Chandni Vatvani Channel NewsAsia 6 Feb 18;
JAKARTA: President Joko Widodo on Tuesday (Feb 6) told officials that he had given his word for 2018 to be a haze-free year to the prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia.
“In 2015, every time I met the prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia, the complaint that would always be conveyed to me was about haze,” he said, according to a press statement from the Presidential Secretariat.
“The last time we met in India, the two prime ministers shook my hand (and said) 2018 hopefully will be like 2016 and 2017. I've told them that I guarantee (there will be no haze), so remember. I have told them, I guarantee, but if there is haze, where are we going to put our faces."
Indonesia is gearing up to host the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang this August and September, and the president called on officials to take strict sanctions against personnel who allow a compromise on haze-fighting efforts.
He also called on officials to continue intensive efforts in the prevention of land and forest fires, keeping the year haze-free and ensuring the Asian Games this year can proceed smoothly without any disruption.
“At that moment, do not let there be any smoke, or land and forest fires which will subsequently interfere with our image or even flights,” the president stated. “I repeat the rules of the game once again, if there are forest fires in your territories and it is not being handled properly, remove (the official in charge)!”
According to the statement, after reflecting upon his experience in the last two years, Widodo believes such rules are highly effective in mobilising personnel on the field. Its results can be seen in the decreasing number of hotspots in the past two years, he said, from 21,929 in 2015 to 3,915 and 2,567 in 2016 and 2017.
The president acknowledged the progress that had been made in handling land and forest fires by the government and its staff in recent times, and also called on officers to possess what he called "field intelligence".
Widodo made the comments while he led the National Coordination Meeting on Forest and Land Fire Control for 2018. The event was held at the State Palace and attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, several regional heads, as well as police and military officials.
Source: CNA/mz
Jokowi: I promised KL and Singapore there'd be fewer fires this year
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Straits Times 7 Feb 18;
President Joko Widodo reminded all Indonesian officials of the need to continue to prevent forest and plantation fires, adding that the leaders of Malaysia and Singapore had praised him for the progress made so far.
The Indonesian leader also said he had issued a guarantee of fewer forest fires for this year.
Mr Joko, speaking yesterday at a national coordination meeting on forest and plantation fire mitigation at the Merdeka Palace, said: "In 2015, every time I met with the Singapore and Malaysian prime ministers, they complained to me about the haze."
Mr Joko said the situation had improved vastly since then, with the number of hot spots falling significantly.
He added that 2015 saw a total of 21,929 hot spots throughout the year, but the number dropped to 3,915 in 2016 and to 2,567 last year.
Mr Joko said he had promised the Malaysian and Singapore leaders that the number could be reduced further this year.
"I have given them my guarantee," he said. He also reminded those attending the meeting that he had issued a warning after the 2015 fires, when he said he would sack the provincial police chief or territorial military chief in charge of an area where forest fires were not handled well.
Harsher law enforcement when dealing with errant corporations and individuals - and better fire prevention measures by the government and private sector in recent years - have led to a fall in the number of hot spots, according to Indonesia's disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. Favourable weather conditions have also helped.
