Put out fires or face action, PM warns M’sian estate firms
Malaysian firms implicated as contributors to the ongoing haze crisis have been warned by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to put out the fires in their plantations or be prepared to face legal action.
“We think that we should publicise the actual effects (of haze) more through government statements, and show where the hotspots are.
“We also want to take action against Malaysian companies which have estates outside Malaysia, which are contributing towards the haze...
Malaysian firms implicated as contributors to the ongoing haze crisis have been warned by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to put out the fires in their plantations or be prepared to face legal action.
“We think that we should publicise the actual effects (of haze) more through government statements, and show where the hotspots are.
“We also want to take action against Malaysian companies which have estates outside Malaysia, which are contributing towards the haze because of burning in their estates.
“We will ask them to take action to put out the fires,” he said when asked during a press conference in Putrajaya today if the cabinet had discussed the haze crisis.
The Indonesian government previously named the subsidiaries of four Malaysian palm oil conglomerates - Sime Darby Plantation, IOI Corporation, TDM Berhad and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad - as some of the 30 culprits behind the haze-causing fires.
SDP and IOI has refuted the reports, while KLK admitted that a fire had broken out at its subsidiary's estate before it was extinguished.
Mahathir said if the Malaysian firms fail to douse fires on their estates, Putrajaya will consider formulating a new law which would hold them responsible.
“[...] If we find that they are unwilling to take action, we may have to pass a law which will make them responsible for fires in their property, even if it is outside Malaysia,” he cautioned.
In the latest development, all schools in Selangor, Penang, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur have been instructed the close tomorrow due to the haze.
Worsening visibility has also caused flights to be re-routed.
Putrajaya has since undertaken cloud-seeding efforts to help mitigate the haze which satellite maps show originate from Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) readings in some parts of the nation have reached hazardous levels.
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