MALAYSIA needs its neighbours to cooperate if there is to be a long-term plan to address the yearly transboundary smoke from Indonesia, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today. 

“Until we get cooperation (from other countries), it is not possible to have long-term plans,” he said, adding that he had yet to write to Indonesian President Joko Widodo about the matter.

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia needed to first verify whether Sarawak was responsible for the smoke in Malaysia was coming from Sarawak as claimed by Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar on Wednesday.

Dr Mahathir was speaking in a press conference after watching the Putrajaya Boat Race 2019 here today.

On Thursday, Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin had responded to Indonesia’s claims by stating in her Facebook post that there was no need for Indonesia to be in denial as the data on the number of hotspots in Kalimantan and Sumatera speaks for itself.

Yeo was also reported to have said that Dr Mahathir would be sending a letter regarding the smoke to the Indonesian president and that Malaysia had offered the Indonesian government assistance in putting out its forest fires but the offer had yet to be taken up. – Bernama, September 15, 2019.