What is the Department of Environment (DOE) and state Natural Resources Environment Board (NREB) doing about the open burning especially by plantation companies in Sarawak?

This is the question being asked by the public in Kuching after Deputy Chief Minister Dr George Chan laid partial blame on plantation companies, believed to be mostly connected with state agencies or politicians, for the 75 hotspots shown on satellite pictures for the worsening haze across parts of Sarawak yesterday.

Satellite pictures showed 642 hotspots across a much wider expanse of land in Indonesian Borneo, mostly West and South Kalimantan, as well as 10 hotspots in Sabah, which has more than twice the planted acreage of oil palm.

According to a Kuching-based academic, the two environmental agencies have laid down specific guidelines as to what plantation companies cannot do, and the laws provide for hefty fines and even imprisonment for repeated offences.

"Obviously, to save cost and time, burning is often resorted to, especially during the dry season," said the academic, who declined to be named.

"But some companies obviously feel it is worth taking the risks to pay fines in order to clear the land to start planting because of the huge returns expected from the sale of the fruits," he added.

The academic advocated stronger action, apart from the ban on opening burning. "Revoke the licence or fine them RM50 million or RM100 million," he said.

Why no action?

According to latest reports, some of the fires occurred in plantation areas in Gedong in the Samarahan Division near Kuching which saw the Air Pollutant Index (API) at 157 yesterday, but went down to 108 - still one of the highest in the country - at 11 am today after rain fell over the state capital and neighbouring region.

The highest API was recorded in the adjoining administrative division of Sri Aman (117) followed by Samarahan (107).

Sarawak has an area of about 123,000 sq kms and large areas have been given over to plantation activities,especially for oil palm. At least 400 plantation licences have been issued in the past 10 years covering million of hectares.

The cheapest and fastest means to clear the land is burning which is contracted out to companies that usually employ workers from Indonesia.

"The satellite pictures are so precise, they can pinpoint the hotspots, and the enforcement agencies in fact need not wait for public complaints," an angry teacher told malaysiakini.

"The agencies could go straight to the ground, investigate and take action," he added.

Although the rain has reduced the API, environmental officials warn that the situation could worsen if there is a dry spell.

Meanwhile, in the Bahasa Indonesia Pontianak Post Online, a debate is raging following West Kalimantan governor Usman Ja'far's recent statement blaming the haze on the shifting cultivation practised by the Dayaks.

Disputing this, a newspaper reader calling himself Piet Herman Abok said in today's issue that while the area under shifting cultivation was decreasing the area under commercial planting by companies was rapidly increasing.

"Even if you stop shifting cultivation (by the Dayaks) altogether it will not stop the haze," he pointed out.

Pontianak, the West Kalimantan capital across the border from Sarawak, experienced the highest API recorded yesterday at over 200.