{
  "id": 17144513,
  "title": "Nationalist rhetoric clouds Indonesia’s haze accountability",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/nationalist-rhetoric-clouds-indonesias-haze-accountability",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T23:33:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Jakarta Post",
    "slug": "the-jakarta-post",
    "url": "https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2026/10/30/nationalist-rhetoric-clouds-indonesias-haze-accountability.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indonesia's diplomatic spat with Singapore and Malaysia over transboundary haze due to local fires has sparked worries that the government is leveraging nationalist sentiment to deflect criticism of its response to the crisis. The heated rhetoric from Indonesian officials toward Singapore and Malaysia has led to concerns about the government using patriotism to discredit legitimate criticism of its handling of the haze issue. Indonesia's forest and peatland fires, which have been raging across Sumatra and Kalimantan, have produced thick, toxic haze that has spread beyond the country's borders into Singapore, Malaysia, and even as far as the Philippines, exacerbating air quality problems and raising the risk of respiratory illnesses. In recent weeks, the haze crisis has turned into a diplomatic dispute, with Indonesian officials, both current and former, adopting more aggressive nationalist language in response to neighboring countries' concerns. Coordinating Downstream and Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia recently proposed cutting gas exports to Singapore in favor of domestic consumers, and signaled a possible reconsideration of a plan to sell electricity to the island nation. These moves came after Singapore's Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu announced that the city-state would be warning seven companies operating in Indonesia about the fires and resulting transboundary haze.",
  "summary": "Indonesia’s recent row with neighboring countries over transboundary haze caused by local fires is fueling concerns that the government is wielding nationalist sentiment to deflect criticism of its response to the crisis.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nikkei Asia",
        "title": "Indonesia fires and haze cause more than 5,200 deaths, study says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/indonesia-fires-and-haze-cause-more-than-5-200-deaths-study-says",
        "published": "2026-10-29T08:34:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Singapore wields ‘quiet diplomacy’ in minister’s surprise visit to Indonesia amid haze tensions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/singapore-wields-quiet-diplomacy-in-ministers-surprise-visit-to",
        "published": "2026-10-29T14:35:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Antara News Indonesia",
        "title": "Prabowo to inaugurate Indonesia's CATL-Antam battery plant: minister",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/prabowo-to-inaugurate-indonesias-catl-antam-battery-plant-minister",
        "published": "2026-10-29T16:01:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}