Malaysia has announced that it will call on neighboring countries in Southeast Asia to find a long-term solution for haze in the region coming from forest fires in Indonesia.
According to Malaysia's Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin, Malaysia and Singapore have been affected for the past few weeks by haze coming from forest fires used to clear lands for planting in Indonesia. This has forced schools to close down and people to wear masks to avoid inhaling the smog particles.
Yeo said "I will have a conference call with the ASEAN secretary-general to raise our views and also express our hope for a more effective mechanism at the ASEAN level for a long-term solution." Malaysia thinks the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which the country, Singapore and Indonesia belong, has not done enough to create a long-term solution to the smog problem.
The environment minister pointed out that while Malaysia can implement a new law to penalize companies in the country that start fires, only international cooperation would result in a lasting solution. He also mentioned that cloud seeding initiatives will continue as a temporary relief in badly affected areas, which involves dispersing chemicals like sodium chloride and magnesium oxide from aircraft in order to induce rainfall.
However, he pointed out that "Cloud seeding is only temporary. A law here would only deal with Malaysian companies. What we need is international cooperation for a long-term solution."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently said that they are considering legislation that will force its companies to tackle fires on land they control abroad, as well as deploying drones to help in cloud seeding.
Meanwhile, the country's Islamic Development Department issued the text of a special plea for divine intervention to disperse the smog, which will be recited in mosque congregations nationwide after weekly prayers.
