Indonesia's forestry ministry said Monday that eight out of 10 plantation firms accused of burning to clear land for cultivation are Malaysian-owned, and that officials faced up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.

Malaysian Plantations Minister Peter Chin met Tuesday with top managers from 18 companies operating in Indonesia, and said they all denied using slash-and-burn techniques.

"They have given me a reasonable explanation and I am quite happy with that," Chin said, according to the official Bernama news agency, adding that the companies insisted oil palm crops were fruiting and did not need clearing.

The minister said some of the plantation managers had accused smallholders on the fringes of the plantations of conducting open burning, and that this had led to the blame falling on the estates.

Chin said he had not received any solid proof from Indonesian authorities on the involvement of Malaysian companies in open burning, which last week sent choking clouds of smoke and dust over parts of Malaysia.

"We are convinced our plantation companies do not engage in open burning. But if there is proof on the contrary, they have to face the laws of Indonesia," he said.

Chin said that rather than trading accusations and blame, both countries should work together to ensure that the crisis did not recur.

The Star newspaper reported that the Malaysian-owned estates account for 10 percent of the plantation land in Indonesia's Riau province.

The haze last week smothered Kuala Lumpur and surrounding districts as well as the west coast, shutting down the country's biggest port as pollution reached extremely hazardous levels.

Shifting winds brought relief to those areas over the weekend, but pushed the problem north to regions along the Malaysia-Thailand border and onto the Thai island of Phuket.

On Tuesday Thai officials said the haze in the deep south was clearing, but that the air pollution index had risen in Phuket.

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