PLANTATION firm Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) today admitted that a fire started on a plot of its land in its PT Adei Plantation and Industry estate in Riau, Indonesia.

However, the fire was put out on the same day it was discovered, it said in a statement today. It was responding to being named by Indonesian authorities as one of four Malaysian companies where open burning had contributed to the transboundary smoke now affecting both countries.

“There was indeed a breakout of fire. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

“KLK regrettably confirms the occurrence of a hot spot area that affected 2.8ha in the 14,400ha estate managed by PT Adei.

“This hot spot was successfully extinguished within the same day through the effort of our own 120 firefighting personnel aided by 11 excavators and pumps. As a safeguard measure, water was continually doused throughout the night to ensure the affected area remained wet and to avoid recurrence,” KLK’s statement read.

The company did not specify when the fire was discovered, but said it “occurred during an unusually acute dry spell where rain was recorded only two days out of the last 60 days”.

The transboundary smoke, which began last month, has been worsening over areas across Malaysia in recent days from hot spots in Kalimantan and Sumatra, causing schools to close in some areas.

After a denial by her Indonesian counterpart on forest fires in Indonesia, Malaysia’ Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin rebutted, saying the evidence was clear from satellite data.

Indonesia’s Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar had yesterday named four Malaysian companies operating in Kalimantan and Riau, under subsidiaries, whose lands had been sealed off to investigate fires.

Nurbaya named IOI Corporation Bhd, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, KLK Bhd and TDM Bhd.

IOI Corp and Sime Darby last night denied that land on their subsidiary plantations had been sealed off.

KLK today said 4.25ha of land on PT Adei was currently sealed off for ongoing investigations. This included an “isolation area”.

It reiterated it had Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) and International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certifications, and complied with their strict requirements banning open burning.

“We also have a zero-burn policy and comply fully with the Asean policy on Zero Burning for all our plantation operations,” KLK said, adding that it maintained fully equipped firefighting teams on its estates. – September 14, 2019.