Key facts
- The amended Transboundary Haze Pollution Act raises the maximum fine 10 times to S$20 million, The Business Times reported.
- The law lets the government restrict business dealings with, and provision of goods and services to, designated entities, The Straits Times reported.
- Singapore issued Section 9 notices to 10 Indonesian firms with plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan, The Straits Times reported.
- Section 10 notices went to 10 Singapore-registered palm oil or forestry companies, including Wilmar International and First Resources, The Straits Times reported.
- The director-general of environmental protection can require entities to appoint expert assessors at their own expense, The Business Times reported.
- Singapore's 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index crossed 200, the very unhealthy range, at one point in September or October, The Business Times reported.
Singapore's environment minister said on November 8 that a plan to raise the maximum fine on companies causing transboundary haze by 10 times is intended to change their behavior rather than penalize them, according to Nikkei Asia.
Parliament passed amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act on November 4 after a six-hour debate in which 24 Members of Parliament spoke, The Business Times reported. The bill was fast-tracked under a Certificate of Urgency, allowing passage in a single sitting. The maximum fine rises 10 times to S$20 million.
The amended law adds powers to impose prohibitions or measures on companies or individuals designated by the minister for sustainability and the environment, The Straits Times reported. The government can restrict business dealings with designated entities and prohibit the provision of goods and services to them, including financial services. The director-general of environmental protection can also require entities with suspected links to haze pollution to appoint expert private-sector assessors at their own expense, with reports submitted to the National Environment Agency, The Business Times reported.
Singapore issued notices under Section 9 of the law to 10 Indonesian firms with plantations in Sumatra and Kalimantan, mainly in the pulpwood and oil palm sectors, The Straits Times reported. It later issued Section 10 notices to 10 Singapore-registered companies in palm oil or forestry, including Wilmar International, First Resources and subsidiaries of the Sinar Mas conglomerate including APP Company and Golden Agri International.