KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — Plain denials will no longer suffice for Malaysian conglomerates implicated in Indonesia’s forest fires, after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) yesterday told five member firms to provide satellite maps to be used to judge their role in the haze crisis choking the region.

Malaysia’s Tabung Haji Plantations, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Sime Darby along with Indonesia’s PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa and Sinar Mas have been given two days to provide the requested maps for use in the RSPO’s probe into the matter.

“The environmental pollution caused by forest fires in Indonesia that has enveloped several countries in South East Asia to such hazardous levels is deplorable,” said RSPO secretary general Darrel Webber was quoted by Singapore newspaper The Straits Times on its website yesterday.

“If the investigations confirm negligent conduct — the RSPO will not hesitate to take action.”

The RSPO is a non-profit organisation representing the various stakeholders of the palm oil industry in the pursuit of sustainable practises.

Open burning is prohibited by the RSPO, which also imposes standardised measures to mitigate the risks of wild fires.

The three firms hauled up by the RSPO were among eight Malaysian firms accused by Indonesia on Monday of using slash-and-burn land clearing in the republic. Sime Darby and KL Kepong have since denied the allegations.

“Sime Darby Berhad fully supports the initiative by RSPO. I would like to reiterate Sime Darby’s commitment and full compliance of the zero burning policy, which is strictly embedded in all our oil palm plantation operations,” Sime Darby president Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh was quoted as saying in the report.

A helicopter drops water on burnt peatland in Siak district of Riau province June 24, 2013. — Reuters pic

On Monday, the Association of Plantation Investors of Malaysia in Indonesia (APIMI) stressed that oil palm plantations owned by Malaysian companies do not practise open burning, claiming instead that this was done by local smallholders.

“Plantation owners have to set aside 20 per cent of land to nurture smallholders in oil palm planting. It is a common practice for the smallholders to clear the land by fire,” APIMI executive secretary Nor Hazlan Abdul Mutalib was quoted by state news agency Bernama then.

Yesterday, both Putrajaya and Jakarta called for 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,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday. “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.”

Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri G. Palanivel is also in Jakarta to meet Indonesian counterpart Balthasar Kambuaya tomorrow morning to try to find a long-term solution for the haze crisis, but was today quick to temper expectations of a lasting outcome to the problem.

The severity of the haze eased today but has spread from the southern edge of the peninsula to blanket more parts of the country in smog. The Klang Valley was the worst affected yesterday, with Port Klang still deep into hazardous territory with an air pollutant index (API) reading of 413 at 11pm last night.