He said the government needs to look at the feasibility of a transboundary haze Act as well as consider diplomatic relations and environmental pollution preventive measures.

“The ministry also needs to take into account the challenges of obtaining evidence for prosecution purposes, which involves data related to security, and the sovereignty of the country responsible for the haze pollution,” he told FMT.

However, Nik Nazmi said, legislation alone will not solve the transboundary haze problem, as shown in Singapore.

He said the lessons learned from Singapore’s implementation of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) 2014, which saw difficulties in obtaining evidence for prosecution, should also be considered.

He pointed out that THPA 2014’s enforcement is not applicable to entities that do not operate in the city state.

As such, he said, the ministry has been maintaining diplomatic relations and sharing best practices and technologies with its Asean neighbours.

It also engages with Malaysian-related plantation companies operating in Indonesia to prevent open burning and haze, he said.

A transboundary haze Act was proposed by Pakatan Harapan when it was in power, but it was shelved in 2020 by the Perikatan Nasional government.

Then environment and water minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had said it would be more convenient to deal with the matter diplomatically with neighbouring countries.

Recently, it was reported that Malaysia will meet with its regional neighbours to discuss the transboundary haze, especially as the El Nino phenomenon is projected to bring hotter and drier weather in the middle of the year.