Asianews.network, October 14, 2026
Ragananthini Vethasalam, Divya Theresa Ravi, Gerard Gimino, Khoo Jian Teng and Benjamin Lee, The Star
As thick haze blankets the region, experts and environmental groups are pushing for an urgent trilateral summit between Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
PETALING JAYA – After decades of choking on transboundary haze, patience is wearing thin and stakeholders say it is time to stop tiptoeing around Jakarta’s sensitivities.
They want Malaysia and Singapore to meet Indonesia’s president to find a lasting solution. “It is high time for the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore to meet with the Indonesian President to end the suffering of our people, including Indonesians,” said Sahabat Alam Malaysia president Meena Raman.
Meena called for offending plantation companies to be publicly named, penalised, and held legally accountable for starting forest fires. “Our right to clean air and health has been grossly violated. Firmer and urgent measures are needed to halt this crisis once and for all,” she said.
Climate Governance Malaysia chairman Dr Gary Theseira said an urgent summit involving the three countries would provide a platform for frank discussions on the challenges and potential solutions.
He said Asean’s non-interference policy had contributed to the unresolved issue and called for an immediate moratorium on open burning in Indonesia and measures to rehydrate peatlands. He said the summit could produce a regional haze emergency declaration to facilitate disaster management cooperation and the cross-border mobilisation of firefighting equipment and personnel.
Geostrategist Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said Malaysia and Singapore were increasingly frustrated by Indonesia’s lack of action, despite their offers of assistance.
He said a summit should go beyond discussion and put pressure on Indonesia to take responsibility for the problem and its economic, health and political toll. “It seems that (Indonesian President) Bapak Prabowo (Subianto) is helpless or he just cannot secure any help to take action on the current ongoing case, especially on foreign companies that are part of this problem,” he said.
The Organisation for the Preservation of National Heritage Malaysia (Peka) president and lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan stressed that any summit must yield decisive action rather than endless talks. “The recurring haze is a regional public health crisis, not a seasonal inconvenience,” he said.
He added that only heads of government could commit their countries to transparency over land ownership, enforcement and deadlines. He also called for other affected Asean countries to take part in a coordinated regional response.
Rajesh said concrete outcomes should include stronger cross-border investigations and enforcement, tougher action against offending companies, and a clear timeline for Malaysia to introduce its own transboundary haze law. He said the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was a cooperation framework rather than an enforcement mechanism, with no penalties, binding deadlines or means of holding parties accountable for breaches. “As long as burning remains profitable and prosecution remains unlikely, the haze will return with every dry season,” he said.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said transboundary haze will be raised at the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting ahead of the bloc’s 49th Summit in Manila, the Philippines.
