Guna pengaruh dagang tangani jerebu, pemimpin Bersama beritahu kerajaan

24 areas across Malaysia recorded IPU (Indicators of Air Pollution) readings that were unhealthy on Tuesday noon, a decline from 27 areas on Monday evening. Petaling Jaya-based Lee Chean Chung criticized the government for utilizing trade influence to hold accountable plantation companies involved in forest fires in Indonesia, which caused repeated incidents of cross-border smoke.

The former Petaling Jaya MP and current member of Bersatu suggested that Malaysian plantation companies operating in Indonesia should be required to disclose concession maps and fire records through Bursa Malaysia and the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities. In the statement, Lee proposed banning the implicated companies from participating in government procurements, receiving licenses and incentives, as well as revealing their identities.

He also urged the government to introduce a law on transboundary smoke pollution, stating that the proposed legislation has not been implemented since he proposed it in August 2019. Lee suggested using satellite data and concession maps as evidence, including mandating companies to prove that their land is not the cause of fires.

He demanded Malaysia to activate the existing ASEAN mechanism to address the issue, including officially raising awareness of Indonesia's obligations under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Lee proposed a Special Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting on the topic to be held, alongside the Sub-Regional Ministerial Meeting of Heads of State and Ministers involving Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and optimizing the use of the ASEAN Disaster Management Center for Transboundary Smoke Pollution Control.

He stated that the issue should be raised at the 49th ASEAN Summit Conference in Manila from November 16-18, where Malaysia needs to obtain firm commitments from regional leaders and periodic progress reports. He criticized Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's assertion that Putrajaya had done its best to tackle the transboundary smoke pollution issue, arguing that diplomatic approach alone is insufficient.

He also questioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' handling of the case, referencing recent parliamentary statements that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had not received confirmation from Putra Palace regarding the company involved. Lee said the main obstacle is lack of political will, not lack of evidence. Forest fires are not natural disasters but human-caused and can be repeated, he said.