Prabowo Approves Aid from Neighboring Countries
President Prabowo Subianto has approved offers of assistance from neighboring countries to support the handling of forest and land fires (karhutla) hitting several regions of Indonesia. The confirmation was conveyed by Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir following a closed-door meeting with Komisi I DPR RI at Kompleks Parlemen Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (15/10/2026).
“As we know, the President has also conveyed his approval, and this is already in the process of discussion at the technical level. So the technical level is the BNPB,” said Arrmanatha, who is familiarly called Tata. He emphasized that discussions regarding the form and mechanism of the assistance are still ongoing and have not yet been announced to the public.
According to Tata, forest and land fire management has become a serious concern for the President because the impact of the haze is widespread, even reaching areas outside Indonesia. “The challenge remains very significant, especially in terms of the weather,” he said.
It Began with a Phone Call from Anwar Ibrahim
Indonesia’s willingness to accept foreign aid stemmed from high-level Indonesia-Malaysia communications. On Thursday (8/10), Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that he had phoned President Prabowo to discuss haze from Kalimantan and Sumatra affecting Malaysia and Singapore.
Following up on that conversation, Foreign Minister Tata contacted Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan on Saturday (10/10). Tata explained Indonesia's measures to Mohamad Hasan, including the deployment of more than 60,000 personnel as well as 48 helicopters and aircraft for water bombing and weather modification. Anwar expressed Malaysia's readiness to provide any form of cooperation and asked the Malaysian foreign minister to contact the ASEAN Secretariat regarding a meeting of environment ministers from across ASEAN.
60,000 Personnel and 48 Helicopters Deployed
As of 13 October 2026, a total of 60,177 joint personnel have been deployed to combat the fires. The personnel come from the fire department, Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Ministry of Forestry, regional forestry agencies, and volunteer groups. The operation is supported by helicopters and aircraft for water bombing, as well as weather modification operations in six provinces.
At the regional level, Indonesia is also involved in the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THP) mechanism. According to Foreign Minister Tata, Indonesia has fulfilled its obligation to report regularly and share data, response measures, and developments regarding the forest and land fire situation. Since August, the ASEAN Secretariat has declared alert level 3 status concerning transboundary haze in Southeast Asia.
Thick Smoke Blankets Palangkaraya, ISPU at 950
On the ground, conditions remain dire. Monitoring in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, shows that thick haze has once again become a serious threat to residents. Despite a brief spell of light rain, the Air Pollution Standard Index (ISPU) in the area surged to 950 micrograms per cubic meter.
Thousands of hectares of land have been scorched over the past four months. Haze has reportedly also blanketed Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand, making the arrival of international aid increasingly urgent.
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