Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in action

According to Vivian the govt is invoking the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to take the companies suspected of being the cause of the haze to task. According to Channel News Asia, Singapore is taking legal action. However the paper also said, and I quote, ‘APP was asked by Singapore's National Environment Agency to supply information on its subsidiaries operating in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires in their concessions.’ So, is this part of the legal action or just asking to provide information?

By the way, I just took a peep at the window and the sky is clear, no haze. Would the legal action be stopped now that the haze is no longer in the air?  At the way the haze came and gone, would it affect the legal actions or would the legal actions go on until the culprit is found guilty and the court imposes a sentence? The whole process could take some time and by the next haze season, the case could still be in court. And there are provisions for appeals which would drag on further. How long would the whole legal process take before a final judgement is conclusive?

One thing good about the legal process is that it would keep the companies busy in the court and keep paying legal fees even if they are found not guilty. The effort to bring them to court and the publicity plus the legal fees hopefully would be painful enough to make these companies, or just one company, to think twice about being a party to the haze problem.

APP would be the first to face the music for being a registered company here. What about Indonesian companies that have no office here?  Would they be sued here or in Indonesia? Or nothing really can be done to them? Channel News Asia reported that four Indonesian companies, ‘Rimba Hutani Mas, Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries, Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa and Wachyuni Mandira -- have been told to take measures to extinguish fires on their land, refrain from starting new ones, and submit action plans to prevent future fires.’ These companies must be working hard at it after receiving the demands from Singapore govt. Just hope they did not throw the letters into the fire to add to the haze.

Oh, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Singapore should be grateful for the whole year of oxygen provided by Indonesia and should not complain about the haze. Vivian could tell him that Singapore is a green country with plenty of oxygen of our own. And Indonesia can switch off the oxygen from their jungles or build a wall to prevent the oxygen from crossing the Straits of Malacca. They can keep all the oxygen to themselves, thank you very much.

The only thing perhaps Singapore can learn from the Indonesians is how to create smokes for military operations without spending on expensive smoke grenades. To throw smoke or haze in such a scale to blanket a few countries must be a very costly affair involving millions of smoke grenades. Tactically the SAF must start to think of countermeasures against the haze being used as a smoke screen for a military attack. Though this is remote as our relations with the Indonesians are very good, in times of animosity, what comes through many not be just haze and could be quite toxic or infectious. All our expensive military weaponry will be no match to a haze attack that can be done so cheaply, no need for soldiers, just a few farmers and a few match sticks and we can be defeated.

Come to think of it the haze problem could be an annual military war game the Indonesians are conducting to test its effectiveness on Singapore and Malaysia. And we really have no answers to it. Legal actions and the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act would be meaningless in times of war.

Now this is something that should deserve some detailed studies by the military strategists in Mindef.  Shall this be called biological warfare, chemical warfare or asymmetrical warfare?  Maybe the F35s would be the ultimate aircraft to deal with haze as a weapon of choice by an enemy. It is not funny that the most expensive and highly sophisticated military force in SE Asia could be rendered useless by haze. Mind you, the intensity of the haze is very light but if it is an all out hostile act, the whole island could be covered in darkness and visibility could be less than 10 metres. All human activities could be grounded to a halt, including commercial aircraft and shipping.

The Indonesians have stumbled into a very powerful weapon, cheap and effective, to deal with us or Malaysia if needed be. Singapore and Malaysia better be nicer to the Indonesians. They must be laughing their guts out everything we boast about buying more sophisticated and ultra expensive machine of war.

Xi Jin Ping in the USA

Xi Jin Ping is in the US and meeting the CEOs of America’s top corporations to discuss cooperation in trade and joint ventures. This is the top agenda for his visit. His dinner chat with Obama is secondary, just a courtesy call to appease the American President and to whet his ego of power and being the top dog in the world. Xi Jin Ping probably does not care what Obama is going to raise but would pay some lip service to his show of anger and concern over matters that the Chinese President did not see as problems.

China has no problems with the US and has more important things to do, to engage in mutually beneficial trade and exchanges of commercial activities, cooperation and investments in both countries.  What cyber securities or cyber attacks? The Americans are the experts in these areas and are indulging it at a scale second to none. Remember what was disclosed by Edward Snowden? The Americans are attacking every country, commercially, militarily and politically, to extract as much intelligence as they could for American interests. What Obama is claiming about breaches by Chinese hackers is children play.  Is Obama saying that the Americans could not do what the Chinese were doing, did not have extracted as much confidential data from China but not disclosed, and that the Chinese are more advanced and superior to the Americans? The answer is obviously no. The Americans are doing far more and far more sophisticated cyber attacks against the Chinese and the Chinese are taking it in their strikes without making an issue out of it like many other areas of American infringement, violations and bullying.

What about the spy plane incident in the Yellow Sea? The Americans could not see anything wrong with flying spy planes daily along the coast of China. China is just playing along but would do the same one day when there is parity in military forces. China would then fly their spy planes along the American coasts. What would the Americans say or do when it happens? Cry father and cry mother and declare war with China? There is no point for China to make it a big issue against the Americans today when militarily they are much weaker and raising it would be in vain. They would raise it with the Americans when they are able to tell the Americans that they would knock down the spy planes should they persist in spying along the Chinese coast. That day has not come but will be, sooner or later.

What about the Chinese reclamation of islands in the South China Sea? Now what has that to do with the Americans? Oh, the Americans have a strategic interest in them and so it is American’s right to interfere with China reclaiming islands that are part of Chinese territories. Again, China would take note of the American’s posturing about the island issues and even toast to it. But China would continue to reclaim as many islands as they want within its national boundaries and territorial sovereignty and build what it wants. What is Obama going to do about it other than making a big show of it? There are many things the Americans are doing that are offensive to China and affecting China’s strategic interests. China is not harping about them or making an issue of every one of them. It is pointless. Likewise the American President and Administration can keep harping at China on these issues or any issue, human rights, climate change, North Korea, Iran etc etc, but they would just remain as American rhetoric to be ignored after the dinner party.

Xi Jin Ping has more strategic and tangible matters to deal with corporate America than to waste his time parrying with Obama in futile and unproductive discussions. China seeks to grow economically, scientifically and in technology exchanges and needs the assistance and cooperation of corporate America to work hand in hand for mutual benefits, for the good of Americans and Chinese.

Obama and his soldier boys can play their game of one upmanship, to show who is mightier with the gun and who is boss. Xi Jin Ping would smile and have a good laugh after he wrapped up his commercial agreements, his sales and marketing bags would be full with satisfied customers from both sides and with many jobs to go with for the American and Chinese workers.

Many Obamas will come and go, and many will come after him, to tell the Chinese Presidents that they have problems with China.  China will say thank you very much, let’s trade more, let’s have more exchanges and cooperation in other areas of mutual interests that we can cooperate and to benefit from them.

Yes we can have more dinner discussions about America’s China problem and drink to that. Xi Jin Ping would not sleep on them, would not have sleepless night because of them. There are more important and fruitful things to occupy his time to build China into a more prosperous and developed country. China has no problems with the USA, only the USA has problems with China. They created and fabricated their own problems and got consumed by them in their own fantasies for the grandeur of the Empire. The American govt can continue to spend their money on military weapons and soldiers, China will spend its money and time on economic development and the pursuit of scientific and technological advancements. China only needs to spend enough on military to keep the Americans from any military adventure in China and that would be good enough.

They would not be inviting Obama to Beijing after this visit. They will be inviting the next President in waiting for more dinner talks and food tasting.

Racism hitting a new high in Malaysia

In my last article I thought by telling the ethnic minorities to steer clear of the current political tussle and fallouts they would be safe. By the look of things, they cannot walk away from trouble and trouble is going after them. And they know the situation is dire and MCA President Liow Tiong Lai made a call to Najib to express his concern for the safety of the Chinese.

After the Red Shirt rally many thought it was over and peace would return. There is a Jamal Md Yunos bent on holding another rally tomorrow to march into Petaling Street to protest against the shops mostly owned by the ethnic Chinese. Jamal has been alleged to have threatened the Chinese community during the 16 Sep rally.  His agenda is quite obvious and this time sparks will fly as they are more prepared to do what they failed to do in the last rally.

Najib on the other hand has been very supportive of the Red Shirt rally and likely to support this rally tomorrow. Fear is every where.  Liow Tiong Lai, the Transport Minister, has been quoted in an Agencies report to say, ‘It is obvious that the rally goers intended to stoke fear and create racial tension. BN must take stock and put a stop to this unhealthy problem immediately.’

The big question is whether Najib would do anything and it is looking very unlikely while he is fighting for his own survival. A rioting on the streets would be a great reprieve to take the heat off him and redirect the attention away. The ethnic minorities in Malaysia, particularly the Chinese, would bear the brunt of any break down of law and order tomorrow. Their are well being and safety are hanging on tender hooks.

What is going to happen tomorrow is harrowing.

Why build universities?

Yes, why would govt and people build universities? To ask this question here is already a sign of strong misgivings and a sense of despair. It is so pathetic to have to ask such a question, but it must be asked. Would anyone expect me to list down the reasons here why govt and people built universities? Anyone who can read and understand this question would be most able to provide himself all the answers to it. The reasons for building a university are so fundamental and so basic that there should not be any need to raise it again. The very fact that it has to be raised is proof that something is seriously wrong with the universities and the important role and purpose for their existence.

If anyone still demands an answer, pay a visit to the Chinese High School in Bukit Timah. Read the carvings inscribed in stones at the entrance of the main building. Yes, they were set in stones like the Ten Commandments as if the pioneers knew that people down the ages would forget the purpose of building the school. The very reasons for building the Chinese High School are the same reasons why universities were built.

In 1958, hundreds of thousands of people marched to Jurong to witness the opening of Nantah, 南洋大学. Millionaires like Tan Lark Sye, 陈六使, donated $5m to build the university. This princely sum could be the equivalent of $5b today in purchasing power. The Chinese community, from the rich towkays to the dance hostesses and rickshaw pullers also answered the call for donation for the university. Why would every one of them think it important enough to want to contribute to this cause, to build a university?

The reasons for building Nantah were not different from the reasons to build the University of Singapore and the renamed Nanyang Technological University. There are now many new universities, many built for commercial reasons and did not share the common altruistic goals of Nantah and the University of Singapore, now NTU and NUS. The commercial universities can be excused for doing things differently as their purposes are slightly different with money making a key objective. The purpose of building universities like NUS and NTU may have changed to some degrees, but the fundamental and basic reasons for their reasons must not changed.

Have they changed? Some may be thinking that the universities existence is to be ranked highly by farcical ranking organizations and to gain frivolous honours for being ranked among the best. Is this the reason for the building of universities?

Again I would ask, what is the purpose of building universities? Have our universities lost their direction and purpose of existence? Universities are not like F1 or Garden by the Bay, some feel good stuff for the rich to have a little fun and fake importance. They have very important roles to play in the lives of the people and the well being of the country.

The haze must be dealt with in haste

Since Wednesday, the haze has been getting worse and air quality has reached a stage when schools have to be closed. And Singapore is several hundred kilometers from the sources of the haze. It does not need much imagination to know how bad the air quality is in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Social and commercial activities in the city state have hit a new low with visibility in many parts of the island falling to less than 50 metres. And some residents are complaining that they have difficulties watching what is on the TV screens.

And we have heard only words, words of what the govt on both sides are doing to curb the haze. Probably in another 50 years we would still be talking and exchanging words. The govt has been telling the people that they have identified some companies involved in the haze and would be taking legal actions against them I supposed. Is it really so difficult to identify the culprits causing the haze, particularly the big companies? Perhaps we need to send a few satellites into space to do so. By the satellite images produced in the media, it is quite obvious that the whole of Sumatra and Kalimantan are on fire. What would that say about the companies involved or how many companies are involved?

A few things can be done immediately instead of acting like lost sheep or headless sheep not knowing what to do. What about imposing an immediate ban on all imports of palm oil and related products from all the companies with plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan for a year for a start? And the ban should include by products from companies that used palm oil from the same companies in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The ban should be taken up to Asean and all Asean countries should also ban the import of palm oil and related products from these companies. And if needed be, a complaint can be tabled at the UN to impose a world wide ban on these companies.

There must be many things that the affected countries can do instead of sitting haplessly waiting for a miracle to happen. If words are the only instrument available , the haze problem will still be around in the next 100 years and nothing would be done about it except words and more words.

Have we run out of ideas as usual in dealing with this hazardous environmental threat to the health and lives of out people? Maybe we need to bring in a few more foreign talents to help us solve this perennial problem. Oh, an easier way is to engage some top notch consultancy firms from the US or UK or Europe to think up a solution for us. QED.

PS. There is something to be learnt from Mahathir in interstate problems. If the other side cannot or unwilling to tackle the problem seriously, think what Mahathir will do like the crooked bridge issue? Mahathir will solve the problem himself unilaterally without needing the other party to do anything.