Malaysia: Najib says Jokowi regrets haze

RAHIMY RAHIM The Star 12 Oct 15;

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has expressed regret over the haze which hit Malaysia.

The Indonesian leader, who is popularly known as Jokowi, gave his views during a meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Bogor Presidential Palace here yesterday.

“Indirectly, he apologised and understands, and even felt pressured and embarrassed.

“This is because it is a complica­ted situation, but it was never his intention to allow it to happen,” the Prime Minister told Malaysian journalists after the meeting.

Najib is on a two-day working visit to Indonesia to boost bilateral cooperation in the palm oil industry and to iron out environmental issues.

A Malaysian Bombardier 415MP plane has been deployed in a multi-national team of seven helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft for water bombing operations in south Sumatera which began yesterday morning.

Najib said Malaysia was willing to extend more help in terms of manpower and equipment.

He said the ongoing haze pro­blem was caused by certain quarters who used the “slash and burn” technique to clear land for cultivation.

“If they do not use the ‘slash-and-burn’ technique, the cost will be 40 times higher to clear the land,” he said.

Asked if Malaysia will take legal action against firms responsible for the burning, Najib said it would be up to Indonesia to enforce its laws.

“We were informed that plantation companies were only responsible for 3% of the fires,” he said.

Najib proposed that Indonesia fit tube wells into peat soil to prevent fire and haze as successfully done in Malaysia.

“Indonesia initially wanted to build a network of canals, but we believe this will take too long.

“I informed President Jokowi that the haze affected Malaysia, especially in health, transport, school schedule and also our socio-economy as a whole,” Najib said, adding that Jokowi was receptive to Malaysia’s idea.

Malaysia and Indonesia also announced the setting up of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries aimed at boosting co­ope­ration between the two biggest palm oil producers.

“The cooperation will bring many benefits to smallholders and the industry as a whole.

“The council is set to create a global standard for a sustainable palm oil industry, cooperate on the volume of the stockpile and create a formal structure,” said Najib.


Malaysia PM says ready to increase help to Indonesia in tackling fires
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also says that Malaysia will invite Indonesia to share his country's experience in tackling the haze.
Channel NewsAsia 11 Oct 15;

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is ready to increase its help to Indonesia in efforts to put out the forest fires in the country, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in a press conference with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Bogor presidential palace on Sunday (Oct 11).

The regional environmental crisis has caused flights and major events to be cancelled and forced tens of thousands of people in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to seek treatment for respiratory problems.

"We consider the haze a serious issue as it's a burden to Malaysians and Indonesians," Mr Najib told reporters after the meeting. "Malaysia is prepared to increase our assistance in dousing the fires. The areas affected are widespread so certainly the challenges are very big," he said.

Mr Najib added that Malaysia will invite Indonesia to share his country's experience in tackling the haze.

The blazes flare annually during the dry season as fires are illegally set to clear land for cultivation on Indonesia's island of Sumatra and in the Indonesian portion of Borneo island.

National disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said a Malaysian CL415 Bombardier capable of scooping up to six tonnes of water from the sea, and a Singaporean Chinook helicopter which can pour water from a huge hanging bucket, were among the 10 aircraft used for water-bombing in South Sumatra province.

A Lockheed L100 Hercules Air Tanker with a 15-tonne capacity is expected to arrive in the coming days, he added.

Jakarta has deployed about 25,000 personnel and aircraft but the firefighters have been overwhelmed by the extent of the blazes.

The Indonesian government for weeks insisted it did not need international help before finally agreeing to accept the offers from several countries.

Mr Najib’s comments came after he arrived in Indonesia on Sunday for a two-day working visit.

The aim of the visit is to hold a bilateral consultation with Mr Widodo to "further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the palm oil industry", said Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting is also a follow-up to the previous two Ministerial meetings between Malaysia and Indonesia held on Aug 27 in Kuala Lumpur and Oct 3 in Jakarta, it added.

The visit will provide an opportunity for both countries to "explore and further enhance the cooperation toward sustainable palm oil industry", said the ministry. Both leaders will also discuss issues on environment cooperation.

Mr Najib is accompanied by his wife, Ms Rosmah Mansor, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department Razali Ibrahim and Government officials.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the visit is unscheduled.

- CNA/AFP/av/ec


Jakarta, KL to set 'green' standards for palm oil
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, The Straits Times AsiaOne 12 Oct 15;

Indonesia and Malaysia on Sunday (Oct 11) agreed to have a new set of standards to produce environmentally sustainable palm oil, while the latter pledged to increase co-operation to help prevent land and forest fires in Indonesia.

These commitments were disclosed following a meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at Bogor presidential palace, just outside Jakarta.

The meeting took place as a joint water-bombing operation by Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia kicked off on Sunday in South Sumatra, which is among the worst- hit provinces. It was the largest water-bombing mission ever carried out in an Indonesian province, with seven helicopters and three fixed- wing aircraft tackling the fires raging in two regencies - Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin.

During their meeting, Mr Joko and Datuk Seri Najib agreed to have a palm oil green economic zone to ensure a boost in the output of the edible oil that can be used for biofuel, while at the same time preventing illegal fires to clear land.

Officials said a joint task force will be established to accelerate the implementation of the points the two leaders agreed on, but no timeframe was given.

"We know that 85 per cent of global palm oil output comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. We will create a new global standard to produce sustainable palm oil," Mr Joko told reporters at a joint news conference after the meeting.

Mr Najib brought a team of experts with him to evaluate a canal- blocking system that is used in Indonesia to prevent fires on peatland.

"Malaysia is prepared to increase our assistance in dousing the fires. The areas affected are widespread, so certainly the challenges are very big," the Malaysian leader said.

Land and forest fires in Indonesia intensified in recent weeks, spawning thick haze that travelled to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Jambi, located to the north of South Sumatra, is the second worst-hit province on the island. On Saturday night, Mr Joko had to cancel a trip to Jambi as the visibility level there dropped to 600m, below a required minimum of 1,000m for any plane to land.

On Friday, he said the authorities will aim to put out forest fires within weeks with the help of other countries. "The target is to put out the fires in about two weeks. The bigger scale of water-bombing operations means an accelerated process," Mr Joko said.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan will summon by tomorrow the directors and owners of plantation companies that had fires on their concessions, to discuss plans to get them more involved in helping to tackle the annual problem.

During his visit to Ogan Komering Ilir on Friday, accompanied by The Straits Times and representatives from three local media outlets, Mr Luhut went deep into the forest to one of the hot spots. He stepped on peatland in an area that firefighters had just worked on and found smoke coming out from beneath.

"This is a big challenge... The fire is gone on the surface, but look at this. There is a lot of smoke because the fire is still burning inside. It takes an abundant amount of water to get rid of it completely," he said.


Indonesia, Malaysia agree to intensify economic cooperation
Antara 12 Oct 15;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to intensify economic cooperation, particularly in a bid to achieve the increased target of bilateral trade set at US$30 billion for 2015.

"Malaysia is the closest neighboring country of Indonesia. We have several similarities in our culture and history as well as interests and future," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi noted in a press release received here on Monday.

Retno met her Malaysian counterpart Datuk Anifah Aman during a meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) on last Saturday in Kuala Lumpur that was held to discuss bilateral cooperation.

The meeting is also aimed to make preparations for a consultation meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2016.

Both foreign ministers agreed to intensify cooperation in the palm oil industry, including efforts to dismiss the negative campaign about Indonesian palm oil in the markets in Europe and the United States.

"Malaysia has positively welcomed the Indonesian proposal to establish a Council of Palm Oil Producer Countries (CPOPCs) to improve cooperation between palm oil producing countries, including on production and promotion efforts," Retno affirmed.

Retno and Anifah also discussed about Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. They agreed to prioritize the safety, welfare, and basic rights of migrant workers employed in Malaysia.

Both countries also shared a similar viewpoint that migrant workers should understand the regulation and mechanism being implemented in Malaysia, including the voluntary deportation issue.

During the meeting, Minister Retno also discussed the importance of education rights for the children of migrant workers in Malaysia.

She hoped the agreement signed between President Widodo and the Malaysian prime minister in February 2015 on providing education to the children of migrant workers would be followed up. The minister was also optimistic that Malaysia would grant an establishment permit for setting up a Community Learning Center (CLC) for Indonesian children.

"We will also accomplish several issues at the technical level for the development of a CLC and teaching permits for Indonesian teachers at the center," Retno revealed.

Both ministers also discussed several matters relating to the political and regional security sectors, such as border issues, legal and consular cooperation, and education, as well as in the fields of meteorology and agriculture.

Additionally, the next JCBC meeting will be held in Indonesia in the second semester of 2017.(*)


PM Najib offers RI haze know-how
Haeril Halim and Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post 12 Oct 15;

As the government struggles to contain relentless fires, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday after meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Bogor, West Java, that he would invite Indonesian representatives to visit the haze-choked neighboring country to exchange ideas on fire containment.

Malaysia was also ready to share its success in reducing haze problems, the prime minister said.

Najib made the remarks following the dispatch on Sunday of a Bombardier CL-415 to join Indonesian and other international haze crisis forces to water bomb badly affected South Sumatra, where the majority of hot spots have been detected.

“Yesterday the government of Malaysia sent a plane to Indonesia to help with the haze crisis handling,” Najib said after his meeting with Jokowi, as quoted by Antara news agency.

In addition, Najib vowed to give more aid in the near future to help the haze team contain land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan — which have also affected Malaysia, with the country blanketed with haze over recent months — in a number of sectors including health, the economy and transportation.

Najib said that Malaysia would cooperate with the Indonesian government to send an Indonesian team to the neighboring country to observe how Malaysia had built a canal system to prevent land and forest fires in the country.

The two leaders also agreed to establish a Council of Palm-Oil Producing Countries (CPOP). Indonesia, which has 4 million oil-palm farmers, and Malaysia, with 500,000 oil-palm farmers, together produce 85 percent of the world’s palm oil.

Sunday’s meeting also marked the leaders’ agreement to form a New Global Standard for Sustainable Palm-Oil Production and Green Economic Zone.

Meanwhile, Indonesian and Malaysian citizens have exchanged a satirical war of words over the haze on Twitter, with the latter blaming the inability of the Indonesian government to tackle the haze problem on its own land, despite the fact that a number of Malaysian pulp companies operating in Indonesia have been suspected of being among the land burners in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli, who accompanied Jokowi during the meeting, said the President had expressed his appreciation over the Malaysian government’s offer of its technology and expertise on haze solutions.

“If the system is good and cheap, then it can be combined with the canal system that has earlier been suggested by the Indonesian government,” Rizal said at Bogor Palace after the meeting.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that seven helicopters — six owned by the BNPB and one from Singapore — and four planes water bombed the areas of Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin in South Sumatra on Sunday.

Sutopo said that Malaysia would decide whether to extend the operation of its helicopter until Oct. 16, while Singaporean Chinook helicopters, which can carry 5 tons of water at a time, will help the Indonesian team on the field until Oct. 23.

“The Australian team [arrived] in Palembang on Sunday and it is predicted that a Thor type of Hercules L-100 plane, which has a capacity of 15 tons of water, will arrive in the area on Tuesday or Wednesday.

“The plane will operate for a total of five days,” Sutopo said, adding that more aircraft from other countries would follow suit.

Meanwhile, data from the BNPB revealed on Sunday that as many as 322,676 people in the country suffered from acute respiratory tract infections because of the smoke from the unremitting fires, comprising 52,582 Riau residents, 69,734 people in Jambi, 83,484 in South Sumatra, 43,477 in West Kalimantan, 44,024 in Central Kalimantan and 29,105 in South Kalimantan.