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.