MALAYSIA is studying the possibility of introducing a transboundary environmental pollution bill to tackle problems like smoke, Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis told Parliament today.

The deputy minister of energy, science, technology, environment and climate change said this will allow the government to penalise companies, including those not originating from Malaysia, responsible for widescale pollution or environmental damage.

“However, we have to look at it holistically, that is why we are still in the stage of research,” she said, following a supplementary question from MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa-PH) on what were the mechanisms taken to ensure that Malaysian companies operating overseas observe best environmental practices, in view of the annual smoke problem, of which Malaysian companies have been repeatedly implicated by Indonesia.

“We have never protected any companies found guilty of causing fires in Indonesia, but at this point we have not received any details on the involvement of Malaysian companies as such,” said the Kota Belud MP.

Meanwhile, she said the ministry was working towards drafting a bill.

Malaysia was also recently represented the at 15th Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment, held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from October 6 to 11.

Isnaraissah said Malaysia will continue to push Asean countries, especially Indonesia, to adhere to their obligations on the Asean agreement on transboundary smoke pollution to prevent the recurrence of the problem and to work towards realising the vision of a smoke free region by 2020.

She said the ministry had also spoken with its Indonesian counterpart on a few occasions about the problem.

The government has also spent RM2.16million over the past five years for wet and dry seeding.

Meanwhile, Takiyuddin Hassan (Kota Bharu-PAS) asked whether Indonesia’s capital moving to Kalimantan, which shares a land border with Sabah and Sarawak, will result in more smoke problems.

Isnaraissah said, while talks specifically on the move have not taken place thus far, the ministry will continue to work with Indonesia to keep the problem at bay. – October 24, 2019.