'Government taking this matter seriously and is determined to act': Shanmugam on haze situation
Minister K Shanmugam stated that the government is determined to act regarding the current haze situation. He clarified that Singapore-registered companies are not necessarily the sole or primary cause of the problem. The minister noted that the current circumstances make it impossible to continue with business as usual. He told involved firms that the government is not looking for scapegoats. Those found responsible will be held to account based on the facts. If the evidence shows no wrongdoing, the government will proceed on that basis. These comments were made on Wednesday following a meeting with senior leadership from local companies.
Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam has said that he does not want to give the impression that the Singapore-registered companies are the primary or sole cause of the heightened haze situation.He shared that it was not possible to proceed with "business as usual" given the current haze situation and told the relevant firms that the intention of the exercise was "not to find scapegoats".He said: "We will hold those responsible to account and if the facts show that there is no wrongdoing, we will proceed on that basis as well."He was speaking to the media on Wednesday (Oct 28) after meeting with the senior leadership of Singapore-based companies that may be linked to the haze.The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.They were joined by lawyer Davinder Singh SC, senior officials from Attorney-General Chambers, Ministry of Law and the National Environment Agency (NEA).Shanmugam said that it was a brief meeting in which the ministers set out their expectations for the firms who then agreed to cooperate.