Companies under probe for haze-causing fires say they will cooperate: Shanmugam

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu met senior executives from 10 companies potentially linked to haze-causing fires on Wednesday (Oct 28) to set out the government's expectations and plans to strengthen laws to hold those responsible for haze pollution accountable. "Haze is caused by fires," Mr Shanmugam told representatives at the meeting. "Fires are caused by irresponsible business practices. It is not a natural phenomenon." Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Shanmugam welcomed the companies’ stated willingness to cooperate. He said they would be expected to undergo independent assessments of their operations, corporate relationships and supply chains to establish whether they had contributed to the fires. Mr Shanmugam said he was “very direct” with the companies during the meeting about what is expected of them, and emphasised that “the intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats”. https://cna.asia/4zWcpJA Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Visit our website: https://cna.asia Download our app: https://cna.asia/app Get our editors' picks of stories via chat apps: Telegram: https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp: https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us on these platforms: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia