The missing environmental awakening

Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, is choking under a thick haze caused by the annual burning of land for the production of pulp, paper and palm oil.

Experts estimate that the haze is unlikely to disappear until early 2016.

The haze has become so bad that schools in several Malaysian states have been ordered to close periodically depending on the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings.

Since the haze crisis, my WeChat or WhatsApp messages are always about checking with friends on the API readings of the day and the next day. To some extent, it feels like a routine check.

As for my laptop tab, the page of “Malaysia Air Pollutant Index – Department of Environment” is now fixed, so that I know if my next day’s schedule will be affected.

There have been various research on this particular subject related to Asean transboundary haze and in 2014, Indonesia finally ratified the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution that has been in existence since 2002.

Working closely on matters related to Asean mechanism on human rights, I am fully aware of the nature of non-interference policy by the organization and how compromising solutions could take ages to reach.

Hence, what I would like to highlight in today’s column is, how about our haze contingency plans? Why are we not protesting over this annual haze crisis?

Today, all schools are open as the haze index is reportedly turned better. But, how about tomorrow and the following days?

Just last week, I was in a seminar on human rights. The vice-chair of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), Datuk Dr. Khaw Lake Tee, in her presentation on the newly launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), rightly pointed out what has been lingering in my mind: why are we not responsive to haze?

Several outdoor events such as the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon had to be cancelled over fears that the health of more than 30,000 runners was at risk from the thick smoke.

We are all told to stay indoors.

What’s absurd about this transboundary haze is the fact that it is a persistent, annual crisis that affects the lives of millions. It costs the governments of several countries in Southeast Asia billions of dollars.

The urgent issue is the human costs – it leaves millions of people at risk of respiratory and other illness.

We are all aware that air pollution in China is one of the worse. What’s interesting is, mass environmental protests continue to gain strength in China. These waves of protest are unique in that they are uniting China’s working and middle classes under a common grievance.

In Riau province, hundreds demonstrated against the smoke outside the governor’s office. Calling themselves the Revolusi Langit Biru, or Blue Sky Revolution, the group circulated posters on social media calling for people to come onto the streets dressed in blue. The hashtags such as #MelawanAsap, #ResistHaze and #RevolusiLangitBiru slowly became a trending topic.

In Malaysia, there had been attempts to protest over the haze that is engulfing us. On September 18, a group of concerned citizens marched to the Indonesian Embassy to protest the haze.

The effort deserves applause. Unfortunately, only very few attended, which probably could be due to the lack of mobilization capacity.

In Singapore, several groups of volunteers are determined to take up the fight against the haze. The Haze Elimination Action Team (Heat) led by Professor Ang Peng Hwa was set up in 2007. In February 2014, a group of concerned citizens in Singapore, with the belief that everyone can pay a part in ending transboundary haze in Southeast Asia set up another similar entity, called People’s Movement to Stop Haze (PM.Haze). The intention of the group is to empower people with the knowledge, values and means to be drivers of global action to stop the haze and ultimately attain clean air for present and future generations.

One key solution is, of course, to hold accountable those responsible for the fires, but the issue is a lot more complex than this. Putting that complexity aside, what remains as a key concern is, there appears to be no adequate regional response system in place despite the fact that this transboundary haze crisis is not new.

I personally miss the blue skies and clear air, and it is immensely frustrating waking up every morning seeing grey sky and breathing in the polluted air. The health of the people and the environment that we live in surely deserve all the necessary attention.

What we are lacking now is not research after research, or dialogue after dialogue. The current haze situation remains and all of us are feeling its impact. I suppose this is really time for us to move away from an “it is all right” attitude.

How long more do we need to tolerate the intolerable? – October 26, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.