KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — Malaysia has not yet reached the stage where it needs to sue the companies responsible for creating the haze crisis in Malaysia, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said.
Deputy minister Datuk Hamim Samuri told local daily Utusan Malaysia that the priority now was to expedite the process of finalising the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia on a haze prevention programme.
“Malaysia is not yet at the level to sue but my ministry will continue to monitor from the international laws aspect in regards to this haze pollution problem,” he told the Malay language daily.
On Friday, Singapore announced that it has served “preventive measure notices” on four Indonesian companies deemed responsible for the latest bout of haze, which hit hazardous levels that day and forced schools islandwide to shut down.
The notices require the firms to deploy fire-fighting personnel to extinguish or to prevent the spread of any fire on land owned or occupied by them, and to discontinue any burning activities on such land, among other things.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, schools in three states and two federal territories where the air pollutant index (API) recorded unhealthy levels, were shut down today.
As of 9am, Bandaraya Malacca recorded the highest reading at 134, with areas in, Sarawak, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Selangor and Putrajaya still at unhealthy levels.
