As Malaysia and Singapore continue to deal with haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia, an Indonesian government official has asked both countries to understand the situation, saying the fires are a natural phenomenon rather than a result of human error.
Indonesia’s Government Communications Agency (Bakom) head, Syahganda Nainggolan, also pointed out that Indonesia’s forests provide oxygen to neighbouring countries, not just haze.
‘We also send oxygen’
Speaking at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) office in Jakarta on Saturday (Oct 10), Syahganda acknowledged the concerns raised by Malaysia and Singapore over the transboundary haze.
However, he claimed that the ongoing forest and land fires were caused by natural factors rather than human error.
We ask all our neighbouring countries to understand that this is beyond human error. This is truly a natural phenomenon,” he said.
Syahganda also made a remark about Indonesia’s contribution to the environment when addressing the haze issue.
We don’t just send haze. When there is no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia comes from our forests,” he said.
Despite the ongoing haze situation, he maintained that relations between Indonesia and Malaysia remain good, adding that the Indonesian government has been communicating with both countries about the fires and efforts to contain them.
Malaysia offers to help Indonesia fight forest fires
Syahganda also revealed that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had reached out through Malaysia’s Foreign Minister to discuss the forest fires with his Indonesian counterpart.
He said discussions were underway to work out how both countries could cooperate in tackling the situation.
Earlier, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to Malaysia’s offer to send firefighting teams to assist in extinguishing the fires.
However, both countries were still discussing operational arrangements, including where the Malaysian teams would be deployed and how they would carry out their duties.
Speaking on Wednesday (Oct 7), Mohamad expressed hope that the discussions could be finalised as soon as possible.
‘Haze situation is very serious’
Mohamad also raised concerns about the worsening air quality in Malaysia, warning that haze levels were approaching the hazardous category.
The haze situation in our country has become very serious. It has already exceeded the unhealthy category and is approaching the hazardous level,” he said.
He stressed that resolving the operational arrangements was important so Malaysian teams could assist their Indonesian counterparts in containing the widespread forest fires, particularly in Kalimantan.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir confirmed that he had spoken with Mohamad to explain the measures Indonesia had taken, including deploying more than 60,000 personnel and 48 helicopters and aircraft for firefighting and weather modification operations.
According to reports, the fires have also drawn criticism within Indonesia, with residents of West Kalimantan taking legal action against government officials and agencies over alleged negligence in preventing and managing the prolonged fires.
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