Being back in Malaysia is beginning to be a very horrible experience and it’s all due to the haze. The haze has been worsening and it’s expected to last well into October. On top of that, with the current dry season, there might be water rationing in approximately two weeks if rain doesn’t pour down. Isn’t that sweet?
Haze is the buzz word in the Malaysian blogosphere currently. Everywhere you go, it’s there. It’s kind of expected since bloggers are kind of zeitgeists – bloggers are humans and they tend to talk about everything that is current. So I figure, hell, let’s take a tour of haze loving people by sweeping through the Project Petaling Street.
First stop, jon choo’s weblog with entry OMG Haze!!! This blog criticizes others for blaming Indonesia for the haze. He states that in one of the last, what’s becoming annual, haze, Malaysian companies were involved in open burning in Indonesia. For that reason, Malaysian should not blame Indonesia but instead, look into the mirror.
I however disagree with the blog’s punch line. While I do disagree with placing the blame entirely on Indonesia’s shoulder, Indonesia does share an elephant size of the blame. Reason is that Indonesia has been reluctant and unable to enforce no open burning rule within its territories. And even if Malaysian plantation companies are the culprits, enforcement falls on Indonesia’s hand, not Malaysia’s. In fact, I don’t mind if the Indonesian government want to sue those companies. Heck, if Indonesia could sue Newmont – which is one of the largest extraction conglomerates in the world for various environment damages – I’m sure Indonesia could do that same to any company that is related to the cause of the haze.
On the Malaysian side, at least there are enforcements against open burning. In fact, Malaysia doesn’t impose death penalty on illegal clearing while Indonesia does and yet enforcement makes the difference. If I wouldn’t know any better, the word enforcement might mean the word joke in Bahasa Indonesia.
Second on the inspection is Shagadelica. This blog laments on how the government does not plan to make the Air Pollution Index public. I share the same sentiment. The government should just release the readings just like what has been done with AP list.
And then, there’s A Spicy Life which talks about health tips. A commendable effort but I’m afraid we are already dead.
Even minishorts talks about haze! Do you realize what does this mean? It’s like Bush commenting on Michigan affirmative action admission policy! But then, a couple sentences later, I realized that she doesn’t actually talk about haze per se. So, it’s more like Menj trying to talk about religious freedom but instead ended talking about nonsense and then calling others morons.
However, I’m being unfair since I haven’t read the whole thing and I don’t plan to read that entry. Maybe even the minishorts – Menj comparison isn’t suitable. After all, minishorts is much more lovable than Menj.
After minishorts, here comes the most original idea by HodgePodge I Am. The blog hints that this might be an Indonesian conspiracy to screw Malaysia! BJ Thoughts shares the same idea of conspiracy though this blog tries to explain the idea more thoroughly.
Nilesh Babu thanks Indonesia for this uninspiring gift and notes that Cyberjaya and Wangsa Maju are practically being eaten by smog.
mental jog on the other hand talks about a hazy article by The Sun.
And a picture worth a thousand word. osaya 2nite has a picture to describe how bad the haze is. Observe the distance between the camera and the object of interest. dDoinkster Speaks offers another picture while Rajan has kind words for the Indonesian authority.
And finally, another picture by xes.
With the roundup done, do you know what we should do right now?
We should all organize a “Malaysian Bloggers against haze” and write a letter to our rep or even phone them. In that letter or phone call, tell the rep about ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and urge him or her to urge the Parliament to urge Indonesia to have a goddamn urgency to ratify this urgent environmental treaty urgently, or urgently, else. Tell them, that we don’t f care about the AP right now, that we don’t f care about security on Malacca Straits at the moment, that we don’t f care about Myanmar currently, that we don’t f care for a lot of other things but we do f care about choking ourselves to our f death.
If you don’t know who represents you, the Malaysian Parliament has a complete list though they don’t seem to offer us the reps’ email address.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your urgent ass off your urgent chair and do something urgent, urgently.
p/s – oh yeah, happy belated ASEAN day, chickens.
pp/s – Roadkill, what seems to be a Singaporean, offers reading on pollution index by Singapore’s National Environment Agency. If we couldn’t rely on our own goverment to provide pollution reading, maybe should rely on Singapore’s and become Singaporeans themselves!
ppp/s – photo from Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Twin Towers, on an average day, could be seen in between the condominium and the trees.
That apartment building I reckon is about 200 meters away.p4/s – the Malaysia Department of Environment has finally made the Air Pollution Index public. It has been kept secret before this and there were growing discontent towards the government policy.
In the recent months or years, relationship between Southeast Asian countries has been spiced up to a whole new level. Below is how I see the origin of conflicts.