THE REAL CAUSE OF THE ANNUAL HAZE IN INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE IS BECAUSE OF

CORRUPTION (KORUPSI)!
How corruption is fuelling the haze - Sara Schonhardt
June 25, 2013 Record-high air pollution hit Singapore and Malaysia last week as winds blew smoke northward from forest fires raging in Sumatra in Indonesia. Demands from the city-state that Indonesia take tougher action prompted retorts by officials who said Singapore was "behaving like a child". They sought to shift blame to companies based in Singapore and Malaysia. But the barb-trading over the haze, an annual annoyance that often strains relations between Singapore and Indonesia, overlooks one of the major causes of the burning corruption. Observers in Jakarta say rent- seeking local leaders and corporations are taking advantage of lax law enforcement and murky regulations to continue clearing forests at an increasingly rapid rate. Indeed, as it became clear that the bulk of the burning was taking place in Riau province, analysts were quick to point out that its governor - Mr Rusli Zainal - is the leading suspect in a case involving illegal logging permits. "The haze disaster shows the impact of corruption in the forestry sector," said Mr Danang Widoyoko, the chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, an independent graft monitor. It recently assessed permit processes in provinces where the heaviest logging occurred, citing five cases of corruption which led protected forest to be converted to plantations. Losses to the state totalled nearly US$195 million (S$249 million). The forestry sector has long been a source of rampant corruption. When Suharto was president, he doled out concessions to friends and relatives in return for their political

backing. As power has devolved over the past decade from the central government to the local level, analysts say, corruption has become both fragmented and more pervasive. Conservationists say logging and palm oil companies that cut into virgin forests and peatlands are scaling back wider conservation efforts - with the backing of local leaders seeking kickbacks in return for operating permits. The problem gets worse in election years, when officials need money to fund campaigns. With national elections due next year, this is one reason the burning may be worse this time around. In many cases, money compels local leaders, who are also charged with supervising plantation operations, to look the other way when companies engage in illegal practices, such as burning land in protected forest areas, says Mr Danang. "The problem is clearly a lack of monitoring from the forest authority," he adds. "A lot of corruption cases indicate that regents are easily bribed." Officials in the central government admit that some mining and plantation companies are operating illegally. But they say there is only so much they can do. "The regents give out the permits; it's outside the Ministry of Forestry's authority," Mr Hadi Daryanto, the ministry's secretary general, has told Eco-Business. It is the central government's responsibility to prevent and respond to forest fires. It is also the central government's job to issue national regulations that govern the country's forests - and this is where Indonesia has done well, say forest activists, pointing to several conservation-minded commitments made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono since he took office. In 2011, for example, Dr Yudhoyono backed a ban that would prevent companies from obtaining new permits to clear virgin forest and peatlands. The ban is part of a US$1 billion deal with Norway, which has agreed to provide the money in tranches as long as Indonesia is living up to its commitment to curb deforestation. Last month, Dr Yudhoyono extended the ban to 2015, a move commended by the international community. He did so in the face of lobbying by major logging, palm oil and mining companies, which say the ban hurts their ability to expand, dents profits and could stymie Indonesia's economic growth. The majority of the country's exports are commodities. But resource analysts disagree.

"There's really no reason why the moratorium would curtail economic development in the palm oil sector," says research associate Kemen Austin at the World Resource Institute in Washington DC. She adds that there is enough degraded land available for oil palm expansion, and the moratorium should be the impetus companies need to utilise their concessions more efficiently. Another aim of the moratorium on forest-clearing should be to strengthen the permit process, oversight and forest monitoring to ensure companies "don't revert to business as usual" once it expires, she says. Still, Indonesia has struggled to balance economic growth with sustainability. Many local leaders have not been convinced that keeping the forests intact will lead to development. It does not help that several schemes floated under the REDD+ programme, a United Nations initiative that aims to pay local governments for preserving their forests, have fallen flat. Meanwhile, critics of the forest-clearing moratorium say it does not go far enough, since it applies only to new permits and not those already held by plantation companies. Indonesia has one of the fastest rates of forest clearing in the world, much of it done to make way for palm oil, an ingredient used in everything from shampoos to sweets to cleaning agents. The country is the leading producer of the commodity, and a top emitter of harmful climate changing carbons. Many of the forests that are being developed stand on swampy peat that releases large amounts of carbon emissions when upended. The peat also becomes highly combustible after it decomposes, part of the reason the fires this year are so severe. Last week, environmental non- profit group Greenpeace said commercial plantations control half of the land where the biggest fires are burning, and much of it is on deep peat, which is off limits under the moratorium. Forest campaigner Bustar Maitar at Greenpeace in Indonesia says it becomes like "petrol in the forest", and can burn for weeks. While the latest fires have put a spotlight on corruption in the forestry sector, they have also highlighted the private sector's role in curbing forest clearing. Last Wednesday, Singapore's Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan asked the Indonesian government to name and shame the companies involved in the illegal burning. Some of the biggest companies operating in Indonesia - Wilmar International, Sinar Mas Group and Asia Pacific Resources International - are based in Singapore or Malaysia. All have issued statements saying they abide by strict no-burn policies, although Wilmar has

reportedly told Singapore media that it "cannot prevent local practices of slash-and-burn for agricultural and other purposes". Some have made even bolder commitments. In February, Asia Pulp and Paper, one of the world's largest paper companies, said it would immediately stop clearing natural forests within its concessions. Its sister palm oil company, Golden Agri-Resources, has also committed to forest conservation. Still, companies and governments cannot work independently, argue green groups. Indonesia will need to step up monitoring and ensure that local governments abide by national laws. Mr Agus Purnomo, a special adviser to President Yudhoyono and the head of the National Climate Change Council, said better law enforcement by local police and the judiciary as well as improvements in land titling and permit issuing processes are some solutions. Also key is ensuring better oversight from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is capable of cancelling regulations that contravene national laws on forest protection. But what really needs to happen is that local leaders must be held accountable. "The heads of the districts are not accountable to the public at large if there are forest fires and ongoing deforestation," Mr Purnomo told Eco-Business. "If we can create a system whereby the fate of the forests is (tied to) the head of the district, then there is some incentive for him to do more than participate in deforestation activity." * This article first appeared on the sustainable business website www.eco-business.com. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. - June 25, 2013.

Fingers point to Riau governor on illegal logging permits leading to haze

June 25, 2013 Corruption and companies taking advantage of lax enforcement and murky regulations to clear forests are the major causes of the haze that is smothering Malaysia and Singapore, an Indonesian-based eco-business writer has charged.

And here is the really bad news for Malaysians and Singaporeans: the hunger for kickbacks increases when elections are around the corner. As elections are due next year, this may be one reason why the burning of forests is worse this time around. The writer noted that as soon as it became clear the bulk of the burning was taking place in the Riau province, fingers were pointed at the leading suspect in the issuing of illegal logging permit: Rusli Zainal, the governor of Riau. Writing for a sustainable business website, www.ecobusiness.com, Ms Sara Schonhardt quoted Danang widiyoko, chairman of Indonesian Corruption Watch, as saying: The haze disaster shows the impact of corruption in the forestry sector. The independent graft monitor recently assessed permit processes in regions where heaviest logging occurred and noted five cases of corruption which led to protected forests being converted to plantations. The forestry sector has long been a source of rampant corruption. When Suharto was president, concessions were given to friends and relatives in return for political backing. As power devolved over the past decade from Jakarta to the local level, corruption has become more fragmented. The report noted that logging and oil palm companies that cut into virgin forests and peatlands are scaling back conservation efforts often with the backing of local leaders seeking kickbacks in return for operating permits. The problem gets worse in election years, when officials need money to fund campaigns. With national elections due next year, this is one reason the burning may be worse this time around. In many instances, the kickbacks persuade local leaders charged with supervising plantation operations to look the other way when companies burn land in protected forest areas, said Danang. Even the central government concedes that some mining and plantation companies are operating illegally but say their hands are tied because it is regional politicians who dish out the permits. Indonesia has one of the fastest rates of forest clearing in the world, much of it done to make way for palm oil. Many Malaysian plantation companies have also opened vast tracts of land there. Many of the forests that are being developed stand on peat lands that release large amounts of carbon emissions when upended. The peat also becomes highly combustible after it decomposes. - June 25, 2013.

Political patronage protecting haze culprits

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Athi Shankar | June 24, 2013 Political patronage and Indonesian local government officers' collusion with private companies were hindering efforts to stem the haze problem, claims a former senator.

GEORGE TOWN: Many Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean firms, accused of causing the haze in Sumatra have been able to evade official investigation by Jakarta due their strong political connections. Making these allegations, former DAP senator S Ramakrishnan said the widespread practice of patronage politics had enabled these companies to act with impunity, even in the face of open burning allegations by civil society. He claimed that the Malaysian and Singaporean companies especially were governmentlinked corporations (GLCs) or linked to powerful political elites back home. He said it can be inferred that these political elites were more motivated by material gains than protecting the interests of the society suffering from haze. Due to powerful political backing, these companies managed to evade probe by the Indonesian government despite repeated indicators of open burning. Political patronage protects the trans-border haze pollutants, he said in a statement issued here today. Ramakrishnan said while Singaporeans and Malaysians were now caught red-handed, Indonesia, which was the haze-causing culprit for the past 20 years, seemed to be in no hurry and showed no expediency to reduce the smog. He said Malaysian and Singaporean investors control more than two-thirds of the Indonesian oil palm plantation sector and were implicated in the fires alongside local plantations.

He said these companies were rich, huge and enjoyed the political protection of patrons from Indonesia and their home country. This explains why Malaysian and Singaporean investors continue to clear land by fire in the interests of cost-efficiency, despite their home countries suffering the worst effects of haze. (As such) there is little hope to address trans-boundary haze effectively unless the root cause of the system, patronage politics, is conclusively addressed, said Ramakrishnan, who contested and lost Labis parliamentary seat in recent general election. Haze affects 75 mil people He also alleged that that it would not be a surprise if superannuation funds such as EPF, Tabung Haji and LTAT heavily invested in these pollutant companies. Indonesia, Southeast Asias largest economy, has vastly expanded its palm oil plantations in the past decade, overtaking Malaysia to become the worlds biggest supplier. He said sources familiar with the problem estimated that 80% fires were set by plantation companies or their sub-contractors for land clearing purposes, while the remaining 20% were set by swidden (slash-and-burn) farmers. The smoke from these fires accumulates and travels across international boundaries, he said resulting in trans-boundary haze pollution. The annual haze phenomenon affects the health of some 75 million people and the economies of six Southeast Asian nations, with the worst affected being Malaysia and Singapore. - See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/24/politicalpatronage-protecting-haze-culprits/#sthash.BfYGeH6t.dpuf

Solve the haze problem once and for all!

June 25, 2013 FMT LETTER: From Foon Weng Lian, via e-mail The haze season has visited Malaysia again this year like an annual event. What makes this years event so special is that we have seen the actions taken by the related ministries in Singapore and the sense of urgency that they showed toward this problem.

In Singapore, you get hourly PSI reading, a 24-hour PSI haze forecast, free face masks from the government agencies, easily access and ample information and haze management tips and determined ministers. Comparatively in Malaysia, we get 4 or 5 hours interval API readings (delayed somemore), related official websites that have no information on haze at all, crashed website, sky rocketing face mask prices and out-of-stock, limited information and waitand-see attitude by the authorities. Under the National Haze Action Plan, one of the actions is for the Malaysian Meteorological Department to carry out cloud seeding when the air pollution index exceeds 101 for more than 72 hours. The situation has been going on like this for almost a week and we have yet to see any effort to carry out cloud seeding. DOE has issued a ban of open burning at the beginning of the event in three states. While it is a commendable action taken by DOE to curb further release of haze to the environment, such ban should be implemented throughout the country instead of three states only. Moreover, such ban must be done at all times instead of during emergency only. Reports are showing that the current culprits for the haze are same as the ones in the 2005 and even 1997. We saw promises made by the previous ministers that they will penalise and take action against the culprits. It seems that all those promises were mere words only and washed down the drain once the haze ended. Please stop the finger-pointing and childish statements and take immediate actions now to solve the issue. Enough is enough! See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/25/solve-the-hazeproblem-once-and-for-all/#sthash.ttFyhcly.dpuf

Aseans impotence and Najibs sluggishness

June 25, 2013 The government does not see it necessary to create public awareness so that everyone understands what he or she can do to minimize any health complications caused by haze. COMMENT

By Charles Santiago Lets try a reality check. Malaysians have been hit by haze every year. The cause of the thick smog, which blankets our skyline, has been the same peat forest fires in Sumatra. And these were always brought about by slash and burn activities, which Indonesian, Singaporean and Malaysian companies indulge upon, not to mention small holders. And each year, we suffer from upper-respiratory problems, burning or itchy skin and watery eyes. Hospitals and clinics see an upsurge of such cases, including asthma and lung infections. Environmental groups and opposition politicians have, year after year, demanded that Asean countries grow the political will to hammer out a durable solution. Fast-forward to now and we cant see the car two rows ahead on the road because the haze is back like clockwork. The crucial thing missing, however, is any workable solution from any Asean government. Our government has a score that reads Epic Fail. In fact this is the worst choking smog in 16 years. Schools and colleges are shut and the federal government has declared emergency in three areas. Despite this, Indonesia is yet to ratify the Asean Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution, signaling the Republics reluctance to take action again errant companies. The anti-haze treaty came into force in 2003. Asean nations, Malaysia included, do not keep up enough pressure to lobby Indonesia to ink the agreement. Its the Big Boys Club where member countries might be upset and have diplomatic rows now and then. Days later, they become pals again until the same issue chokes up the friendship. Without Indonesia signing the agreement, there is no point in having the yearly meeting. Its time that Indonesia shoulders the legal obligation.

And even if it does, the treaty can still be a worthless piece of paper as Asean countries are adamant about their non-interference policy. So lets not take chances here. We do not need to leave it to Indonesia alone to monitor, regulate or prosecute errant companies. Malaysia can keep a close watch on Malaysian companies in Sumatra and charge those that flout laws for these companies have committed nothing less than a crime against humanity. Millions of people have experienced breathing difficulties and other serious health complications. Many parts of Malaysia are recording unhealthy or hazardous levels. The state constituency of Port Klang (located in the parliamentary constituency of Klang) recorded a hazardous level with an Air Pollution Index (API) of 427 on Monday night. Experts say this could worsen as wind directions are blowing the haze further into Klang Valley and up North, possibly affecting Perak, Penang and other northern states. Educating the public While the Malaysian government has been asking people to stay indoors, it has not taken any initiative to educate the rakyat about the dangers of the haze. The haze consists of tiny particles measuring 2.5 microns in diameter or smaller. For example, they are 1/10,000 of an inch in size or 30 times smaller than the width of one hair strand. These particles are therefore small enough to get past our defensive nose hairs and into our lungs. They can cause the cells in the lungs to mutate and become cancerous. And these tiny particles can also pass from our lungs into our blood stream and be carried throughout our bodies. In short, particles in haze can increase our risk of developing bacterial and viral infections, cancer, stroke, or heart and lung diseases. And yet, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razaks government does not see it necessary to create public awareness so that everyone understands what he or she can do to minimize any health complications. For example, we see most Malaysians walking around with surgical masks that would not help to keep off the tiny particles. It is the responsibility of the government to educate the people to wear N95 masks as well as cap the price to make it affordable. On top of that, the Health Ministry should already have started distributing these masks so that the poor have access to them as well.

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Therefore, while we are busy pointing fingers at Indonesia, the fact that Najibs administration has not done any of this is beyond the pale. Not to mention that Malaysia, as part of Asean, prefers looking pretty at the dinner table with Indonesia as opposed to doing the right thing by the people. Charles Santiago is DAPs member of parliament for Klang - See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/25/aseansimpotence-and-najibs-sluggishness/#sthash.4PBTHq6g.dpuf

Jerebu dan politik baru

June 25, 2013 Adakah politik kita yang kita anggap sudah maju ini hanya berkisar tentang pembangunan material sahaja? COMMENT

Oleh Mahdzir Ibrahim Bahana atau malapetaka samaada yang berhubung kait dengan alam sekitar atau pun keselamatan awam, kadangkala akan hanya menjadi polemik di media-media massa dan retorik bagi sesetengah parti atau orang politik, pada ketika ini khususnya di Malaysia. Jika asap jerebu terjadi, semua pihak akan menjadi begitu prihatin dan pro aktif sekali. Isu ini akan membuatkan semua pihak bekerjasama memberi bantuan atau pandangan untuk menyelesaikannya. Ianya baik, tetapi bersifat sementara sahaja. Berbanding dengan isu atau kes-kes lain, yang mana kesannya juga boleh mendatangkan kemudaratan kepada kualiti hidup kita, tidak pula kita beri perhatian sehebat jerebu.

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Sebagai contoh isu Lynas kilang pemprosesan sisa nadir bumi di Pahang, nampak ianya menjadi isu satu pihak sahaja. Masyarakat umum dan kerajaan tidak begitu mengambil endah atas kempen-kempen yang dijalankan, ia dilayan sebagai isu NGO atau parti pembangkang sahaja. Isu pembalakan di Sarawak, juga kelihatan menjadi isu satu pihak sahaja, seolah-olah isu ini menjadi terlalu eksklusif bagi rakyat biasa dan amat sensitif bagi kerajaan. Begitu juga dengan isu hutan simpan di Selangor, ia tidak dilihat sebagai keperluan umum yang penting. Apatah lagi isu hidupan marin di Pengerang dan isu nelayan atau paya bakau di Tanjong Piai. Semua ini hanya menjadi isu terpencil dan terpisah-pisah. Hanya apabila berlaku sesuatu kes, maka kita semua akan bertindak berdasarkan kes yang berlaku, bukan meneliti punca bagaimana kes-kes sedemikian terjadi dan berulangulang. Apabila hutan di Sarawak dah gondol baru nak bertindak, apabila kawasan tadahan hujan habis, maka kita akan bertindak, apabila hidupan marin, nelayan dan bakau pupus maka kita akan lancarkan usaha pemulihannya. Inilah cara kita yang mana ia dipercayai berpunca dari amalan politik kita sendiri yang menangani isu hanya pada aspek permukaan, bukan secara dasar dan bersama. Sebagai contoh lain dari isu alam sekitar; antaranya isu permit individu teksi, isu sosioekonomi golongan nelayan pantai, isu perjanjian tenaga/IPP, isu harga kereta, isu konsesi tol, isu hutang PTPTN, isu penambahbaikan agensi polis (IPCMC) dan isu reformasi Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR). Senario ini mendatangkan persoalan besar kepada kita, adakah politik kita yang kita anggap sudah maju ini hanya berkisar tentang pembangunan material sahaja? Atau politik kita hanya berkisar tentang isu birokrasi agensi? Atau hanya isu persepsi politik sematamata? Politik baru Sebelum era ini, kaedah politik first past the post itulah yang terbaik kerana sebelum ini kuasa BN seakan tidak mungkin dapat dicabar oleh pembangkang. Tetapi kini, dimensi politik kita sudah berubah. Sudah dua kali pilihanraya, BN gagal mendapat kuasa majoriti dua pertiga. Maka politik sedemikian harus segera berganjak kepada politik perundingan kuasa, bukan lagi berdasarkan pembuat keputusan hanya dari sebelah pihak yang berkuasa. Sebagai contoh, isu perlantikan Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, sejajar dengan persepsi bahawa politik kita sudah maju, adalah wajar jawatan penting tersebut dirunding diantara

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dua blok politik (PR dan BN), bukan diundi sebagaimana saranan Liew Chin Tong barubaru ini. Kerana kita menyedari bahawa dengan mekanisme undi sahaja, maka jelaslah bahawa calon YDDR yang akan menang adalah dari BN, bukan dar PR. Maka tidak wujud elemen politik baru disini. Ini salah satu contoh bagaimana politik baru boleh membantu menyelesaikan masalah lain seperti kes jerebu, alam sekitar dan segala isu yang melibatkan kepentingan rakyat. Ia mesti dirunding dan diselesaikan secara bersama, oleh semua pihak. Dalam menangani pelbagai kes-kes yang sukar, yang memerlukan pembentukan sebuah jawatankuasa khas, kerajaan sewajarnya meletakan wakil dari semua pihak, oposisi mahupun NGO dan professional. Sekurang-kurangnya, langkah ini paling cepat untuk mengadaptasi budaya politik yang baru menggantikan politik kerajaan serba tahu. Kesimpulannya, demokrasi itu sendiri adalah untuk memastikan suara pihak minoriti (selain daripada kerajaan minoriti BN) dapat didengar dan dipertimbangkan. Ini bukan isu Pakatan Rakyat atau NGO, ini adalah isu semua pihak kita. Penulis adalah setiausaha politik kepada Pengarah Biro Pendidikan Politik DAP, Liew Chin Tong. - See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/06/25/jerebudan-politik-baru/#sthash.YwLJJWn8.dpuf

DAP demands action from Indonesia

G Lavendran | June 24, 2013 A delegation led by Lim Guan Eng will submit a statement of demand to the Indonesian embassy seeking tough action against companies responsible for open fires.

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KUALA LUMPUR: A DAP delegation led by its secretary general, Lim Guan Eng, today met with Indonesian Ambassador Herman Prayitno to discuss the ongoing air pollution crisis. We have expressed our disappointment to the ambassador and he assured us that the Indonesian government is working on a fix. We will be handing in a formal statement of demand to the ambassador tomorrow to take stern action against companies responsible for these open fires. They must be charged, no matter where those companies are from. They should not only pay compensation to Indonesia, but also to Singapore and Malaysia, said Lim, who is also the Penang Chief Minister. On top of that, their licences should also be revoked. This would set a good example and others will be afraid to commit the same wrongdoing in the future, he added. Lim said the second demand will take a long time as it involves the ratification of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. This whole process will be time consuming, but the Indonesian government shouldnt take it lightly, he said. This is a very serious matter and Indonesia is the only Asean country which has not ratified the agreement. This is humiliating and portrays Indonesia as a irresponsible country, he added. The final demand by DAP would be for Indonesia to work on long term plans to ensure that this crisis doesnt happen again. Indonesia can handle it if they wanted to, they just need to plan it way ahead of time. Even if it does happen again, they should be ready to handle it, he said. Environment and Natural Resources Minister G Palanivel is scheduled to meet the Indonesian president on Wednesday. Im disappointed that Palanivel had delayed his visit to Indonesia, but I sure hope the meeting will be fruitful, said Lim. 14

Lim was accompanied today by Klang MP Charles Santiago, Seremban MP Anthony Loke and Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching Charles said the process of ratification on the agreement will take up a lot of time and the Indonesian government must come up with an emergency plan soon. The ratification process will take too long, we need to stop this immediately. I understand that Indonesia may not have the expertise but they can seek help from their neighbours, he said. Indonesia should come up with an emergency plan together with Singapore and Malaysia. If possible, they should also ask the Americans for help as they have the expertise to resolve a situation like this, he added. - See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/24/dapdemands-action-from-indonesia/#sthash.OqFABj4Y.dpuf

Asean leaders tweet haze concern

June 24, 2013 Leaders of haze-affected countries in Asean took to social media tools to find a solution for the environmental disaster.

By Arno Maierbrugger SINGAPORE: Leaders of haze-affected countries in Asean, namely Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, took to social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to find a solution for the environmental disaster. In a Facebook post, Singapores prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said he shared the concerns of his countrymen over the haze and urged Indonesia to take action.

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He also offered Singapores aircraft for cloud seeding purposes. He said Singapore was going to distribute a million N95 masks to low-income households for free. On Twitter, Malaysian prime minister Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia was willing to help Indonesia put out the fires by cloud seeding. Najib added that Asean had to work together to resolve the matter once and for all and said the issue will be discussed at the next Asean meeting in Brunei from June 27 to July 2. Indonesias President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tweeted that both the Indonesian army and police have been mobilised to combat fires raging in Sumatra. He added that he had instructed all relevant agencies at Indonesias central and regional governments to resolve the problem within a month. Former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong expressed his anger in a Facebook post. PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) now over 400. The Singapore child is being suffocated. How can he not scream? he asked. It was a reference to Agung Laksono, the Indonesian minister coordinating his countrys response to the haze, who accused Singapore of behaving like a child over the issue. This report first appeared on www.investvine.com - See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/06/24/aseanleaders-tweet-haze-concern/#sthash.nKq9ae69.dpuf WHATS THE POINT OF JUST TWEETING AROUND ABOUT HAZE CONCERNS WITHOUT TAKING CONCRETE MEASURES TO ERADICATE THE PROBLEM ONCE AND FOR ALL! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, THE PEOPLE IN THE REGION ARE TOTALLY FED UP WITH EMPTY PROMISES TO ERADICATE THIS PROBLEM WHICH HAS LINGER FOR DECADES. FOR GODS SAKE HAVE SOME POLITICAL WILL TO DO SOMETHING. THIS IS 2013. IN THE YEAR 2023, YES TEN YEARS FROM NOW, WE WANT TO SEE WHETHER THE SAME PROBLEM PERSISTS. A GOVERNMENT MUST KNOW HOW TO MANAGE AND GOVERN ITS OWN COUNTRY WELL. GOOD GOVERNMENTS DO NOT PUT THEIR CITIZENS HEALTH AS WELL AS THE HEALTH OF OTHERS IN HAZARDOUS JEAPORDY!

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