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