New laws needed to address haze in SE Asia: environmental coalition

KUALA LUMPUR – An alliance of civil society groups has called for new laws to address the long-standing haze pollution woes faced by Malaysia

The group calling itself the Cerah Anti-Haze Action coalition filed a complaint with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) yesterday ahead of International Human Rights Day, which falls on Friday.

The coalition is advocating a public inquiry into gaps in the governance of domestic and transboundary haze pollution. It aims to seek solutions to overcome haze pollution and protect the people’s right to clean air, according to a statement on Greenpeace’s website.

Aside from backing the rights of affected communities, the complaint also calls for domestic environmental laws and regulations, as well human rights practices within business based on the United Nations framework, to be strengthened.

“What happens to people who continue to suffer from the after-effects for years to come?

“The haze in itself is not a nigh-annual, mass smog event, but an aggregate symptom of the broader issue of unchecked protected peatland burning and continued encroachment into reserved forest areas compounded and driven by still-rampant fossil fuel use in developing countries,” Cerah chairman Dennis Chan said.

“The lodging of this complaint with Suhakam is an urgent, overdue, and shared response to a lack of clear and meaningful solutions or legal pathways for common citizens to end man-made atmospheric pollution affecting the Southeast Asian region and countless millions of lives.”

The list of groups in the coalition includes Greenpeace, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Stop Open Burning in Johan Setia, Klima Action Malaysia, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia, and Suara Rakyat Malaysia.

Others in the coalition are Pertubuhan Alam Sekitar Sejahtera Malaysia, Environmental Protection Society Malaysia, Jaringan Ekologi Dan Iklim, Persatuan Pengundi Muda, and the Global Environment Centre.

Greenpeace Malaysia campaigner Heng Kiah Chun said clean air is a basic human right for all, but Malaysians lack access to the information and basic justice required to enforce that right.

“So we have filed a complaint with our independent and impartial Suhakam, asking them to recommend ways to empower haze-impacted individuals and communities to protect themselves and their families,” Heng said.

“Deforestation, peatland destruction, and transboundary haze pollution have been happening in Sarawak for years. 

“This is also why it is important that haze pollution and forest protection be part of the main agenda in this year’s Sarawak election,” he said.

Heng said international law says polluters must pay for the fatal impacts of haze, but this requires transparency and accountability at every level.

“Health experts say clean air and good ventilation are crucial to saving the hundreds of thousands of lives threatened by haze pollution, just as clean air is essential to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.”

The group pointed to data by the World Health Organisation, which says that air pollution is now one of the biggest environmental threats to human life, leading to seven million premature deaths a year.

It said from 2010 to 2018, excluding 2015, Malaysia’s annual average PM10 concentration has been higher than WHO’s standard of 20 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre). 

It noted that haze has led to a rapid rise in asthma and conjunctivitis cases nationwide, according to the Health Ministry in 2019.

The coalition added that during the 2019 haze season, nearly 2,500 schools were closed across Malaysia, affecting at least 1.7 million pupils. – The Vibes, December 8, 2021