(Sarawak, Friday): The Sarawak State Assemblyman for Kidurong Chiew Chin Sing urged the Federal Ministry of Environment to explain to the people Sarawak as to why are there big scale open burning in several parts of  the state and why has the Environnment Department in the state allow this to happen, when in fact, if a person burns even a small pile of wood chips out side of his house, and if he was caught by the DOE people, he would have to stop immediately and later either be fined or charged in court.

What and whether if any actions have the Environment Department  take against these big plantation companies and why has the open burning not stopped, Chiew asked.

Chiew said that according to the satellite image of hot spot  from the metrological department, it is understood that the area of the hot spot aorund Bintulu covers an area of about 10,000 acres and there are about several tens of thousands of stack timber set up, all are to be set on fire. The fire was set off earlier during the week.

Chiew also questioned as to why the action taken against the big plantation is one type while that taken against the ordinary people is another set. This is double standard, Chiew said.

He further said that the reason which our government had set up the Environment Department and enacted laws is to protect our environment and to ensure that our people have  clean air to breath so as to build a healthy environment for all of us to live in.

But, so long as our Environment Department choose to take the close  eyes approach on the open burning by the big plantation companies and would still continue to do so in the future, then the setting up of the Environment Department in our country and the law enacted are all but a farce.

What is most regrettable is that the Environment Department in our country had become a tool of the big companies and big plantations people. Her existence is not for the protection of the people or the people as a whole any more, but more like many other government agencies these days their existence is for the benefit of the big companies and what the boss above says.

Our state has emphasized much on modern agriculture and zero burning but today they are all left to the back seat because the big companies had to make the money, while  the people are left to the harmful haze, sickness and who know how many have sacrifice their health, especially the young and the old, because of the haze.

At a time when we are so fed up and faced up with the unhealthy haze each year from the Indonesian Kalimantan, yet big plantation open burning is going on here. How could we expect our neighbours to believe in us. Our environment department had been prejudice in this matter and had failed in stopping the open burning and had opened up a dangerous precedent.

DAP Sarwawk will be holding a state meeting in Sibu on Sunday and I will discuss the matter with the legal panel in DAP Sarawak with regards to the irresponsibility of the environment department and how Sarawak could establish a better example including looking into the legal avenues to stop the open burning and holding the environment department responsible for its non action.

(29/09/2006)