Indonesia's Prabowo vows urgent action as toxic haze hits Singapore and Malaysia

Jakarta, Indonesia: President Prabowo Subianto has mobilized additional resources to combat wildfires, as criticism grows both domestically and internationally over Jakarta's response to the intense El Niño-fueled fires that have blanketed the region in hazardous haze. Prabowo expressed readiness to provide all necessary resources to bolster firefighting operations and emphasized that resolving the issue is a top priority, stating, "We must resolve it immediately."

The haze from Indonesia's wildfire season, the most intense in 11 years, has led to a spike in respiratory illnesses at home and a significant decline in air quality in Singapore and Malaysia. Schools in several states have been closed due to the deteriorating air quality. According to Fire Emissions Watch, emissions from Indonesia's fires have been the highest globally for a month and have accounted for nearly half of the global total over the last seven days.

Malaysia has closed schools in several states and has offered assistance to contain the fires. Singapore, also smog-hit, has offered to help, with Environment Minister Grace Fu stating that she had spoken to Indonesian counterparts. However, Jakarta has not yet discussed accepting foreign assistance to control the fires or declaring a national disaster, according to Coordinating Minister of Political Affairs Dudung Abdurachman.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are set to discuss the transboundary haze in a meeting next month, putting increasing pressure on Jakarta to do more to tackle the fires. However, Jakarta is facing criticism, with Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia's Government Communication Agency, dismissing some of the criticism by saying, "We don't only send haze... the oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia comes from our forests."

This comment sparked a response from Sulung assemblyman Andrew Chen, who called for Indonesia to be held accountable and emphasized that allowing toxic haze to pollute neighboring countries is unacceptable.