T

he Strait of Malacca is a waterway separating the homelands of the Malays '€” the island of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.

Different colonizers divided the archipelago of kingdoms into two distinct domains, and later political and racial rivalries saw the strait being shared by three nations: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Sir Stamford Raffles, the only British governor general of Java, insisted on taking the Temasek Island in Riau from the sultanate of Johor. He noted that the island could secure British access through the strait, and also served as the midpoint between India and China.

Raffles acted against London'€™s wishes to return the isles of Riau to Dutch control. In the end, the Netherlands regained Bengkulu (and Riau), while Britain kept that one humid island.

Almost two centuries later, Singapore, named so by Raffles, is a rich city state. The Englishman is revered by Singaporeans, who are composed of Chinese, Indians and Malays. Johor is the second most-populated state in Malaysia, thanks to its proximity to Singaporean capital and industries.

Riau and the Riau Islands, however, are two provinces of Indonesia with closer ties to Singapore than to Jakarta. Like many other highly educated Indonesians in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Riau and Riau Islands'€™ middle classes see Singapore as a better, not only closer, place for school and work than Jakarta.

Batam is essentially a Singapore satellite city, just like Johor Bahru. When Jakartans think of Riau, as long they have no family members living there, they think of the Sumatran Malay culture and of oil palm plantations.

When the residents of Jakarta and other major cities in Java draw back their curtains this morning, they will notice the usual dirty air from vehicle emissions, but they can go outside and endure the traffic jams and potholes.

Singaporeans as well as residents of Malaysian states across the Strait of Malacca and, let'€™s not forget, residents of Riau, have no such privilege.

Spokespeople from the three governments agree that the fires in Riau are caused not merely by slash-and-burn farming methods but also by palm oil and paper corporations paying locals to clear the forested areas as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Therein lies the dispute. Indonesia tried to use its traditional defense, arguing that the hotspots emanate not only from Indonesia but also Malaysia.

When, however, satellite photos showed that all the hotspots were in Riau, Jakarta grew defensive, saying that '€œgood neighbors should help rather than lay blame'€, but then refused intervention from Malaysian and Singaporean fire services.

Finally, the government has released the names of some of the Indonesian companies deemed responsible for the fires, most of which are either subsidiaries of Malaysian corporations or not linked to the ruling coalition.

For many Jakartans, following the news, the issue is a no-brainer. Singapore is a whiner that gets rich from Indonesia'€™s graft money. The corporations that are destroying the forests are surely Singaporean and Malaysian companies, so they have got what they deserve.

Many Indonesians have no idea about the severity of air pollution in southern Malaysia and Singapore, and they refuse to understand.

So, what about Indonesian families living close to the hotspots? According to authorities in Riau, the damage was minimal and only a few hundred people needed to be evacuated before Jakarta declared state of emergency. We simply care less about the raging fires in our own country because they are burning so far away from Jakarta and Java.

Many readers of English-langauge newspapers in Indonesia say they are ashamed of the government'€™s attitude, but the majority of readers of Indonesian newspapers sneer at Singapore.

Mainstream media in Indonesia declines to blame the Indonesian government and even seems to uncharacteristically follow official statements.

Meanwhile, Indonesians living in Singapore and Malaysia feel humiliated with their native government.

Stamford Raffles has left a lasting trail for all of us. When Indonesian television shows the footage of Orchard Road in haze and Chinese people walking around wearing face masks, some Indonesians enjoy the coverage.

Many Indonesians see Singapore as a tiny Chinese nation that clings to the West too much; just as they see Malaysia as a pompous Malay kingdom that is continually challenging Indonesia.

On the other hand, the coverage of the haze on Singaporean television demonstrates the frustration of the English-speaking public and professionals on the incompetence and laziness of the Indonesian government; not to mention the sloppiness and carelessness of Indonesian farmers. On different sides of the Strait of Malacca, efficiency or ineptitude is part of everyday life.

A Singaporean recently wrote an open letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono via The Jakarta Post. Jing Song Ng asked the President to act in the best interests of the sick children and the struggling elderly. For some Indonesians, such a sentiment is laughable.

We are so obsessed with patriotism and machismo that we keep on treating this tragedy as a political rather than environmental issue. If their lungs are hurting, it'€™s our pride and honor that are wounded. If Singaporeans honor family values, we honor revolution.

Chinese-American writer Amy Chua (quoting a Singaporean academic) said that for Chinese-Indonesians, Singapore is a heaven '€” a Valhalla or Olympus '€” where everything works and everything goes well.

That is precisely why some Indonesians, not least the government, indulge in this schadenfreude. Ex-president B.J. Habibie belittled Singapore as a '€œlittle red dot'€, accusing it of being an arrogant minnow hosting (Chinese) Indonesian '€œcorruption suspects'€ (many Indonesian-Singaporeans I know are women who fled the May 1998 riots).

The despair among Indonesian expatriates in Singapore is that all the bad things in Indonesia keep haunting them; and the terrible handling of this crisis reminds them of everything that'€™s bad about Indonesia.

I do not care if the guilty corporations are Singaporean, Malaysian or Indonesian. There are fires raging in Riau and Indonesia has the responsibility to extinguish them immediately with the help of Malaysia and Singapore.

If the Indonesian authorities say they have no money, manpower or resources to do that, then the guilt is theirs. While I can understand that Riau firefighters have their hands tied with very limited resources, I am not convinced that Jakarta is willing, let alone prepared, to do anything meaningful.

Is it not enough that we live by mediocrity, but we have to destroy perfection, too?

The writer teaches English and Australian cultural studies at Uni-Bridge, St. Aloysius High School, Bandung.