{
  "id": 15825589,
  "title": "Bekas menteri Indonesia bidas gesaan Syed Saddiq Asean ‘sisih’ Jakarta",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/bekas-menteri-indonesia-bidas-gesaan-syed-saddiq-asean-sisih-jakarta",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T23:44:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/10/21/bekas-menteri-indonesia-bidas-gesaan-syed-saddiq-supaya-sisih-jakarta"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Indonesian Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi has accused Malaysian MP Syed Saddiq Asean of attempting to undermine Jakarta by pressuring the country diplomatically and financially over recurring border disputes. The controversy stems from repeated incidents of forest fires in Indonesia, which have affected thousands of Indonesian citizens and resulted in casualties among firefighters. Lutfi claimed that Malaysian-controlled companies own up to 3.4 million hectares of land in Indonesia, some of which are funded through Malaysian banks. He urged both Indonesian and Malaysian companies to be held accountable for any violations of regulations, but warned against demonizing the entire nation for the actions of a few. Lutfi also dismissed a Greenpeace report, citing by Syed Saddiq, that linked 19 forest fire hotspots to Indonesian concessions controlled by Malaysian companies. Lutfi served as Indonesia's Trade Minister from February 14, 2014, to October 20, 2014, under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and again from December 23, 2020, to June 15, 2022, under President Joko Widodo. Saddiq earlier urged Malaysia to rally Asean countries to apply diplomatic and financial pressure on Indonesia due to repeated border disputes. He also called for an end to financing companies linked to forest fires and encouraged public scrutiny of businesses involved in the fires. Lutfi further urged Singapore to investigate the involvement of executives and corporate groups based in Indonesia in the fires contributing to the diplomatic crisis. The National Environmental Agency of Singapore stated it would issue notices to three Indonesian companies concerning the forest fires in Kalimantan, bringing the total number of targeted companies under Singapore's Contaminating Border Fires Act (THPA) to 10. Forest fires in Indonesia have been spreading smoke across several regions in Malaysia and Singapore since several weeks, with the dry weather exacerbated by El Niño conditions. The government spokesman, Fahmi Fadzil, said on Monday that, based on investigations with relevant companies, most fires in Indonesia are occurring outside Malaysia-controlled palm oil concession areas.",
  "summary": "Muhammad Lutfi berkata Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman perlu lebih memahami mengenai industri kelapa sawit di rantau ini.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ex-Indonesian minister slams Syed Saddiq over ‘Asean outcast’ remark on haze",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/ex-indonesian-minister-slams-syed-saddiq-over-asean-outcast-remark-on",
        "published": "2026-10-20T23:27:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Former Indonesian minister hits back at Syed Saddiq over 'Asean outcast' remark on haze",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/former-indonesian-minister-hits-back-at-syed-saddiq-over-asean",
        "published": "2026-10-21T02:45:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}