Indonesia suspends operations of four companies over haze

Jakarta

INDONESIA has ordered four companies to suspend operations for allegedly causing forest fires that have sent thick smoke across a swathe of South-east Asia, an environment ministry official said on Tuesday.

Indonesia has launched investigations against more than 200 companies as it scrambles to bring the fires on Sumatra and Kalimantan islands under control by the end of November, amid complaints from neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.

Previous government efforts to halt the seasonal slash-and-burn practices have failed to tackle the problem due to a lack of policy coordination and legal wrangling that can take years to resolve. "These suspensions will be in effect until the criminal proceedings undertaken by the police are finished," environmen…