Bukti jadi halangan akta jerebu rentas sempadan

Malaysia faces a significant challenge in enacting a special act to handle transboundary forest fire incidents, as the country lacks sufficient evidence to identify the causes and responsible parties, stated Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Deputy Minister of Indigenous People and Environmental Conservation. He emphasized during a statement in the Dewan Rakyat that identifying such information, including the coordinates of the fire, land ownership, and parties conducting activities in the affected area, is crucial.

This information, while challenging to obtain, is necessary to establish the foundations for the proposed act.

The possibility of enacting a law similar to the Singaporean Transboundary Forest Fire Pollution Act, which includes investigating the weaknesses in its implementation, is also a potential option for Malaysia. Syed Ibrahim stated that such legislation could be enacted if required, subject to parliamentary processes and approval.

While he did not announce any decisions regarding the enactment of the special act, Malaysia remains committed to diplomatic efforts and ASEAN cooperation with Indonesia and other initiatives through the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The country remains dedicated to the vision of a haze-free ASEAN by 2030 through the ASEAN Haze-Free Vision Plan 2020.

Two additional initiatives were proposed at the regional level, namely scientific diplomacy to strengthen the use of scientific data and evidence, and a haze fund to expand financing for fire prevention and management. Further discussions on these efforts are scheduled for December through the ASEAN Regional Office and the Council of Ministers of the relevant agreement in Vietnam.

Syed Ibrahim stressed that diplomatic efforts must produce actionable results, while strengthening must be based on evidence and legislation.