This comes amid the recent incidents of haze, as unhealthy levels of air pollution have been reported nationwide recently.
“I have advocated that Malaysia should introduce a Transboundary Haze Act since 2019,” the former minister said in a statement today.
“This Act will enable the government to take action against Malaysian individuals or companies that cause haze in Malaysia regardless of where the burning occurs.”
The Puchong MP noted that after the haze crisis in 2019, her ministry commissioned a study into the legal framework requirements of tackling cross-border pollution.
“On Feb 12, 2020, the Pakatan Harapan Cabinet agreed in principle to introduce the law. Nevertheless, the progress was stalled by the subsequent governments after the Sheraton Move.
“I asked both the Perikatan Nasional government and the current unity government in Parliament on their positions regarding the tabling of the Act, and both gave negative answers.”
Yeo urged the government to reconsider its position, saying that greater transparency will serve as a deterrent against Malaysian plantation companies misbehaving in other countries.
“In addition, it would help to counter the negative image painted by developed countries that oil palm plantations are all the same and are the main cause of forest burning in the region,” she said.
Yeo said the Act should be introduced immediately, given the economic and environmental impacts haze has on Malaysia.
“Haze incidents can cause the country to lose more than RM1 billion, including through its impact on tourism and businesses, the cost of firefighting and cloud seeding operations, cancellation of flight schedules and sporting events, and so on,” she said.
She noted that in Asean, only Singapore has a similar law, having enacted it in 2014.
Yeo acknowledged arguments that the Act would only be a cosmetic move, as evidence of open burning would have to be collected in Indonesia.
“Extraterritorial prosecution would be very challenging and require collaboration with Indonesian authorities, which may not be forthcoming.
“However, naysayers do not realise that the Act can also compel Malaysian companies at risk of causing haze from abroad to make available satellite data for all their premises, such as plantations, to make them accountable for the hot spots detected via satellite.
“It can require companies to declare new land purchases in high-risk areas such as oil palm plantations in Indonesia and declare how the land was cleared before purchase, to prevent the locals from using slash-and-burn methods to clear the land before selling it to big companies.”