REACH (Telegram) 164 - What other support or actions would you like to see from the Government to better protect Singaporeans and manage the impact of haze episodes?

(SK)

09 Oct 2026 (10am - 7pm)

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📢 Topic 📢

On 10 October, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said that Singapore is closely monitoring the worsening haze situation and stands ready to assist Indonesia as haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan continues to affect local air quality.

Minister Fu stated that:

(1) The government’s Haze Task Force, led by NEA and comprising 28 agencies, has prepared response measures if the 24-hour PSI exceeds 200, including distributing N95 masks to eligible groups and opening air-conditioned haze shelters at selected community facilities;

(2) Sector-specific measures are in place for pre-schools, schools, workplaces, healthcare institutions and uniformed services, including reducing outdoor activities, using enclosed ventilated spaces. School closures will only be considered if the next day’s forecast enters the hazardous range above 300;

(3) Singapore supports broader regional cooperation on haze issues, while longer-term cooperation with Indonesia includes environmental collaboration and discussions on early warning information and support for the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control.

On 11 October, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung announced that the haze subsidy scheme will be activated, allowing Singaporeans to seek subsidized treatment for haze-related conditions at polyclinics and Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs).

💬 What other support or actions would you like to see from the Government to better protect Singaporeans and manage the impact of haze episodes?

👉🏻https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/singapore-stands-ready-to-assist-indonesia-amid-worsening-haze-grace-fu-in-touch-with-counterpart

👉🏻 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/haze-subsidy-scheme-gp-clinics-polyclinics-moh-6449066

Daniel:
I would like the government to reconsider the way air quality data is published. Currently only broad regions are given without detail on where the stations are. I also assume that there are more than 5 station on the island. Having this sort of granular information would be useful to plan activities and would increase the trust in the government. Because right now I see a lot of opinions and discussions online that the data is either being falsified (I don't believe this is the case) or misinterpreted.

Adam:
To add to that, the way the gov use 24hr average

Daniel:
Yes, that's true. I understand why 24 hour average is used, but what's really confusing is that hourly is in PM2.5 concentration and 24h in PSI. I think it would be less confusing if along with 24h PSI there would be the 24 hour average PM2.5 and/or along with the hourly PM2.5 the hourly PSI. Right now people are confused why these are two different quantities

LCL Danny 心 (1st HP):
1. For haze, anything we do here will not be effective.

2. Curbing the fire at the source is the most effective.

1. I suggest working at the ASEAN coordination centre for transboundary haze pollution control to find measures to address yearly burning will be more fruitful in a longer term.

2. The current haze, no choice, we got to wait for monsoon rain to come - expected to be sometimes in November - put out the fire in Indonesia and rain to dispel the haze in Singapore.

Kai Bin:
I suggest that Singapore proposes to the Indonesian government  could do cloud-seeding in dry parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan to produce more rain to help extinguish the forest fires there.

LCL Danny 心 (1st HP):
1. The reasons why plantation owners starting fire to clear their plantations are:-

a. Using fire to clear land to plant crops is the minimum costs.
Very difficult to stop such practices which has go on for years already.

b. Fertile soils are needed.

c. Need to irrigate the plantation with access to water - to ensure its crops can grow.

So to tackle such needs - we can suggest and work with Indonesia to propose a design to address such needs - that indirectly will curb the intensity of the burning and hence prevent haze from reaching out shores.

This can happen during the ASEAN transboundary haze pollution control coordination center.

Joomua Tng:
what is the objective and obtainable objectives?

bottom line..
nothing just empty talks with regards to Indonesia or other countries that the haze originated from

I don't see the effectiveness nor productivity of having this discussion.

there are more important discussion like global potential war and conflicts with regards to terrorism Movement that is causing the break down of france, the possible danger of having U.S falling to the chaos also..

This is more important as it will affect Singapore long term and permanently.

global coordination against terrorism infiltration of government system, politics is more important and immediate threat at the current global stability

https://youtube.com/shorts/0jOYl_AxvFk?is=_Thcaj1yS913nNFw

LCL Danny 心 (1st HP):
Also can the year after year haze problem be solved ?

Yes, almost except the momentum didn't go on.

It is not through law, through forceful means that will trigger political firestorm with another country.

But a skilful technical solution - known as the checker canal installation for all big and small plantations - will have stopped the haze once and for all.

It was proposed, the previous president pick it up the moment he was inaugurated.

Come out in big international news and in the UN climate report.

Haze didn't come on for many years (it is not coincidental).

But then momentum stops.
The department that oversee such projects was closed down.

1. New plantations come in, no momentum for checker canal plantations to be built.

2. Existing checker canal plantations lack maintenance, water dry up in the canals and not refill.

Haze return.

https://babe118.blogspot.com/2026/07/draft-social-media-post.html?m=0

What does the checker plantation canal do.

Draw inspiration from a checker chess board.

1. Build the whole plantation like a chess board.

2. The lines cutting across the plantations are canals to trap rain and water.

3. Fire on the plantations can be put out by water from the canals if fire engine water cannot reach the vast plantations.

4. If fire turn into peat fire that continue to smother, open up the flood gates from the canal to flood the plantations and put out the smothering peat fires.

5. The canals act as fire barriers that stop fire from strong winds to spread the forest fire.

6. During normal days, the water in the canal is used for irrigation to help the crops grow.

7. Dam rivers, create reservoirs to trap river water and rainwater during wet seasons to ensure local water table are consistently replenish at all seasons including dry seasons.

Also can design drainage systems to channel flood water into these reservoirs and checker canals as holding water areas.

Can even propose water desalination plants to desalinate sea water finance by World Bank - whereby we bid and provide expertise or joint venture development as national projects (JV) - to ensure local water table are consistently maintain without dropping in water level during dry seasons.

Periodically release water to the interconnected checker canals.

8. It win praise by UN climate report and accord the praise to the ex president - of course the idea come from an anonymous social media post in Yahoo news.
But then yahoo stop the comment column.

9. Haze stop for many years.

Joomua Tng:
the government talks about high pay to compensate the income reduction suffered by top talent ministers .

then focus on the more important things, long term global stability, anti global terrorism Movement, jihad and other types of terrorism.

economy, birthrate,

total defense : total means total as in anything goes and everything goes..including birth rate defenses, ideologies defenses.

a.i

.....

LCL Danny 心 (1st HP):
"Indonesia’s new peatland agency to get greater powers, but more work needed to stop forest fires.

Indonesia is reviving a dedicated peatland and mangrove agency amid its worst wildfires in years. Experts cautiously welcome its greater powers and wider scope of responsibilities."

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-forest-fire-new-peatland-agency-haze-6426601#:~:text=Indonesia%E2%80%99s%20new%20peatland,scope%20of%20responsibilities.

However, the current President is coining setting up and reviving a dedicated peatland and mangrove agency to tackle the yearly fire in which its structure directly report to the President.

I feel that it is a good window opportunity to propose the above solutions to the new agency via the transboundary haze pollution control coordination center.

Even though if the plantations start the fire to clear lands, the haze generated will be minimal and will not trigger a trans-border haze.

Previous few years results have shown its effectiveness.

04/07, 1:09 pm] 13July2017☸️  心: 
"Indonesia blocks major haze-causing drainage canal.

Blocking a major artery in one of the largest networks of drainage canals in the country signals the start of what could be the world’s largest peat swamp restoration effort."

 https://www.eco-business.com/news/indonesia-blocks-major-haze-causing-drainage-canal/#:~:text=Food%20%26%20Agriculture-,Indonesia%20blocks%20major%20haze%2Dcausing%20drainage%20canal,of%20what%20could%20be%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20largest%20peat%20swamp%20restoration%C2%A0effort.,-By%20Indra%20Nugraha

Pinning blame on the Indonesian won't help.

It will hurt relationship, create illwill and won't solve the yearly haze pollution problem.

Identify their concerns and understand their needs.

Thereafter devise workable solutions to address their needs - will resolve their root cause of burning that trigger haze.

At the same time, win over a friend and our close neighbor.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSb7jGvDs/

Indonesia arrested 72 fire suspects.

But unable to link to any companies engaging them to clear plantation to save costs.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSbWAkPAM/

Indonesia haze due to deforestation.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSbnNMhbg/

Kalimantan zero visibility.

[10/10, 3:08 am]: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSbnernmU/

Look at Indonesia haze, they live like living hell.

[10/10, 3:10 am]: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSbneBEu5/

Kalimantan is burning.

The new outfit will also likely have powers to manage permits as well as determine which areas are suitable for agriculture and which should be preserved for conservation, unlike its predecessor, the Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) which ran from 2016 to 2024. Its powers were more restorative and preventative in nature.

It worked within pre-allocated zones to fix damaged terrain and prevent future fires using a community-centered framework.

Core Responsibilities and Functions

By the time its mandate concluded in December 2024, BRGM had successfully restored 1.6 million hectares of peatlands and rehabilitated 84,000 hectares of mangroves, reducing land fires in its operational areas by roughly 29.59%.

Source :- Google Gemini AI

AI Overview

Indonesia's Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) was a non-structural government body tasked with repairing degraded ecosystems to combat climate change and mitigate toxic transboundary haze caused by land fires.

·Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency of Republic of Indonesia

Because its powers were strictly restorative and preventative, it did not have the authority to manage land-use permits, issue penalties, or dictate agricultural policy. Instead, it worked within pre-allocated zones to fix damaged terrain and prevent future fires using a community-centered framework.

Core Responsibilities and Functions

The "3R" Peatland Restoration Approach: BRGM fought peatland degradation and fires by executing three core strategies:

Rewetting (R1): Building infrastructure like canal blocks, deep wells, and canal backfills to retain water, moisten drained land, and lower fire risks.

Re-vegetation (R2): Replanting native flora to restore green land cover.
Revitalization (R3): Helping local communities develop sustainable livelihoods (like eco-tourism or paludiculture) so they wouldn't resort to clearing land with fire.

Massive Mangrove Rehabilitation: Added to its mandate in 2020, the agency coordinated the replanting and recovery of degraded coastal mangrove forests across priority provinces to boost carbon sequestration and secure coastal economies.

Community Engagement: Lacking direct jurisdiction over large commercial corporate territories, BRGM focused heavily on the grassroots level, forming "Mangrove Care Villages" and working with small-scale farmers and civil organizations.

Data Coordination: The agency worked to collect inventory data, map peatland functions, and sync environmental metrics between different ministries.

By the time its mandate concluded in December 2024, BRGM had successfully restored 1.6 million hectares of peatlands and rehabilitated 84,000 hectares of mangroves, reducing land fires in its operational areas by roughly 29.59%.

The formation of this agency that go big to build "checker canal plantation" - successfully restore the peatlands 84,000 hectares and reduce land fires by close to 30%.

We experience haze free for 3 years.

Now with the new President setting up and reviving this new agency with more teeth:-

1. Report directly to the new President

2. Have more powers to manage permits plus determine which areas are suitable for agriculture and preserving which one for conservation.

3. And I hope to preserve all those functions under the old units in the checker canal building plus restoration.

Hopefully, Indonesia can curb its haze and cross border haze once and for all.
----

I think in ASEAN meeting, we can discuss with the Indonesia new agency on this.

It has worked well in the old agency for a few years, it should work better if the political will and momentum are sustained.

The formation of this agency that go big to build "checker canal plantation" - successfully restore the peatlands 84,000 hectares and reduce land fires by close to 30%.

We experience haze free for 3 years.
----

After note:-
Like the new BPGMN, its predecessor (BRGM) was set up in 2016 under the previous president, Joko Widodo, as a response to the 2015 forest fires when 2.6 million ha of land was burned. 

By the end of its mandate, BRGM said it had restored around 1.6 million ha of peatland. 

The agency ceased operations after its second mandate expired in December 2024, despite calls for the newly inaugurated Prabowo administration to make the ad hoc body permanent.

Following its dissolution, responsibility for managing and restoring peatlands and mangroves was divided among the forestry, environment and marine affairs ministries.

“Despite its limitations, BRGM played an important role in bridging the various ministries and government agencies responsible for different aspects of peatland and mangrove management,” Nyoman said. 

“We need that bridge back,” he said, adding that officials from the ministry of agriculture and the ministry for spatial planning also need to be involved in the planned agency.

Forestry minister Raja said on Sep 24 that the new body will be different from BRGM, which he said had “limited authority”.