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Singapore foreign affairs minister expresses deep concern over haze

Xinhua, September 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Friday called Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi to express his deep concern about the haze situation.

Shanmugam told Retno that the recurrence of the haze had both immediate and long-term health impact on Singaporeans and others in the region, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shanmugam also said that the transboundary haze had a negative economic impact on the entire region, including Indonesia.

Greater regional efforts and cooperation were needed to effectively combat the haze problem, he said, adding that all Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states should follow through and fulfill their obligations under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze which all 10 ASEAN members have signed, which included operationalizing the ASEAN Haze Monitoring System.

While highlighting that strong action need to be taken against companies that cause haze pollution, Shanmugam urged Indonesian authorities to share the names of these companies with Singapore so that punitive action could be taken against them.

Last year, Singapore's parliament passed a bill proposing fines for these companies regardless of whether the companies operate on the island.

Under the bill, companies found guilty of causing haze could be fined up to 100,000 Singapore dollars for each day haze occurs, with the maximum penalty up to 2 million Singapore dollars.

In order to alleviate the recent haze problem, Singapore has offered to assist Indonesia to put off the forest fire. However, Indonesia has yet to accept the offer, which include deploying Singapore Armed Forces aircraft to help douse the forest fires.

According to Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA), there was some deterioration in the haze conditions in Singapore Friday afternoon due to haze blown in by the prevailing winds. As at 9 p. m., the 24-hour PSI was 80-94, in the moderate range, while the three-hour PSI hit 122, in the unhealthy range. For Saturday, the prevailing winds are forecast to blow from the northeast or east, with occasional hazy conditions be expected. NEA said the 24-hour PSI for the next 24 hours is expected to fluctuate between the high end of the moderate range and the low end of the unhealthy range. Endi