Indonesian govt official says forest fires 'beyond human error' & their forests 'send oxygen' if there's no haze

Indonesia's head of Government Communications Agency, Syahganda Nainggolan, said the government understands the concerns of Malaysia and Singapore over the haze caused by the forest and land fires in Indonesia.

In a report by Kompas, Syahganda said the fires are "beyond human error" and a natural phenomenon.

"We hope our neighbours understand that this is beyond human error; this is truly nature," he said to the media on Oct. 10.

The government continues its efforts to explain the haze situation to both Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the measures being taken to address it.

"When there's no haze, we send oxygen"

"We're not just sending over the haze. When there's no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen from Singapore and Malaysia is from our forests, right?" he added.

Syahganda said that Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had sent a delegate through his foreign minister to discuss the forest fires with Indonesia's foreign minister.

"We are going into detail about the discussions so that we can overcome this situation together. This was just a few days ago, I will look into it."

Indonesia appreciates Singapore & Malaysia's readiness to help

According to The Star, Anwar had also spoken to Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto and expressed his concerns over the haze situation.

Previously, Minister for Sustainability and Environment Grace Fu said that she has been in touch with her Indonesian counterparts to offer her support and that Singaporeans "stand ready to assist".

In an Oct. 10 report by the Straits Times, Indonesian officials expressed their appreciation for Singapore's and Malaysia's readiness to help tackle the haze.

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 conditions might hinder aircraft operations.