If the ecological disasters of recent years have failed to shake Malaysians out of their complacency, the recent haze crisis will have succeeded in forcing them to take environmental protection seriously.

While the authorities may try to put the blame totally on the Indonesian forest fires, we should be more concerned about the invisible gases created by industrial and vehicular pollution which are trapped in the smog.

At last, we hope that Malaysians have begun to realise that it is pointless pursuing growth per se when it is the 'quality of growth' which should be our concern. Malaysian environmentalists have warned the nation of this crisis for years, only to be derided by the authorities time and again for being 'anti-development' and 'stooges of the West'.

The negligence on the part of the authorities is beyond question when we recall the past record. The problem of air pollution in Malaysian cities already existed in the 1960s, but the government did not take it seriously. In the early 1980s, especially in 1982 and 1983, the problem worsened and an 'Action Plan' was mooted in 1984. But as soon as the haze cleared, the government reverted to 'business as usual'.

At the time, the Environment Ministry admitted that local industrial pollution, vehicular emissions and open burning were contributing to the problem.

In the early 1990s, Kuala Lumpur already stood at 14th among the most polluted cities in the world. Our reputation further suffered when Emperor Hirohito could not fly to Ipoh during his scheduled visit to the country in 1991.

It was in 1991, described as "the worst haze problem in Malaysian history", that a national committee on haze was set up. The Environment Ministry announced "short and long-term awareness programmes" to prevent a recurrence of the problem. However, few if any measures were adopted as the Mahathir government pursued its 'economic miracle' of untrammeled growth.

Clean Air Action Plan

Then in 1993, a Clean Air Action Plan was submitted to the cabinet. Its recommendations were based on a commissioned study by the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (Jica) costing RM10 million and co-ordinated by the Department of Environment (DOE). The details of this plan have not been made public but it is known that among other recommendations, it called for:

  • industry to switch to using natural gas;

  • siting new factories in non-residential areas; and

  • vehicle manufacturers to meet emission standards by mandatory installation of catalytic converters.

    • This Jica study warned that air pollution in the Klang Valley would reach a critical level by 2005 if serious steps were not taken.

    Unfortunately for Malaysians, the cabinet decided to shelve this Clean Air Action Plan. Going by local newspaper reports, it was clear that the cabinet had given in to the powerful vested interests, the trade associations and motor industry barons who were against the measures which would have increased their costs.

    It is hypocritical that the same people who can accept a better quality car for the foreign markets are prepared to settle for internationally sub-standard and polluting cars in the local market! And it is the same ministers who shot down the Clean Air Action Plan in 1993 who are today joining the breast-beating about the haze.

    The haze problem in 1994 was even worse than that of 1991 when the air pollutants reached the 'unhealthy' level of 185 micrograms per cubic metre. There were more reports by the DOE in 1995 and 1996 on the problem and the need for 'immediate action'.

    Besides the RM10 million study by Jica, other expensive studies have been carried out, one by Universiti Malaya, another by Australian consultants and yet another by the Danes. On July 28, 1997, the DOE was reported to have said that "a proposed two-year study by the DOE to tackle the haze by pinpointing its specific causes has yet to begin despite being mooted almost a year ago".

    Lack of enforcement

    Government inaction against industrial polluters has been evident in the lack of enforcement of environmental protection laws even during the thick of the 1997 haze crisis. And when the air pollutant index (API) had breached the 'hazardous' 300 level, the authorities decided to change the 'emergency' level to 500. One can only assume that this was to protect the vested interests in industry who would have had to cease all air polluting operations if an emergency had been declared.

    It is time for the government to lay down truly effective environment protection laws and to ensure that there is stringent enforcement of such laws. The call by environmentalists for the setting up of a National Environment Council with the inclusion of NGOs should be taken seriously.

    All peoples in the Asean region must learn the lesson from this haze crisis. The obsession with the pursuit of untrammeled economic growth to the neglect of the environment and human rights has been shown to be shortsighted and disastrous for all Asean peoples.

    Even after the forest fires in Indonesia had started a few months before the crisis, no coordinated action was taken because powerful Asean industrial and plantation interests were involved in the forest clearing. That is why the indignation expressed by Asean governments only after the problem had got out of hand rang hollow.

    As was also seen in Bakun, the official media tried unsuccessfully to put the blame on small farmers and "shifting cultivators". The "43 Malaysian plantation companies" involved in the forest clearing in Indonesia were only exposed when the government had to divert the people's wrath away from itself and to make these companies bear the cost of putting out the fires.

    Misinformation by the authorities was seen in the encouragement of the public to wear ineffectual styrofoam masks and in conflicting claims about the slight effect of the haze on public health.

    The haze crisis further demonstrated that we are rather backward as far as collection of medical data is concerned and that we have yet some way to go to join the ranks of developed countries.

    Asean governments should also prioritise public transport systems if they really care for the environment and the needs of the vast majority of their peoples instead of pandering to the interests of the car industry barons. Again, this has been the long-standing call by environmentalists and concerned Malaysians while the government doggedly spent millions on the national car project and highways.

    Short- and long-term measures

    The recent case in France is instructive when air pollution had reached a critical point, swift action included making public transport free of charge to Parisians and this succeeded in clearing air pollution in the city at a stroke.

    Short- and long-term measures need to be worked out by the authorities and adhered to. The government should not procrastinate every time the 'hazardous' level is reached the health of the people cannot be compromised by the attempt to attain high economic growth for its own sake. When the hazardous level of air pollution has been reached, all polluting vehicles and industries must cease operation.

    It is high time Asean peoples started making their governments accountable for their environment and human rights and not wait for disasters to strike time and time again.

    Dr KUA KIA SOONG is principal of the community-funded New Era College. He was a member of parliament and an Internal Security Act detainee. The above article, which was written in October 1997, appears as a chapter in Kua's latest book Malaysian critical issues, published by the Strategic Information Research Development (SIRD). It is available in all major bookstores and at SIRD's distribution office in 11, Lorong 11/4E, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.