In contrast, Malaysia’s official rhetoric on the haze has been relatively muted.
Its foreign minister Mohamad Hasan has ruled out lodging a formal diplomatic protest with Indonesia or taking legal action, saying such actions “would mean we were prepared to sever relations”.
For now, Malaysia has agreed to explore a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia to strengthen wildfire prevention efforts.
It would also rely on diplomatic mechanisms, Mohamad said – like the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
The agreement, which came into effect in 2003, commits members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to collaborate on tackling the recurring haze.
But many see it as toothless, as it is unable to punish agricultural companies linked to wildfires or to force individual governments to do so.
The agreement has turned out to be “just not worth the paper it was signed on”, says James Chin, professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania.
“The moment the haze disappears, the moment the political pressure’s off, it’s back to business as usual.”
In 2016, Asean countries had set a goal to eliminate haze in the region by 2020. When that deadline drifted quietly by, they set a new target of achieving the goal by 2030 instead.
Complicating Malaysia’s position is the fact that it is also a major palm oil producer. The commodity is often linked to commercial “slash-and-burn” practices that are widely blamed for the region’s wildfires.
Malaysia has at times dealt with acute haze stemming from blazes on local land.
In 2019, when Malaysia pointed to hotspots in Indonesia’s peatlands as the cause of the haze shrouding the region, Indonesian authorities pointed the finger back at Malaysia, claiming the smog came from their side.
“As long as we place a lot of importance on oil palm planting, [the haze] is going to recur,” says Ei Sun Oh, principal adviser at the Pacific Research Centre of Malaysia.
And even if Malaysia were to speak up, Oh adds, it’s unlikely to wield the same “leverage” over Indonesia as Singapore, which is Indonesia’s largest foreign investor and an offshore financial hub for many wealthy Indonesians.
For now, Malaysia “doesn’t want to unduly provoke Indonesia”, says Oh.
“The government is just wringing their hands till the wind blows [the problem] over. Because eventually it will blow over.”
