Indonesia’s Prabowo apologises to Singapore, Malaysia over transboundary haze

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto apologised on Sunday for the transboundary haze from forest and land fires in his country that has affected Singapore and Malaysia, according to a statement from the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat.

The statement, issued late on Sunday following the first day of the 49th Asean Leaders’ Summit in Manila, said Prabowo had conveyed the apology on behalf of the Indonesian government and people while assuring regional leaders that his country had done its utmost to tackle the fires.

The fires, which persisted for nearly four months, have caused transboundary haze affecting communities in Singapore and Malaysia, the statement said.

Prabowo said his government maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards corporations involved in forest fires and that various law enforcement measures have been taken, including the revocation of concessions and the initiation of legal proceedings against companies suspected of being responsible.

“We have revoked 17 corporate concessions. Twenty-six companies are currently under investigation, and 11 have been charged,” Prabowo said.

“Another 23 companies are slated to be charged. In total, 104 companies are under investigation by our police force.”

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Addressing the leaders of Asean member states, Prabowo said that Indonesia has made significant efforts to control the forest fires.

He said the Indonesian government has deployed 71,000 personnel, with 16 firefighters losing their lives and many others sustaining injuries during firefighting operations.

Two helicopters were also lost, he said.

Prabowo also stressed the need to shift Indonesia’s approach to forest and land fires from firefighting and mitigation towards systematic prevention, according to the statement.

Indonesia is preparing to establish a new agency and implement various programmes to strengthen future prevention of forest and land fires, he said.

The apology comes after Singapore and Indonesia agreed last month to establish a joint task force to investigate companies linked to forest and land fires behind the transboundary haze.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also proposed on Sunday that the task force be expanded into an Asean-wide platform for sharing information and evidence, to help countries hold companies accountable for haze-causing fires.