KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The cross-border haze that has affected Malaysia’s air quality since August 8 is expected to gradually subside over the next two weeks as wind patterns change, Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said.
He said Malaysia had entered the monsoon transition phase on October 9, with the northeast monsoon expected to begin towards the end of this month.
“However, I want to emphasise that changes in weather conditions alone are not a long-term solution to the haze issue. It could happen again.
“Fire prevention efforts must therefore address the problem at its source. Domestic enforcement must be strengthened, while regional cooperation must be enhanced to reduce the risk of similar incidents recurring,” he said during the Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Syed Ibrahim was responding to concerns raised by Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), who described the haze as a national crisis affecting public health, safety, the economy and public well-being.
The issue was also raised by Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen (PH-Bandar Kuching) and Young Syefura Othman (PH-Bentong).
Yii said the haze was no longer merely a seasonal nuisance but an annual emergency requiring stronger action, including the proposed introduction of a Cross-Border Haze Pollution Act and greater transparency in sharing hotspot data and information on plantation concessions.
Young Syefura, meanwhile, sought clarification on the government’s diplomatic engagements with Indonesia, including the responses received and the effectiveness of the measures taken.
She also called for stronger domestic enforcement and better protection for vulnerable groups.
In his response, Syed Ibrahim said the latest haze episode was caused by an increase in forest and land fires in several parts of Indonesia, including Kalimantan and Sumatra, which had affected air quality in Malaysia, particularly in Sarawak.
He said the Department of Environment (DOE) received 2,104 complaints concerning open burning and carried out 3,039 enforcement actions between August 3 and October 9.
These comprised 2,104 monitoring actions, 168 field orders, 32 notices, 13 compounds and two court actions.
As part of the mitigation efforts, the government also conducted 11 cloud seeding operations between August 30 and October 15 in collaboration with the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the National Disaster Management Agency and the Malaysian Army.
“The main challenge in enforcing laws with cross-border elements is obtaining sufficient evidence to establish the source of pollution and identify the parties responsible,” he said.
Syed Ibrahim added that the ministry had yet to receive any official information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities regarding the alleged involvement of Malaysian companies in open-burning incidents in Indonesia. — Bernama