Malaysia is ready to send aid to Indonesia to help fight widespread forest and land fires, after President Prabowo Subianto approved offers of assistance from neighbouring countries, NST reported.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia welcomed Indonesia’s openness to receiving foreign help and remained committed to supporting its neighbour in the spirit of friendship and strong bilateral ties. He said the assistance is modest but the offer stands.
“We are grateful to the Indonesian government and President Prabowo for being open to accepting foreign assistance to tackle the forest fires. Even though the help we have offered is small, Malaysia is prepared to send aid to assist our neighbour,” he said, adding that Malaysia values Prabowo’s openness on the matter. He spoke shortly before leaving China after a five-day working visit.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said discussions on assistance from neighbouring countries have entered the technical stage and now involve the National Disaster Management Agency, according to CNA. He said the president had given his approval, but did not specify which countries had offered help or what form the assistance would take. About 60,000 personnel have been deployed across six provinces to battle the fires.
Malaysia previously offered to deploy a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, three helicopters and 52 personnel for firefighting operations. On 19 September, Zahid said Prabowo accepted the offer during a meeting a day earlier in Hambalang, West Java.
The fires have burned across six provinces and scorched at least 200,000 hectares, Al Jazeera noted, while schools in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and five states closed on 9 October in a move that affected about two million students.
Air quality in the capital slid to an Air Pollutant Index reading of about 170 that day. Malaysia classifies readings above 100 as unhealthy, above 200 as very unhealthy and above 300 as hazardous. Sultan Ibrahim, the King, has directed that schools close once readings reach 150, while Indonesia’s Health Ministry has logged more than 170,000 respiratory infections linked to the smoke.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Malaysia has no plans to send a diplomatic note or take legal action against Indonesia over the transboundary haze. “We need to safeguard the close relationship between the two countries. So, we are not going as far as sending a diplomatic note or taking legal action,” he told reporters, adding that such a step would amount to severing diplomatic ties. He was responding to calls in parliament for firmer action against Indonesia.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said the government has done everything it can to engage Indonesia on the haze. In Singapore, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the republic stands ready to help Indonesia fight forest fires wherever necessary.
Lieutenant-General Kristomei Sianturi, the new head of Indonesia’s disaster agency, said he will assess the resources already available before deciding which offers of foreign aid can be accelerated. Technical talks on how and where the assistance will be delivered are continuing.
