Prabowo Apologizes to Singapore, Malaysia Over Transboundary Haze

Indonesia has been battling forest and land fires for nearly four months, with smoke from the blazes spreading across national borders and affecting communities in Malaysia and Singapore.

Prabowo said the government had mobilized 71,000 personnel to combat the fires, at a considerable human and operational cost.

“We have deployed 71,000 forest firefighters. We lost 16 people, and many more were injured while fighting the fires. We also lost two helicopters,” the president said.

Shifting Focus to Fire Prevention

Prabowo stressed that Indonesia needed to fundamentally change its approach to forest and land fires, moving beyond firefighting and disaster mitigation toward systematic prevention.

The government is preparing to establish a new agency and introduce programs aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to prevent future fires, he said.

Transboundary haze has long been a source of concern in Southeast Asia, particularly during prolonged dry seasons when forest and peatland fires in Indonesia can send smoke across neighboring countries.

ASEAN adopted its Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, establishing a regional framework for preventing and monitoring forest and land fires and mitigating their cross-border impact. Indonesia ratified the agreement in 2014.

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