President of Indonesia apologized to neighboring countries

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday apologized for the murmur of the haze from forest fires in the country that polluted neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

'In the name of the Indonesian government, I apologize to the neighboring countries for this incident,' Yudhoyono told reporters in Jakarta. 'Certainly this is not what we want to happen'.

Office building of Malaysian Prime Minister in Putrajaya, near Kuala Lumpur, covered by thick smoke (Photo: AP)

President Yudhoyono's apology came after the Singapore Prime Minister Li Hsien Loong and the Malaysian Democratic Party for Action argued that Indonesia needed to address forest fires. According to the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the prime minister wrote to Yudhoyono expressing his "disappointment" around the issue.

Haze from the Indonesian and Malaysian forest fires that yearly cover the area because farmers on Borneo and Sumatra islands cleared the land by burning forests. In 1997 and 1998, haze has choked many parts of Southeast Asia, causing economic losses of nearly $ 9 billion as tourists have to stay away from the area and health care costs have increased.

'We will use all available resources and facilities to combat forest fires , ' said Yudhoyono. 'The military and police will be deployed and the government will also hire a Russian aircraft to assist in extinguishing the fires'.

Singapore has invited environmental ministers from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to meet in the country tomorrow, October 13 to discuss measures to manage smoke because the air quality in the region is now at a level. not good for your health.

Concerning the haze caused by forest fires, Indonesian presidential spokesman today (October 12) said the government will approve ASEAN's anti-dust agreement that has been approved by all ASEAN member states. Standard and effective from 2003.

WALL VY