Indonesia welcomes Malaysian and Singaporean offers to help fight forest fires

JAKARTA: Indonesia has welcomed offers from Malaysia and Singapore to help fight the forest and land fires behind the transboundary haze, as talks between the governments continue over the shape of any cooperation.

Indonesian Forestry Ministry spokesman Ristianto Pribadi said the ministry appreciated the concern and readiness of Malaysia and Singapore to assist, describing that willingness as a demonstration of friendship.

Cooperation with other countries is coordinated through Indonesia's Foreign Ministry, he said. Ristianto could not confirm whether Indonesia had formally accepted the offers.

Berton Panjaitan, acting spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said firefighters on the ground would be preferable to aircraft, because visibility is very low even where helicopters are provided.

He stressed that this was his own operational assessment rather than a formal request for international assistance, and said the agency was not involved in negotiating foreign aid.

Malaysia has offered a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said on Oct 7 that the two countries were still negotiating operational arrangements, including the deployment of the mission.

Government spokesman and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said on Saturday that Malaysia was still awaiting a reply through official diplomatic channels.

"However, so far (as of this morning) no response has been conveyed through Wisma Putra," he said.

"We will wait a little longer," he added.

Indonesia's welcoming remarks therefore do not mean Malaysian assets have begun operating there.

Bernama reported that Indonesian authorities had detected 437 high-confidence hotspots nationwide as of 9pm on Friday, up from 387 the previous day. Of those, 270 were concentrated in six priority provinces across Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The Forestry Ministry said on Oct 9 that 61 aircraft were on standby for firefighting, aerial surveillance and weather modification operations.

Peatland fires and prolonged dry conditions have made the blazes harder to put out, because the fires can keep smouldering below the surface.

The haze drifting into Malaysia and Singapore has hurt air quality and prompted public health measures, including school closures in some areas. A lasting fix depends on containing the fires at their source and strengthening prevention and enforcement.