13/08/05 KULIM, Indonesia - Palm oil farmers have used fire to clear theirland of tall grass, shrubs and trees for years, without any idea that thenoxious fumes caused problems in neighboring Malaysia or anywhere else.

Farmers, plantation owners and miners have set hundreds of fires in thelast 11 days, taking advantage of the dry season to clear land.

"I don't see what choice I have," said Kirun, 36, as he cleared afive-acre plot on Sumatra Island, where manmade forest and brush fireshave burned for more than a week.

"This will have to be cleared and planted with oil palm and rubber treesby next month," said the farmer, who only uses one name, and burning isthe cheapest and fastest way to do that.

Indonesia local fire departments - short of fire trucks and otherequipment - have been battling forest fires with buckets of water andgarden hoses. So far, they have refused offers of help by other Asiannations.

Across the narrow Strait of Malacca, the haze caused by the fires hasprecipitated Malaysia's worst ecological crisis since 1997. Schools havebeen closed, and hospitals filled with patients complaining of respiratoryailments.

On Saturday, Malaysians saw a clear and sunny sky for the first time indays, and the government lifted an emergency imposed on two areas thisweek. But anger mounted against Indonesia for failing to control theman-made forest fires causing the pollution crisis.

About 50 members of the opposition Democratic Action Party demonstratednoisily outside the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia's main city of KualaLumpur on Friday, demanding compensation from Indonesia.

"We are breathing in poison every day. Things have never been this bad,"DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said.

The yellowish opaque haze reached its peak on Thursday when pollutionlevels exceeded hazardous levels over the Klang Valley, comprising KualaLumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya, Port Klang and other cities.

An emergency declared in Port Klang and Kuala Selangor, a tourist spot,was lifted Saturday, the national Bernama news agency said.

But the improved visibility is "temporary," said Wong Teck Kiong of theMalaysian Meteorological Department. "It will definitely be back if thewind direction changes again," he said.

The department has said no respite was expected until October, when rainswould help wash away the haze, a mixture of dust, ash, sulfur dioxide andcarbon dioxide.

And while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he's taking the problemseriously, local officials are complaining about a lack of resources, andpeople lighting fires say they had no idea it was prohibited.

Palm oil farmers in Kulim, a village 90 miles east of Riau's provincialcapital Pekanbaru, said they have never received complaints from localforestry or environmental officials.

"We've been clearing land like this for generations," said Surip, 38, apalm oil farmer who also uses a single name. "That is the only way and sofar, we've been neither counseled nor reprimanded."

Asked whether they know that the smoke has affected neighboring Malaysiaor surrounding areas, he said: "We never heard about that."