PAKATAN Harapan, in its first 500 days in office, has not demonstrated enough political will to resolve environmental problems, said activists.

They told The Malaysian Insight that the transboundary smoke issue and cases of river pollution are among the government’s failures in this area.

Greenpeace Malaysia campaign manager Heng Kiah Chun said Putrajaya’s lack of courage and honesty is obvious in its handling of the smoke crisis.

“One of the things we must compliment, though, is the adjustment made to the air pollutant index measurement, from PM10 to a more efficient PM2.5.

“But at the same time, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok has been insisting that our oil palm plantations are not involved in the Indonesian forest fires.”

The toxic smoke, which blanketed most of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in recent weeks, came from blazes started by small-scale farmers in Sumatra and Kalimantan to clear land for agriculture.

Indonesian authorities have accused Malaysian palm oil companies operating in the republic of deliberately setting the fires.

Kok, defending the Malaysian firms, said they have “zero-burning” policies.

Planters, meanwhile, have blamed the blazes near their land on independent smallholders.

Greenpeace’s investigations in Indonesia have revealed fires in places where a subsidiary of Genting Plantations Bhd operates.

Heng said the government must be transparent about Malaysian plantations’ operations and publish maps of the areas they cover.

“Show which companies have violated the rules, and punish them.”

Greenpeace said the government’s reluctance to enact Malaysia’s own Transboundary Haze Act shows that it is not serious about acting against local firms responsible for such fires.

“If Malaysia wants other Asean countries to take the Transboundary Haze Act seriously, our Parliament should also enact our own law on the matter.”

At home, the government must enforce laws against open burning, especially on peat soil.

“Cloud seeding only mitigates smoke. The root cause is burning on peat soil, which we have in Klang and Pahang,” said the group.

“To tackle this, the government should water peat soil to keep it moist, and ban burning on this type of soil.”

PH has also had to deal with river pollution, with several cases this year seeing thousands falling ill and millions of consumers hit by water cuts.

In March, hundreds of people, including children, in Pasir Gudang, Johor, were hospitalised after inhaling fumes from toxic waste dumped into Sg Kim Kim.

Then came the shutdown of water treatment plants due to pollution in Selangor, resulting in dry taps in the state and Kuala Lumpur.

Peter Kallang, Sarawak’s most prominent environmental activist, said the PH government could have done more for the environment.

“Definitely. I don’t see anything. The PH government has not done enough to tackle the country’s environmental problems,” said Kallang, who last week was awarded the 2019 Seacology Prize for protecting island ecosystems.

He said some of the government’s actions have come across as an afterthought.

“The smoke is nothing new. It’s a perennial problem. Only now are they thinking of punishing Malaysian companies accused of starting forest fires.”

He said Putrajaya should start using pollution laws against those behind large-scale open burning, which exacerbates the transboundary smoke.

“If I were them, I’d go after these people, the landowners. Someone should be held responsible, as fighting these fires is costly.”

Kallang said he is aware that the federal government’s hands are tied in some cases, especially when it comes to environmental issues in Sarawak.

“In Sarawak, we cannot totally blame the federal government because land and forests are under the state’s purview.”

Mark Bujang of Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia said he is “a bit disappointed” by PH’s handling of environmental issues.

“While we are fighting against deforestation caused by the palm oil industry, we have a government that’s defending it.

“The primary industries minister is really pushing hard to promote the industry,” he said, adding that Kok’s defence of Malaysian plantation firms could encourage them to start blazes to clear land.

“These companies have blamed landowners and smallholders for fires near their land. But what do they do when there is a fire on their land? Do they just sit back and wait for the Fire and Rescue Department?” – September 27, 2019.