Indonesia's smoke haze reignites regional frustrations

Smoke from Indonesia's most intense fires in years has continued to blanket Singapore and Malaysia, creating friction between the neighbours.Singapore tutor Ow Tai Pang said the haze peaked last month."It felt like I was breathing in smoke," he said."I could smell it in the air and my throat became very dry. It was very uncomfortable."Ow Tai Pang says he avoids going outdoors when the air quality in Singapore is poor. (Supplied)Like many Singaporeans, he kept windows shut, ran air purifiers and avoided outdoor activities.Mr Ow said he felt a "slight resentment" with how Indonesia's government had handled the crisis, particularly its slowness to accept offers of international help."They could have responded much earlier," he said.Kuala Lumpur resident Syed Akramin said his children had been unable to attend school and his wife had a severe cough for weeks.This year's haze prompted him to speak out online for what he said was the first time."The haze has become so disruptive that it is difficult for us to simply ignore it," he said.Some social media users in Malaysia have called for a boycott of Indonesian products.Syed Akramin has taken to social media for the first time to complain about the haze from Indonesia's wildfires. (Supplied)But for Mr Akramin, boycotting Indonesian products was not a solution to the ongoing haze problems."My frustration is directed at the recurring haze problem and the failure to resolve it, rather than at Indonesian people or their products," he told the ABC.Tnay Heng Hung is an urban planner originally from Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo who now lives in Singapore with her family.Tnay Heng Hung says her children are experiencing what she went through decades ago. (Supplied)She said the recent haze not only disrupted her life but also brought back memories of the severe pollution episodes she experienced growing up."It is really worrying because when I experienced this, I was about the same age as my kids," she said."For generations, this has not gotten better. I think something needs to be done."Diplomatic tensions flare upFrustration over the haze has also boiled over at a diplomatic level.Last month, the head of Indonesia's Government Communications Agency responded to complaints by minimising concerns over the fires and describing them as a natural phenomenon."We're not just sending over the haze," he said. "When there's no haze, we send oxygen."Singapore Senior Minister K Shanmugam called the remarks "disappointing".The Indonesian fires have left Kuala Lumpur blanketed in haze. (Reuters: Hasnoor Hussain)In Malaysia, MP Kalam Salan pointedly began speaking Javanese during a parliamentary speech about the haze crisis.The language is associated with the home region of Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto."Perhaps the leaders there, most of whom are Javanese, do not understand Malay. Therefore, with the speaker's permission, I will speak in Javanese," Mr Salan told the parliament.Malaysian MP Lim Guan Eng called for possible legal action against Indonesia while his fellow MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman called for diplomatic protests.Both calls were quickly ruled out by the Malaysian government.Observers have questioned the timing of Indonesia's decision last month to reduce piped gas exports to Singapore by about 8 per cent, citing "domestic energy needs".The cut followed comments by Indonesia's Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia that Jakarta could review export contracts with countries deemed "disrespectful".In a bid to lower the temperature, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan last week made what Indonesian officials described as an "unexpected visit" to Jakarta, where he met his Indonesian counterpart, Arrmanatha Nasir, and President Prabowo Subianto.Vivian Balakrishnan (left) met with Prabowo Subianto (right) last week. (Press and Media Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat: Laily Rachev)The talks led to an agreement to establish a joint task force to tackle the recurring haze crisis.The group will facilitate information sharing and cooperation between authorities in both countries, with a focus on identifying, deterring and holding accountable companies linked to land and forest fires that contribute to trans-boundary haze.Singapore has also summoned representatives of 10 Singapore-affiliated companies identified by Singapore's National Environment Agency as being allegedly linked to the fires.Under Singapore's Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, they can be compelled to provide information about links to activities contributing to haze pollution, with penalties for non-compliance.Many Singaporeans have taken to wearing protective masks while commuting on public transport when the haze is severe. (Reuters: Suhaimi Abdullah)A statement from the Indonesian government said more than 71,000 personnel from multiple agencies had been deployed to tackle forest and land fires, particularly in Sumatra and Kalimantan."The government continues to strengthen mitigation, its response to the impact on communities, and law enforcement against corporations proven to have violated regulations, including through sanctions up to and including licence revocation in accordance with applicable provisions," it said.ASEAN's effectiveness questionedMalaysia will raise the fires as an issue at an Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Manila on November 12, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan has said.Randy Wirasta Nandyatama, a senior researcher at Universitas Gadjah Mada's ASEAN Studies Center, said ASEAN member states were unlikely to support punitive measures against Indonesia.Instead, discussions at the meeting were likely to focus on cooperation, resilience and prevention, he said.Dr Nandyatama said the crisis highlighted a longstanding gap between ASEAN's commitments and its ability to enforce them."We often see a gap between rhetoric and action. Within ASEAN, there also appears to be a degree of tolerance when member states do not fully adhere to agreements," he told the ABC.The latest haze episode has also revived questions about the effectiveness of ASEAN mechanisms designed to address transboundary pollution, such as the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution from 2002.Randy Wirasta Nandyatama says ASEAN is not good at responding to crises in the region that involve its influential members. (Supplied)He said ASEAN's decision-making process was based on consensus and often reflected the "lowest common denominator" among member states.Therefore, he said it would be "difficult for the organisation to respond decisively during crises, particularly when they involve one of its most influential members"."Many countries understand there are limits to how far they can push," he said, noting governments often preferred bilateral engagement over public confrontation, as shown by the Singaporean foreign minister's visit to Indonesia.Mr Nasir, Indonesia's foreign minister, said tackling the fires was a "top national priority" because Indonesian communities living in affected areas were among the first to feel the effects of the smoke.