Indonesian officials' disregard for haze hazard 'shocking', says Shanmugam

Singapore

AS the PSI reading deteriorated to a 2015 high on Thursday night, Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam hit out at some Indonesian officials for apparently failing to take the situation seriously enough.

In a Facebook post, he criticised what he called "some shocking statements made, at senior levels, from Indonesia, with a complete disregard for our people, and their own". Noting that PSI levels in parts of Indonesia were at almost 2,000, Mr Shanmugam said: "How is it possible for senior people in government to issue such statements, without any regard for their people, or ours, and without any embarrassment, or sense of responsibility?" He did not elaborate.

His post came as the National Environment Agency warned in a statement on Thursday night that the haze choking the island had gotten worse and could deteriorate even further on Friday. The 24-hour PSI reading in Singapore was 219-270 as at 9pm on Thursday, in the "very unhealthy" range. That was the highest PSI reading recorded so far this year, it said.

It warned that the haze could persist on Friday and the 24-hour PSI may even go above 300 into "hazardous" territory. It said that all primary and secondary schools will be closed on Friday but workplaces will be open, adding that employers "should not compromise on the health and safety of their employees".

Mr Shanmugam said that the Singapore government takes the matter seriously. "We stand ready to assist Indonesia in combating the fires. Last year, we introduced legislation to allow us to prosecute companies found to be causing or contributing to the haze. And we will not hesitate to take such actions against those errant companies."