The Haze Situation

[koxinga]

Ya, very unsexy topic compared to say "Waking up the core Singaporean identity" and "Freedom of Press" lah but I believe getting fresh air is a fundamental right of all residents of Singapore (regardless of IC color)!

I still remember 1997 very well and of course, 2006. After more than 20 years, still no improvement?

The unfortunate thing is I still hear lame occasion comments from some Indonesians quarters about our countries involvements in illegal logging; failure to sign extradition treaty and this is karma Not trying to flog nationalism here, but has ASEAN really moved forward on this issue? Seems to be a case of two step forward and ten steps back.

 

[superman]

Ya, very unsexy topic compared to say "Waking up the core Singaporean identity" and "Freedom of Press" lah but I believe getting fresh air is a fundamental right of all residents of Singapore (regardless of IC color)!

I still remember 1997 very well and of course, 2006. After more than 20 years, still no improvement?

The unfortunate thing is I still hear lame occasion comments from some Indonesians quarters about our countries involvements in illegal logging; failure to sign extradition treaty and this is karma Not trying to flog nationalism here, but has ASEAN really moved forward on this issue? Seems to be a case of two step forward and ten steps back.

Even if we sign the extradiction treaty with them, the situation also won't change. They just use us a scrapegoat to cover up their corruption problem. Maybe if our govt pay those in charge millions of dollars, they will stop the burning.

 

[Kiwi8]

Ya, very unsexy topic compared to say "Waking up the core Singaporean identity" and "Freedom of Press" lah but I believe getting fresh air is a fundamental right of all residents of Singapore (regardless of IC color)!

I still remember 1997 very well and of course, 2006. After more than 20 years, still no improvement?

The unfortunate thing is I still hear lame occasion comments from some Indonesians quarters about our countries involvements in illegal logging; failure to sign extradition treaty and this is karma Not trying to flog nationalism here, but has ASEAN really moved forward on this issue? Seems to be a case of two step forward and ten steps back.

This is not an easy problem to solve when it's not our country and this country is known for its lax enforcement and corruption.

 

[Asure7]

 

[tequila_powered]

Extensive corruption in the Indo government - plain and simple.

 

[Providence]

I still do not understand on the notion of burning up a plot of land to use that area for farming purposes. Is there no other way than burning the whole area?

According to the online news reports, the Indonesian government does not seem interested in stopping the haze problem. It even claims that the forest fires are to be blamed partly on foreign investors from Singapore and Malaysia.

This is bad. The blame is been pushed here and there but it is still not resolved. Great.

 

[Kiwi8]

I still do not understand on the notion of burning up a plot of land to use that area for farming purposes. Is there no other way than burning the whole area?

According to the online news reports, the Indonesian government does not seem interested in stopping the haze problem. It even claims that the forest fires are to be blamed partly on foreign investors from Singapore and Malaysia.

This is bad. The blame is been pushed here and there but it is still not resolved. Great.

It's shifting-cultivation lor... learnt in Geography.

If not burn, then what? Chop off the trees manually? The farmers are not that hardworking.

Anyway, the burning also results in the soil being rich for crops, so the farmers need not buy extra fertilizer.

Dun get me wrong, I'm not supporting the burning of trees to cause the haze, only specifying reasons why the farmers take the easy way out.

 

[Megadark]

It's shifting-cultivation lor... learnt in Geography.

If not burn, then what? Chop off the trees manually? The farmers are not that hardworking.

Anyway, the burning also results in the soil being rich for crops, so the farmers need not buy extra fertilizer.

Dun get me wrong, I'm not supporting the burning of trees to cause the haze, only specifying reasons why the farmers take the easy way out.

May I add, it is not a matter of laziness, but a matter of costs. It costs much more in terms of money and time to hire labour with parangs, chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the whole area, and also to transport the vegetation out. You just need one person with a torch to start the fires, and the dry weather will do the rest.

 

[cscs3]

I still do not understand on the notion of burning up a plot of land to use that area for farming purposes. Is there no other way than burning the whole area?

According to the online news reports, the Indonesian government does not seem interested in stopping the haze problem. It even claims that the forest fires are to be blamed partly on foreign investors from Singapore and Malaysia.

This is bad. The blame is been pushed here and there but it is still not resolved. Great.

To them, this is the cheapest way to do the job.

 

[bberry]

It's all about money.

 

[Providence]

Well! The corruption level in Indonesia is high so I guess money is still the main cause of all evils.

I guess any investment in the haze prevention system is either a smoke screen or minimum for the Indonesian government.

 

[monoblacksheep]

What kind of logic is that !?

 

[Kiwi8]

PSI 290 liao at 9pm.

 

[koxinga]

PSI 290 liao at 9pm.

4D $10 big $10 small.

HazeOnline»ASEAN Haze Agreement
NTS Alert October 2012
ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[celsus]

321

SGgahmen: Putting productivity before worker's health since 1965.

 

[lobo76]

Even if we sign the extradiction treaty with them, the situation also won't change. They just use us a scrapegoat to cover up their corruption problem. Maybe if our govt pay those in charge millions of dollars, they will stop the burning.

I agree it is most probably corruption. For it is SO EASY to find the culprits. Just overlay the hot spots over a map of Sumatra and you know WHERE the fire is, and thus WHO is using the cleared land.

The problem? Indonesia doesn't want to release information on which company is on which piece of land, hence no one but them can pin down WHO the culprits are. WHY they don't want to release such info? I can't only come up with 'corruption' as the answer...

If we had the names, don't even need extradition treaty. Can ban the goods from using Singapore as transfer point or into Singapore. A fine can be levied on the Singapore branch...

 

[koxinga]

At the end of the day, the question is whether does Singapore have any 'leverage' on Indonesia. Sure, one has to respect the bounds of international politics and sovereignty but at the strategic level, its always about leverage.

In a similar topic, should PSI numbers be given as a hourly number rather than a moving average of 3 hours? This moving average number is basically a lagging indicator and does not seem to reflect the real world experience accurately. What are the pros of doing so?

 

[superman]

Funny that the Indonesians never stage a protest against their Govt for the Haze.

 

[adix_82]

The haze situation is acceptable.

Its the attitude of our MP that I find not acceptable.

At this point of time.. we don need our MP to lecture us like a father telling us to accept the haze and move on.

 

[celsus]

SG conversation: HALP CANNOT BREATHE KNN
Gahmen reply: *silence* (NEA website got glinch can)