KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Both Putrajaya and Jakarta today called for culprits responsible for the pollution crisis choking the region to be punished regardless of nationality, suggesting the bilateral resolve to finally combat the decades-old haze menace may at last be reached.

Speaking to reporters after the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting here today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said stern action must be taken against those responsible for the current haze crisis regardless of their nationality.

“The question is not about who owns the plantations, but about the offence,” Najib told reporters after the meeting here.

“It does not matter whether the plantations are owned by Indonesians, Malaysians or Singaporeans, if they did wrong, action has to be taken against them.”

Najib’s remarks came after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed the same, along with the republic’s apology for sending the region into yet another pollution crisis.

“For what has happened, as president, I say sorry and seek the understanding of our relatives in Singapore and Malaysia,” Yudhoyono was quoted by Singapore’s The Straits Times in a report today.

“Whether it is an Indonesian company or foreign company, the law will be applied firmly and fairly.”

Najib today offered the use of Malaysia’s planes for waterbombing missions in areas of Indonesia affected by the fires, as he acknowledged the difficulty in distinguishing burning peat land.

Malaysia previously sent firefighters to Indonesia to help out in Operation Haze, the biggest cross-border firefighting mission, during the 1997 haze crisis.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan also said during the weekend that the Fire and Rescue Department is prepared to be deployed to Indonesia if its assistance is needed.

Meanwhile, Minister for Environment and Natural Resources Datuk Seri G. Palanivel announced earlier today that he will be meeting his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He will also be meeting representatives of Malaysian-owned plantations in Indonesia accused of contributing to the haze, after Jakarta named and shamed eight estates allegedly guilty of open burning.