TEMPO.CO, Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian government has welcomed the Indonesian government's action plan to deal with the haze that has affected the region - while at the same time criticizing the efficiency of the steps. "We are grateful that Indonesia is doing what it can to solve the issue - but it will take too long for the actions to manifest into real benefits," said the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as quoted by The Star on Sunday, October 4, 2015.
The comment is a reply to President Joko Widodo's statement - quoted by the BBC on Tuesday last week - that the government will need around three years to show that it can actually reduce, if not eliminate, haze from forest fires completely, stating that the problem is 'complex and cannot be speedily resolved." In the opportunity, the President said that more than 3,700 army personnels, 8,000 police officials and four waterbombers have been deployed to fight the fires.
Zahid said that both nations should strive to legally prosecute those who have been found guilty of contributing to forest fires, and that Malaysia's Environment and Natural Resources Minister, Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tunki Jaafar, have been dispatched to speak with his Indonesian counterpart to discuss how best to combat the fires.
Malaysia's state news agency, Bernama, quoted Zahid who also said that he hopes that Indonesia could start to think about long-term actions that it could take to minimise the haze's impact in the future. "We hope that the commitment is not just on paper, and/or are mere lip services - as we want to see concrete actions being take to end the predicament," he said.
This year's haze has severely impacted Indonesia's direct neighbours - such as Malaysia and Singapore - and is known to be the worst ever to ever hit Asia, with damages exceeding US$9 billion. The previous record was held by the haze of 1997.
A.MANAN | THE STAR | CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
