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Singapore needs to understand Indonesia's fire issue: Chief of staff
Destroyed: Firefighters attempt to extinguish a forest fire in Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve in Tasik Betung, Riau Province, on 3 September
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Destroyed: Firefighters attempt to extinguish a forest fire in Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve in Tasik Betung, Riau Province, on 3 September. (Kompas) (Kompas)
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span class="inline inline-center">Destroyed: Firefighters attempt to extinguish a forest fire in Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve in Tasik Betung, Riau Province, on 3 September. (Kompas)
Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki says that Singapore should understand the difficulties faced by the Indonesian government in overcoming the haze problem.
He also reminded Singaporeans that they have enjoyed oxygen produced by Indonesia's jungles for the past nine months, and made mention of the large amount of Indonesian agricultural and mining products that flow into Singapore's docks.
'Extinguishing [the peatland and forest fires] is not a simple job," Teten said on Monday, commenting on Singapore's protest over the haze problem, as quoted by Antara news agency.
According to Teten, Indonesia has been doing everything it can to stop the fires, and the government will soon punish those guilty of forest arson.
Teten said the Forestry Ministry had noted the names of companies and individuals allegedly involved in burning forests, had reported them to President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and passed them to the National Police for further investigation.
"The President has underlined three key courses of action; primarily legal action against forest arsonists, including administrative sanctions; business permit cancelations; and other preventative measures," Teten said.
School closed
In Malaysia, the haze problem caused the closing of 3,000 schools across several regions on Monday due to poor air quality, described as ranging from 'unhealthy' to 'very unhealthy'.
The affected regions of Malaysia are Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Sri Aman District, Kuching and Sarawak.
"Due to the haze situation, the ministry decided to close affected schools to assure the students' health and safety," said Malaysia's Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahadzir Khalid to local media, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Based on field monitoring across the country, some states, including Sarawak, recorded Air Pollution Index (IPU) readings of 'very unhealthy', or 201-300, and 'unhealthy', or 101-200.
'The decision to suspend school classes can be made autonomously [in each state] once the IPU level reaches 120 to 150 or when visibility is less than 500 meters," Mahadzir said. (ags/dan)
