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INDONESIA is threatening tougher action against companies linked to recurring forest and land fires as the health toll mounts, with 333,470 acute respiratory infection (ARI) cases recorded in affected areas and 4,522 new cases reported daily.
President Prabowo Subianto said companies found repeatedly violating land-management and fire-prevention regulations would face licence revocation, warning that foreign ownership would not shield businesses from accountability.
“Anyone who violates the rules, just revoke their licences! I will not hesitate,” he said.
Authorities are investigating suspected violations, with preliminary findings indicating that some companies had repeatedly breached regulations. One company was suspected of being linked to as many as 19 forest-fire cases.
Prabowo said several companies under investigation were foreign-owned and that their names would be disclosed at the appropriate time. He stressed that all businesses operating in Indonesia must be held responsible for environmental damage, regardless of their country of origin.
The enforcement warning comes as the fires place mounting pressure on the country’s healthcare system.
Foreign news agencies reported Indonesia’s Health Ministry environmental health director Dr. Then Suyanti saying the 333,470 ARI cases comprised 75,172 children under five and 258,298 people aged five and above.
“Cumulatively, there are 333,470 cases of ARI, with 4,522 new cases reported daily,” she said at a press conference on the fire response at the National Disaster Management Agency studio on Thursday.
The ministry has placed 1,691 community health centres on standby in affected areas and made 491 oxygen facilities available to support people experiencing health problems linked to the fires.
Suyanti said smoke from forest and land fires contained pollutants such as fine particulate matter PM2.5, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, which could trigger respiratory infections, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and eye and skin irritation.
Children, older people, pregnant women, those with existing respiratory conditions and outdoor workers are among the groups most vulnerable to the pollution.
The ministry is distributing masks, educating the public and monitoring air quality and fire-related illnesses. It is also checking medicine and medical equipment supplies and preparing referral hospitals, public health laboratories and Public Safety Centre 119 services.
“We are monitoring health issues related to the forest fires, including ARIs, pneumonia, asthma, and eye and skin irritation,” Suyanti said.
Prabowo has also called for stricter oversight of natural resource management to ensure forests and plantations are managed responsibly and benefit local communities. - October 23, 2026
