Malaysia to help RI combat haze

Malaysia to help RI combat haze

KUCHING, Malaysia: Malaysia will help Indonesia draw up a
suitable land rehabilitation and management system in West
Kalimantan to control the forest fires that have created a major
pollution problem in the region.

Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding
said the two countries would form a joint committee to devise the
system based on the massive Malaysian land scheme for settlers.

It was aimed at better land management, particularly on
shifting cultivation being practiced by farmers there, Law told
reporters in Kuching, capital of Sarawak state, on his return
from a two-day official visit to Pontianak, Indonesia, Monday.

"It will not guarantee that the haze will not happen in Sabah
and Sarawak (the two Malaysian states that border Kalimantan on
Borneo Island), but it will ensure a proper system in controlling
the fires which cause the haze," he said.

Law said many farmers in West Kalimantan practiced shifting
cultivation but without a proper system of control to protect the
environment.

West Kalimantan's administration had also agreed to take steps
to increase local people's awareness on environmental protection
issues through a comprehensive education system, he said.
--Antara