Indonesia appreciates M'sia & S'pore's offer to help tackle haze: ST report

Indonesian officials have expressed their appreciation at Singapore's and Malaysia's readiness to help tackle the haze, The Straits Times reported on Oct. 11.

On Oct. 10, Singapore's Minister for Environment and Sustainability said that the Republic is aware of Indonesia's efforts to battle forest fires and "stand ready to assist".

She also said she was been in touch with her Indonesian counterpart and offered her support.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also spoken to Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto and expressed his concerns over the haze situation, The Star reported.

Anwar also told local media that Malaysia had expressed its readiness to extend cooperation over the past several weeks.

In Singapore, the 1-hour PM2.5 reading has crossed into the "unhealthy" range on multiple occasions this past week.

According to the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, as of Oct. 9, satellites have detected 437 hotspots across the region, an increase of 50 from Oct. 8.

Low visibility will hinder aircraft operations

The acting spokesman for Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Berton Panjaitan, told ST that in terms of assistance from neighbours, ground personnel is preferred over aircraft.

Visibility is low, Berton explained, suggesting that conditions might hinder the operation of aircraft.

Berton also noted that this was his personal assessment and not an official request for aid, according to ST.

In a quote to ST, Ristianto Pribadi, the spokesman for Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry, expressed appreciation for the concern and readiness of Malaysia and Singapore to help tackle the forest fires in Indoneisa.

He said that Indonesia regards this as a "demonstration of friendship and the spirit of regional cooperation".

Neither Berton nor Ristianto could confirm if the country has accepted Singapore's offer of assistance, ST reported.

While Ristianto explained that such international collaboration was coordinated by Indonesia's foreign ministry, the Ministry of Forest is ready to support technical coordination according to operational firefighting needs on the ground.

Indonesia's rice crop targets

Indonesia's deputy forestry minister Rohmat Marzuki said on Friday (Oct. 9) that president Prabowo had communicated with Malaysia's and Singapore's leaders on strengthening joint efforts to prevent and control forest and land fires, Jakarta Globe reported.

According to The Jakarta Post, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, President Prabowo Subianto’s younger brother and Indonesia's special envoy for climate and energy, said at a sustainability forum on Oct. 6 that the government has attained its rice crop production target three years early.

This meant it no longer needed to proceed with planned crop fields and thus no longer needed to clear more forest land.

However, Ristianto cautioned that this did not mean ongoing forest-clearing activities would stop.

The ongoing haze is the result of raging forest and peatland fires across Indonesia, mostly in Kalimantan and South Sumatra.

Dry conditions brought on by El Nino have exacerbated the fires.

Indonesian firefighters battling the blaze have said that this year's fires are "much worse" than those of the past years, according to the BBC.