Transcript of media doorstop by Mr K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, after meeting with companies issued S10 notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act on 28 October 2026

Reporter: SM, could you give us an update on the Panel of Assessors announced last week? How will it assess the companies involved in the haze?

SM: The Ministry of Law will be publishing a list of firms selected to be on the panel over the next few days. Companies will be directed to engage a team from this panel. This will comprise an investigations firm and a law firm, and the law firm will be there to advise the investigations firm. These assessors will be appointed by the company, and the payment for the assessors will be made by the companies. NEA will provide the assessors with the relevant terms of reference, areas, issues, questions that they would like the assessors to look at. The companies have to give these assessors full access to their operations, access to their supply chains, access to their corporate relationships, and any other information requested as necessary for the reporting. And the assessor will review and provide a report to NEA. NEA will take this report into account when deciding on further steps.

This follows on from what I told you all last week. We said, look, you know, we cannot have this business as usual. So we met with the companies today after they had been issued with notices by NEA – DPM, myself, as Chairman HCMC (Homefront Crisis Ministerial Committee), and Min Grace. And the panel will be announced within the next two days, and the companies will appoint teams from the panel for the assessment that we spoke about. And next week, Min Grace will be moving legislation in Parliament to further give ourselves more powers in this area.


Reporter: As I understand, you met with the companies also. Were all the companies represented?

SM: All the companies were represented. These were companies registered in Singapore, to whom Section 10 notices were issued by NEA. As I said – DPM Gan, myself, and Minister Grace, together with senior officials from the ministries and Mr. Davinder Singh, as advisor to the Government – we met with the companies, and they all came.

We made clear to them what was expected. I told them that, you know, what the Government's position was. I was very direct about what we expected of these companies. We told them the intention of this exercise is not to find scapegoats. Singapore Government will do what is right. We need to make sure that the companies here conduct their operations in a manner that doesn't affect Singapore or the region. Singapore Government takes this seriously. Now I told them we are determined to act, and that we are giving full attention to this issue, and that we will pursue all available legal and regulatory avenues, and we will use all the powers we have to establish responsibility where there is responsibility, and 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, and I told them we expect full cooperation from the companies. And in the meeting, the companies said they will cooperate fully. At the same time, while we met with the companies which are registered in Singapore, I don't want to give the impression that they are the primary cause or the sole cause of these issues. So, as long as that is clearly understood.


Reporter: What is the expectation on the companies as part of this assessment?

SM: As I said, we expect that they will cooperate fully. The whole idea is, the burning takes place outside of Singapore. Government agencies are restricted on what investigations they can do outside of Singapore. So this procedure requires the companies to appoint assessors identified by us. The assessors will be told by us which areas to look at, and the Government has appointed Mr. Davinder Singh as advisor and coordinator. So he and his firm will coordinate with the assessors on what facts we need, what areas to investigate, what approaches to take, and how that report should be prepared that gives us the best possible information. And next week, when Parliament looks at the Bill that is going to be tabled, and if Parliament passes that Bill, then failure to cooperate with the assessors will itself be made into an offence. But everybody understood – in that room today with the companies – everyone understood that we were very serious, and that it’s best on all sides, our side as well as for the companies, that there is cooperation.


Reporter: SM, you said that the companies seem quite agreeable to it, right? But after it was communicated to them, did they share any challenges that they may face about complying with the notices? And what was the Government’s response to that?

SM: It was not a very long meeting. We set out our expectations and what we wanted them to do. They said they will cooperate, and that’s how the meeting ended.


Reporter: Any concerns, you know, that exerting pressure on companies like that could see some of them decide to leave Singapore to avoid heightened scrutiny and possible action?

SM: As I said, we do what is right for Singaporeans. The companies have been told that if there is no wrongdoing, there will be no issues. We are now on a fact-finding mission, and if companies have been involved in wrongdoing, and as a result of the investigation, they wish to leave Singapore, then I think doing right by Singaporeans means accepting that consequence. I’m sure Singaporeans will agree to that, rather than us letting the companies go on doing it.

But as I said, you know, we do not know the extent of the burnings in the region. We do not know the full extent of the companies involved. I don’t want to give the impression that these companies are guilty. Nor do I want to give the impression that these are the only companies that are doing this. We have issued notices to various other companies which don’t have a presence in Singapore. The companies which have a presence in Singapore – we met with them today, and they said they will cooperate fully.


Reporter: You mentioned to them during the meeting that Singapore will actually announce who are the companies that will cooperate. Why did we decide to do this, particularly to publish the names?

SM: For reasons of transparency, and they are doing business here. If they are cooperating with the Government, we think we ought to make that clear to the public. And those who are not cooperating, we should also make clear to the public.