SARAWAK’s environmental watchdogs on the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) have temporarily stopped issuing permits for open and controlled burning as the seasonal haze is due.

NREB’s acting environmental quality controller Paul Bond F. Chamberlin said notices against open burning have been sent to plantation companies and project developers involved in large-scale land-clearing activities.

Chamberlin said NREB officers will monitor hotspots of large-scale burning.

He said this month alone, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre detected 88 hotspots in Kalimantan and 10 in Sarawak.

Widespread open burning to clear land for oil palm plantations in Kalimantan have often been blamed for haze in the state.

The number of hotspots in Kalimantan has been growing with 28 cases in January, 45 in February, 21 in March, and 88 this month. 

Chamberlin appealed to other government agencies and the public to become the eyes and ears of the NREB by reporting any open burning that could worsen the haze.

Those who flout the burning ban could be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed up to five years under section 30(1)(a) and section 30(2) of the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance.

State Disaster Management Committee chairman and Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah Embas asked the Sarawak people not to perform open burning. 

Uggah said everyone in Sarawak should play their part in preserving air quality in the state. – April 20, 2023.