'South east asia could have been spared from the smog'

The newspaper said that satellite pictures in Singapore detected the forest fires in Indonesia which caused the smog back in late May.

An official from the Environment Ministry then told the newspaper that Indonesia should not be identified to the public because of regional sensitivities.

``But was this managing of regional sensitivities done at the expense of keeping the public better informed or even at the expense of stronger government demands for faster and effective Indonesian action?'' the newspaper asked.

Similarly in June, when the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur's skyline was shrouded in the smog and visibility dropped to three kilometres, the source of the smog was not identified.

``If only everyone concerned who had been monitoring the situation closely had spoken out about it early, clearly and loudly enough, the region may not have suffered the unmitigated environmental, public health and economic disaster that followed,'' the paper said.

It was only in August that Malaysia became the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member to lay responsibility for the smog publicly on Indonesia.

However, Singapore's Environment and Health Minister Yeo Chow Tong told parliament last Tuesday that the government had in fact raised the issue with Indonesia long before the current episode started.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng was quoted as saying: ``In Asean, we have our Asean way of dealing with problems, and I am sure Indonesia heard the message loud and clear without us shouting about it.''

``The Asean way'' of holding discreet behind-the-scenes discussions, while keeping the Asean public in the dark may work in sorting out political, trade or diplomatic kinks, the paper said.

``But it does not work when it comes to a disaster like the haze, a public health hazard everyone will see and smell the minute he wakes up.

``The way this year's haze was handled, both by Indonesia and its neighbours, suggests strongly.. officials should come out in the open and warn the entire region and its peoples,'' it said.

This year's smog is expected to recede when the monsoon rains arrive in full force in November. - Reuters