Just by examining the "fire map" it can be seen that Malaya and Sumatra have the greatest number of hot spots. So no matter what they say we should look at the facts.
There is some truth in saying that the Malayan and Indonesian politicians want to divert the blame on the current oil palm plantation fires in their respective countries to some one else as is their practice. Indonesia's Environment Ministry has identified eight companies with Malaysian links in Riau and Jambi that may be contributing to the haze that is now smothering Malaysia and Singapore.
They usually blame those least able to defend themselves being the poor farmers eking out a living on marginal land which they have been officially dumped or pushed into.
And shifting the blame begs the question. We should be turning the heat on the people in charge of those countries by asking why did they allowed this to happen almost every year?
Chain of responsibility in rim of fire and Singapore role as banker for fire proceeds
Singapore is a also convenient scapegoat for the racists in Putra Jaya and Jakarta, although it does apparently own any plantations. This reflects the traditional rivalry between the 3 sides. Behind the scene they are great "you help me and I help you" buddies of the same feather. Throw a stone in the Singapore finance crowd and you hit one them. They all have a direct phone line to the Singapore money market.
This situation came about when Singapore's leaders convinced Sabah's Donald Stephens a key Malaysia formation negotiator not to oppose formation of Malaysia. If Stephens had been a strong character he would have firmly refused to be conned into this neo-colonial ponzi scheme and there would be no "Malaysia".
1965 breakup of Malaysia created the Singapore today
Singapore left Malaysia in 1965 when they opposed UMNO insistence on imposing its imperialist Malay supremacist ideology in place of the supposedly "equal partnership in Malaysia.
This event was in fact a breakup of the original concept of 5 countries as equal partners in "Malaysia" became 4 when Brunei refused to be a party and then 3 when Singapore left. This means the concept had broken up and Malaysia as conceived was dead.
But Sabah and Sarawak were not allowed to discuss this issue when Sabah CM Stephens demanded to be consulted on the breakup of Malaysia which was what it really was.
UMNO acted quickly to patch up and preserve its mini-empire. The UMNO agenda of empire building was saved with the sacking of the resistant Sarawak CM Ningkan in 1965 and the resignation of Sabah CM Stephens in disgust over UMNO hegemonic tactics. This enabled UMNO to implement its staged plan to control the 2 countries by breaking all the pre-Malaysia formation agreements.
It was a total repudiation of the Malaysia Agreement made in 1963. That is why there is a lot of talk on Borneo websites about the "MA63" being voided by UMNO's repudiation of the fundamental terms and conditions for forming Malaysia and voided by Singapore leaving the federation.
Thus Singapore left and prospered while Sabah and Sarawak were made Malayan colonies, plundered and reduced to an even more underdeveloped state than before 1963.
Suharto coup strengthened regional investment environment
Then in 1965 Suharto overthrew the Sukarno government in his western backed coup. This coupled with the Malayan success (also with Indonesian help in Sarawak border regions) in curbing the independence wars in Malaya and Sarawak strengthened the regional cold war defence perimeters of the western powers who were crusading against the advance of communism in South East Asia.
This ensured a secure environment for "investment" essential for "development" for the likes of Mahathir, Taib and Musa and Suharto to tighten their grips on their territories for plunder.
Singapore even managed to benefit out of the colonization of Sabah and Sarawak by becoming a money laundering centre for all the corrupt politicians in this RIM OF FIRE. It is helping to fuel the fire.
Whatever Malayan, Indonesian and Singaporean politicians say, they are all part of the
corrupt system.
They are just continuing with their normal colonial code of practice with slash and burn scorch earth polices.
Development of colonial one crop economies
Malaya through direct colonisation of the 2 Borneo countries and Indonesia subjugates through inter colonisation (transmigration to Borneo and other islands) have turned them into a one crop colonial plantation economy- both competing in the same oil palm product.
For as long as consumers especially in the Western World all buy palm oil based products the rim of fire will continue to burn. But they can control the arsonist spree.
Since the consumer is always right, they should stop buying these products unless the producers, manufacturers and suppliers of these goods start to show transparency and accountability in their practice and the governments reign in their arsonists.
Ake Drem
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