 |
The
haze is the result of open burning in Kalimantan, Borneo Island
in Indonesia
|
By
IOL South East Asia correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, August 25 (IslamOnline) - South East Asian nations (ASEAN)
have progressed in warp speed during the past two decades leaving
their populations to believe that pollution is the price for the
continued progress, a social activist said in Singapore on Saturday,
August 24.
The
economic progress in the ASEAN region came with its lot of changes in
the mentality and the habits of the people, but it also came with
certain notions that is dying hard.
Ang
Lai Soon, a Malaysian social activist said the people in the region
must discard the notion that pollution is the price they have to pay
for progress, saying it is not the case.
He
said the region is “receiving wake up calls after wake up calls
about our environment. The more advanced nations in this region can
lead by example.”
In a speech delivered in Singapore and published by the Straits
Times newspaper, he said the leading could discourage open burning
by big plantations, yet accommodating the needs of farmers.
Soon
added that by introducing the use of alternative methods of land
clearing, air pollution could be a lesser problem. Several countries
in the region are preparing to face off heavy haze that is menacing
their environment.
The
haze is the result of open burning in Kalimantan, Borneo Island in
Indonesia.
Soon
said the reappearance of haze in some parts of the region, especially
in Sarawak called for an “urgent revisiting” of the problem by
ASEAN member countries in marshalling their collective resources to
quell the forest fires now burning.
Besides
air pollution, countries like Singapore also face urban and noise
pollution.
Experts
say urban pollution is common in Singapore, which is basically a
concrete forest with thousands of flats, condominiums and office
buildings that have cropped up in the past 35 years.
Noise
pollution has also become a major threat to human beings in countries
like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Major highways that are linked
to towns have proven to be noisy and created disturbances in nearby
housing areas.
Malaysia
and Singapore solved the problem with huge concrete walls, giving the
impression of an ugly landscape in certain cases, a Singaporean
motorist told IslamOnline.
In
Malaysia, there is little respect of the laws when it comes to
decibels, or radio announcement at shops and shopping complexes in
Kuala Lumpur for example.
In
the highly frequented street of Masjid India, noisy music from shops
coupled with dirty streets, dirty drains and ugly buildings that has
not been painted for years has made the people passive to pollution.
“At
least in Singapore the cleanliness is there. The buildings has to be
painted regularly, eliminating eye sores in the eyes of the
public…roads are also cleaned everyday and drains are maintained,”
said a Middle Eastern tourist who was having his lunch at Masjid
India.
Dust
is a major problem in Bangkok and Jakarta whereas in Singapore, there
are genuine efforts in making life colorful with brilliant ideas on
how to paint buildings and make them look nice.
While
Soon said the health of millions of people in many countries will be
affected with air pollutants, in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand,
busses can still be seen puffing black smog on the highways and major
roads.
It
is not only fires and haze that is endangering the lives of the
millions of people in the ASEAN region, it is other forms of daily
pollution too that are contributing to the unhealthiness in the
region.
Standards
must be imposed, such as those in Singapore, where vehicles that puff
smoke are removed from the streets.
Soon
altogether suggested that tax breaks be given to industries meeting
air emission standards and every possible means taken to make public
transport even more efficient, comfortable and cheap to use.
“Pollution
has to be addressed by every nation and the cost of protecting the
environment is marginal when compared with the amount spent on
armaments.
“Surely
this is a small price to pay, especially as the long-term cost is
likely to be far less than that of dealing with resulting national
health problems,” he said.
The
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam
.
