Kuala Lampur, Sept. 18 -- Malaysia suffered RM1.57 billion in healthcare and loss of income opportunities in 2013 due to smoke from forest fires in Indonesia, according to a research paper published by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) last year.

The paper studied available data on smoke events in 1997, 2005 and 2013, and found substantial economic and health impact on Malaysia, as its authors urged Putrajaya to introduce laws against Malaysian firms whose operations abroad contribute to the pollution.

The study, first reported by news portal The Malaysian Insight, blamed the cause of haze on farmers and agri-businesses clearing the land for planting crops such padi and oil palm, resulting in uncontrolled forest fires in Sumatra and ...