KL, RI slam world for lack of forest fire aid

KL, RI slam world for lack of forest fire aid

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysia and Indonesia attacked the international community for failing to produce promised aid to tackle forest fires which have stricken southeast Asia in recent years.

"They (international community) have promised us (aid). But nothing is forthcoming," Malaysian Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat said.

"There is strong political will between us to tackle this problem to the maximum so there won't be a repetition of the last haze," he added, referring to choking smoke from forest fires which has enveloped the region at different times since 1997.

Mohamed, Malaysia's national disaster relief and management committee chairman, said the international community was only "making a lot noise" when the haze crisis erupted in 1997.

"Don't just talk about it. Do something. They must show genuine efforts. But nevertheless we believe it is our problem," he added.

Malaysian and Indonesian authorities met here to discuss forest fires in Indonesia in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the particularly bad 1997 haze.

The two-day meeting of the joint-committee was a follow-up to an agreement reached by the two neighboring countries to jointly tackle the problem.

Mohamed also gave an assurance the 1997 crisis would not recur and vowed there would not be any bureaucratic obstacles between the two countries to tackling the forest fires.

Malaysia and Indonesia are now prepared to fight any forest fires together, he said.

"I want to make it clear both governments are ready to battle forest fires or the haze. We are at maximum readiness to battle fires," he said.

"In 1997, we were not ready. No joint-committees. But now we have a common standard operation procedure."

Mohamed sought the assistance of the media not to "explode" the issue of the hot spots as it may scare away tourists who bring in much needed foreign exchange.

On Friday Malaysian officials would demonstrate airborne fire- fighting capabilities using helicopters to their Indonesian counterparts.

Indonesian disaster relief head Haryono Suyono added: "We are together. No bureaucratic obstacles. The technical team will meet whenever the need arises."

Haryono, coordinating minister for people's welfare and poverty eradication, also appealed to the international community for assistance.

Haryono also said Indonesia was prepared to tackle any forest fires as it now had an early warning system to identify hot spots and adopted two new measures.

The Indonesian government has roped in people living along jungle fringes and provided land grants to universities to be "eyes on the ground" to prevent forest fires.

Forest fires in parts of Indonesia have reached dangerous levels in recent weeks, bringing hazy skies and worsening pollution to Singapore and parts of Malaysia. Experts last week detected more than 40 Indonesian fires billowing plumes of smoke toward nearby Singapore.

Director General of Malaysia's Department of Environment Rosnani Ibrahim said on Thursday that "quite a number" of fires were also burning in the southern Malaysian state of Johor and in Sarawak state near the cities of Miri and Sibu.

Indonesia, gripped by ongoing economic and political upheaval, has come under mounting criticism for not doing enough to control the fires. As the dry season approaches, the fires have raised fears that the choking haze may be returning.