Singapore ministers meet 10 firms over haze; executives pledge full cooperation with probes

Centre · 2On Wednesday 28 October, senior executives from 10 companies potentially linked to haze-causing fires in Indonesia pledged to cooperate fully with Singapore's investigations after a rare meeting with three ministers. 1 2 Centre · 2Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu set out the government's expectations and its plan to strengthen laws against those responsible for haze; the ministers were accompanied by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and officials from the Attorney-General's Chambers, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Law. 1 2 Centre · 2The companies named were Bumitama Agri, First Resources, Golden Agri-Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Kencana Agri, TSH Resources, Wilmar International and Sinar Mas Group, with Asia Pulp & Paper Company and Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China) also represented; CNA reported that Golden Agri-Resources' chairman and CEO Franky Oesman Widjaja also represented the two APP entities. 2 1

Centre · 2Fu said she would amend the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act at the next parliamentary sitting so that the assessment framework has the force of law, making it an offence for companies to refuse to appoint assessors or to fail to cooperate fully; SCMP quoted Shanmugam as saying legislation is expected to be moved in parliament next week. 1 2 Centre · 1Shanmugam said the companies would be expected to undergo independent assessments of their operations, corporate relationships and supply chains, carried out by a team from a government panel made up of an investigations firm and a law firm advising it, at the companies' expense, with full access to information, documents, premises and people; assessors would report to the NEA, which would decide further steps. 1 Centre · 2Shanmugam said the exercise was "not to find scapegoats", that no guilt should be presumed and that these were not the only companies involved; he said the government would take the level of cooperation into account, and that Singapore had also issued notices to companies without a presence in Singapore. 1 2

Centre · 2Asked whether firms might leave Singapore, Shanmugam said the government was on a "fact-finding mission" and that if companies found to have been involved in wrongdoing chose to leave, "doing right by Singaporeans means accepting that consequence". 1 2 Centre · 2The announcement of the panel was described differently: CNA said appointments would be announced "soon", while SCMP reported Shanmugam saying within the next two days. 1 2 Centre · 1Background reported by SCMP: the NEA had sent the 10 firms notices the previous Friday seeking documents and details of their Indonesian land concessions, fire prevention measures and links to other companies; air quality had reached "very unhealthy" levels earlier in the month; and the meeting came amid tensions with Indonesia, which said it would cut gas supplies to Singapore, though both states said they were looking at a haze task force to share information and potentially recover assets. 2

Centre · 1Two National University of Singapore academics quoted by SCMP differed in emphasis: Lawrence Loh called the meeting the "strongest signal" of seriousness, while Chong Ja Ian said that what matters is results and that people would watch for meaningful penalties. 2