Haze choked many parts of the state last year. File Photo
KUCHING: Transboundary haze is unlikely to happen this year as Indonesia has put in place stringent measures to prevent wildfires and open burnings.
According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the Indonesian government has given the assurance at the 19th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution two weeks ago, which was attended by representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
“Indonesia has implemented a drastic action plan since 2016 based on the Roadmap on Asean Cooperation towards Trans-boundary Haze Pollution Control which led to improved conditions last year,” Wan Junaidi told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He added that last year, scientific monitoring showed that Malaysia suffered only two days of bad haze while Singapore three days, a significant improvement from 2015.
Wan Junaidi reiterated that Malaysia and Singapore have assured that they will assist if Indonesia needs help.
“In case haze occurs this year, Malaysia is prepared to assist the Indonesian government in tackling the situation if the latter needs it. We are ready to send our Bombardier planes and Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) to assist Indonesia to tackle this annual environmental disaster,” he said.
On politics, Wan Junaidi who is also Santubong MP said the BN election machinery in his constituency is ready for the 14th general election.
“We are ever ready to face the general election based on the fact that our machinery is still fresh from the Tanjong Datu by-election held Feb 18 where our BN candidate Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu prevailed with a thumping victory,” he said.
On his candidacy, Wan Juniadi who has been an MP since 1990, said he had never lobbied to be a BN candidate.
“My work speaks for itself.
And you can ask the people on the ground how I have been serving them. To me, I just love what I’m doing in serving the rakyat. And at 71, I still feel strong enough to continue to serve. But of course, I will leave my candidacy to the BN top leadership,” he added.
In the last general election Wan Junaidi won convincingly with a majority of 20,936 votes in a four-cornered contest.