KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will soon be able to take legal action against companies or individuals responsible for transboundary haze pollution, following the Cabinet’s approval to enact a transboundary haze bill. MESTECC said the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution did not have clauses to allow punitive measures against irresponsible parties. “Currently, there are no specific laws in the country that allow Malaysia to take action against companies or individuals operating abroad that are responsible for causing transboundary haze. “In this regard, the bill is expected to emphasise on precautionary, preventive and punitive elements to curb future incidents. MESTECC said transboundary haze has led to the country’s economic losses at RM1.49 billion and RM1.16 billion in 2013 and 2015 respectively used due to spending on fire rescue operations and cloud seeding operations, among others.

Source: New Strait Times February 21, 2020 09:22 UTC