Malaysia Confronts Indonesia Over Increase in Dangerous Transnational Haze

Man-made forest fires rampage across Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Source: Flickr)

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change, sent a correspondence to Indonesia’s government on October 3 following an increase in cross-border haze. This event marks a dangerous decline in air quality for both nations, which Malaysia is blaming on their close neighbor, Indonesia.

Malaysia has confronted Indonesia before regarding its contribution to air pollution across both nations. In 2019, Indonesia experienced several “slash and burn” forest fires to clear agricultural land for new crops. These fires produced an excess of smog that plagued both Indonesian and Malaysian citizens, causing Malaysia’s government to accost Indonesia’s government to put out the fires. The 2019 season of fires alone forced Malaysia to close almost 2,500 schools to protect its students and cancel countless flights due to lack of visibility.

Since then, forest fires in Indonesia have lessened in severity. However, the haze seems to have returned to Southeast Asia as of 2023, prompting The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pledge to eradicate haze from their nations by 2030. This agreement would create the Transboundary Haze Pollution Control Center, which aims to eliminate the air pollution crisis plaguing the Southeast Asian region

Malaysia’s demand that Indonesia resolve the increasing haze comes just weeks after the transnational pledge. The confrontation follows Malaysia witnessing multiple surges in its air quality indexes over the past month, reaching alarming levels. Air quality indexes classify levels between 101 and 200 as unhealthy, and Malaysian towns such as Sri Aman have reached 138. Fearing for his nation, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim personally instructed Minister Ahmad to reach out to Indonesia, a directive that Ahmad complied with through his letter.

Indonesia has denied any blame for the transboundary haze. Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar claims the government has put out any remaining forest fires and that no haze is traversing national borders. Indonesia also claims it has extensively regulated companies that practice “slash-and-burn” techniques.

If the haze continues to blanket Southeast Asia, there may be dire consequences. Past mass-haze occurrences have forced thousands of schools to shut down, harming the education of children everywhere and spelling bad news for the futures of these nations. Unhealthy air conditions also harm the tourism industry, which brings in billions in revenue annually. Most pressingly, the toxic haze is detrimental to human health. Those with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma are at risk for developing more severe lung diseases when residing in places with poor air quality. Even otherwise healthy citizens can develop chronic health conditions from breathing in particulate matter in the long term, including heart disease and bronchitis.

Leaders in the Southeast Asian agriculture industry have pledged to try to lessen and eventually eliminate crop burning. However, many large farming corporations are foreign-owned, introducing the issue of external actors who prioritize profit over safety. There has also been a noticeable lack of international coverage of the crisis, with discourse and awareness confined mostly to Southeast Asia. Small farmers may also resist the crop-burning ban, as this is often the cheapest and most efficient method for them to plant and survive the pressure of powerful farm corporations.

Considering the mass shutdown of schools and industries in the 2019 haze crisis across Southeast Asia, history may repeat itself if national leaders don’t crack down on polluting emissions. Alarmingly, as climate change heats the globe, transboundary haze has the potential to stay longer, and perhaps, be deadlier.