It is that time of the year,

When haze is everywhere,

We can sigh and swear,

But the haze is going nowhere.

It gives us teary red eyes,

It gives us throats that are annoying and dry,

The burning foul air is the sign,

We are destroying our habitat money cannot buy.

They say farmers and plantations have their rights,

Cost of land clearing must be kept low and slight,

But little did they realise we are paying through our plight,

We are forfeiting our well-being and our rights to healthy life.

I have been writing about haze for as long as I can remember,

Frankly, no one seemed responsible,

The governments would meet, haggle and wrangle,

Grand plans formulated and offered but they made no difference to the people.

From Mahathir’s fire-fighting and cloud-seeding,

Goh Chok Tong’s grieving and mourning,

To Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s apologising and Jokowi’s latest grandstanding,

Haze is permeating and becoming more menacing.

Civilised nations subscribe to international standards and conventions

Members of Asean talk hauntingly about regional cooperation,

They claim people’s well-being is their devotion,

Thus far, it is largely deception and perversion.