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Tag: Indonesia

  • Companies Behind Indonesian Forest Fires To Be Blacklisted, Face Criminal Sanctions

    Companies Behind Indonesian Forest Fires To Be Blacklisted, Face Criminal Sanctions

    Companies found guilty of forest fires in Indonesia would be blacklisted and could face criminal sanctions.

    Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan said President Joko Widodo has agreed with the proposal.

    Speaking to reporters at the Istana on Wednesday (Sep 16), Luhut said five to 10 companies will be blacklisted. The companies were on a list compiled by authorities, which includes the names of company directors, commissioners and owners.

    Luhut added that their business permits will be revoked, and that the government would punish companies which are found to be guilty of negligence.

    “After the blacklist, there will be no more chances for the firms and businessmen and there is no chance for them to ever receive a plantation or forest clearing permit,” said Luhut.

    Earlier, Luhut said that he was coordinating with the police and there would be no compromise on the issue.

    “As a result of their actions, millions of people have breathing difficulties. I’m putting my reputation on the line to say this will not happen again,” said Luhut as quoted by news portal Detik.com

    However, he did not disclose the names of the companies suspected of starting the fires. National police chief Badrodin Haiti is expected to announce the names of the companies soon.

    General Badrodin had said that slash-and-burn cases were more difficult to solve than those involving drugs or terrorism.

    “In terrorism and drugs, we have access to preliminary information, there are the links and networks (of offenders),” he said. “However, for forest fires, the problem is how we get this preliminary information fast, who started it.”

    General Badrodin said hotspots can be detected with satellites, but often, it is not immediately clear whether the fire was started deliberately.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Singapore Reiterates Offers Of Assistance To Indonesia To Fight Forest Fires

    Singapore Reiterates Offers Of Assistance To Indonesia To Fight Forest Fires

    Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (Sep 14) spoke with Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar and reiterated Singapore’s offer of help to combat forest fires, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement. The offer came as the number of hotspots in Indonesia’s Sumatra island soared to a two-month high of 982 on Monday, and a state of emergency has been declared in Riau province.

    Indonesia had earlier accepted the Singapore Armed Forces’ offer to send C-130s for cloud seeding and Chinooks for large water buckets to douse fires, only to decline it later. “While the Indonesian authorities accepted our offer of assistance initially, they have since expressed appreciation for the offer, and said they have sufficient resources of their own for now,” Singapore’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

    “WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING”: INDONESIAN MINISTER

    Dr Siti Nurbaya told Dr Balakrishnan that Indonesia has already deployed a host of resources to tackle the fires but said she would consult Indonesian President Joko Widodo who is personally overseeing the effort again on Singapore’s offer.

    “We have deployed soldiers. We have conducted water bombing in Riau with 18 million litres of water, in South Sumatra and Jambi with 12 million liters of water. Cloud-seeding in Riau with 120 tonnes of salt and 56 tonnes of salt in South Sumatra,” Dr Siti Nurbaya said.

    “We have done everything. I was trying to convince the minister that we are serious in putting out the fire.”
    NEA said Minister Siti Nurbaya agreed to Dr Balakrishnan’s request for Indonesia to share the names of companies which are suspected to be causing the forest fires once they are able to verify this with checks on the ground. She also said she would inform him if there are links for these firms to Singapore.

    As of 9pm, the 3-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is 249 and the 24-hour PSI is 133 – 166. This is the highest 3-hour PSI reading this year.

    NEA noted that there was a brief respite in hazy conditions on Monday morning, but haze from Sumatra was again blown in by the prevailing winds in the afternoon.

    Thundery showers are expected in the pre-dawn and early morning hours of Tuesday, but NEA said the 24-hour PSI in the next 24 hours is still expected to be the mid to high sections of the Unhealthy range, and may enter the Very Unhealthy range.

    WILL A “TOUGH COP” APPROACH PAY OFF?

    Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Associate Professor Simon Tay said being a “tough cop” may not be the best approach for Singapore when tackling the transboundary haze issue. NEA on Sunday said it would conduct investigations into the situation.

    “I think in any investigation of this nature, the temptation is to say you have to play a really tough cop,” said Mr Tay. “But while the Singapore Government could do that, it probably isn’t the best approach.

    “In the end, many of the companies now – the bigger ones in Singapore – have actually put their maps online. They’ve taken steps, they have firefighting equipment that even the provisional officers don’t have. So I would hope, in a sense, that the first response must be cooperation.

    “In many of these cases, the companies may claim whether it’s true or not, they didn’t start the fires, the fires came on their land. So I think the first step we can agree on is that, for whoever started these fires, are the companies able and willing to try and put these fires out? Then, and again we have to give them some room because the scale of these fires and the scale of the land won’t make it easy, even if they’re trying their best.”

    Under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act which came into effect in 2014, fines of up to S$2 million can be imposed on companies which cause or contribute to haze pollution in Singapore.

    Haze pollution is said to have occurred if the 24-hour PSI remains at 101 or higher for 24 hours or longer. NEA said this had taken place from 10am on Sep 10 to 2am on Sep 12 – a full 41 hours.

    NEA said it is closely monitoring the hotspots in the region. It is also drawing on information from maps, meteorological data, and satellite imagery in its investigations.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Riau Declares Emergency As Haze Worsens

    Riau Declares Emergency As Haze Worsens

    Indonesia has declared a haze emergency in Sumatra’s Riau province, as the choking smoke surged way past already hazardous levels and forced thousands to flee Pekanbaru, Riau’s capital, which is about 280km away from Singapore.

    The deteriorating situation – the result of forest fires in Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra provinces – prompted President Joko Widodo to instruct the police and armed forces chiefs to deploy additional personnel to help combat the haze.

    Mr Joko, who is on an official visit to Qatar, also warned in a statement yesterday that the government would take harsh legal action.

    “I have also told law enforcers to take stern action against those who are responsible, including confiscating land licences and forestry permits,” he said.

    In Singapore, the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings hovered within the unhealthy range (101-200) throughout yesterday and are expected to worsen. At 9pm, it ranged between 133 and 166. The three-hour PSI was 249.

    Mr Chia Aik Song, an associate scientist with the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing at the National University of Singapore, said that while it was difficult to predict how the haze would develop, he noted that a dry spell would worsen the situation. “As long as there is not enough rain to put out the fires, the threat of unfavourable winds bringing smoke from Sumatra across the Strait of Malacca to Singapore will persist.”

    The 24-hour PSI is predicted to be in the mid to high sections of the unhealthy range but may deteriorate into the low section of the very unhealthy range (201-300) today, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday evening. Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan spoke with Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar yesterday afternoon to further express his concern over the haze situation.

    According to the NEA, he also reiterated Singapore’s offer of help, which Indonesia has so far declined. Ms Siti said she would consult President Joko again on the offer. She also agreed to share the names of companies suspected of causing the fires when they are confirmed.

    Singapore’s Ministry of Education has activated haze management measures and will consider closing all schools if the air quality is at the hazardous level, it said on its website.

    In Malaysia, the government has ordered schools in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan to be closed today. Air Pollutant Index readings as of 11pm yesterday showed that air quality in Kuala Selangor had reached a dangerous level of 207, while readings for the rest of Selangor hovered around the 170 range.

     

    Source: www.straittstimesc.com

  • Isu Di Malaysia Boleh Bawa Kesan Kepada Singapura

    Isu Di Malaysia Boleh Bawa Kesan Kepada Singapura

    Masyarakat dan ekonomi Singapura dan Malaysia saling bergantung rapat antara satu sama lain.

    Disebabkan pergantungan tersebut, masalah Malaysia dengan mudah boleh menjadi masalah Singapura, kata Perdana Menteri Lee Hsien Loong.

    “Jika Malaysia mengalami masalah, tidak mantap atau berpecah-belah, ia akan menjejas ekonomi kita, masyarakat kita dan keselamatan kita juga,” jelas Encik Lee.

    Justeru, Perdana Menteri berkata Singapura memantau dengan dekat apa jua perkembangan yang berlaku di Malaysia.

    Encik Lee menggariskan beberapa masalah dan isu yang menjadi kebimbangan utama Malaysia.

    Pertama, sesetengah rakyat Malaysia menjadi radikal termasuk beberapa anggota pasukan bersenjatanya.

    Sesetengahnya telah pergi ke Timur Tengah bagi menyertai pertempuran militan Negara Islam di Iraq dan Syria (ISIS) di sana dan apabila mereka pulang, mereka akan membawa ideologi pengganasan itu bersama ke tanah air.

    Kedua, Malaysia juga bimbang tentang ketegangan kaum dan agama.

    Masyarakat boleh berpecah-belah dengan mengikut sentimen perkauman.

    Insiden rusuhan di Plaza Low Yat antara orang Cina dan Melayu misalnya boleh menegangkan isu sentimen perkauman.

    Ketiga, Malaysia juga bimbang tentang isu politik wang.

    Isu 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) menjadi bahan berita setiap hari.

    Encik Lee juga berkata Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak baru menubuhkan sebuah panel nasional bagi membangunkan undang-undang mengenai “pembiayaan politik dengan kewibawaan”.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

  • Cabaran Di Sebalik Hubungan Baik Dengan Indonesia

    Cabaran Di Sebalik Hubungan Baik Dengan Indonesia

    Indonesia negara yang penting bagi Singapura kerana sebagai negara besar ia menentukan “nada” bagi rantau ini.

    Justeru, apabila Indonesia mantap, semua negara jirannya akan meraih faedah.

    Tetapi jika Indonesia berada dalam keadaan yang tidak menentu, Asia Tenggara boleh terjejas, seperti yang berlaku semasa Konfrontasi, ujar Perdana Menteri Lee Hsien Loong.

    Menurut beliau, Singapura menikmati hubungan yang baik dengan Indonesia buat bertahun-tahun lamanya.

    Ini termasuk dengan Presiden Suharto sejak 1970-an dan kemudian dengan Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pada dekad yang lalu.

    “Saya mengalu-alukan dapat meneruskan hubungan yang baik ini dengan Presiden Jokowi (Joko Widodo),” ujar Encik Lee.

    Namun, beliau mengingatkan bahawa Indonesia negara yang besar dan kompleks dan terdapat banyak pandangan dalam negara itu sendiri berhubung dengan negara jiran mereka.

    Satu pandangan biasa warga Indonesia mengenai Singapura, katanya, ialah Singapura negara kecil yang menikmati kejayaan yang tidak sepatutnya.

    Semasa Hari Kebangsaan Singapura, sebuah akhbar Indonesia menerbitkan rumusan hubungan antara Singapura dengan Indonesia.

    Laporan itu menukil seorang ahli politik kanan di sana mengenai jerebu.

    “Saya akan hanya menimbangkan meminta maaf (bagi jerebu) jika Singapura dan Malaysia berterima kasih dengan oksigen yang dinikmati (daripada hutan Indonesia) bagi selama 11 bulan (setiap tahun).”

    Encik Lee berkata walaupun pandangan tersebut tidak mencerminkan pandangan pemerintah Indonesia, Singapura harus memberi perhatian.

    “Ia satu set minda yang sudah berdarah daging – satu titik merah yang kecil ini harus tahu tempatnya di dunia ini – dan pandangan ini tidak akan lesap bagi masa yang lama,” tambah beliau.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg