Malaysia and Singapore urge RI to put out forest fires
Malaysia and Singapore urge RI to put out forest fires
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysia and Singapore urged Indonesia yesterday to take immediate steps to douse a new wave of fires raging through East Kalimantan.
"We hope that the Indonesia authorities will take immediate legal action regarding the fires caused by the opening up of forests and by the El Nino weather phenomenon," Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.
Mohamed, who is also chairman of a national disaster and relief committee, said a Malaysia-Indonesia joint committee formed recently may hold its first meeting in Jakarta soon.
On whether Malaysia plans to send a team to help put out the Indonesia fires, he said: "We see the situation first. For now, we ask Indonesia to take strict measures to put them out."
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times of Singapore said in an editorial that Indonesia must persist in fighting forest fires, despite its economic troubles, to prevent a repeat of the choking smog which blanketed much of Southeast Asia last year.
"Indonesia must fight the problem with the support of its ASEAN allies," it said.
A regional plan Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries agreed to develop to combat smog must be implemented quickly, the pro-government newspaper said.
"Nothing that Indonesia and the other countries face in economic travails must detract from that plan. ASEAN in fact needs to step up the time-table to develop a fire-fighting capacity," the paper said.
On Thursday, ASEAN revealed action plans to fight the smog would be ready by mid-1998.
The usually reticent Singapore press has hit out after reports that Indonesia might not be able to tackle the fires due to its economic problems.
It warned Singaporeans to brace themselves for more haze that last year spread from Indonesia's bush and forest fires, many deliberately lit in land-clearing by timber companies.
The smog problem has resurfaced after fires broke out in Sumatra and Kalimantan earlier this month.