Indonesia ready to accept foreign firefighting assistance on haze, says foreign minister
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The offers of help from Singapore and Malaysia come as Indonesia struggles with its worst fire season in over a decade.
ST PHOTO: DIMAS ARDIAN
- Indonesia will accept foreign help to fight major forest fires, Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said. President Prabowo has approved the move, and BNPB is now handling technical discussions.
- The decision follows mixed signals from officials after offers of aid from Singapore and Malaysia. Earlier, Indonesian officials had said the government needed to “curate” the support and check operational needs.
- The fires are Indonesia’s worst in more than a decade, resulting in health-related issues, school closures and flight cancellations as haze blankets the region.
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JAKARTA – Indonesia will accept foreign help to fight the forest fires that have blanketed parts of South-east Asia in haze, Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said on Oct 15, after days of mixed signals from officials over offers of help from Malaysia and Singapore.
“Regarding the assistance that has been offered by neighbouring countries, this has been discussed, and it is currently being processed. As we know, the President (Prabowo Subianto) has already expressed his approval, and the matter is currently under discussion at the technical level,” Arrmanatha told reporters at the Parliament building in central Jakarta.
“This is a very serious matter, one that is receiving the direct attention of the President. As we are all aware, the President’s instructions and directives on this issue have been very firm,” he said.
Arrmanatha added that national disaster mitigation agency BNPB was handling the technical discussions.
When asked about the foreign assistance, the newly appointed head of BNPB, Lieutenant-General Kristomei Sianturi, told reporters at the Presidential Palace that he would assess what forms of help were available.
“I will first take stock of the assets we have at our disposal, both at the local and central government level, and then identify what international assistance can be brought in to help us accelerate our efforts,” Kristomei said.
The confirmation comes after days of Indonesian government officials’ seemingly ambivalent comments towards offers of assistance from Singapore and Malaysia, though they stopped short of rejecting the offers outright.
Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat, for example, said on Oct 13 that the government needed to “curate” the offers of help.
“We must first see what kind of assistance it is, whether it is significant or not. Instead of making mistakes later, it’s better for us to curate it first, to make sure that it fits,” Jumhur said at the time, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Honi Havana, spokesman for the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs, made similar remarks on Oct 14.
“We have to discuss the operational requirements, how the personnel deployment and logistical support will work, and so on,” Antara quoted Honi as saying.
The offers of help come as Indonesia struggles with its worst fire season in more than a decade.
Forest fires across the country, particularly on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan – made worse by a strong El Nino weather phenomenon – have sent haze across the region.
This has driven up respiratory illnesses, shut down schools and resulted in flight cancellations in Indonesia as well as neighbouring countries.