KL calls for global help to tackle forest fires<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's leaders yesterday called for
\nglobal help to tackle forest fires the pollution from which, they
\nsaid, is affecting the health and well-being of people in most
\nparts of Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Thick smoke and haze caused by raging forest fires in
\nIndonesia have blanketed Malaysia and Singapore since the middle
\nof last month, spreading more recently to Brunei and drifting
\ntowards Thailand, according to meteorological experts here.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said developed nations with
\nappropriate fire-fighting equipment should come to the region's
\nrescue if they considered tropical rainforests the heritage of
\nmankind.<\/p>\n
\"They should not sit back and watch the heritage being
\ndestroyed and in the process worsening global warming,\" Mahathir
\nwas quoted by Bernama news agency as telling Malaysian
\njournalists in Ashgabat at the end of his visit to Turkmenistan.<\/p>\n
Mahathir's call came shortly after his deputy Anwar Ibrahim
\npleaded at the 49th United Nations General Assembly in New York
\nfor global aid to help put out the forest fires in Southeast
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
\"Hundreds of thousands of hectares of virgin forests are
\nburning and valuable species are being lost,\" Anwar said in his
\naddress at the assembly as reported by Bernama.<\/p>\n
Mahathir also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN), grouping Malaysia, with Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei,
\nThailand and the Philippines, should pool resources to fight the
\nfrequent outbreak of forest fires in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Fighting such fires is costly and ASEAN members could ill-
\nafford to do it individually, Mahathir said, adding that he had
\ndiscussed the problem with Indonesia's President Soeharto when
\nthey met in Jakarta recently.<\/p>\n
\"But collectively we may be able to have some capacity,\"
\nMahathir said, echoing Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok's recent
\nsuggestion for joint efforts to tackle the haze.<\/p>\n
Mahathir said he was not sure whether the forest fires in
\nIndonesia had directly caused the severe air pollution in the
\nregion, but he was certain they contributed to it. \"They should
\nnot go unchecked,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A Malaysia-Singapore joint environment panel on Wednesday
\ncalled for an urgent ASEAN plan to help Indonesia combat the
\nfires.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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