ASEAN Beat | Environment | Southeast Asia

Malaysia to Raise Transboundary Haze Crisis With ASEAN Foreign Ministers Ahead of Summit

This year’s particularly severe haze season has once again exposed the void in national and regional efforts to combat the problem.

Thick haze obscures the sky above a residential area in Kalimantan, Indonesia, Aug. 20, 2026.

Malaysia’s government will raise the issue of transboundary haze at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting ahead of the bloc’s 49th Summit in Manila next month.

Over the past four months, massive wildfires have raged across Indonesia, particularly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, causing a toxic haze that has seriously impacted Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and parts of the Philippines.

Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told reporters in Sepang yesterday that the haze issue required special attention as it was not covered by existing ASEAN mechanisms for natural disasters, the state media agency Bernama reported.

“We already have an ASEAN mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster,” he said. “So, this will be one of the issues that I will personally raise at the meeting with my counterparts.”

Air pollution from the fires, which have been prolonged and exacerbated by an unusually severe dry season, has forced the closure of schools across Malaysia in recent weeks. Last week, the government ordered schools to close in Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya due to the worsening haze. The Malaysian capital rated among the world’s most polluted major cities globally. This came after hundreds of schools across the state of Sarawak on Borneo shut last month due to the hazardous air pollution in neighboring Kalimantan.

Malaysia has already been in touch with the Indonesian authorities about the fires. Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that he had discussed the situation with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who had “agreed to take the necessary steps.”

Mohamad Hasan said yesterday that Indonesia’s new foreign minister Arrmanatha Nasir had informed him that poor visibility in affected areas was hampering aerial firefighting operations. Many of the fires were also located deep inland, where water supplies were limited, and that some were in peatland areas, where fire-fighting is particularly challenging.

“Indonesia has between three to four aeroplanes and 34 helicopters, but they cannot take off because visibility is so poor that it is unsafe for any flights in the affected areas,” he said, as per Bernama.

Rizal Irawan, a senior official at Indonesia’s Environment Ministry, said last month that the country’s authorities were investigating 19 companies that it believes may be linked to the wildfires, and said it would investigate who might be responsible. Whether or........

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