‘When there is no smoke, we send oxygen’ – Indonesian government official

JAKARTA, Oct 10 , 2026— Indonesia has urged Malaysia and Singapore to view the current transboundary haze as the result of natural phenomena rather than human error. Government Communications Agency (Bakom) head Syahganda Nainggolan said the administration understood regional concerns but stressed the fires were beyond human control.

“So we also ask all our neighbouring countries to understand that this is happening beyond human error. This is truly a natural phenomenon,” Syahganda said at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas).

Smoke and oxygen

He added that Indonesia was briefing Malaysia and Singapore on firefighting efforts, noting that the republic’s forests also supply oxygen to its neighbours. “We don’t just send smoke. When there is no smoke, we send oxygen,” he remarked.

Syahganda confirmed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had dispatched Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan to discuss joint approaches with Jakarta. Malaysia earlier expressed hope technical talks could conclude quickly to enable assistance teams.

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