Like all fellow Sarawakians, I am smitten by the worsening hazy smog that blanketed East Malaysia for several days now. With over 1,000 hot spots detected on the Kalimantan side to date, I do not need further evidence to say who is the culprit.

The first time the haze problem surfaced was in 1997. Since then, and for five years now, there has been much talk but little evidence of real action from the Indonesians.

The urgency of the matter always disappears once the fire dies out or when the monsoon season sets in, but the problem would surface again this time next year.

The Asean credo does not seem to bother Indonesia and it is clear that Jakarta is only paying lip service.

Jakarta is showing utter contempt to its own people on the Kalimantan side by literally allowing them to live in a "smog house". But then again, how it treats its citizen is none of my business until it also makes me live in a smog house.

I can't go outdoors. I can't see the sky. My car and house is covered with ash. My breathing is heavy and my children are sick. Flights are cancelled. Tourists stopped coming. Productivity dropped. Business is affected. Surely, these are matters our nation should be concerned with?

The right to clean air is a universal and fundamental human right. Now that our right is violated, I want our country to take action. They say it would only hurt if you hit where the pocket is. This is what I suggest Malaysia should do.

Firstly, take Indonesia to the International Court of Justice and demand compensation for all the untold miseries and losses suffered by Malaysia and its citizens. This would wake them up and create worldwide publicity.

Secondly, drum up support from the international community to boycott Indonesian palm oil (the burning is for palm oil cultivation), for being most environmentally-unfriendly. The amount of green house gases emitted must have added to global warming. You can be assured of support from the 'Greens' in Europe and elsewhere.

Thirdly, as a protest, we should stop hiring Indonesian workers. Let them feel the pinch and bring pressure to bear on their own politicians and;

Finally, our government should encourage and fund our non-governmental organisations and environmental groups to enable them to liaise with their Indonesian counterparts to bring on domestic pressure against their recalcitrant plantation owners, who until now, are burning Kalimantan to hell.

Malaysia should show that it cares for its people and should do what is necessary to protect their right to clean air.

If our ministers are too lame to act, perhaps someone should seriously consider applying to the High Court for a writ of mandamus to force the government to institute an action in the International Court of Justice.

Readers should also think of ways to bring this perennial misery to an end. Enough is enough!