Gerakan wants to see more action, especially strict enforcement, against open burning to tackle the perennial occurrence of haze in Southeast Asia.

While the party concurs that open burning should be stopped, it was of the view that there had not been strict adherence to agreed promises by certain parties.

“We want to see more concrete efforts and proactive measure by all parties involved to deal with the problem, which has been plaguing our country and the people for years,” said Dr Cheah Soon Hai, head of Gerakran central bureau on environment, safety and quality of life.

Dr Cheah, who is also Derga State Assemblyman, hoped that all Southeast Asian countries would buck up and treat the haze issue with more urgency.

A ministerial meeting on haze pollution in Southeast Asia in Singapore on Wednesday had agreed to ban all open burning in the region, in anticipation of the El Nino hot weather conditions exacerbating in the last quarter of the year.

The Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which met in Singapore, also agreed to suspend permits for prescribed burning activities in fire-prone areas such as in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Dr Cheah said that as for Malaysia, he hoped the relevant government departments and agencies would intensify their enforcement against open burning and monitor the El Nino phenomenon, to prepare for any eventuality.

“As it is, there have been many cases of open burning, especially after office hours in the evenings, which have worsened the haze situation. We hope something can be done to deter these people,” he said, adding the government should be strict in dealing with offenders of open burning.

Dr Cheah lamented that the people were now beset with the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) flu, dengue fever, and the haze, all health and environmental-related problems.