Haze crisis in Southeast Asia sparks fresh blame game, as green groups urge laws to deter ‘bad apples’

Malaysia recorded unhealthy air levels in several areas across the country on Monday, while air quality in Indonesia’s South Sumatra also hit ‘dangerous’ levels

The latest haze crisis reinforces the urgent need for Asean member states to enact transboundary haze pollution laws to tackle the problem, environmentalists say

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A residential area affected by haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:45pm, 3 Oct 2023

As Malaysia prepares to seed clouds and shut schools to deal with the deterioration of air quality brought on by forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia, environmentalists say urgent transboundary laws are needed to deter “bad apples” from causing the annual problem once and for all.

Fires in persistent dry weather conditions in Sumatra and Kalimantan, home to vast oil palm plantations, have been made worse by the onset of the El Nino weather phenomenon, experts say, triggering the worst haze since 2019.

On Friday, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) activated Alert Level 2 for the southern Asean region – one level away from being declared a full-blown haze crisis.

Cars wait in traffic near the Petronas Twin Towers which are clouded in haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

ASMC data showed regional wind potentially blowing haze northwest from South Sumatra to Peninsular Malaysia, and likewise from South Kalimantan to Sarawak.

For Malaysians, that meant an unwelcome return of the dreaded haze.

“I just don’t open my windows at home, because the terrible air just makes my skin all itchy,” said a children’s day care operator in Kuala Lumpur, who requested to be known only by their surname Lee.

“I tell the parents of all my kids here the same, close all the windows if you can and make sure the kids drink a lot of water. Hopefully the children don’t fall sick.”