PSM MEDIA STATEMENT – 14 SEPTEMBER 2026 –

Transboundary haze pollution is now treated as a routine annual occurrence in Malaysia. What is, by all accounts, an avoidable consequence of human activities – the burning of forests for agricultural activities – is instead treated as a regrettable but unavoidable natural disaster. Despite the haze pollution being even more severe this year, [1] the Malaysian government has shown no will or urgency to address the issue.

PSM’s Demands:

PSM calls on the Malaysian government to adopt the recommendations proposed in the 2024 Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) report, ‘Silent Enemy: Report on Haze Pollution and the Right to Clean Air’ (Silent Enemy Report), including: [2]

1. Taking a leadership role in ASEAN and coordinating with other Member States for a legally binding protocol under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) to require Member States to enact domestic transboundary haze liability laws to hold their own corporations and investors accountable for any contribution to extraterritorial haze pollution caused by their overseas operations.
2. Enacting a Clean Air Act. This clean air legislation must have, among others:

• A mandatory ambient air quality standard which is aligned with international standards;
• Legal mechanisms that facilitate (1) public participation in air quality governance and (2) justiciable rights to clean air; and
• Provisions specifically addressing transboundary air pollution that empower and require the government to hold citizens and businesses domiciled in Malaysia that contribute to transboundary air pollution to account, through the Malaysian criminal and justice systems

Who Is Responsible For The Haze Pollution?
We know that the haze is caused by transboundary air pollution – specifically, the forest fires and land clearing activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia, which drift to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. Nearly 300,000 hectares of land have been burned in Indonesia this year alone. [3] More often than not, these fires result from industrial-scale ‘slash-and-burn’ land clearing. The degradation of peatlands due to deforestation and industrial activities also makes it much more vulnerable to fire. Yet, it is not only Indonesian companies and agribusinesses that are the main culprits for these fires; Malaysian and Singaporean companies involved in regional forest fires and open burning also contribute to the haze. [4]

Ultimately, the blame must be directed at the Malaysian government for its lack of action in holding Malaysian corporations responsible for these forest fires and open burning. The government has also failed to achieve anything of significance at the ASEAN level to have Member States enact and enforce laws holding companies, Malaysian parent companies of subsidiaries in Indonesia, accountable for any contribution to extraterritorial haze.

Our elected officials need to take responsibility and be held accountable for this. They must serve the interests of the citizens of the country they govern, rather than allowing corporations and agricultural conglomerates to continue acting with impunity. This means taking direct action and enacting the necessary laws and legally binding protocols, at the domestic and ASEAN level, to hold these entities accountable.

Syafiq Fadli and Sachin Nair,
Biro Alam Sekitar, Krisis Iklim dan Orang Asli
Parti Sosialis Malaysia

References:

1.https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/09/08/29-areas-in-malaysia-record-unhealthy-to-hazardous-api-readings-as-of-10am: A total of 29 areas in the country have recorded unhealthy to hazardous Air Pollutant (API) readings as of 8 September 2026, according to the Air Pollutant Index Management System.
[2] https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-malaysia-stateless/2024/09/f830a9eb-suhakam-report-on-haze-pollution-right-to-clean-air.pdf?utm_campaign=clean-environment&utm_source=website&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=silent-enemy-report-suhakam&utm_term=haze-clean-air
[3] https://www.nst.com.my/world/region/2026/09/1526273/how-haze-indonesian-fires-impacts-southeast-asia
[4] https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/04/reveal-malaysian-firms-behind-forest-fires-indonesian-embassy-told