KUCHING: A meeting between Malaysia and Indonesia on the haze has been postponed twice … and all because of the haze.

The meeting between Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Dr Siti Nurbaya Bakar scheduled for Thursday in Jakarta has been postponed.

The reason: Wan Junaidi had to shelve his trip to Jakarta due to the worsening haze in Indonesia.

Their meeting, to discuss the contents and terms of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to combat the trans-boundary haze, was first scheduled for Sept 18.

However, it was postponed because of the haze as well.

A ministry statement on Thursday said a new date for the meeting had yet to be set.

"The haze is getting worse and a state of emergency had been declared in a number of places in Indonesia.

"Dr Siti Nurbaya is now actively involved in bringing the necessary aid to the people in these affected places," it said.

The MoU is to focus on the enforcement of laws, zero-burning practice for parties in Indonesia, peat soil management and collaboration between the countries when haze-causing fires break out.

This MoU between the two neighbours was agreed to during the 17th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution in July. – Bernama