PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Indonesia have begun discussions to explore ways of working together to tackle forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra that have caused transboundary haze.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the discussions involved relevant agencies and ministries from both countries, including the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council (NSC).
"Our secretary-general (Tan Sri Amran Mohamed Zin) has held discussions with NSC, Nadma and the Indonesian side on how we can jointly address these fires. This is the latest development.
"The form of cooperation will depend on the outcome of the discussions, but the authorities of both countries have, for the first time, begun talks on how we can work together to tackle the haze, which appears to be getting worse," he told reporters after attending the handover ceremony for a solar photovoltaic (grid-connected PV) system installation project by the Works Ministry to the Foreign Ministry and three other government premises today.
He said the discussions marked an initial step by both countries towards finding ways to cooperate in addressing forest fires and the haze, which had persisted for more than a month and was approaching two months.
Mohamad said the prolonged haze had affected not only Malaysia but also threatened the health of people in Indonesia and Singapore.
"Alhamdulillah, both countries, through their respective agencies and foreign ministries, will explore ways to cooperate and help address the forest fires together," he said.
On Monday, Mohamad was reported as saying that Malaysia would raise the issue of transboundary haze at an Asean Foreign Ministers' meeting ahead of the bloc's 49th Summit in Manila next month, to discuss more effective regional mechanisms to tackle the problem.
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