Activists plan to sue Malaysia over haze

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Environmental activists, fishermen and legal experts in the North Sumatra capital of Medan lashed out at Malaysia on Monday over the haze from forest fires there, which continued to blanket the city in recent days.

They demanded that Malaysian officials pay unspecified amounts of compensation to Indonesian victims affected by the smoke who threatened a class-action suit against its government, should it fail to stem the haze by putting out the fires.

North Sumatra's Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi), the Medan-based Legal Aid Institute (LBH), and the province's Association of All-Indonesian Fishermen (HNSI), all separately said that they were ready to step up pressure on Kuala Lumpur to extinguish the fires.

Ihya Hulumuddin, a deputy HNSI secretary of North Sumatra chapter, said that his organization is considering mobilizing thousands of fishermen to march at the Malaysian consul's office in Medan to protest against the haze.

He said that hundreds of villagers in Medan were forced to suspend fishing off the coast of Belawan and neighboring regencies due to the thick smoke covering waters, which severely limited the visibility.

"Many fishermen still cannot go out to the sea, fearing possible collision between their boats, as the nighttime visibility is only between 30 and 40 meters," Ihya told The Jakarta Post.

He said nearly collisions were to take place between fishing vessels due to the reduced visibility in the Belawan waters. "To avoid collisions, small fishing boats have often to light torches as a special code for others."

LBH director of the Medan branch Irham Buana Nasution said that a class action suit was likely against the Malaysian government.

Such a move is justified by Law No. 4/1999 on forestry and Law No. 23/1997 on environment, he argued. "It is the right of people to begin civil litigation against Malaysia over pollution and environmental damage."

North Sumatra's Walhi director Efendi Panjaitan that said his group is ready to campaign for an international boycott of Malaysia's exported wood products.

He said that Malaysia is one of the countries in the region that have accommodated stolen logs smuggled from Indonesia.

Efendi accused Malaysia of applying two standards in its environmental policy. "On the one hand, it claims to be concerned with forest management, but on the other it contributes to damaging forests in Indonesia."

Malaysian Consul General Syed Munshe Asdzaruddin Bin Syed Hasan in Medan refused to comment on his country's forest fires that have been sending haze to North Sumatra.

It is up to the of the Malaysian ambassador in Jakarta to speak to the issue, he said.

"The authority is in the hands of the ambassador in Jakarta," he added. "I don't know about this."

Based on satellite monitoring by the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) based in Medan, the smoke covering the city came from forest fires in southern and central parts of Malaysia, as well as parts of North Sumatra, and Riau.

The Walhi, LBH, and HNSI leaders have also urged the Indonesian government to take stern action against businessmen found to have burned forests to clear land for plantations.

They said that the businessmen should be given serious punishment for causing environmental problems to Indonesia and other neighboring countries.

"We see that the government still seems to be protecting timber businessmen whose acts have resulted in haze," Irham said.

A similar class action suit was launched against business people following smoke shrouded Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei for months in 1997. But the lawsuit was blocked by a higher court in Medan.

Irham said the rejection of that legal action proved that the Indonesian government still protected timber tycoons blamed for the forest fires.

Despite being covered in haze in 1997, Indonesia's neighbors -- including Malaysia -- had provided the technical assistance to put out the forest fires on Sumatra and Kalimantan islands.

The haze had forced the closure of airports and schools, causing widespread respiratory problems, and suspending tourism in the regions.