The choking haze which has persisted over Malaysia and Singapore for the past two months has so far cost the economies of both countries hundreds of millions of dollars, according to analyst estimations, yet the true cost is impossible to calculate until the skies finally clear.<\/p>\n
![\"haze-pinterest\"](\"https:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/haze-pinterest-300x196.jpg\")
Professor Euston Quah, from Singapore\u2019s Nanyang Technological University, warned that the crisis could have a greater impact than the three-month long 1997 haze crisis, which caused an estimated $9bn in losses in economic activity across Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe pollution standards index readings [on the Malay peninsula] thus far [in 2015] have been almost as high as that of 1997. This tells me that together with the duration, the 2015 haze damages can be expected to be higher,\u201d Quah told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
The total economic cost will take months to assess, and will have to cover all aspects of daily life \u2013 lost productivity, lost tourism and lost workdays through respiratory illness, as well as higher prices for fresh food products.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the smoke from Indonesian forest fires permeates all walks of life on the Malay peninsula today. Schools have closed, flights are being cancelled and sea traffic through the Malacca Strait, one the world\u2019s busiest shipping lanes, has been delayed because of poor visibility.<\/p>\n
Promises to extinguish the fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia, have had little impact to date. Some experts predict that unless persistent rain falls soon, the smog could last until the New Year.<\/p>\n
Short tempers<\/strong><\/p>\n Singapore\u2019s National Environment Agency (NEA) began legal proceedings under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) against five Indonesian companies in September and a sixth this month, all of whom are believed in part to be behind the haze.<\/p>\n The Preventative Measures Notice serves as a kind of \u201ccease and desist\u201d request and asks offending companies to present plans to the NEA on how the companies plan to extinguish fires and a promise not to start any new ones.<\/p>\n The act is unique in that it can fine offenders – Singaporean or foreign – around $70,000 for each day they contribute to hazardous levels of haze.<\/p>\n Malaysia\u2019s government is drafting similar legislation but questions remain if the fines are large enough to act as a deterrent.<\/p>\n Across the 10-strong Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) region, the Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement has been in existence since 2002. It seeks to mitigate the effects of the haze, but Indonesia \u2013 the source of the majority of fires \u2013 only ratified the agreement last year and was the last ASEAN nation to do so.<\/p>\n Consumers in Singapore are trying an informal boycott on the country, aiming to hurt perpetrators where it hurts most: the bottom line.<\/p>\n![\"haze](\"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/haze-fire1.jpg\")
<\/a>The longer the haze has continued, the shorter the tempers in Singapore and Malaysia have become over the apparent inability to stop the fires from being started in the first place.<\/p>\n