Stop making excuses and apologise for haze, Johor Pakatan tells Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Johor's Pakatan Harapan (PH) has called on the Indonesian government to stop its dismissive attitude towards the haze affecting Malaysia and immediately stop making unhelpful comments. PH leader Andrew Chen Kah Eng demanded that Jakarta take full responsibility for the cross-border environmental issue and formally apologize to affected Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries.

"Allowing the haze with PM2.5 particles to contaminate the air of other nations is unacceptable, especially when it endangers public health," Chen stated in a statement. The Stulang assemblyman and DAP leader emphasized that Malaysians are suffering from this pollution, yet their officials appear to ignore the issue. "The health and lives of people are not trivial matters," he added.

Chen noted that both the UN and Asean have declared access to a clean, safe, and healthy environment as a universal human right. His comments came after Indonesia's government communication chief Syahganda Nainggolan recently suggested that Malaysia and Singapore accept forest fires as a natural phenomenon, while claiming Indonesian forests provide oxygen to both countries when there is no smoke.

Chen dismissed this as irresponsible, pointing out that describing forest and peatland fires as natural occurrences overlooks the human activities causing the transboundary pollution. The diplomatic tension unfolded as Johor faced severe haze that led to school closures last week.