The NATO syndrome is back

The NATO syndrome is back

How thick must the haze in West Kalimantan and Central
Kalimantan and in Riau, or other parts of the country for that
matter, become before the government is prompted to act? Although
the haze, coming mostly from forest fires in Sumatra and
Kalimantan, is getting thicker to the point of endangering the
lives and health of the people and is crippling the economy in
many of the affected areas, we have yet to see any real action
from the central government.

Instead, we have been entertained by seemingly endless
explanations, none of which are credible, by the government about
the probable origins of the fires and about who started them and
about the need for local governments to deal with the problems by
themselves.

This no-action, talk-only (NATO) syndrome is not new. We have
seen this happening every time the haze problem returns around
this time of the year. Singapore and Malaysia, which frequently
received the haze exported from Indonesia, have often been
frustrated by Jakarta's indifference that they had to turn this
into a diplomatic row to simply draw Jakarta's attention.

Perhaps therein lies the solution.

If only the wind would blow some of the haze from Sumatra and
Kalimantan over to Singapore and Malaysia, and their governments
then made some representation to Jakarta, perhaps then we will
finally see some action. Perhaps.