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Tag: slash and burn

  • Indonesia VP Jusuf Kalla Reiterates No Apology Required To Neighbours Over Haze

    Indonesia VP Jusuf Kalla Reiterates No Apology Required To Neighbours Over Haze

    NEW YORK – Indonesia’s Vice-President Jusuf Kalla has reiterated that Indonesia need not apologise to neighbouring countries over haze from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

    Indonesia only needs to ensure forest fires that cause haze do not recur, he was quoted as saying on Indonesian news site kompas.com.

    “Look at how long they have enjoyed fresh air from our green environment and forests when there were no fires. Could be months. Are they grateful? But when forest fires occur, a month at the most, haze pollutes their regions. So why should there be an apology?” he said during a dialogue session with Indonesians in New York at the Indonesian Consulate-General on Thursday.

    He also claimed that companies from neighbouring countries are paying locals to clear lands using the slash-and-burn technique.

    This was not the first time Mr Kalla has made such remarks. He made similar remarks between 2005 and 2007 when he was Vice-President to then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

    On Sept 18 this year, he made the same point after meeting Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the vice-president’s office.

    Mr Kalla said forest fires and destruction were started by foreigners who needed land in the 1960s and 1970s.

    They later collaborated with Indonesian entrepreneurs.

    “They taught us to destroy forests. As a result, using development as an excuse, our forests were felled. Our peatlands were opened up. Wet peatlands dried up, making them easier to burn,” he said, naming several foreign companies.

    He said besides preventing forest fires from recurring, the government has also issued bans on logging and moratoriums on the use of land, including opening up lands for new plantations.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • K Shanmugam Rebukes Jusuf Kalla Over Shocking Statements

    K Shanmugam Rebukes Jusuf Kalla Over Shocking Statements

    The ongoing haze crisis, which has affected the lives of millions across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, has started to draw strong comments from leaders here.

    Foreign and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, in a Facebook post on Thursday night, expressed his unhappiness at what he referred to as “shocking statements made, at senior levels, from Indonesia, with a complete disregard for our people, and their own”.

    “How is it possible for senior people in government to issue such statements, without any regard for their people, or ours, and without any embarrassment, or sense of responsibility?” wrote the minister.

    Mr Shanmugam did not name any of his Indonesian counterparts or elaborate on the statement in question at the time.

    His post on social media came after Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla had reiterated that Indonesia need not apologise to its neighbours over the haze.

    Speaking at a dialogue at the Indonesian Consulate-General in New York on Thursday, Mr Kalla said Indonesia needs only to ensure that forest fires that cause haze do not recur, Kompas daily reported yesterday.

    “Look at how long they have enjoyed fresh air from our green environment and forests when there were no fires,” said Mr Kalla.

    “Could be months. Are they grateful? But when forest fires occur, a month at the most, haze pollutes their regions. So why should there be an apology?”

    He also accused “companies from neighbouring countries” of paying locals to clear lands using the slash-and-burn technique, which have led to the blaze.

    Mr Kalla had made similar remarks in previous years.

    The most recent occasion was in March this year, when he rapped neighbouring countries for complaining about the haze, asking them to be grateful instead for the clean air they enjoy for the rest of the year.

    “For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us,” he said at the time. “They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset.”

    Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday wrote a post on Facebook directed at Indonesia and the haze crisis.

    “Merlion is mythical like the Garuda and will not be affected by the haze. But we humans will be, not just now but also in the long term if haze continues year after year,” he said. The Merlion and Garuda are associated with Singapore and Indonesia respectively.

    “If Indonesia can stamp out illegal burning, they will gain investor confidence in their abilities to tackle other complex challenges. The haze is their litmus test for effective administration and regional leadership. We all see it, breathe it; and there is no hiding.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com