WITH the haze making its comeback with the South-West Monsoon, aggravated by the long dry season due to the El Nino, is there any way for us to get out of this, or are we to helplessly watch as it wrecks our health and sanity, again? Singapore for example, has decided to arm itself with a Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill; which penalises entities that cause haze in Singapore, either directly or indirectly, with a fine that goes up to S$450,000 (RM1.15 million).

It’s a beautiful piece of legislation, lauded as a measure that would send a strong message across to everyone involved. However, the enforceability of this extra-territorial Act, which doesn’t limit itself to Singapore-based companies, is open to question. Is enforcement possible without Indonesia’s helping hand? Criminal actions aside, this legislation also opens up the possibility of civil action against errant companies for losses suffered due to the haze. Industries affected include tourism, agriculture and aviation; nevertheless, the same question remains — how does one track down every errant company for a civil suit without the cooperation of the Indonesian government? Despite questions on its enforceability, it is without a doubt a bold move. If all goes well, it will also prevent the haze from reaching our air space. For Indonesia, which had in the past pointed to Malaysian and Singaporean companies as major culprits, this would not only put a stop to their haze problem but also the accusations hurled at them.

This unilateral act by Singapore is perhaps in response to the failure of 2002 Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, to come up with an effective solution. The agreement, which recognises the causes of transboundary haze and pushes for concerted national and international cooperation, has yet to be ratified by the primary source of haze — Indonesia. Many, including decision makers, are aware that haze is more than an environmental problem; air pollution of this magnitude is also a health, economic and security issue. Adverse effects on visibility, health, productivity, costs, businesses and facilities, also puts a country in a vulnerable state. This has been on-going since 1997. How long more are we to put up with it, when solution is just within reach, if not for the lack of political will and greater cooperation among Asean nations?

The Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution is a good start, and now what is needed is to push for a region-wide ratification, greater adherence and collective enforcement. For that to happen, cooperation must go up by several notches — within governments, between governments, and between governments and the private sector. If countries are able to marshal all resources in the face of the MH370 tragedy, what is stopping them from doing the same to prevent a tragedy called the haze?