Malaysia kekal sedia bantu Indonesia bantu tangani kebakaran hutan, kata PM

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia remains ready to provide assistance to Indonesia in tackling forest and land fires that have caused transboundary haze, while proposing an ASEAN mechanism to strengthen coordination, preparedness, and collective action in dealing with such issues. Speaking at a meeting on the recent fire developments, Anwar emphasized that Malaysia continues to stand ready to offer support, as previously indicated, following the announcement of the ongoing crisis impacting the well-being and lives of Malaysian citizens, including school closures in several states and regions.

The Malaysian leader acknowledged Indonesia's efforts, deploying tens of thousands of personnel and various aerial assets to curb the forest and land fires, while recognizing the difficulty in addressing the disaster due to the open areas affected and uncertain weather conditions. He stressed that the transboundary challenge requires a commitment and shared responsibility, in line with the strong bilateral relationship and regional cooperation spirit.

"We have proposed an ASEAN mechanism to enhance coordination, readiness, and collective action in dealing with transboundary haze," he stated.