Singapore and Indonesia plan a joint task force to coordinate inquiries into companies potentially tied to forest and land fires, the ministers said after meeting in Jakarta on Oct. 27 amid regional haze.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said the proposed body could help the countries share financial intelligence and coordinate efforts to collect evidence across borders. He said recovering assets could be considered if feasible. “No border should shield those who profit from burning our forests,” Nasir said in remarks reported from the ministers’ press conference. He added that people in Sumatra and Kalimantan were among the first to suffer from the smoke.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore had agreed to the plan and that it should help keep the two governments’ responses aligned.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) said it issued preventive notices under Section 9 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to 10 companies in Indonesia: seven concerning fires in Sumatra and three in Kalimantan. The notices call for firefighting steps, an end to burning and plans to put out fires or prevent them from returning. NEA said the notices support investigations into possible offenses. The release reports no finding of company liability.
Under Section 10, NEA also requested documents from 10 Singapore-registered palm oil or forestry companies. The requests cover corporate links, land concessions in Indonesia, and fire prevention and response efforts. NEA said the firms may have contributed to haze.
Singapore’s Ministry of Law said it would assemble a panel of legal, auditing and investigative firms. Companies selected by the government must retain panel professionals to examine their business activities, ties to other firms and supply networks, then provide audit reports to the government. The ministry selected Davinder Singh Chambers to advise on coordinating the group.
NEA reported on Oct. 23 that smoke from Sumatra was moving toward Singapore and haze was present over Kalimantan. Singapore Environment Minister Grace Fu said earlier investigations had shown practical difficulties in collecting evidence across borders, and the government would draw on those cases in considering further action. The Ministry of Law’s Oct. 23 release said it expected to provide more details the following week, without specifying a date.
