Amid blame game, Dr M insists long-term haze solution requires international cooperation
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 15 — Malaysia needs cooperation from other countries first, particularly neighbouring Indonesia, before it can tackle the annual haze problem on a long-term basis, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
The prime minister told a press conference that Putrajaya has always wanted a long-term plan to deal with the problem, but faces a stumbling block when it comes to international cooperation on the matter.
“We have always wanted to have a long-term plan but it requires cooperation from other countries. Until we get cooperation, it is not possible to have long-term plans,” he said.
Dr Mahathir also said that he has not written to Indonesia president Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, over the transboundary haze that is becoming worse as time goes by.
He said he needs to look at all evidence first because of the defiant accusations by Indonesian Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, who claimed that the haze originated in Malaysia, despite satellite data and evidence painting a contrary picture.
“We need to look at all evidence because there are claims that the haze comes from Malaysia. So we need to verify whether or not it came from Malaysia,” said Dr Mahathir.
He added that in Klang Valley and Kuala Lumpur, the condition was not that bad which had allowed him to go horse riding earlier today.
The prime minister also joked that he wore a protective mask so the public could not recognise him besides protecting himself from the unhealthy air.
Yesterday, Indonesia sealed off land at 29 plantations including several that it insists are Malaysian-owned, in a move motivated by its zeal to prove that Indonesia was not solely at fault for the crisis.
The Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change also announced today that the cloud seeding process to reduce the ongoing haze over peninsula Malaysia has been scheduled for tomorrow.
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