Monday, October 26, 2015

Zero's fiddling while our Rome burns

Sydney Morning Herald


Disaster has put Indonesia top of carbon emissions charts - above even US

Date
  • 15 reading now
Lindsay Murdoch

South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media


Indonesian students in Surabaya collect donations for victims of smog pollution during a protest to condemn the performance of President Jokowi's government after its first year in power. Photo: Getty Images












Bangkok: A conservation scientist has described an acrid haze choking parts of South-east Asia as one of the worst ever man-made environmental disasters, saying that it is affecting about 40 million people.

Eric Meijaard, an associate professor at the University of Queensland, warns the pollution levels of toxic carbon monoxide and ground-level ozone are "presently off the scale".


Thick smoke from a peatland fire in the Ogan Ilir district in Palembang, South Sumatra, earlier this month.
Thick smoke from a peatland fire in the Ogan Ilir district in Palembang, South Sumatra, earlier this month. Photo: Getty Images

"Not only is there appalling human suffering, with hundreds of thousands of people ill and many dead, the fires are a massive economic cost to the Indonesian economy," said Professor Meijaard, an expert on Indonesia's forests who co-ordinates the environmental program Borneo Futures.

Thousands of fires caused by slash-and-burn farming have blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia for almost two months, forcing many schools to close and flights and international events to be cancelled.

Late last week the haze spread to southern Thailand, with record high pollution levels.

Last month I posted Smoke gets in Indon's eyes, in which I had penned:



Indonesia has got it f* wrong in highlighting that Malaysian (and Singapore) companies are among those responsible for bush burning activities involved in clearing wooded areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan for plantation development, thus being also responsible for the horrid toxic smoke haze affecting Malaysia, Singapore and most of SE Asia.


Indeed, it doesn't f* matter whether the companies are from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Swaziland or Iceland. The forest fires causing humongous volumes of poisonous carcinogenic smoke and pollution to drift north to most of SE Asia (where Malaysian schools have been forced to close two days ago) are in, would you believe, the nation of Indonesia.

And who is f* responsible for stuff in Indonesia?

Indon then has either the unfounded and silly unhelpful pride
to refuse Sing's offer to send aircraft to help put out the fires
* - see The Strait Times' Jakarta declines help to fight fires, leading to us to suspect rather unkindly, whether she prefers to continue her chief export to Malaysia and Singapore - no thank you.

* it initially refused but subsequently (after much criticisms from its northern neighbours has grudgingly accepted


A message to Indon: Take f* action or allow us to send resources to help dowse those pollutant producing forest fires in your country. You must do something to stop poisoning your neighbours.

Memegang teguhlah kepada Sila Kedua Indonesia, yaitu, "Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab".

Okay, we're facing the worst cancer-causing pollution in 133 years since the explosion of Krakatoa on 27 August 1883, also of Indonesian origin.


The Krakatoa explosion was/is said to be akin to the 'volcanic winter' which was what caused the global climate changes of AD (CE) 535-536.


Wikipedia states: The extreme weather events of 535–536 were the most severe and protracted short-term episodes of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. The event is thought to have been caused by an extensive atmospheric dust veil, possibly resulting from a large volcanic eruption in the tropics, and/or debris from space impacting the Earth. Its effects were widespread, causing unseasonal weather, crop failures, and famines worldwide.

... and indeed the fall of several empires and civilizations.

It is not unlikely that in years to come, many of our people and those in Singapore, Brunei and Thailand, especially children, may become victims of cancer and other health sickness as a result of breathing in carcinogenic substances year after year from the Indonesian smoke haze which has been plaguing us.

Then there is the economic factor where Indonesian northern neighbours have suffered enormously incalculable losses.

Will these spell the eventual end of the hitherto hearty health of our Malaysian society if not our civilisation?

Apart from making some futile gestures and mild criticisms of the culprit, what have our 222 MPs been doing to deal with this gargantuan human disaster which is severely, nay, even fatally affecting our human and national economic problem?

They're f* busy quarreling among themselves over a relatively minor issue.


And just how much did he as PM lose for Malaysia? 


F* Rome, I have my personal priorities 

23 comments:

  1. There was a spat between the Indonesians and Singaporeans, kind of similar to the
    glass-is-half-empty or half-full thing:

    “For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us.
    They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset.”
    --vice president, Jusuf Kalla

    So now there are websites expressing thanks for 11 months of clean air e.g.
    http://jakarta.coconuts.co/2015/10/01/grateful-singaporeans-set-site-thank-indonesia-11-months-clean-air-they-get-us-year

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we too shall thankful to najib, he is not as worst as mahathir wakaka.

      Delete
    2. we can always rely on HY to go off at a tangent to the pressing issue but then he's an anwar lover who misses his convict-idol

      Delete
    3. I am greatly influenced by ktemoclogy, a field of study that teach us how do divert the attention of a subject, n recycle an assertion that hardly provided any justification for a broad statement like "mahathir is worst", when everyone know one item does not a list make.

      Delete
    4. so to anwarista HY, the smoke haze is OK. Pandai Bapak

      Delete
    5. i where got say okay, i am only demonstrate the logical fallacy of ktemoclogy. another example, what resignation from pac have to do with debate if we truly understand the purpose of debate? n y media have to disclose their donor shd they demand a pm to disclose his donor? aiyo, u n rpk way of argue a subject make me thought u all r with primary level of education or u think we reader r as stupid as u blogger wakaka.

      Delete
  2. Looking on the bright side, the haze has brought:
    1. No more red shirt, yellow shirt and green shirt rally.
    2. Great business for the musk trade.
    3. More quality family time when people stay home more.
    4. More savings when eating out less.
    5. Enhanced income for doctors and pharmacy.
    6. Plenty of school holidays for the kids.
    7. Less focus on 1MDB.
    Etc. etc.

    Perhaps in future, someone will be selling bottled clean air during the annual haze season, just like the durian season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. downside to No 4 - hawkers and restaurants are suffering

      Delete
  3. There is no point questioning what the 222 MPs are doing about the haze.
    Your beloved Najib's puppet Speaker Pundekar Amin Tak Mulia has already rejected a DAP motion to debate the issue of the haze.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What do you want to do? Sue Pak Jokowi and Pak Jusuf Kalla? I guess we should just smoke cannabis... it is safer and at the very least we are happier. You can chew it if you don't like the smoke.

      Delete
    2. Most of the fires in Indonesia started off man-made, though they subsequently spread out of control.
      Widespread annual fire (hundreds of hotspots) is not a natural phenomenon in equatorial forests, peat or otherwise.
      It is right now probably the biggest man-made disaster in the world today.

      Exert diplomatic pressure on Indonesia to take concrete action to stop these fires from being started annually.
      Stop saying "we will not put any pressure on Indonesia" - Zahid Jawawi, Najib's hand-picked very-soon-to-be successor.
      Offer tangible help to fight the fires - and exert diplomatic pressure for Indonesia not to reject it.

      No country in this world- not even superpowers like USA or China are completely immune from diplomatic pressure.
      There is nothing wrong with expressing valid criticisms and demanding preventive action be taken.

      Delete
  4. Under the Westminster system, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, especially the Foreign Minister , have full accountability and control over Malaysia's foreign policy.

    Why the strange unwillingness of Ktemoc to hold his Beloved Najib accountable to provide due response from Malaysia on the haze pollution from Indonesia ?
    Why the strange diversion of the issue to Mahathir and the 222 MPs ?

    'Tis something strange indeed with Ktemoc.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "222 MPs" means right from the PM and cabinet down to each and every MP, but excluding retired or so-called retired pollies, wakakaka. I mentioned Mahathir only because he has been setting the agenda for the opposition MPs who if we would honestly acknowledge have been more than willing captives.

      I lament the lack of focus on this very important issue of carcinogenic pollution which will or has already caused harm to our people's health. Yes, I agree the biggest portion of blame should be allocated to PM Najib and cabinet but the opposition seems to be quite happy focussing on other lesser issue so they must share some responsibility.

      Delete
    2. http://fedtrust.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/A_World_of_Difference.pdf

      The excellent article above explains clearly how Foreign Policy , even today in a relatively open Westminster system such as Britain, is virtually the full prerogative of the Prime Minister, the Queen's ministers and the Foreign policy bureaucracy. Very limited oversight and scrutiny is available to Parliament , either from the Opposition or the ruling party's own Backbench.

      If that is the case in Britain, it is even more so for Malaysia.

      Delete
  5. Tony Pua challenging Arul Kanda to a live television debate on IMDB has his balls caught between a rock and a hard place.When Arul Kanda accepted his challenge and dared him to quit his PAC post first,Tony wet his pants and his balls shrink to pea size.A cross dresser in disguise?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Obviously this comment was before Arul withdrew his condition. Now Tony has 10 questions ley. Why not sit back n enjoy the free show. Everybody knows YOU r the cross dresser twerking in grandma panties. Yucks!
      Hehehe.

      Delete
  6. Divert just a little bit, but since we were talking about representative government....

    DAP reaffirms that it is a Chauvinist Racist party.......

    0.000 % of Malays elected to Selangor DAP Committee...

    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/aziz-bari-2-other-malays-appointed-to-selangor-dap-committee


    DAP likes to slam UMNO as "racist". Fact is UMNO was founded to advocate and defend Malay concerns and rights. UMNO has never pretended to be something else.

    DAP , on the other hand, is simply incapable of Walking its Talk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. can agree. umno is less hypo, they have no shame to consistently n continuously pursue it racist policy. similarly dap have no shame to claim they r a multi racial party when they preserve the same attitude malayu tak bolih.

      come la brader warrior, brader kt, a racist n a hypo or whatever, lets support pkr. the true multi racial n melayu bolih party wakaka.

      Delete
  7. There is a common "Malay consensus" in Malaysia which basically holds that preserving Indonesian sensitivities is paramount, and any overt criticism is a No-No.

    UMNO, PKR, PAS and most Malay-based activists all subscribe to it.
    Don't know about the few Malays in DAP.

    So people continue to choke , breathing in carcinogenic smoke from Indonesia year-in, year-out, and the politicians just tread softly-softly around the issue , without daring to say or do anything which could remotely offend Indonesia.

    Those Red Shirt types who scream at the top of their lungs to defend "Malay dignity" at the merest hint of "Chinese insolence" , dare not utter a single whimper to safeguard the health of their families from breathing Indonesian air-pollution.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tony Pua will always be remembered as the "cowHerd" who chicken out of his own challenge.As an MP,the only place he can dare debate is at the back alleys with the "Herd".Go figure.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What happened ?
    Najib's cheque didn't show up ?

    I hear its an occupational hazard for pro-Najib pre-paid/post-paid bloggers.
    Your up-line seniors "Sapu" most or even all of the dough, so little or nothing trickles down to the dolts who do the actual work.

    I suppose you can blame Mahathir for inventing this "trickle-down" Malas-ia capitalism. If a project in actuality cost RM 1 Million, the budgeted expenditure had to be RM 3 Million. The difference was siphoned along the way into various pockets as "manna" from heaven.

    In the Mahathir heyday of high-oil prices and high economic growth of the 1990's , the system was considered "win-win-win" for all parties. Perfectly legal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. omigosh you actually miss me. No worries, I'm back, wakakaka

      Delete
  10. Wakakaka....nah...I was ready to commiserate with you for your misfortune of falling victim to the corrupt Najib-UMNO-BN structure.

    But no sympathy whatsoever for your misguided campaign acting as Najib apologist-sympathiser, to the extent of attacking Lim Kit Siang, and staying silent on all manner of Najib's abuse of power.

    ReplyDelete