Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said he would personally raise the haze issue with his Asean counterparts ahead of next month’s 49th summit in Manila. (file pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asian foreign ministers will discuss how to tackle haze blanketing parts of the region ahead of the Asean summit next month, foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said on Monday.

Forest and land fires that have raged for months in Indonesia have in recent weeks caused thick haze in Singapore and in Malaysia, which closed schools in several states after air pollution levels hit the unhealthy mark.

The wildfires, mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are Indonesia's most intense in 11 years.

While Asean has existing mechanisms to deal with natural disasters such as floods or volcano eruptions, haze is not included, Mohamad told reporters.