{
  "id": 15825609,
  "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-15825609",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T23:44:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "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 accused Malaysian MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of attempting to pressure Indonesia diplomatically and financially over repeated border incidents involving forest fires. Lutfi claims the fires are not a chance for Malaysia to gain publicity, as thousands of Indonesian citizens have also been affected and bomb disposal workers have been killed in efforts to extinguish them. He said that Malaysian companies controlling oil fields in Indonesia must also be held accountable, pointing out that a Malaysian-linked consortium controls up to 3.4 million hectares of land in the country, with some funds being sourced through Malaysian banks. Lutfi urged everyone to hold companies that violate regulations accountable, whether they are Indonesian or Malaysian, but warned against disparaging the entire nation that supplies land and leases for his industry. He emphasized that Indonesia has never criticized Malaysia as a country. Lutfi also mentioned a Greenpeace report cited by Syed Saddiq regarding 19 hotspot fires, which are located in Indonesian concessions linked to Malaysian-linked companies. He urged anyone seeking accountability to investigate these companies and their supply chains. Lutfi served as Indonesia's Trade Minister from February 14 to October 20, 2014, and again from December 23, 2020, to June 15, 2022, under Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo, respectively. Syed Saddiq urged Malaysia to rally Asean countries to apply diplomatic and financial pressure on Indonesia over the recurring issue of forest fires. He also called for an end to financing companies linked to deforestation and urged consumers to apply pressure on businesses involved in the fires. Lutfi further urged Singapore to investigate the involvement of executives and corporate groups based in Indonesia in companies linked to the forest fires contributing to the regional haze. On Monday, the National Environment Agency of Singapore said it would issue notices to three Indonesian companies regarding the fires in Kalimantan, bringing the total number of companies under Singapore's haze-related pollution law (THPA) to 10. Forest fires in Indonesia have been enveloping several areas in Malaysia and Singapore over the past weeks, with the dry El Niño weather exacerbating the situation. The government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said, based on the investigation with relevant companies, most of the fires reported in Indonesia occurred outside the concessions of Malaysian-owned palm oil companies.",
  "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."
}