Haze in Pasir Gudang: When Dumbass Talks
Terrible haze in Pasir Gudang. If you're wondering what the reading of IPU 333 in Pasir Gudang looks like, well here is an idea:
The driving view is only 500 meters. The drivers have been switching on the fog lamp on the road for safety reason. I have never experience this before. When the haze was bad back in 1997, I was just a Form 4 students - oblivious of the problems of the world.
I do have a problem with dust. My throat is getting sore. My eyes are watery. My nose is dripping with flu. And then the sneeze once in awhile. For your information, all this happens even though I'm in my own home. It will be worse outside.
The Singaporeans are having it worst. With the IPU reading already reached 376 yesterday, they are choking in their own small island. Making it worse, the main culprit Indonesian counterpart even have the cheek to call them "behaving like a small child".
JAKARTA - A senior Indonesian minister has hit out at Singapore
on the haze, saying: "Singapore shouldn't be like children, in such a
tizzy."
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono, who is coordinating his country's relief and response efforts, told a press conference on Thursday: "Indonesian citizens also need to be looked after, there are hundreds."
"It's not what Indonesians want, it's nature," he added.
Earlier, he told reporters that Singapore said nothing when there was fresh air, but complained about the occasional haze.
Mr Agung also rebutted criticisms that Indonesia had yet to ratify an Asean agreement on transboundary haze pollution.
"Singapore is like that. The border issue hasn't been settled, neither has extradition, corruption."
Asked about offers of assistance, he said: "If it's just half a million (dollars), better we use our own budget."
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Agung led a meeting with Indonesia's foreign, forestry and environment ministers for an update on the haze, which has blanketed many parts of Riau province.
Singapore's National Environment Agency CEO Andrew Tan is also in Jakarta for a meeting with Indonesian officials on Thursday.
Mr Agung said cloud seeding to induce rain would be carried out as soon as feasible. The salt is ready, the planes are in place, but there must be clouds, he added.
"The burning is not always above ground," he said. "Much of it is below the surface."
Some 850ha of land has been ablaze in recent days, and officials have put out fires in some 650ha, he added.
The government was also investigating which companies are responsible, he added.
"If there are, some are owned by Indonesians, Malaysians, Singaporeans," he said. "We will take action if they are found responsible. But there must be a process."
On Wednesday, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa noted that Indonesia had yet to ratify an Asean agreement on combating transboundary haze, but said in reality, "we have been in full compliance with what is required and expected."
"Let's focus on putting the fires out, and ensuring those responsible are held accountable," he added.
Well, the benevolent genius Mr Agung, when people cannot breath of course they are acting "like a little child". I'm not a Singaporean, but since Johor also suffers the same air quality as them, I can feel their frustrations.
This is not the 1st time the haze engulfed Malaysia & Singapore, the worst case was back in 1997. The haze will hit both countries every year.
WHAT WAS THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT DOING SINCE THEN? IT WAS A WHOLE 16 YEARS!!!
Talk about incompetence. For Malaysians that think our government service is bad, try the Indonesia's - then you will start appreciate what you have at your home country.
The Indonesian even want to taichi the problem back to the Malaysia & Singapore government.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on his Facebook page that Singapore's foreign and environment ministers had spoken to their Indonesian counterparts to "register our serious concerns and offer our help to fight the fires".
"We are monitoring the situation closely and will stay in close touch with the Indonesian authorities," he said in a posting accompanied by a photograph of the Istana government complex grounds shrouded in haze.
Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index again shot above the "unhealthy" threshold of 100 late Tuesday after easing earlier in the day.
The index had peaked at 155 on Monday night, Singapore's worst outbreak of cross-border air pollution since 2006.
Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said he and his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa "agreed that officials on both sides should meet soon to discuss how best to combat the haze issue".
Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's minister for environment and water resources, said of the smog: "This is the worst in seven years -- and has practically become a permanent fixture every year."
He suggested that Indonesia name the companies responsible for the fires.
"We need to exert commercial pressure against companies causing the haze," Balakrishnan said.
On Monday, an Indonesian forestry ministry official, Hadi Daryanto, shifted some of the blame to Malaysia and Singapore, saying their palm oil companies that had invested in Indonesia were also responsible.
"We hope the governments of Malaysia and Singapore will tell their investors to adopt proper measures so we can solve this problem together."
Regional environmentalists said the problem must be tackled by both Singapore and Indonesia.
Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest nation while tiny Singapore, just minutes away by fast boat from Indonesian territorial waters, is the region's financial hub.
"Singapore is saying that Indonesia needs to enforce the law," Bustar Maitar, head of Indonesia Forest Campaign at campaign group Greenpeace International, told AFP.
"But in actual fact, some palm oil plantations in Indonesia are listed in Singapore and have headquarters in Singapore. A lot of Malaysian plantations are also based here in Indonesia," Maitar said.
"In my perspective, it is not only Indonesia. Singapore should also ask its companies who invest in Indonesia to not use fire, doing the same thing to enforce the law and increase environmental awareness."
Jose Raymond, executive director of the independent Singapore Environment Council, said Singapore and Indonesia should publicly name the plantation owners using slash-and-burn land clearing.
"The public can stand together in letting their voices be heard and this can have a considerable impact on the way these landowners conduct their commercial activities," Raymond told AFP.
He said a review was needed to "rework rural land-use habits and explore other viable and environmentally sustainable forms of economic revenue generation" in Indonesia.
A spokesman for conservation group WWF Indonesia said part of the problem stemmed from "a lack of field officers who can control fires".
"The plantations do slash and burn activities because it is cheaper and easier to do so," he said.
The most severe occurence of the haze problem in Southeast Asia was in 1997-1998, when air transport, tourism and commerce were disrupted, causing billions of dollars in business losses.
Yennadey anney Maitar, Indonesia government don't have their own environment regulation ma?!!! If the company is doing business in your country, you don't have the power to punish them because they are listed in the neighboring countries?
WHAT BULLSHIT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!!!
Now I know what the Indonesian government is made from.
WITHOUT SOME BALLS.
 |
| My officemates - wearing nose cover even in the building |
The driving view is only 500 meters. The drivers have been switching on the fog lamp on the road for safety reason. I have never experience this before. When the haze was bad back in 1997, I was just a Form 4 students - oblivious of the problems of the world.
I do have a problem with dust. My throat is getting sore. My eyes are watery. My nose is dripping with flu. And then the sneeze once in awhile. For your information, all this happens even though I'm in my own home. It will be worse outside.
The Singaporeans are having it worst. With the IPU reading already reached 376 yesterday, they are choking in their own small island. Making it worse, the main culprit Indonesian counterpart even have the cheek to call them "behaving like a small child".
Indonesian minister says Singapore "behaving like a small child" over haze
Senior Indonesian minister Agung Laksono has hit out at Singapore
on the haze, saying: "Singapore shouldn't be like children, in such a
tizzy." -- PHOTO: AFP
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono, who is coordinating his country's relief and response efforts, told a press conference on Thursday: "Indonesian citizens also need to be looked after, there are hundreds."
"It's not what Indonesians want, it's nature," he added.
Earlier, he told reporters that Singapore said nothing when there was fresh air, but complained about the occasional haze.
Mr Agung also rebutted criticisms that Indonesia had yet to ratify an Asean agreement on transboundary haze pollution.
"Singapore is like that. The border issue hasn't been settled, neither has extradition, corruption."
Asked about offers of assistance, he said: "If it's just half a million (dollars), better we use our own budget."
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Agung led a meeting with Indonesia's foreign, forestry and environment ministers for an update on the haze, which has blanketed many parts of Riau province.
Singapore's National Environment Agency CEO Andrew Tan is also in Jakarta for a meeting with Indonesian officials on Thursday.
Mr Agung said cloud seeding to induce rain would be carried out as soon as feasible. The salt is ready, the planes are in place, but there must be clouds, he added.
"The burning is not always above ground," he said. "Much of it is below the surface."
Some 850ha of land has been ablaze in recent days, and officials have put out fires in some 650ha, he added.
The government was also investigating which companies are responsible, he added.
"If there are, some are owned by Indonesians, Malaysians, Singaporeans," he said. "We will take action if they are found responsible. But there must be a process."
On Wednesday, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa noted that Indonesia had yet to ratify an Asean agreement on combating transboundary haze, but said in reality, "we have been in full compliance with what is required and expected."
"Let's focus on putting the fires out, and ensuring those responsible are held accountable," he added.
Well, the benevolent genius Mr Agung, when people cannot breath of course they are acting "like a little child". I'm not a Singaporean, but since Johor also suffers the same air quality as them, I can feel their frustrations.
This is not the 1st time the haze engulfed Malaysia & Singapore, the worst case was back in 1997. The haze will hit both countries every year.
WHAT WAS THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT DOING SINCE THEN? IT WAS A WHOLE 16 YEARS!!!
Talk about incompetence. For Malaysians that think our government service is bad, try the Indonesia's - then you will start appreciate what you have at your home country.
The Indonesian even want to taichi the problem back to the Malaysia & Singapore government.
Singapore, Indonesia tussle over haze problem
Singapore on Tuesday stepped up the pressure on Indonesia to fight forest fires as smog from Sumatra island continued to shroud the densely populated city-state.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on his Facebook page that Singapore's foreign and environment ministers had spoken to their Indonesian counterparts to "register our serious concerns and offer our help to fight the fires".
"We are monitoring the situation closely and will stay in close touch with the Indonesian authorities," he said in a posting accompanied by a photograph of the Istana government complex grounds shrouded in haze.
Singapore's Pollutant Standards Index again shot above the "unhealthy" threshold of 100 late Tuesday after easing earlier in the day.
The index had peaked at 155 on Monday night, Singapore's worst outbreak of cross-border air pollution since 2006.
Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said he and his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa "agreed that officials on both sides should meet soon to discuss how best to combat the haze issue".
Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's minister for environment and water resources, said of the smog: "This is the worst in seven years -- and has practically become a permanent fixture every year."
He suggested that Indonesia name the companies responsible for the fires.
"We need to exert commercial pressure against companies causing the haze," Balakrishnan said.
On Monday, an Indonesian forestry ministry official, Hadi Daryanto, shifted some of the blame to Malaysia and Singapore, saying their palm oil companies that had invested in Indonesia were also responsible.
"We hope the governments of Malaysia and Singapore will tell their investors to adopt proper measures so we can solve this problem together."
Regional environmentalists said the problem must be tackled by both Singapore and Indonesia.
Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest nation while tiny Singapore, just minutes away by fast boat from Indonesian territorial waters, is the region's financial hub.
"Singapore is saying that Indonesia needs to enforce the law," Bustar Maitar, head of Indonesia Forest Campaign at campaign group Greenpeace International, told AFP.
"But in actual fact, some palm oil plantations in Indonesia are listed in Singapore and have headquarters in Singapore. A lot of Malaysian plantations are also based here in Indonesia," Maitar said.
"In my perspective, it is not only Indonesia. Singapore should also ask its companies who invest in Indonesia to not use fire, doing the same thing to enforce the law and increase environmental awareness."
Jose Raymond, executive director of the independent Singapore Environment Council, said Singapore and Indonesia should publicly name the plantation owners using slash-and-burn land clearing.
"The public can stand together in letting their voices be heard and this can have a considerable impact on the way these landowners conduct their commercial activities," Raymond told AFP.
He said a review was needed to "rework rural land-use habits and explore other viable and environmentally sustainable forms of economic revenue generation" in Indonesia.
A spokesman for conservation group WWF Indonesia said part of the problem stemmed from "a lack of field officers who can control fires".
"The plantations do slash and burn activities because it is cheaper and easier to do so," he said.
The most severe occurence of the haze problem in Southeast Asia was in 1997-1998, when air transport, tourism and commerce were disrupted, causing billions of dollars in business losses.
Yennadey anney Maitar, Indonesia government don't have their own environment regulation ma?!!! If the company is doing business in your country, you don't have the power to punish them because they are listed in the neighboring countries?
WHAT BULLSHIT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!!!
Now I know what the Indonesian government is made from.
WITHOUT SOME BALLS.
 |
| What Indonesian government looks like |
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