Does Indonesia send oxygen to Malaysia? The science says otherwise

Does Indonesia send oxygen to Malaysia? The science says otherwise

By YS Chan
11 hours ago

SYAHGANDA Nainggolan, head of Indonesia’s Government Communications Agency, has drawn online ridicule after suggesting that Malaysia and Singapore should recognise the oxygen supplied by Indonesia’s forests instead of focusing solely on transboundary haze.

Speaking at Indonesia’s National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) in Jakarta on Oct 10, Syahganda said: “We’re not just sending over the haze. When there’s no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia comes from our forests, right?”

He also described the forest and land fires as a natural phenomenon beyond human error, prompting further criticism amid worsening regional air pollution.

But does the oxygen we breathe in Malaysia and Singapore come from Indonesian forests?

The answer requires a closer look at how oxygen is produced, consumed and distributed around the planet.

The ocean’s role in producing oxygen

(Image: LASBOS Moodle)


Contrary to the common assumption that trees are Earth’s primary source of oxygen, the ocean plays a major role in replenishing the atmosphere.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that roughly half of the oxygen produced on Earth comes from the ocean.

Much of it is generated by photosynthetic organisms such as phytoplankton, algae and certain bacteria, including Prochlorococcus.

These microscopic organisms absorb carbon dioxide and use sunlight to produce energy, releasing oxygen through photosynthesis.

However, the distinction between oxygen production and the amount added to the atmosphere is important.

Marine organisms also consume oxygen through respiration and decomposition, meaning that not all the oxygen they produce represents a net addition to the atmosphere.

Do forests supply oxygen to neighbouring countries?

Forests also produce oxygen through photosynthesis. Yet their contribution to atmospheric oxygen must be understood alongside the oxygen consumed by plants, animals, microorganisms, decomposition and fires.

In a mature forest, much of the oxygen produced during photosynthesis is consumed through respiration and the decomposition of organic matter.

Over time, the net contribution to atmospheric oxygen can therefore be relatively small, although forests remain crucial for storing carbon, supporting biodiversity and regulating climate and water cycles.

This does not mean forests are unimportant. On the contrary, protecting them is essential to environmental stability. But their value cannot be reduced to the oxygen they produce.

Nor can the oxygen in Malaysia’s or Singapore’s atmosphere be attributed exclusively to Indonesian forests. Oxygen is continually mixed through the atmosphere by large-scale air movements.

The air we breathe is part of a global system shaped by photosynthesis and other natural processes over millions of years.

Consider Point Nemo, the remote location in the South Pacific that lies about 2,688km from the nearest land. People can still breathe there because atmospheric oxygen is distributed around the planet, rather than supplied only by nearby trees.

Haze is not simply a natural phenomenon

(Image: The Star)

Syahganda’s characterisation of the fires as a natural phenomenon also risks overlooking the human activities that can cause or worsen them.

Indonesia experiences dry conditions that increase the risk of forest and land fires. Its Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency reported hundreds of high-confidence hotspots across Sumatra and Kalimantan in early October, alongside satellite observations of smoke in several regions.

However, dry weather does not rule out human responsibility. Land clearing through burning, accidental fires and inadequate fire prevention can all contribute to the problem.

The causes of individual fires need to be established through evidence, rather than assuming every blaze is either entirely natural or deliberately started.

The regional consequences are not confined to Indonesia. Smoke carried across national borders can expose people in neighbouring countries to harmful particulate pollution, disrupt daily activities and force authorities to consider protective measures.

The issue therefore requires cooperation, effective enforcement and preventive action, alongside assistance for communities affected by fires.


A shared atmosphere, a shared responsibility

Indonesia’s forests provide important environmental benefits to the region and the world. Acknowledging those benefits, however, does not diminish the legitimate concerns of neighbouring countries affected by transboundary haze.

Atmospheric oxygen is not a national export that can be credited to one country while the costs of pollution are borne by another.

The more useful question is how governments can prevent fires, protect forests and reduce the health risks posed by haze.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore share an atmosphere that knows no political borders. Their cooperation should reflect that reality.

The science is clear: forests matter enormously, but not because neighbouring countries owe them gratitude for the oxygen they breathe.

Their protection is a shared environmental responsibility, just as preventing transboundary haze is a shared regional concern. ‒ Oct 13, 2026



YS Chan is a tourism, transport and training consultant

***

Indon produces tempe, Indomie, Ernie Djohan, kopi luwak and most of all, smoke 😂😂😂

Police: Two investigation papers opened over RM350,000 bribery claim against senior MACC officer

Police: Two investigation papers opened over RM350,000 bribery claim against senior MACC officer



Two separate investigation papers have been opened into allegations that a senior Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officer received a bribe of RM350,000 from an individual in 2017. — Picture by Hari Anggara


Summary

• Two investigations have been launched against a senior MACC officer accused of accepting a RM350,000 bribe in 2017, following viral reports.
• The investigations cover offences under the Penal Code for accepting valuable items and defamation, as well as misuse of network facilities under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
• Police have requested permission to investigate further, urging the public to avoid speculation and stressing responsible social media use.

First Published: Tuesday, 13 Oct 2026 8:29 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — Two separate investigation papers have been opened into allegations that a senior Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer received a bribe of RM350,000 from an individual in 2017.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar said the investigations were initiated following a police report lodged over the matter, which had gone viral on several social media platforms.


He said the first investigation paper was opened under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which deals with public servants accepting valuable items without consideration from persons connected to their official duties.


“If convicted, offenders face imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both,” he said in a statement today.


Kumar said the investigation is being conducted under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation, which carries a maximum penalty of two years’ jail, a fine, or both upon conviction.

He said police are also investigating possible offences under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for the improper use of network facilities or services and carries a fine of up to RM500,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both, upon conviction.

Kumar said police would also submit an application for an Order to Investigate under Section 108(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code to the Public Prosecutor to facilitate further investigations.


“This includes recording witness statements and obtaining confirmation of the status of previous investigations conducted by the MACC,” he said.

He urged the public not to speculate on the case and advised them to use social media responsibly to safeguard the country’s peace and security.

On Saturday (October 10), Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW) urged the MACC and the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) to promptly investigate the allegations involving the senior officer to safeguard the agency’s integrity.

The case had previously been investigated by the MACC in 2018 but the investigation was closed after no wrongdoing was proven. — Bernama

LETTER | To catch a predator, talk about the elephant in the room

LETTER | To catch a predator, talk about the elephant in the room

Alena Nadia

Published: Oct 7, 2026 7:02 PM


LETTER | Did you know that the authorities recently uncovered more than 2.1 million child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and pornography files in an operation codenamed Ops Pedo 3.0? The third iteration of this operation by MCMC and the police exposed the sickening scale of CSAM-related video production in Malaysia.

To make matters worse, among those arrested in Ops Pedo 3.0, eight teens aged between 13 and 18 - seven boys and a girl - were caught for producing animated pornographic material and selling it on the dark web for as low as RM50. It made me wonder: where are these children learning this behaviour from?

When news broke last week of 16-year-old star student Irene Sofiya’s death, I caught videos of journalists speaking to her despondent father, Khairool Faisal, whose thousand-yard stare spoke a million words at her burial as he called for her justice. This was a man who had already lost his wife, and now his only daughter.

Living with her maternal grandparents, a young Irene harboured dreams of becoming a specialist doctor, following in the footsteps of her late mother. Her tragic death is unforgivable. My gut churned as the video played, and I wondered: when did our schools get so unsafe?


Let us not forget that not so long ago were the deaths of students Yap Shing Xuen in the toilets of SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4), who was fatally stabbed by a schizophrenic schoolmate, and Zara Qairina Mahathir in Sabah, whose case remains unsolved.

Online, there were recent allegations that maths whiz kid-turned-predator Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin had started work at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) - which it swiftly denied in a statement. In 2014, Nur Fitri was convicted and sentenced to jail in the United Kingdom for possessing more than 30,000 images of child sexual abuse material. Yet when he returned to Malaysia, he was "given a second chance" to finish his doctorate at the institution despite his inexcusable crime.

And on the other side of the world, a 2024 alleged gang-rape case involving seven men linked to its college fraternity called Chi Phi has unfolded at Cornell University. Their lightest punishment? To write essays reflecting on their actions.

Cornell, however, has denied that the essay-writing assignment was the only penalty offered by the institution to the defendants. I couldn’t help but wonder what lessons would these young men truly gain from that experience?


What message are we sending?

So, when I first caught wind of acclaimed documentary maker Lance Oppenheim’s feature debut Primetime (starring actor Robert Pattinson and singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers among others), I was looking forward to seeing how the skilled Oppenheim would set about tackling the movie’s controversial subject matter – paedophilia culture and child sexual abuse – topics so pertinent in Malaysia right now.

The movie is based on the hit American TV show To Catch A Predator, hosted by Chris Hansen. The premise of the show was that it was a high-stakes sting operation that targeted men suspected of soliciting sex with minors in online chat rooms.


Using a network of actors, they would lure unsuspecting predators back to fake homes, or “sting houses”, where the entrapment begins. Inside, they are filmed expressing their criminal intent, before Hansen would suddenly appear and confront these men.

The police then get involved, making arrests and taking these abusers away to be charged in court.

I was curious as to what conversations it could spark here in Malaysia, where child marriage is unfortunately still accepted by certain quarters. After all, art is often a catalyst for the layman to discover different perspectives on how to engage with the world around them.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I learnt that it would no longer be showing in Malaysia. In some ways, this week, it felt like the final straw for a person like me, who had been following the 24-hour cycle, seeing child after child attacked, groomed, raped, or killed.

It crossed my mind: What message are we trying to send through the banning of Primetime and the general inaction to tackle these issues with conviction?

Should we not talk about the elephant in the room, for fear of offending someone? Who exactly are we protecting when our children’s bodies lie lifeless in our schools and predators feed off and profit through their suffering?

Do we allow our children to be conditioned into thinking that sexual violence is normal; that paedophilia is normal; that grooming is normal? Do we allow these injustices to keep happening? The reality of the world we live in is so much worse than what is depicted on screen.

All-of-society approach

Responding to the Ops Pedo case, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry shared that it is studying the need to expand provisions in proposed amendments to the Child Act 2001 on sexual misconduct involving children. This is with regard to predation and peer-to-peer grooming.

But we need more than closed-door talk and calls for policy reform; we need an all-of-society approach to work in tandem with it to end this pervasive violent and paedophilic culture endangering our youth, or we run the risk of giving free passes to abusers, absolving them of their crime.

The relevant ministries like the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, helmed by Nancy Shukri, and the Education Ministry, helmed by Fadhlina Sidek, must act quickly and decisively to nip this worrying trend in the bud.

That said, the Film Censorship Board must also consider giving the arts room to challenge and provoke discussion on such topics. Let Primetime get its prime time in cinemas here.

Vijay Prashad: Critical Minerals & the ‘Donroe Doctrine’

Consortium News
Volume 31, Number 279 — Saturday, October 10, 2026


Vijay Prashad: Critical Minerals & the ‘Donroe Doctrine’


The U.S. wants to reorganise the mineral wealth of the Western Hemisphere around its own industrial and military needs while keeping China at arm’s length



John Moenakeefe Mohl, South Africa, Miners at Sunset, Some On, Some Off Duty, near Carletonville, c. 1970–1975. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

By Vijay Prashad
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research

The map of the new war over minerals stretches from the lithium flats of South America to the rare-earth deposits of Greenland. Its vocabulary is familiar: supply-chain resilience, national security, diversification and partnership.

Beneath these neutral phrases lies an older project.

The United States wants to reorganise the mineral wealth of the Western Hemisphere around its own industrial and military needs while keeping China at arm’s length. The latest name for this ambition is President Donald Trump’s Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 — crudely nicknamed the “Donroe Doctrine.” The joke is crude, but the politics are not.

Critical minerals are not inherently critical. Copper, lithium, graphite, cobalt, nickel and rare earths become critical within a particular system of production that increasingly requires electrical grids, batteries, data centres, semiconductors, satellites and fighter aircraft.

The International Energy Agency expects demand for these minerals to almost double by 2040 under stated policies, with lithium demand more than tripling. The decisive bottleneck is not geology but the command of metallurgy, patents, finance, separating, refining and markets. China refines more than 90 percent of global gallium, graphite, manganese and several key categories of rare earths. This is the industrial fact that Washington’s security documents translate into the language of “threat.”

Marjorie Arnfield, England, Breaking the Coal, c. 1920. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

In April 2025, the White House ordered a Section 232 investigation into processed critical minerals and their derivative products, treating import dependence as a possible threat to national security.

In January 2026, after the investigation concluded that such imports did threaten U.S. security, Trump directed negotiations with trading partners and proposed price floors and other trade restrictions.

In July, he invoked the Defense Production Act for the recovery of critical minerals from scrap and used goods. Taken together, these measures by the United States government describe a belligerent industrial policy that is backed by tariffs and military threats.

U.S. critical minerals policy is designed not only to seek mines abroad but also to enforce political authority over where these minerals may be sold, whose technology may process them and which banks may finance the chain.

The 2025 Trump executive order on seabed minerals stated its objective with unusual clarity: the United States will strengthen “partnerships with allies and industry to counter China’s growing influence over seabed mineral resources.”

The Trump Corollary extends that logic across the hemisphere, treating Latin America and the Caribbean not as a region of sovereign development projects but as the near abroad of the United States: a protected reservoir of agricultural commodities, metals, minerals, ports and sea-lanes.

In his monumental book Open Veins of Latin America (1971), Eduardo Galeano wrote of the “mortality of wealth” — how the region’s natural abundance brought sorrow to its peoples. This ugly contradiction between wealth and exploitation continues.

Aage Gitz-Johansen, Denmark, Eskimoen dør / The Eskimo Dies, 1958. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

Greenland reveals the Trump Corollary in its most naked form. Far from an empty white space as it is often portrayed, this Inuit society of roughly 57,000 people has a long history of Danish colonial rule and an unfinished struggle for self-determination. Its position between North America and Europe, the U.S. military base at Pituffik, the opening Arctic sea routes and deposits that include rare-earth minerals have made it an object of renewed attention.

Trump’s repeated desire to acquire Greenland reduces the Inuit people’s homeland to real estate and military strategy. Trump claims that he has now taken Greenland from Denmark, but the details of the security agreement are far more ambiguous than his social media posts.

The pressure on Greenland and on Latin America is part of the same imperial imagination. The U.S. sees the former as its northern shield and the latter as its southern storehouse.

In both, the stated aim is to prevent Chinese capital, infrastructure and technology from gaining a durable position. Yet what is at stake is not the freedom of Chinese investment but the sovereignty of countries to chart their own independent foreign and economic policy. The issue is that Washington claims the authority to decide which relationships are permissible. The promise of sovereignty becomes conditional on alignment with U.S. imperial ambitions.

Rosemary Namuli Karuga, Kenya, Three Women Walking, 2001. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

Latin America has lived through this story. Galeano’s book details the journey of silver from Bolivia, guano from Peru, nitrates from Chile, copper from Chile and Peru, iron ore from Brazil and oil from Venezuela to successive centres of capitalist accumulation.

The commodity changes from country to country but the structure endures: extraction at the periphery, technology and finance elsewhere and socialised damage at the pithead. The so-called green transition can repaint this structure without overturning it.

The figures reveal both the opportunity and the danger. The International Energy Agency reports that, excluding lithium, Latin American countries refined on average only 20 percent of the key energy minerals they extracted in 2025. Under the existing project pipeline, the region could capture about $185 billion in economic value by 2035, but only one-fifth would come from refining. Greater local refining could raise that value to roughly $220 billion.

The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development argues for a regional industrial policy with greater public investment in infrastructure and education, clear rules for locally sourced goods and labour (local-content rules) and technology transfer and control over the pace and terms of extraction. The question is whether these tools will serve public planning or merely subsidise foreign corporations.

Sebastiao Salgado, Brazil, Serra Pelada Gold Mine, Brazil, 1986. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

The epicentre of this debate is Brazil, which holds about 23 percent of known rare-earth reserves but produces roughly 1 percent of global output and lacks an integrated processing chain that runs from separation through metal and alloy production to permanent magnet manufacturing.

At the Pela Ema mine in Goiás, the Serra Verde Group produces a mixed rare-earth carbonate. The difficult and profitable stages take place abroad. Brazil keeps the excavation, some jobs and taxes and the environmental liabilities while higher-value production, patents and strategic control leave the country.

This is why the proposed acquisition of Serra Verde by U.S.-backed USA Rare Earth matters. The deposit contains dysprosium and terbium, indispensable for high-performance magnets used in electric motors and military systems. U.S. financing and purchase commitments turn the acquisition into more than a private transaction: it is part of a state-directed attempt to construct a supply chain that excludes China. Around the mine, rural and quilombola communities face polluted streams, threats to their land and mining claims that menace agrarian-reform settlements. A mineral cannot be called “green” when its costs are transferred to the people who live above it.

Brazil’s answer cannot be a simple change of customer. Cooperation with China, the United States, or Europe should be judged by what knowledge and capacity remain in Brazil, not by the nationality of the buyer. Certain basic rules must apply:

• Public control over geological information and strategic deposits.
• Public finance through the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).
• Public investigation of the ecological impact, including environmental licensing to examine cumulative watershed impacts.
• Indigenous, quilombola and local agrarian communities must have enforceable rights to free, prior, and informed consultation.
• Scrutiny of foreign takeovers of mines.
• Technology transfer requirements written into contracts.
• Research led by Brazilian universities and public research institutes.
• Mandatory domestic separation and refining of the ore.
• Regional cooperation to build scale in batteries, chemicals, machinery, magnets and recycling.

Tom McGuinness, Britain, Belt Fitters, 1963. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

The countries of the South must reject the false choice between serving a Chinese-centred chain and entering a U.S.-controlled one. Social movements must fight for popular sovereignty, which would require that these arrangements be made with public companies, through public institutions, with transparent mandates, common environmental standards, and shared research. The extraction of metals and minerals must be planned for socially necessary uses and not by the dictates of luxury consumption and permanent war.

The deepest vulnerability exposed by the mineral contest is not dependence on one country. It is the subordination of life to supply chains governed elsewhere.

The Trump Corollary promises to secure the hemisphere and its wealth for the United States. A people’s doctrine would secure natural resources for the benefit of those who live on the land, prioritising electricity before exports, water before waste, knowledge before royalties, and sovereignty before alignment.

The wealth beneath the soil must become visible in schools, hospitals, research centres, laboratories, restored ecosystems, and dignified lives — a future that cannot be shipped away in sacks of concentrate.

Lena Hugo, South Africa, Miner I, 2008. (Via Tricontinental Institute)

In 1904, the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío wrote “A Roosevelt (To Roosevelt).” Addressed to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the poem is a powerful indictment of imperialismo yanqui (Yankee imperialism). The stanzas below allude to Victor Hugo’s 1872 “Le Message de Grant” (Grant’s Message), in which Hugo writes to U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant that the U.S. flag, “sown with stars,” is “obscured” with a “stain of mud” (tache de boue):

Los Estados Unidos son potentes y grandes.

Cuando ellos se estremecen hay un hondo temblor

que pasa por las vértebras enormes de los Andes.

Si clamáis, se oye como el rugir del león.

Ya Hugo a Grant le dijo: “Las estrellas son vuestras”.

(Apenas brilla, alzándose, el argentino sol

y la estrella chilena se levanta…) Sois ricos.

Juntáis al culto de Hércules el culto de Mammón;

y alumbrando el camino de la fácil conquista,

la Libertad levanta su antorcha en Nueva York. The United States is powerful and great.



When it shudders, a deep tremor

runs through the enormous vertebrae of the Andes.

If you cry out, it sounds like a lion’s roar.

Hugo already told Grant: ‘The stars are yours’.

(The Argentine sun, now dawning, has hardly begun to shine,

and the Chilean star now rises…) You are rich.

You worship Hercules and Mammon alike;

and lighting the path of easy conquest,

Liberty raises her torch in New York.



Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is a senior non-resident fellow atChongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest books are Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism and, with Noam Chomsky, The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and the Fragility of U.S. Power.

This article is from Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

Europe's Diesel Shortage Is A Problem Created By Political Design

Europe's Diesel Shortage Is A Problem Created By Political Design

by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Oct 13, 2026 - 10:20 PM


Authored by Daniel Lacalle via dlacalle.com,


The diesel agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will not solve the diesel shortage, considering the magnitude of the problem created by years of misguided, wrongly called "environmental policies." Complaining about diesel prices and the US-Russia deal while eliminating domestic refining capacity and bombing refineries is just another example of bureaucratic hypocrisy.

Renewables are important, but they cannot substitute diesel, just as they have been unable to offset the importance of natural gas. Diesel is essential for every segment of the economy, from transport, manufacturing, and farming to distribution. Now, European politicians complain. However, governments cannot negotiate away years of lost refining capacity. Europe's vulnerability is structural. Yes, war has intensified it, but policy choices helped create an energy system increasingly dependent on imported fuels, expensive infrastructure, and high taxation. Furthermore, the risk is that - as happened in the past - oil and gasoline prices may fall, and the European businesses and families will still pay much higher energy and fuel prices.

According to European Commission figures and comparisons based on official European and US data, Europe suffers an enormous energy-cost disadvantage after two decades of massive subsidies and renewable rollout. Industrial electricity prices are more than twice those in the United States, while industrial natural gas prices reach four times US levels. At the pump, European consumers pay approximately 47% more for diesel and 70% more for gasoline. This is not simply an oil-price problem. It is an enormous competitiveness problem that permeates throughout the economy.

On October 9, Trump announced that Russia would release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November, one million thereafter, and another three million, subject to refinery conditions. Washington temporarily authorized Russian diesel transactions until April 7, 2027. However, these are announced commitments, not confirmed deliveries. It may mitigate but not solve the diesel crisis.

The distinction is important. A sanctions exemption may permit trade, but it cannot repair damaged processing units. According to International Energy Agency estimates, Russian diesel production has suffered a temporary but significant blow, declining almost 30% following Ukrainian attacks.

The important element is a policy choice, not a consequence of war.

Europe's refining contraction is the key factor behind the structural diesel problem. It has lost more than 20% of refining capacity since 2009. At the end of 2025, the EU, Britain, Norway, and Switzerland had 72 mainstream refineries and an annual primary processing capacity of 625.4 million tonnes, down 167.6 million tonnes. Industry association FuelsEurope counts 35 closures since 2009.

The deterioration did not stop with the 2022 Ukraine war and has continued recently. Europe lost almost 400,000 barrels per day of refining capacity between 2024 and 2025, with five refineries closing over two years. This trend is a continuing reduction in the infrastructure needed to turn crude into usable fuel.

Environmental policy is part of this story, but taxation and policy choices have aggravated the problem. Governments made it uneconomical to upgrade aging facilities or build new units. Furthermore, at least five closed European facilities abandoned crude processing through conversion into biorefineries. These conversions worsened conventional refining capacity and did not offer a reliable and sustainable alternative.

The policy mistake is obvious and reminds us of the same errors committed with nuclear plants and natural gas supply. Eliminating capacity is a policy mistake without a credible path to reduce diesel's importance. This move was not a transition but a jump into the void. Europe now relies more heavily on refined products from the Middle East, the United States, and India. Importing products is not an environmental policy success. "Not in my backyard" led to dependency and loss of competitiveness. The EU was the fourth-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels, accounting for 8% (EUR 1.2 bn) of Russia's export revenues from the top five importers in August 2026, according to CREA.

Ukraine's refinery attacks have reduced fuel availability, and Russia has restricted diesel exports. While damaged refineries can be repaired, it will take months.

War in the Middle East and disrupted Hormuz flows have compounded the shortage. The European Central Bank estimates reported in September put the refining-margin contribution to diesel prices at €0.41 per liter, approximately 19% of the pump price. That is why watching Brent alone misses the problem, as crude and diesel are different markets.

On September 21, EU diesel averaged €2.226 per liter, the highest reading in the European Commission's series since 2005. Taxes accounted for €0.861, or 38.6% of the price. VAT applies on top of excise duties, effectively taxing the tax itself.

The EU minimum diesel excise is €0.33 per liter. America's federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon, before state taxes and fees. European taxation adds a persistent cost wedge that cheaper crude cannot eliminate. This means that the average EU final diesel price is almost 50% higher than the US one. Thus, falling oil prices can provide relief without restoring competitiveness. Fixed duties remain, and scarce refining capacity may keep diesel expensive even when crude oil becomes cheaper.

Europe needs to abandon ideology in energy, provide solid investment conditions, eliminate regulation, and support an adequate refining system. Even though the European Commission's newly announced "refinery dialogue" mentions these issues, it does not change the underlying ideological perspective or any of the existing regulations and misses the key measures to reduce the competitiveness gap, which come from lower taxes, more investment, and elimination of punitive regulations. Emergency Russian cargoes may help at the margin, even if European politicians complain about the US-Russia deal. However, none of this is going to repair Europe's own policy-created vulnerabilities. The solution may take years, even if the changes are implemented today.

Indonesian fire fighter caught using small, watering can to put out the flames

Indonesian fire fighter caught using small, watering can to put out the flames

By CSMing
21 seconds ago

WHILE Singaporeans, Malaysians and their neighbours across Southeast Asia are waiting for Indonesia to get its annual haze problem under control, one video circulating on X appears to offer a glimpse of the region’s latest firefighting technology.

Forget helicopters dumping tonnes of water, specialised fire engines or sophisticated aerial surveillance systems.

In the video, a worker was caught attempting to put out the fire with a watering can.

Yes, a watering can. And a small one too. The kind usually reserved for houseplants that have been neglected for three days, not a forest fire capable of sending smoke across international borders.

Note that the worker has not been identified as an Indonesian or even as a fire fighter working under the Indonesian government.

Readers can find the video at: https://x.com/update11111/status/2109802450861670576?s=20

If the fire had been a pot of basil on a kitchen windowsill, the worker might have been hailed as a hero.

For residents in Malaysia and Singapore, however, the consequences are hardly amusing.

Singapore rolled out subsidies for haze-related medical treatment on Monday, and schools were closed in parts of Malaysia, as both countries grapple with persistently unhealthy air quality.

The fires have created severe haze locally, with tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illnesses.

In Malaysia, schools reopened Monday in most areas as air quality improved slightly, but remained closed across Johor and parts of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

The transboundary haze has also disrupted regional travel. Malaysian low-cost carrier Firefly cancelled flights between Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang and Singapore’s Seletar Airport from Saturday to Monday as a “precautionary safety measure”, the airline said.

Of course, one worker with a watering can does not prove that Indonesia’s entire firefighting operation consists of improvised gardening equipment.

But the man is symbolic of everyone’s perception towards the efforts undertaken by Indonesia to control the flames.—Oct 13, 2026

 

Muslim man nabbed for allegedly participating in non-Islamic ritual

Muslim man nabbed for allegedly participating in non-Islamic ritual

4 hours ago

FMT Reporters

The man and his mother, who was also arrested, will be investigated for alleged offences under Selangor's shariah law.

The Muslim man who went viral over allegations of taking part in a non-Islamic ritual was brought to Jais’s enforcement division at Bangunan Sultan Idris Shah in Shah Alam today. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

A Muslim man, believed to have taken part in a non-Islamic ritual, was arrested by religious authorities today.

Selangor Islamic religious department (Jais) director Shahzihan Ahmad said the man and his mother were arrested by the federal territories Islamic religious department (Jawi) in Kuala Lumpur.

He also said Jais was expected to summon at least 14 other individuals to assist in its investigation.

“The two suspects are being investigated by Jais under Sections 4 and 10 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment 1995,” he said in a statement.

Section 4 covers worship or acts of reverence contrary to Islamic law, while Section 10 covers insulting or bringing into contempt the religion of Islam.

Shahzihan urged the public to give the authorities the space and time to complete their investigations, adding that Jais would act in accordance with its jurisdiction, the law and the facts of the case.

He also cautioned against speculation and the spread of unverified information.

It was previously reported that the state Islamic religious authorities and the police were coordinating their response following the circulation of several videos allegedly showing a Muslim participating in non-Islamic religious rituals.

Islamic development department (Jakim) director-general Sirajuddin Suhaimee said action would be taken in accordance with the relevant authorities’ jurisdictions and applicable laws.

He said Jakim had also forwarded reports on the matter to the state Islamic religious departments for review and further investigation.

Malaysia cautious over proposal to co-chair The Hague Group, says Tok Mat

Malaysia cautious over proposal to co-chair The Hague Group, says Tok Mat



Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Malaysia must carefully consider a proposal by several countries for it to co-chair The Hague Group alongside South Africa, given legal constraints and its status as a non-party to relevant international conventions. — Bernama pic


Summary

• Malaysia is considering a proposal to co-chair The Hague Group with South Africa due to legal constraints and its non-party status to international conventions.
• Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan highlighted Malaysia's commitment to intensifying pressure on Israel through various international platforms, despite not being a co-chair.
• Malaysia supports Palestinian rights and calls for UNSC reform to prevent veto power from hindering resolutions, while continuing to provide humanitarian assistance.

First Published: Tuesday, 13 Oct 2026 2:50 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — Malaysia must carefully consider a proposal by several countries for it to co-chair The Hague Group alongside South Africa, given legal constraints and its status as a non-party to relevant international conventions, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said accepting the role would raise questions about Malaysia’s participation in international legal instruments, including the Rome Statute, which he said could potentially conflict with the Federal Constitution.

He said the proposal followed Malaysia’s active involvement in the group, an international platform aimed at increasing pressure on Israel over the Palestinian issue.


“We must consider this carefully because Malaysia is not a state party to the convention. Therefore, we cannot become a co-chair.


“For now, it is sufficient for Malaysia to remain a co-sponsor and principal sponsor,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in reply to Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (PH-Balik Pulau) on Malaysia’s efforts to increase international pressure on Israel over the Palestinian conflict.

Mohamad said Malaysia had also joined South Africa as a co-sponsor at the recent United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to intensify pressure on Israel, including efforts to bring the matter before the UN Security Council (UNSC).

He also noted that international support for the Palestinian cause was growing, including among countries that previously maintained close ties with Israel.


He said about 160 countries now supported Palestine’s admission as a UN member, reflecting a shift in international attitudes towards the issue.

Malaysia, he stressed, remained steadfast in defending Palestinian rights and continued to raise the issue through the UN, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Asean and other multilateral platforms.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also consistently raised the Palestinian issue in meetings with world leaders and at international forums, including BRICS and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec).

Meanwhile, Mohamad reiterated Malaysia’s call for UNSC reform, particularly restrictions on the use of veto power, which he described as an obstacle to resolving the Palestinian conflict.

He said majority support for Palestine-related resolutions would achieve little if permanent UNSC members continued to block them through their veto powers.

“We need to restructure the UNSC so that veto power cannot be used arbitrarily,” he said.

On humanitarian assistance, Mohamad said contributions from Malaysians through the Foreign Ministry’s Palestinian Humanitarian Trust Account were channelled to the Palestinians through trusted organisations.

These included the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and non-governmental organisations to ensure aid reached those in need, he added. — Bernama