Louise Williams, Jakarta – President Soeharto has publicly apologised to Indonesia's neighbours over thousands of forest fires which have sent a thick haze of smoke as far north as Kuala Lumpur, exposing tens of millions of people to dangerous levels of air pollution.

Indonesia also declared a disaster on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra, where most of the fires are burning, and transferred an ASEAN meeting on the crisis from the remote resort location of Manado to Jakarta to allow Indonesian ministers to stay at their posts. Mr Soeharto issued the apology at the official opening of the ASEAN Environment Ministers' conference yesterday morning. It came after the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, reportedly wrote to the President expressing deep concern over the smoke haze.Satellite images show more than 1,000 fires burning in Indonesia's tropical forests, which have been badly damaged by logging and ravaged by a severe drought. While forest fires are an annual problem in Indonesia, the delay in the monsoon rains and extremely high daytime temperatures have greatly exacerbated the haze crisis.

The Soeharto Government says at least 20 million Indonesians are being exposed daily to dangerous levels of air pollution and Reuters reported from Kuala Lumpur that children were being sent to school in smoke masks as pollution readings topped 300, on a scale which sets 100 as a maximum safe reading.

Doctors in Malaysia have reported a rise in respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis, as well as sore eyes and skin rashes, because of the smoke haze, which now stretches three kilometres into the atmosphere.

Many of Indonesia's fires were started deliberately to clear land for rice fields and plantations ahead of the monsoon season, which was expected to begin last month but may be another two months away.

Indonesia has no adequate fire-fighting equipment and usually relies on heavy tropical rain to extinguish the annual fires.

In central Kalimantan, visibility has been reduced to 100 metres and in most cities on the island motorists are using headlights by day.

Thousands of regional flights have been cancelled and shipping was disrupted in the Malacca Straits between Singapore and Sumatra over the weekend.In opening the ASEAN conference, President Soeharto said: "To the communities of neighbouring countries who have been disturbed by the fires in our territory, Indonesia offers its most sincere apologies."

Over the next three days, the meeting will discuss the pollution and drought crisis gripping the region and related issues such as development.

The extent of the crisis has prompted the Soeharto Government to take unprecedented action against logging companies, many of which are politically well-connected.

Officials said 50 timber companies suspected of using fire to clear land had been given 15 days to prove their innocence or face the prospect of their timber permits being revoked.