Sign the petition to make civil claims usable and prevent future fires

SINGAPORE, 3 November 2026: PM.Haze (People's Movement to Stop Haze) today published a proposal to strengthen the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA), ahead of the Government's amendment Bill to be tabled in Parliament. The Government has announced that the Bill will let the National Environment Agency (NEA) direct companies suspected of links to the fires to appoint independent assessors, at the companies' cost. PM.Haze welcomes this step, which strengthens investigations. The proposal covers the gaps that remain: using what Government investigations find, compensating people harmed by the haze, and having penalties that match the harm.

Survey results

The Act lets anyone in Singapore harmed by the haze sue for illness, property damage or economic loss. But as far as is publicly known, no one has done so since 2014. A survey of 781 people in Singapore who reported haze-related costs this year, conducted for PM.Haze by Apeiron Market Research & Consulting, revealed that:

• 92% did not know they could claim compensation.
• 41% would be likely to claim if the Government named a company responsible. 66% would be likely to join a group claim brought on their behalf at no cost, needing only receipts or a doctor's note.
• About half of those not likely to claim on their own said they would join the group claim. Among those who would hesitate to claim, 67% cited legal costs, time and effort.
• Among people who lost less than S$50, willingness rose from 29% to 63% if claims can be made easily at no cost.

At a town hall co-organised by PM.Haze and SG Climate Rally on 25 October, attendees described asthma and eczema flare-ups and spending on air purifiers. They said individuals should not have to gather evidence on companies abroad when the Government holds the data, and that migrant and outdoor workers who lose income have few places to turn.

The asks

1. Make civil claims accessible and usable. Once a court convicts a company under the Act, people and businesses harmed during the haze episodes covered by the conviction should be able to claim through a simple process, such as a public body claiming on their behalf, or a compensation scheme that pays on simple proof and recovers the cost from the companies responsible. MAS proposed a similar designated representative for retail investor claims in 2025. Claimants should only need to show they were affected and what it cost them, using receipts, medical certificates or sales records. The Government should also publish investigation findings when cases close so they can be used in claims, set standard amounts for common haze-related conditions, and work with community and migrant worker groups to make sure people know their rights.
2. Act on shorter bursts of dense haze, not only after the 24-hour PSI has stayed at 101 or above for 24 hours.
3. Make Singapore-based parent companies disclose their group and answer for it, with a presumption that a parent takes part in managing a plantation company it controls.
4. Finish investigations, with target timelines, adequate resources and yearly reports to Parliament.
5. Make the consequences match the harm: remove the S$2 million cap on fines and raise the daily fine, use fines for relief first, and hold senior executives personally accountable.
6. Hold companies based in Singapore accountable wherever their fires cause haze, not only when the haze reaches Singapore.
7. Include conduct that creates fire risk: set fire prevention standards and make illegal peat drainage an offence.

PM.Haze hopes the Government will consider these proposals as the Bill goes through Parliament, and that Members of Parliament will raise them in the debate. The full paper can be downloaded via pmhaze.org/publications, or here.