BACKBENCHER FEELS INDONESIAN ENFORCEMENT CAN CURB HAZE-CAUSING FOREST FIRES
BACKBENCHER FEELS INDONESIAN ENFORCEMENT CAN CURB HAZE-CAUSING FOREST FIRES
18 June 2012
published by http://my.news.yahoo.com
Malaysia/Indonesia –– KUALA LUMPUR — A backbencher today asked the government to seek the cooperation of the Indonesian authorities to step up enforcement to control the burning of forests which results in the annual haze that also affects Malaysia.
Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) said that despite the occurrence of environmental pollution triggered by the hotspots in the neighbouring country almost every year, there had been no solution and the health of Malaysians was affected by the exposure to the haze.
He said monitoring by the Department of Environment (DOE) and studies over the past four or five years showed that the hotspots were almost always in the same areas.
“When we know the location of the hotspots, what”s the problem of us asking for enforcement to be stepped up in the places identified as prone to hotspots, areas prone to open burning?
“Otherwise, we will always get the same excuse, that the areas are too vast.
However, if we do mapping of the hotspots which are the source of the haze spreading to Malaysia, I am sure we can help the Indonesian authorities investigate the areas prone to the hotspots,” he said when speaking during the debate on the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Bill 2012 in the Dewan Rakyat.
