This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 23, 2019 - September 29, 2019
Throughout our country’s modern history, a number of memorable years stand out for us Malaysians, some for good reasons, some not. We all remember 1957 as the year Malaya achieved its independence from British rule, and 1963 as the year Malaysia was formed.
We also remember 1992, the last time the national badminton team won the much-coveted Thomas Cup, beating powerhouse Indonesia in the final. People in almost every city, town and kampung stayed up well past midnight, screaming, groaning, cheering and finally celebrating the team’s victory.
Indeed, the rivalry between Malaysia and Indonesia is a tale that could be spun into an epic worthy of Athens and Sparta. Besides taking on each other in sport, Malaysia and Indonesia are often at loggerheads when it comes to culinary skills, the arts, economic development … and how to fan the embers of a fire. In this regard, Indonesia wins hands down!
I mean, what else can prompt such heat and make your blood boil than waking up every morning to the acrid smell of smoke lingering in your home? Nothing dampens your mood early in the day than grey smog that blocks the sun’s rays and pretty much everything else in sight.
Do not get me wrong. I am not saying the Indonesians are torching their thousand-year-old rainforest just to piss us off.
The exceptionally hot and dry weather this year has caused wildfires to spread very quickly, especially in the peatlands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Extinguishing fires in peatlands is a highly challenging and dangerous task because the peat inside the soil could still be burning even when the fire has been put out.
What bugs me is the way the Indonesians have reacted to the situation. When Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin called Indonesia out for the transboundary haze, its Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar insisted that the haze came from Sarawak.
And when Yeo offered Malaysia’s assistance in fighting the fires, Indonesia rejected it. Enough with the Big Brother complex already! Millions are choking on the hazardous haze and I can assure you that it does not feel good.
While we may not see eye to eye on many things, Malaysia and Indonesia cannot run away from each other. Fate has brought us together, so to speak, so that whatever happens in Indonesia often has repercussions for Malaysia.
Our two countries should be working together to stamp out the fires and put a stop to the haze. Malaysia is offering assistance not because we think Indonesia is incapable of handling the situation but because we want to help ourselves by helping the beleaguered country extinguish the fires.
If the fires are raging on Indonesian land that is leased out to or owned by Malaysian companies, by all means throw the book at them. But for all our sakes, especially the children, sick and elderly, this transboundary haze has to stop. And for good.
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