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| Thick haze lowers visibility and air quality in the country. Smoky air obscures the view of an apartment complex inBrunei-Muara District. Picture: BT/Yusri Adanan |
Since the Asia financial crisis back in 1997/98, haze had been a regional phenomena for South East Asia. Every year we suffer the same choking smoke produced by our neighbors. The saddest part is that with all the meetings and pledges to stop haze, it still comes to haunt us with greater vengeance year after year.
The irony is that ASEAN countries are monetarily sovereign and yet we are still willing to torch our assets (resources) in order to accumulate other people fiat currencies. We place more faith on others people's money than ours. This is because we are so obsessed with the notion that we need to export our way to prosperity.
Don't we realize that we are plundering our resources just to accumulate trade surplus. Those currencies that we cherish so much are nothing more than bits in a computer or numbers in someone's ledger book. And the worst part, those bits or numbers are not being backed up with any tangible commodity such as gold or Mount Fuji or Great Wall of China! This is the same goes with Brunei dollar, Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesia Rupiah, Thailand Bath, Vietnam Dong, Philippines Peso and etc. Totally zero backing what so ever!!!!....
All those currencies that are floating all over the world is FIAT currency. A currency that is not being backed with anything since 1971 except for the issuing country's faith. And because we believe more on other people faith we are willing to sacrifice our health.
Unless people came to their senses soon, the haze phenomena shall be with us for many years to come. It is really sad, indeed.
