SINGAPORE, Oct 19 — Senior Minister K Shanmugam has taken issue with an Indonesian official’s remarks that Singapore’s oxygen “comes from [their] forests”, saying it was “not right” to make such comments while the region was suffering from haze caused by companies breaching regulations in Indonesia.
Speaking at a doorstop today, the coordinating minister for national security and minister for home affairs said: “Frankly, it is not right to say this when this entire region is suffering as a result of the bad behaviour of companies breaching regulations in Indonesia. And the people suffering the most are Indonesians themselves.”
His remarks appeared to reject any suggestion that Singapore should have to tolerate the haze simply because Indonesia’s forests also contribute to the region’s air quality.
