效，国家环境局将被赋予相应的权力，不遵守规定将被视为违法行为。

下届议会将于11月3日召开。

他的讲话是针对 10 家总部位于新加坡的公司的管理人员，这些公司于 10 月 23 日根据《住房和贸易保护法》(THPA) 收到通知。

他们被召集到财政部大楼与尚穆根、副总理颜金勇和永续发展与环境部长傅海燕举行闭门会议。

出席会议的还有高级律师达文德·辛格，他的律师事务所将为政府提供咨询，并监督为调查跨界问题而任命的专家小组的协调工作。

新加坡全部10家公司均派代表出席了会议。

Bumitama Agri 的首席执行官兼执行主席 Lim Gunawan Hariyanto 代表公司出席了会议。

Golden Agri Resources公司由其董事长兼首席执行官Franky Oesman Widjaja代表出席。

亚洲浆纸业（APP）公司和APP（中国）公司由印尼金光集团（拥有APP的印尼企业集团）的高级顾问陈伯纳德代表出席。

第一资源公司由其首席执行官兼执行董事西利安德拉·方吉奥诺代表出席。

Indofood Agri Resources 的代表是其首席执行官兼执行董事 Mark Wakeford。

Kencana Agri 的首席执行官兼执行董事 Albert Maknawi 代表公司出席了会议。

TSH Global Plantation 和 TSH Overseas 的代表是 TSH Resources 的董事长兼联合创始人 Kelvin Tan Aik Pen，这两家公司均由 TSH Resources 拥有。

丰益国际由其董事长兼首席执行官郭孔洪代表出席。

在新加坡国家环境局 (NEA) 于 10 月 23 日根据共和国雾霾法第 10 条首次向 10 家新加坡公司发出通知五天后，与这些公司代表举行了会议。

根据该法律条款，企业必须提供有关其与造成雾霾的印度尼西亚公司之间联系的信息。

对于不配合的公司代表，不遵守规定可能会导致最高 5000 美元的罚款、最高一个月的监禁，或两者并罚。

根据笔录，尚穆根告诉这些公司：“我要明确指出，不遵守第10条规定是违法行为。这不是例行的信息索取。我们希望贵公司能够全面、准确、及时地作出回应。”

10月28日，高级部长尚穆根在财政部大楼接受媒体采访。（海峡时报摄影：Gavin Foo）

10月28日，高级部长尚穆根在财政部大楼接受媒体采访。

他还告诉他们，新加坡政府希望得到“实质性的合作和透明度，而不仅仅是技术性的合规或不涉及实质内容的律师式回应”。

政府也于 10 月 23 日宣布，将召集一个专家小组，以查明并追究可能对印尼造成烟霾火灾负有责任或有所贡献的公司的责任。

该小组由法律、审计和调查领域的公司组成，其工作将由 Davinder Singh Chambers 协调，政府表示该律师事务所拥有丰富的跨境调查和复杂法律结构方面的经验。

政府认定与雾霾有关的企业必须聘请专家组成员对其运营、企业关系和供应链进行彻底调查，并向有关部门提交审计报告。

傅先生表示，法律部将公布入选专家组的公司名单，收到通知的10家公司必须自费聘请这些公司。

她对媒体表示：“新加坡人不应该承担不负责任的商业行为带来的健康和环境代价。即使雾霾情况有所改善，我们也不会放松警惕。”

10月28日，永续及环境部长傅海燕在财政大楼接受媒体采访。（海峡时报摄影：傅嘉文）

10月28日，永续发展及环境部长傅海燕在财政部大楼接受媒体采访。

在会议期间，尚穆根还表示，也可以借助第三方信息或专家，例如请地理空间分析师来检查热点地区的卫星图像数据。

事后尚穆根告诉媒体，政府已向他们明确阐述了新加坡在该问题上的立场。

他说：“我们告诉他们，这次行动的目的不是为了寻找替罪羊。新加坡政府会做出正确的决定。我们需要确保这些公司在新加坡的运营方式不会对新加坡或该地区造成影响。”

“我告诉他们，我们决心采取行动，我们将全力关注此事，我们将寻求所有可行的法律和监管途径，我们将动用一切权力，追究责任人的责任，并将追究相关人员的责任。”

他还补充说，如果事实表明没有不当行为，“我们也会在此基础上采取行动”。

“我告诉他们，我们希望他们的公司给予全力配合，在会议上，这些公司表示他们将全力配合。”

阿基尔·哈姆扎是《海峡时报》的交通记者。他也对犯罪和科技相关议题感兴趣。

Ang Qing是《海峡时报》的一名记者，负责报道本地和国际突发新闻，重点关注环境、犯罪、科技和社会问题。