KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not put any form of pressure on Indonesia to tackle the cross-border haze menace originating from the republic.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said such a move would be unfair to Indonesia which was earnestly undertaking efforts to put out the fires on its peat land.
“It’s unfair to put any pressure on Indonesia. President Joko Widodo has shown strong commitment to solving the problem in the long term,” he told reporters after opening the first Putrajaya International Security Dialogue, here, today.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, urged all parties affected by the haze problem to stop pointing the blame finger at each other.
Instead, he said, all ASEAN countries should be cooperating to assist Indonesia find long-term solutions to the haze problem.
“We should also sympathise with Indonesia in overcoming this problem. Don’t just criticise them.
“At the same time, I hope there are no parties blaming Malaysian investors opening up land for oil palm plantations there for the fires,” he added. -Bernama