(1) PLAN FOR___INDUSTRIAL ESTATE AT KEMUYANG SIBU

(2) EARTHFILLING OF LOW LYING AREAS OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN SIBU

(3) IMPLEMENTATION OF MINI MULTIMEDIA SUPER CORRIDOR (MSC)

(4) ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: EFFECT ON TIMBER INDUSTRY

(5) PLANS TO HARNESS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(6) OVERSEAS TRIP DURING HAZE EMERGENCY

Speeches /Debates 

(1)BUILDINGS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1997

(2)LAND CODE (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1997

(3)NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1997

(4)THE 1998 SARAWAK STATE BUDGET
 
 

The introduction of this Natural Resources and Environment (Amendment) Bill, 1997 is most timely. I will be out of and my mind if I decide not to support the Bill. 

As the Explanatory Statement to the Bill states, the primary purpose of the Bill is, inter alia, in order to improve and streamline the administration of the Natural Resources and Environment Board ('the Board"), to safeguard the environment, particularly in relation to activities such as clearance and open burning of vegetation which could contribute to development of hazy conditions, and to provide for more effective enforcement measures.

Perhaps I would not be wrong to say the Bill is prompted by the haze disaster which strike our State recently and which resulted in the declaration of haze emergency on 19th September, 1997. 

All members of this august House (save one or two) had to make do and breathe heavily polluted air during the time of the emergency. We all realised how seriously the environment was polluted by the haze. The State has also been directly affected by this disaster in many ways. Being direct victims of this disaster, all of us should find it easy to support the Bill, particularly that dealing with open burning which could lead to development of hazy conditions.

Recapitulation of disasters:

Perhaps it is fate that saw Sarawak or generally Malaysia being struck by a triology of disasters in 1997 alone.

(1) Coxsackie Virus B infection, or whatever it may be called, began its rampage in May this year, starting from Sibu, which resulted in the untimely death of 30 innocent and bubbly children in Sarawak and 11 in Peninsular. Even up to now, the parents and the people still have no means to know what had actually caused these deaths;

(2) the Haze which began in September this year and still among our midst; and

(3) the currency crisis which saw the weakening of the Ringgit and the tumbling down of the KLSE Composite Index which had burnt many investors and speculators.

The Haze:

I wish to say something on the haze with a view to show the importance of safeguarding the environment which is the primary purpose of this Bill. Haze has not been a total stranger to Malaysia. In fact, it has been our frequent visitor. The worst haze in Malaysia so far were 1990, 1991 and 1994, with the later haze worse than the earlier one. And the latest haze in 1997 the worst brother of all.

The haze that hit Sarawak recently has been described by TV 3 (25th August) as the worst in living memory. 

We saw history in the making in Sarawak on 23/9/97. No one could believe that the Air Pollution Index (API) reading could soar above the KLSE composite index. On this day, the API reading in Kuching overshot the 800 mark to read 839 at 11 am while the KLSE Composite Index fell below 800 mark at the opening of the market that day.

Only Kuching recorded the API reading in September. The people in other divisions had no means to know how serious the pollution was in their areas until the pollution reading machines were installed subsequently in Sibu, Sarikei, Bintulu and Miri. 

I was told that in Sri Aman on 20th September, 1997, one could literally saw ashen flakes descending from the sky. That shows how seriously the environment had been affected by this haze disaster in Sarawak.

All Sarawakians do not wish to have another similar experience. It is therefore important to save the environment. Saving environment is about saving tomorrow. 

Open Burning In Sarawak:

The Bill does not apply to burning and clearing in Native Customary Land.

In Sarawak, the natives have traditionally, and for hundreds of years, resorted to shifting cultivation. Over the long years they have developed the expertise to contain the fire. While this traditional shifting cultivation does produce quite a bit of smoke, I very much doubt that much blame can be attributed to it for the haze this year, or in 1994 or 1991. Such cultivation has been practised for hundreds of years, but the haze has not been around every year for hundreds of years.

It is my personal observation that large scale burning have been taking place in our State. In one posting on the Internet on 30th August, 1997, it was said:

"The clearing of land for the thousands of hectares of land to make way for the oil palm plantation in Sarawak should be accounted for the haze over Sarawak sky. The burning practice is not allowed for a development project like the plantation scheme, according to the EIA guideline set by the state authority, NREB".

I wish the Minister may enlighten this House on this alleged clearing and burning of land for oil palm plantation in Sarawak and the steps taken to stop this activity.

The Member for Parliament for Bintulu had said that BDA's dumping ground at Tg. Kidurong was seen burning refuse during the state of haze emergency. May the Minister also enlighten this august House on this.

It has been said that land clearing towards commercial agriculture, when done upon in a massive manner, is a prominent cause of the haze.

Some farmers have even carried out burning along side the major roads. The fire that raged for 2 or 3 days along the road to Sibu Airport recently could be one of these examples. A fire that burnt in Sungai Bidut in September this year could be another.

In the Internet, I leant that satellite pictures perused by MIMOS showed considerable burning around Kuching. I wonder the Minister is aware of this.

Incidents of small burning and clearance by farmers, particularly vegetable farmers over their little plots of land, are transient in character and not sufficient to contribute to development of hazy conditions. I hope that the law as amended will not apply to these farmers.

The combined effects of plantation clearing and systematic burning in a major scale could have contributed to some extent to the hazardous haze and I will show here.

Causes of Haze:

In one posting in the Internet on 30th August, 1997, Dr. M. Ahamed said:

"Attempts to determine the cause of the haze revealed the following:

a. Forest Fires especially in Kalimantan and Sumatra; b. Peat field fires in Kalimantan; c. Massive agricultural open burning, not related to shifting culture; d. Industrial and automobile emissions in urban area; e. Weather phenomena, particularly with respect to prevailing winds and the inversion phenomenon.

Under normal circumstances, automobile and industrial emissions in urban areas which initially settle over the urban area become heated through the day, and thus move upwards into the atmosphere and become distributed and thinned out in the upper atmosphere. When initial haze, due to fires and burning, settles over urban areas, and also compounded/caused by periodic unusual night/day land cooling/heating, the urban emissions will not become sufficiently heated and do not rise sufficiently up into the atmosphere, thus further thickening the haze blanket, and creating a vicious cycle, which will not blow over until strong prevailing winds blow away the haze, and thus disrupts the haze blanket."

The cause of the recent haze is not totally Sarawakian generated, but the forest fires in Indonesia. The Malaysian government ought to complain to the Indonesian authorities why the forest fires there were allowed to rage at such magnitude before any action was taken. Our state has suffered billions in losses

Health and Economic Effects of Haze Pollution:

To appreciate why it is necessary to protect or save the environment, or to prevent or reduce the incidents of haze pollution, it is perhaps appropriate to talk on the effects of this pollution.

There have been several episodes in history which illustrates the harmful effects of exposure to air pollution. Among those include (Smog & Health URL:http://www.aqmd.gov/smog/inheath.html):

(1) Belgium's Meuse Valley

During a 5-day fog in December, 1930, 63 people died. Older persons with previously known diseases of the heart or lungs accounted for the majority of fatalities.

(2) Donora, Pennysylvania

20 people died and approximately 7,000 or 50% of the population, experienced acute illness during the week of October 25, 1948, when temperature inversion and air stagnation occurred. Persons of all ages became ill, but those over 55 were more severely affected. Those with previous heart or respiratory disease, particularly bronchial asthma, suffered most.

(3) London, England

Three episodes during which heavy fogs and air pollution were associated resulted in the death of nearly 5,000 people in 1948, 1952 and 1956. The episode in December of 1952 alone resulted in at least 3000 deaths, the greatest number in the age group of 45 years and over. More than 80% of these deaths occurred among individuals with known heart and respiratory disease.

The severe and draconian effects of haze should not to be underestimated. This is neatly summed up by the Guardian (27 September, 1997) (posted in Internet): 

"The scale of one of the world's greatest man made environmental catastrophes was becoming clear last night as poisonous fog blanketed up to 70 million people in six South East Asian countries and scientists warned of long-term climate disruption. … Satellite pictures showing that the uncontrollable fires have spread to one million hectares of deep peatlands which may burn underground for decades, have rebounded round the world … 15,000 Malaysians and 45,000 Indonesians, most of them children and elderly, have been treated for smog-related illnesses".

Children are more vulnerable to airborne pollution for many reasons, including the fact that their airways are narrower than adults, they have markedly increased needs for oxygen relative to their size, they breathe more rapidly and inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight, and they spend more time engaged in vigorous outdoor activities than adults.

The elderly are not spared. An article in the Internet says of the elderly:

"Senior citizens have the advantage of a longer-range perspective than most citizens and have accumulated considerable wisdom. However, their age puts them at a disadvantage in terms of health because of environmental pollution hazards' cumulative nature. Aging individuals are more susceptible to air pollution because of the declining margin of safety in various organ systems, including the respiratory and immune systems, and because, in some cases, of the cumulative effect of environmental hazards. Seniors … are most at risk in severe air pollution episodes. Skin cancer and other malignancies are much more prevalent among the elderly, likely the cumulative effect of sun exposure over time expressing itself".

According to medical doctors the worst air pollution crisis in the nation's history pose a grave threat to the health of all Malaysians. Datuk Dr. SK Dharmalingam, the medical director for the National Cancer Society, said a study conducted 30 years ago has linked throat cancer to wood smoke. 

As cancer manifests itself on the victims 10-20 years later, the government should be concerned whether the haze, with its component 5 pollutants like the poisonous gas of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and carcinogenic would be creating a new generation of cancer victims in the country.

Lungs are ozone's primary target, for ozone damages cells in the lung's airways, causing inflammation and swelling. It also reduces the respiratory system's ability to fight infection and remove foreign particles.

Ozone poses a particular health threat to those who already suffer from respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Many doctors have concurred that breathing the smoggy air was equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes a day. 

The haze has affected the multi-billion tourist industry, which is the second largest foreign exchange earner, replacing petroleum. The occupancy rates in some hotels have reduced by 50%. The zeal to protect the tourist industry had forced the Federal Minister of Education to impose a ban on scientists and environmentalists in universities to stop commenting on the country's haze problem, because such might give the country a bad image and affect tourism, albeit the gag would be a retrogressive step in the democratic right to freedom of speech.

Many flights were canceled or rescheduled as a result of the haze. Not only passengers were affected and inconvenienced, but also millions of losses were suffered by the carriers. It was reported in the Internet on 7th November, 1997 that Malaysia Airlines saw incoming load factors dropped by as much as 15%.

Right to Clean Air:

Malaysians have the right to demand for clean air and a haze-free environment through conventions established under international law, i.e. the Montreal Convention on the Rights to a Clean Environment, says Tan Sri Razali Ismail, Malaysia's permanent representative to the United Nations (Internet 11 Nov., 1997).

As such, Malaysians should not be denied from exercising this right. The implementation of the present law will hopefully enforce the right to a clean environment and hence to clean air.

The Malaysian government certainly recognises that all have a right to clean air. That could be the reason why the Information Minister, Dato' Mohamad Rahmat, who is the National Disaster Relief Management Committee Chairman, had announced during the haze emergency that Sarawakians might be subject to mass evacuation if the haze situation worsened, although the original plan was to evacuate the people if the reading breaches 500! Certainly, the Minister was right to perceive that with a reading of 839 in Sarawak, it should theoretically be a "No Man's Zone", and not merely "extremely hazardous zone" which applies to API reading of 500.

I must admit that I am extremely puzzled by this mass evacuation plan, if workable at all. I am inclined to say the plan was more a shocker than a comforter.

WITH THESE observations, the DAP supports the Bill.