Decisiveness needed to tackle haze

Sin Chew Daily, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

Thanks to the repeated forest burning in Sumatra, people in Peninsular Malaysia, particularly those living on the west coast, have to suffer the consequences of haze all over again.

This is indeed something really annoying. The ignorance of Indonesian farmers has taken its toll on the health and well- being of citizens in neighboring countries. The economic development in neighboring countries, tourism sector in particular, will be affected. Fortunately, the haze has yet to impact on our transportation this time round, or the consequences can be grave.

We should not overlook the issue of haze. Think about it: This haze appears almost regularly each year, and the place most seriously affected is none other than the densely populated west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Whenever the haze appears, almost half of our population will experience respiratory upset. If the situation is allowed to deteriorate to an unhealthy state, our socioeconomic developments will also be stalled.

However, our government has shown unmatched leniency when it comes to the issue of forest burning by Indonesian farmers. When the U.S. offered to despatch its troops to patrol the Straits of Malacca, the government's reaction was one of absolute rejection. But to the haze problem, which comes annually to intimidate the health of Malaysians as well as the country's economy, the government has been largely unperturbed and forgiving.

Nevertheless, it is wrong to say that the Malaysian government has taken the haze issue too lightly. Our environment department classifies the air pollution index as a top national secret that must not be released to any living soul. As if that is not enough, heads of various government departments have also "reminded" the local media that the government has decided not to publish the API figures because the figures could very well be "manipulated" by foreign media to impact on our tourism industry.

Such measures have pointed to the fact that the government has indeed placed a lot of "concerns" on the haze problem. What the government lacks is the capability to decisively resolve the issue and prevent the thing from getting worse.

If we choose to bury our heads inside the sand in the name of protecting the country's tourism industry, what will happen if uninitiated tourists flock into the country just to find that the actual situation is not quite like what they have been told? Is the government not worried that disgruntled tourists will accuse the government for deceiving them?

The government should publish the API as it is, and suitably advise the public what should be done with each level of the index. We must also take adequate preventive measures to overcome whatever that may befall us when and if the haze situation worsens. This is what a responsible government should do.

If the government shows some degree of responsibility, not only will it win the hearts and souls of all Malaysians, foreigners will also have faith in our country.