Malaysia copes with haze from Indonesia

By David Chew

SINGAPORE (JP): The song Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by the Platters has always been a popular hit with many Malaysians. But today as its lilting strains come clear over the air waves, they do not evoke romantic memories. Instead they are a constant reminder of a physical discomfort.

Much of this irritation is due to the haze that has hit Malaysia for the past month. Its smoke gets in your eyes -- literally. Many Malaysians are not only down with haze-related ailments like conjunctivitis, but they have also become asthmatic.

But physical discomfort is a pale comparison to a deeper sense of anguish which grips the mood of many people. Bottled-up frustration can turn ugly at times, especially when sore eyes shed more tears, parched throats become drier and hoarse coughs become louder.

On such occasions you can understand why some people curse the authorities for not doing enough to relieve their discomfort.

They are pointing an accusing finger at Indonesia where raging forest fires in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan have caused the haze. They are also angry with Malaysian authorities for not being aware of the problem earlier, and alerting the Indonesians to do something before the situation got any worse.

There have been small demonstrations in front of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur led by environmental groups. Lim Kit Siang, leader of the Democratic Action Party, has called for a parliamentary debate where members would presumably let out steam (and smoke) against both the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.

In the realm of local politics, the opposition theocratic Islamic Party which rules the northern conservative state of Kelantan, has exploited the issue of the haze in a bid to pick up more of the Moslem vote by taking a dig at its arch-rival, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which heads the multi- party ruling National Front coalition government of Malaysia.

Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the much-revered Chief Minister of Kelantan taunted UMNO by saying that his state was free from the haze, unlike the other National Front-controlled states which had been "punished" by God for their "un-Islamic" activities. UMNO leaders are too busy liaising with Indonesian authorities concerning the haze to bother about what they regard as his childish "antics".

President Soeharto's apology to Indonesia's neighbors hit by the haze appears to be cold comfort to many Malaysians who feel it is a case of too little and too late.

Nevertheless, the Malaysian government has acknowledged the apology and sent firefighters to Indonesia to help extinguish the forest fires in addition to seeding clouds to induce haze- clearing rain. Malaysian leaders are also passing the hat around to collect funds for some of the victims of forest fires in Indonesia, a gesture presumably appreciated by Indonesia.

All these actions go a long way to show that close and cordial bilateral ties are not only for times of economic prosperity. They can also be forged and sustained during such trying times as the haze.

But Malaysians by and large continue to view the haze as not only causing them physical discomfort but also upsetting the routine in their daily activities. Factories and construction sites have been ordered to stop work. The government wants fewer cars on the roads so as to minimize air pollution caused by fumes from their exhaust pipes in traffic congested areas.

Civil servants have been advised to stay at home in badly- affected areas such as Sarawak. Schools in the East Malaysian state, where an emergency was earlier declared, have been forced to close as well as regional airports.

With the cancellation of flights, the tourism industry in Malaysia and Singapore appears to have been hit badly. Tourists from Europe and America are giving Southeast Asia, traditionally one of their favorite destinations, a miss until the haze clears.

Rain and changing wind directions in the last few days have cleared away much of the haze, especially in Sarawak, whose capital, Kuching was declared a danger zone because its Air Pollution Index had at one stage breached the hazardous level of 800. Some of the affected schools have reopened with the emergency lifted since then, and civil servants have returned to work. On the surface of things, life seems to have returned to normal.

But not quite. Malaysians on the whole regard the intermittent downpours and changing wind directions as only temporary respites for at least another month. The current spell of dry weather has in fact sparked off forest fires in the state of Pahang. The authorities will now have to deploy firefighters to Pahang in addition to Indonesia.

Malaysians continue to see the skyline of Kuala Lumpur -- with its majestic tall buildings such as the Petronas Twin Towers, presently the highest in the world -- shrouded in smog. Sometimes the smog disappears. At other times it lingers on. Now you see it. Now you don't. It is as if the famous magician David Copperfield is creating one of his illusions in the Malaysian capital.

On a clear day, way up north in the state of Penang, you can see the straight line of the horizon separating the clear sky and the sea. But with the haze, the line seems to have disappeared and you cannot tell the sky from the sea. Elsewhere in the holiday resort of Fraser's Hill, vacationers are breathing in dust particles caused by the haze instead of the fresh, cool mountain air.

Malaysians on the whole are a patient lot. They are waiting for the annual monsoon season to come next month when the heavy rains are expected to clear away the haze.

The haze will have run its full course by then. But its impact or rather its adverse effects on the country have left many Malaysians wondering. The haze is not a one of a kind of thing. It is in fact a recurring event, rearing its ugly head during the dry season year after year.

Malaysians have traced the cause of the haze to the forest fires in Indonesia, or more specifically to the rampant burning of forests to clear the land for development. But Malaysians themselves are equally to blame for making the haze worse. Many factories are still emitting industrial waste, too many cars are still on the road and construction and pilling are still going on.

All of these despite an appeal from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad who lamented the lack of cooperation from the very people who are blaming the government for not doing enough to alleviate their discomfort.

Malaysia will need to work closely with Indonesia regarding how to prevent forest fires from spreading widely during the dry season. Malaysians themselves will also have to heed the directives from the government for self-restraining measures to curb pollution.

The more so when Malaysia will host an important sporting event like the Commonwealth Games at about the same time next year. Should the haze blow in and be allowed to hang around in these parts again, the games are bound to be affected.

Not only would Malaysia fail to enhance its international image among many Third World countries which are members of the Commonwealth, it would also lose much economically as the games are expected to have big financial spin-offs for the people.

The stakes are too high for Malaysia to be oblivious to the harmful effects of the haze.

The writer is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore.