Haze fires keep burning

Malaysia's Penang island lies shrouded in smoke

By Simon Ingram in Jakarta

The Indonesian authorities are struggling to respond to the latest outbreak of forest fires on the islands of Sumatra and western Borneo, which are already causing serious air pollution in neighbouring Malaysia.

Officials say Indonesia has neither the human nor financial resources to deal with a man-made and very dangerous problem.

Died out and inflammable peat underlies the burning foliage

The Forestry Minister, Marzuki Usman, said on Wednesday that Australia will be asked to send firemen to help extinguish some of the fires

Hundreds of fairly small but very smoky fires are currently burning -experts at the Forest Fire Prevention and Control Project in Sumatra say most have been lit illegally not by farmers, but by plantation companies.

Cheap and quick clearance

The companies work on land allocations covering millions of hectares.

Malaysia's response

Schools closed

Warnings to stay indoors

Open fires banned

Some workers and motorists wear face masks

Pollution figures withheld to protect tourist industry

During dry spells, like the one at present, they use fire as the cheapest and quickest method to clear depleted forest ready for the planting of palm oil trees.

The problem is that in the process, they ignite deep layers of dried out and inflammable peat.

As a result, thick toxic smoke, containing high quantities of carcinogenic chemicals, is being blown across the Malacca straits, leaving the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and other parts of the peninsula shrouded in thick white smog.

Neighbours suffer

In the worst-affected Malaysian state of Selangor, the authorities have advised residents to stay indoors. Schools have been ordered to halt outdoor activities.

Malaysian workers have been breaking out protective face masks

The situation in Malaysia is worsened by a number of peat fires burning there too. On Tuesday, open burning was banned for three months.

In an ironic twist, experts say some of the plantation companies most active in Indonesia are at least part-owned by Malaysian and Singaporean enterprises.

While the current situation is worrying, there is little indication that South East Asia is in for a repeat of the 1997 crisis, which caused billions of dollars in losses to tourism and other businesses.

One western specialist described the problem as a chronic one that would probably only end some years from now, when the few remaining areas of natural forest in Sumatra have been wiped out.