Leaders of firms probed for haze links summoned to meet S’pore ministers, warned to cooperate

SINGAPORE - The haze-causing fires in Indonesia are caused by irresponsible business practices, and Singapore will use all the powers it has to hold to account those responsible, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said on Oct 28.

Speaking to senior leaders representing the 10 Singapore firms being investigated for their links to these fires, he emphasised that the firms have a corporate presence and stake in the country.

They also have a responsibility to ensure that their operations and supply chains do not contribute to the haze, he said at the closed-door meeting held at The Treasury.

“Where there are concerns about a company’s involvement, whether directly, or through its corporate relationships or supply chains, we will examine the facts carefully,” said Shanmugam, who was speaking as the chair of Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee, the apex group to deal with national crises.

Singapore cannot allow corporate structures or third-party arrangements to stand in Singapore’s way of establishing facts, said the senior minister.

Shanmugam told the companies that the Government must deal with issues that affect Singapore, pointing to how air quality reached “very unhealthy” levels with Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) readings above 200.

Vulnerable groups such as children, seniors and those with chronic heart or lung conditions faced greater health risks during this time, he added.

Shanmugam also told the representatives that Singapore will be proposing changes to its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to give the authorities here greater powers to investigate the fires in Indonesia and their links to entities in Singapore.

Shanmugam added: “If there have been lapses, these will have to be dealt with. We will take into account the level of cooperation you have given.”

He said that the intent of the government’s exercise is not to find scapegoats nor fix blame for public or political reasons.

He noted that the pollution has caused harm to Singapore and its people, stressing that the Government “cannot treat this as an unavoidable fact of life or business”.

When asked by the media about the companies’ response during the meeting, Shanmugam said it was “not a very long meeting”, with the government setting out its expectations and the firms agreeing to cooperate.

NEA first issued notices to the 10 Singapore-based firms under Section 10 of the Republic’s haze law on Oct 23.

Under this section of the law, firms are required to furnish information about their links to companies in Indonesia contributing to the haze.

Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, told the firms that non-compliance with Section 10 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act requesting for information was an offence.

Of the 10 Singapore-listed firms who acknowledged receiving the notices, three did not explicitly say they would cooperate with the agency’s request. They were Indofood Agri Resources, TSH Global Plantation and TSH Oversea.

Shanmugam said: “We expect substantive cooperation and transparency, not merely technical compliance or lawyered responses which don’t deal with the substance.”

He said many of the companies had expressed a commitment to cooperate fully, a sentiment the Government welcomes.

He pointed out that if the companies were not involved in any way in the fires and their supply chains are clean, the assessment by the Government’s panel of assessors would establish that fact and address the Government’s concerns.

“If there have been lapses, these will have to be dealt with. We will take into account the level of cooperation you have given, he added.

His remarks to the companies were provided to the media in a transcript. The Oct 28 meeting with the firms also included Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

Seven of the executives representing the firms - seated directly opposite the ministers - were stony-faced when the media was momentarily allowed into the room for photos and videos.

The eighth, Bernard Tan, senior adviser for Sinar Mas Group, the parent company for Asia Pulp & Paper and Golden-Agri Resources, declined to sit in the front row with the other leaders, according to sources in the room.

The other representatives were:

• Chief executive and executive chairman of Bumitama Agri Lim Gunawan Hariyanto

• Chief executive and executive director of First Resources Ciliandra Fangiono

• Chairman and chief executive of Golden Agriresources Franky Oesman Widjaja

• Chief executive and executive director of Indofood Agri Resources Mark Julian Wakeford

• Chief executive and executive director of Kencana Agri Albert Maknawi

• Chairman of TSH Resources Berhad Kelvin Tan Aik Pen

• Chairman and chief executive of Wilmar International Kuok Khoon Hong

Shanmugam said he had asked to meet the representatives personally because the haze situation is serious.

He pointed out that the Government will announce the names of chief executives and companies who voluntarily committed to going through the assessment process by its special panel.