SINGAPORE: In a recent social media post, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (WP MP) Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied) addressed the current haze situation.
Writing that he has been asked by various people about what Singapore can do, he noted, “I believe the main thing is to act against the companies, whoever owns them, starting with those registered in Singapore.”
On Friday (Oct 16), Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said that Preventive Measure Notices will be sent to seven companies in Indonesia behind the fires in Sumatra responsible for this year’s transboundary haze.
Mr Tiong wrote in his post that these are the first notices since 2015.
On Oct 19, Singapore’s National Environment Agency said that such notices will be sent to three more companies, noting that there are indications that smoke from fires in Kalimantan on lands held via concessions under these firms may have crossed over to Singapore.
“Singapore cannot put out fires in Indonesia, but it can pursue the companies and the money that answer to our laws,” wrote the Aljunied MP, noting that while the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act was passed in 2014, there have been no prosecutions or civil claims as yet, and an investigation into four firms launched after the 2015 haze is still open.
The Preventive Measure Notices “should be a start,” Mr Tiong added.
He has filed questions in Parliament on the matter, asking how many Singapore-registered companies own or control concessions Indonesia has sanctioned this year, and if each firm will be investigated. He added that the Government said that further steps would be taken if it found "credible and usable evidence" of involvement from Singapore-owned companies.
Furthermore, Mr Tiong wrote that more transparency is needed, asking for a timeline from the NEA for when the firm’s cases will be decided and for the outcomes of each.
In addition, he would like to know if money made from unlawful burning can be traced to Singapore, given that anti-money-laundering laws have covered money from "illegal land clearing" overseas for the past two years.
The MP also wrote that since Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto indicated his desire to know the owners of the firms linked to the fires, one way that Singapore can help is for the firms listed on the Singapore Exchange or that borrow money from banks in the city-state to publish maps of their concessions.
He added that while only people in Singapore are allowed to file lawsuits under the haze law, Kalimantan and Sumatra residents who suffered harm from Singapore-registered companies should be able to do so as well.
Mr Tiong also called for a review of the law, which sets a limit for fines at S$2 million.
The MP also listed what Singaporeans can do at home to protect themselves against harmful haze, as well as what the city-state’s options are overseas.
/TISG