The House of Representatives said on Thursday it welcomed the government’s second attempt to ratify the 2002 regional haze treaty in the wake of the massive forest fires in Sumatra, the smog from which choked local residents and people living in neighboring states.
Nur Yasin, a National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker at the House’s Commission VII on the environment, said the lawmakers were ready to discuss the planned ratification. “We have not yet discussed the treaty in Commission VII, but we are ready to deliberate the government’s proposal because I think the purpose is good,” he said.
The government has said that it will bring the treaty back for discussion at the House. On the sidelines of an ASEAN ministerial meeting to discuss ways to prevent forest fires in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya told reporters that Jakarta hoped to be able to ratify the treaty early next year.
Indonesia, the largest country in the regional grouping, is the only ASEAN nation that has yet to ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution that was brokered in 2002.
It has now come under pressure from its neighbors to immediately ratify the treaty following June’s forest fires that created severe haze that blanketed Singapore and Malaysia.
The incident forced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to issue a formal apology to the two neighboring countries, which severely criticized Indonesia for its sluggish response to the haze problem.
The government first submitted a bill to ratify the pact in 2008. Lawmakers at that time refused to endorse the bill, saying it only benefited neighboring countries and undermined Indonesia’s interests.
At the time, the House argued that Indonesia should not ratify the treaty as ASEAN members did not take into consideration Indonesia’s demands to forge regional cooperation to combat transboundary illegal logging and illegal fishing. The House also expressed its objections to the fact that most clauses within the bill were obligatory.
It is unclear if the government has submitted a new bill. “I haven’t heard anything so far. This is why we haven’t started any discussions on the matter,” Firman Subagyo, a lawmaker from the House’s commission VII on forestry, said.
The Golkar politician added that his commission would strongly support the plan to ratify the treaty, especially if it could enable Indonesia to impose harsh sanctions on any foreign companies found to be responsible for the forest fires.
“The recent case in Riau is an incentive for us to review our policies regarding the environment and forestry,” he said.
ASEAN has also welcomed Indonesia’s commitment to address the haze problem.
The grouping’s secretary general, Le Luong Minh, said the move showed Indonesia was ready to mobilise available resources to put out fires and eradicate the haze problem. “This is a spirit of cooperation to be commended, and with such successes, we will be able to achieve our agreements,” he said as quoted by Bernama on Wednesday.
Critics have said that the main problem is the fact that the Indonesian government is failing to enforce the law to prevent illegal practices that cause forest fires.
Singapore’s Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, for instance, called on Indonesia to enforce its own laws to make a big difference.
In a first, the National Police said it was ready to press charges against a Malaysian firm that was alleged to be responsible for the forest fires in Riau. The police accused PT ADEI Plantation and Industry, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) of conducting irresponsible burning practices in its concession area in Riau.
Previously, the environment minister had suggested 14 companies were the source of the fires in Riau.
Eight of the companies are Malaysian-owned, namely PT Langgam Inti Hiberida, PT Bumi Rakksa Sejati, PT Tunggal Mitra Plantation (PTTMP), PT Udaya Loh Dinawi as well as PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa, PT Multi Gambut Industri, PT Mustika Agro Lestari and PT ADEI.
The police then narrowed down their investigation to five companies, including PT ADEI.
