Summoned to meeting with Singapore leaders, top honchos of 10 firms pledge to cooperate with haze probes

In a rare meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Singapore outlined proposed legislative amendments that will make it an offence for companies to refuse independent assessments or fail to cooperate fully with investigators.

All 10 Singapore-based companies that were issued notices over transboundary haze were represented at the meeting with Singapore leaders on Oct 28, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)

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SINGAPORE: Senior executives from 10 companies potentially linked to haze-causing fires pledged on Wednesday (Oct 28) to cooperate fully with Singapore’s investigations, after a rare meeting with three top ministers.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu met the companies' leaders to set out the government's expectations and plans to strengthen laws to hold those responsible for haze pollution accountable.

The ministers were accompanied by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and senior officials from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, National Environment Agency (NEA) and Ministry of Law.

The companies at the meeting were Bumitama Agri, First Resources, Golden Agri-Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Kencana Agri, TSH Resources, Wilmar International and Sinar Mas Group.

The government intends to introduce amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act at the next parliamentary sitting to give the assessment process legal force, making it an offence for companies to refuse to appoint assessors or fail to cooperate fully with their investigations.

“I will be making amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act at the next parliament sitting to give this framework the force of law. Companies that do not comply will be committing an offence. We will exercise our powers to protect the health of Singaporeans,” Ms Fu told reporters after the meeting at The Treasury.

Mr Shanmugam, who is coordinating minister for national security and home affairs minister, welcomed the companies’ stated willingness to cooperate. He said they would be expected to undergo independent assessments of their operations, corporate relationships and supply chains to establish whether they had contributed to the fires.

He warned that the government would pursue all available legal and regulatory avenues to establish responsibility for the fires, which had caused haze pollution in Singapore.

"Haze is caused by fires," he told representatives at the meeting. "Fires are caused by irresponsible business practices. It is not a natural phenomenon."

Companies and representatives at the meeting

1) Bumitama Agri: CEO and executive chairman Lim Gunawan Hariyanto

2) First Resources: CEO and executive director Ciliandra Fangiono

3) Golden Agri Resources: Chairman and CEO Franky Oesman Widjaja. Also representing Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Company and Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China)

4) Indofood Agri Resources: CEO and executive director Mark Julian Wakeford

5) Kencana Agri: CEO and executive director Albert Maknawi

6) TSH Resources: Chairman Kelvin Tan Aik Pen

7) Wilmar International: Chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hong

8) Sinar Mas Group: Senior adviser Bernard Tan

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu met with representatives of all 10 Singapore-based companies that were issued notices over transboundary haze on Oct 28, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)

“NOT TO FIND SCAPEGOATS”

Mr Shanmugam told the representatives that “the intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats, nor is it to fix blame for public or political reasons”.

He said a corporate presence and stake in Singapore means having a responsibility to ensure that their operations and supply chains do not contribute to the haze.

"Where there are concerns about a company’s involvement, whether directly or through its corporate relationships or supply chains, we will examine the facts carefully," he said.

"We cannot allow corporate structures or third-party arrangements to stand in our way of establishing the facts."

Companies not involved in the fires, with clean supply chains, would find the assessment helps to establish that and address the government’s concerns, he said.

"If there have been lapses, these will have to be dealt with," he said, adding that the government "will take into account the level of cooperation you have given".

The government will announce appointments to a specialist panel of assessors soon, Mr Shanmugam said.

"One of your identified companies will have to engage a team comprising an investigations firm and a law firm to advise the investigations firm. These will be from the panel, as directed by NEA," he told the representatives.

The law firms will advise the investigations firms, not the companies, because investigators often need legal support for their reports, he said. The companies will bear the cost of the panel teams.

Assessors must be given full access to information, documents, premises and people, along with the companies’ operations, corporate relationships and supply chains, he said.

"The assessors may need to engage third parties or other experts to assist with the assessment. Some examples include remote sensing and geospatial analysts to analyse satellite hotspot data," he added.

The assessors will submit their findings to the NEA, which will take the report into account when deciding further steps, he said.

FACT-FINDING MISSION

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Shanmugam was asked by CNA whether such an approach might drive some companies out of the country. He said the government seeks to “do what is right for Singaporeans”.

“The companies have been told that if there is no wrongdoing, there will be no issues,” he said.

“We are now on a fact-finding mission, and if companies have been involved in wrongdoing and as a result of the investigation, they wish to leave Singapore, then I think doing right by Singaporeans means accepting that consequence.

“I'm sure Singaporeans will agree to that, rather than us letting the companies go on doing it.”

The authorities still do not know the full extent of the companies’ involvement, he noted.

“I don't want to give the impression that these companies are guilty, nor do I want to give the impression that these are the only companies that are doing this,” said Mr Shanmugam.

Singapore has also issued notices to various other companies without a presence here, he added.

Mr Shanmugam said he was “very direct” with the companies during the meeting about what is expected of them, and emphasised that “the intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats”.

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

Also addressing reporters, Ms Fu said the government had made clear to the companies its position and expectations, stressing that Singaporeans should not have to bear the consequences of irresponsible business practices.

"The government takes this seriously, and we are determined to act," Ms Fu said. "Even as the haze condition improves, we will not relent."

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在新加坡副总理颜金勇、高级部长尚穆根和永续发展与环境部长傅海燕出席的一次罕见会议上，新加坡概述了拟议的立法修正案，该修正案将规定公司拒绝独立评估或不与调查人员充分合作属于违法行为。

2026年10月28日，所有10家因跨境烟霾问题收到通知的新加坡公司均派代表出席了与新加坡领导人的会议。（图片：CNA/林丽婷）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：10 家可能与造成烟雾火灾有关的公司的高管周三（10 月 28 日）在与三位高级部长举行了一次罕见的会议后，承诺将全力配合新加坡的调查。

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会见了这些公司的领导人，阐明了政府的期望和计划，以加强法律，追究造成雾霾污染者的责任。

部长们由高级律师达文德·辛格以及总检察长办公室、国家环境局 (NEA) 和法律部的高级官员陪同。

出席会议的公司有：Bumitama Agri、First Resources、Golden Agri-Resources、Indofood Agri Resources、Kencana Agri、TSH Resources、Wilmar International 和 Sinar Mas Group。

政府打算在下次议会会议上对《跨境烟霾污染法》进行修订，使评估程序具有法律效力，规定公司拒绝任命评估人员或不全力配合其调查属于违法行为。

“我将在下次国会会议上对《跨境烟霾污染法》进行修订，使这一框架具有法律效力。不遵守规定的公司将构成违法行为。我们将行使权力，保护新加坡人的健康。”傅海燕女士在财政部会议后告诉记者。

国家安全统筹部长兼内政部长尚穆根先生对这些公司表示愿意合作表示欢迎。他表示，这些公司将被要求接受对其运营、企业关系和供应链的独立评估，以确定它们是否对火灾负有责任。

他警告说，政府将采取一切可行的法律和监管途径，追究造成新加坡雾霾污染的火灾责任人。

“雾霾是由火灾引起的，”他在会议上对代表们说。“火灾是由不负责任的商业行为引起的。它不是一种自然现象。”

与会公司及代表

1) Bumitama Agri：首席执行官兼执行主席 Lim Gunawan Hariyanto

2) 第一资源公司：首席执行官兼执行董事 Ciliandra Fangiono

3）金光农业资源：董事长兼首席执行官弗兰基·奥斯曼·维贾亚。同时代表亚洲浆纸业（APP）公司和亚洲浆纸业（中国）公司。

4) Indofood Agri Resources：首席执行官兼执行董事 Mark Julian Wakeford

5) Kencana Agri：首席执行官兼执行董事Albert Maknawi

6) TSH Resources：董事长陈益平

7）丰益国际：董事长兼首席执行官郭孔洪

8) 金光集团：高级顾问 Bernard Tan

2026年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会见了所有10家因跨境烟霾问题收到通知的新加坡公司的代表。（图片：CNA/林丽婷）

“不寻找替罪羊”

尚穆根先生告诉代表们，“此次行动的目的不是为了寻找替罪羊，也不是为了出于公众或政治原因而追究责任”。

他表示，在新加坡设立公司并持有股份意味着有责任确保其运营和供应链不会加剧雾霾。

他说：“如果对某家公司的参与存在疑虑，无论是直接参与还是通过其企业关系或供应链参与，我们都会仔细审查事实。”

“我们不能允许公司结构或第三方安排阻碍我们查明事实。”

他表示，对于未卷入火灾且供应链畅通的公司而言，该评估有助于证明这一点并消除政府的担忧。

“如果出现疏漏，必须予以处理，”他说道，并补充说政府“将考虑你们给予的合作程度”。

尚穆根先生表示，政府将很快宣布专家评估小组的任命。

他告诉代表们：“你们指定的公司之一必须聘请一个由调查公司和律师事务所组成的团队，为调查公司提供咨询。这些人员将从国家环境局指定的名单中选出。”

他说，律师事务所将为调查公司而非企业提供法律咨询，因为调查人员通常需要法律支持才能完成报告。企业将承担调查小组的费用。

他表示，评估人员必须被允许全面了解信息、文件、场所和人员，以及公司的运营、企业关系和供应链。

“评估人员可能需要聘请第三方或其他专家协助评估。例如，可以聘请遥感和地理空间分析师来分析卫星热点数据，”他补充道。

他说，评估人员会将调查结果提交给国家环境局，国家环境局在决定后续措施时会考虑这份报告。

实地调查任务

会后，尚穆根先生在接受记者采访时被亚洲新闻台（CNA）问及，这种做法是否会导致一些公司撤离新加坡。他表示，政府力求“做对新加坡人有利的事”。

他说：“我们已经告诉这些公司，如果没有不当行为，就不会有问题。”

“我们现在正在进行事实调查，如果公司卷入了不当行为，并且调查结果导致他们希望离开新加坡，那么我认为，对新加坡人负责就意味着接受这一后果。

“我相信新加坡人会同意这一点，而不是放任这些公司继续这样做。”

他指出，当局目前仍不清楚这些公司涉案的程度。

“我不想给人留下这些公司有罪的印象，也不想给人留下只有这些公司在做这种事的印象，”尚穆根先生说。

他还补充说，新加坡也向其他一些在新加坡没有分支机构的公司发出了通知。

尚穆根先生表示，他在会议期间“非常直接地”向各公司说明了对他们的期望，并强调“此举的目的不是为了寻找替罪羊”。

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

傅女士在对记者讲话时表示，政府已向相关公司明确表明了其立场和期望，并强调新加坡人不应该承担不负责任的商业行为的后果。

傅女士表示：“政府高度重视此事，并决心采取行动。即使雾霾情况有所好转，我们也不会放松警惕。”

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