KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The transboundary haze issue is not on the formal agenda of the 17th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) and Related Meetings, but is being discussed on the sidelines among health ministers of member states.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the matter could subsequently be taken up at the senior officers’ meeting.
“We will have a side discussion among our ministers. We will continue to discuss this. Perhaps, at our subsequent meeting, the senior officers’ meeting can carry this through. But as an agenda, unfortunately, we are not there,” he said at a press conference after the launch of ASHA 2026-2030 here today.
However, Dzulkefly said the issue could be addressed within the scope of existing health clusters.
Asked whether Malaysia planned to hold bilateral discussions with Indonesia on the haze issue, he said: “We raised it, but we must follow through again.”
Yesterday, Communications Minister and Madani government spokesman Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia was still awaiting confirmation from the Indonesian authorities before deploying assets to help tackle forest fires in the country that have caused transboundary haze.
