It seems that Indonesia's annual gift to us has arrived much earlier this year. Already, certain parts of peninsular Malaysia has been shrouded by the haze. Soon many parts of the country will be affected and Malaysians will once again have to breath unhealthy air caused by the haze.

My question to the government is what are they going to do about it this year? I hope it has not forgotten that last year the noxious haze became so bad that it had to declare a state of emergency in Port Klang and Kuala Selangor. I am certain losses were incurred from business and tourism as a result of the said declaration.

Our leaders must have the political will to rebuke the Indonesian government for its failure and callous approach in dealing with the slash-and-burn tactics of its cultivators and plantation companies.

The haze has been a yearly event for the past 20 years and the Indonesian government doesn't seem to see any urgency in curbing this environmental catastrophe. I believe Indonesia is the only country that has not ratified the so-called Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Perhaps, nature should do us all a favour by blowing the noxious haze over to Jakarta instead of over the Straits of Malacca. When their own capital is covered by a blanket of choking haze, it may jolt their top brass into taking action.