KOTA KINABALU, Aug 18 — Malaysia and Indonesia are stepping up joint efforts to tackle transboundary haze, pledging closer cooperation to monitor hotspots, enforce stricter measures against open burning, and potentially conduct cross-border cloud seeding operations.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup emphasised that coordinated ASEAN action is vital, as haze remains a persistent regional problem.
“Recently we had an ASEAN meeting...I met up with all my counterparts, for example the Minister of Environment in Indonesia, and we've already agreed to increase our collaboration.
“Collaboration in terms of monitoring hotspots, more enforcement agencies to make sure there is no open burning.
“We can also share our airspace in case we need to do any cloud seeding operations, maybe share our assets too,” he told the media after launching the International Conference on Tropical Forestry 2026 today.
Arthur noted that regional cooperation is now more crucial than ever, as Malaysia is entering a "super El Nino" phase, which is expected to bring drier conditions, reduced rainfall and a rise in fire-prone areas.
“And that will cause more haze. But we need to acknowledge that haze is a problem that is not just faced by one country; it is a regional issue.
"What happens in our neighbouring countries will also affect us,” he said.
Arthur added that Malaysia will continue to bring the matter to the ASEAN level to improve regional coordination in dealing with haze and its contributing factors.
“This is a concerted effort needed at the regional level because this is a regional problem,” he said.
