Governors ordered to take drastic steps to end haze

Governors ordered to take drastic steps to end haze

The Associated Press, Jakarta

Indonesia's president ordered regional governors on Friday to take immediate action to prevent forest fires, which in recent years have sent a noxious haze over parts of neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

"We should not 'export' this haze anymore," Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told an audience of governors. "Take action at this very moment and do not be negligent."

The annual fires since 1997 have become a sensitive issue between Indonesia and its neighbors and have caused air traffic disruptions, health problems and damage to tourism.

Most of the fires on Sumatra and Kalimantan islands are set by companies seeking to clear land cheaply for lumber, rubber and palm oil plantations.

Indonesia has often been accused by its neighbors of not tackling the problem seriously. In August it threatened to bring 10 companies - eight Malaysian and two Indonesian - to court, but so far only one has been fined.