KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — The federal government may enact a law to deal with companies domestically as well those based overseas responsible for causing the haze, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tunku Jaafar said.

The Santubong MP said that the Bill, which is still in the works, would give the government power to act beyond the Malaysian borders, Malay broadsheet Utusan Malaysia reported today.

“At the moment we cannot take action against Indonesian companies as we do not have trans-border laws like in Singapore. Even in Singapore the Trans-Border Haze Law only allows them to penalise local companies,” he said.

At the same time the minister also urged Indonesia to implement stricter laws to tackle the haze problem.

The National Haze Committee is scheduled to meet today to find solutions to the worsening haze.

As of 7pm yesterday, 19 areas were recorded as “unhealthy”, with their Air Pollutants Index (API) readings crossing the 100-mark.

According to data on the Department of Environment’s website, these areas included Pasir Gudang (107); Alor Setar (116); Sungai Petani (118); Langkawi (152); Bandaraya Malacca (117); Bukit Rambai (114); Port Dickson (111); Jalan Tasik, Ipoh (103); S K Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh (122); Kg Air Putih, Taiping (119) and Seri Manjung (123).

Similarly affected were Kangar (110); Perai (110); Seberang Jaya 2, Perai (123); USM (128); Banting (102); (Kuala Selangor (112); Port Klang (107) and Shah Alam (107).

An API of between 0 and 50 is good, 51 to 100 is considered moderate, 101 and 200 is unhealthy while 201 and 300 is seen to be very unhealthy, and 300 and above is hazardous.