SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has vowed to take action against companies found responsible for fires in neighbouring Indonesia, as smoke from wildfires blankets parts of Southeast Asia and fuels an air pollution crisis.
The haze has forced schools to close and contributed to a surge in respiratory complaints across the region.
Singapore topped IQAir’s live ranking of the world’s most polluted major cities again early Friday, with Jakarta in second place and Kuala Lumpur fifth.
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“We are looking into which companies may be responsible for the fires,” Wong said in a Facebook post late Thursday.
“Where warranted, we will take action under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and also explore joint action with other countries,” he said, without providing further details.
Singapore has no plantations or forests of its own, but several companies holding concessions in Indonesia are reportedly based in the city-state.
Legal experts have cautioned that pursuing companies linked to the ongoing pollution remains challenging, as investigations depend on cooperation from foreign authorities.
Singapore enacted the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in 2014 following a severe pollution episode in 2013. Another major spell of haze occurred in 2015.
The law allows authorities to take action against companies whose activities overseas cause or contribute to unhealthy haze levels in Singapore.
However, enforcement has proved difficult.
Establishing responsibility has been challenging, partly because authorities need to share maps identifying fire hotspots, while overlapping land claims further complicate investigations.
Singapore’s investigations into four Indonesian companies over their alleged roles in the 2015 haze crisis remain open. The case strained relations between Singapore and Jakarta at the time.
Singapore’s air pollution index reading reached 236 at around 0230 GMT on Friday, placing it in the “very unhealthy” category under IQAir’s Air Quality Index.
Under the Swiss-based company’s system, readings of 151 to 200 are considered unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, and above 300 hazardous.
“We cannot control the weather or the winds, nor can we directly control what happens beyond our borders,” Wong said.
“But we will do everything we can to protect Singaporeans, while working with our neighbours to address the underlying causes of the haze.”