thejakartapost.com 8 Oct 15;
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo confirmed on Thursday that Indonesia is open to any foreign assistance to tackle forest fires in several provinces across Kalimantan and Sumatra. Some of the foreign assistance was being processed, he said.
“We have requested assistance from several countries and we have been helped by Singapore. Aid from other countries, namely Japan, Malaysia and Russia, is still being processed,” he said as quoted by kompas.com. The President was speaking while observing the drilling of a mass rapid transit tunnel project in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday.
President Jokowi said it was expected that foreign assistance could accelerate efforts to extinguish forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Among the assistance Indonesia had received was an aircraft, which was borrowed by the Singaporean government and could carry more than 10 tons of water to extinguish fires, he added.
The aerial fire extinguishing aircraft from Singapore is expected to arrive in Indonesia on Thursday. The government expects that Indonesia’s forest fires will be completely resolved by the end of October.
“The handling of peat fires is different from the way you handle fires in ordinary forests. Three aircraft will arrive today and what we need most is an aircraft that can carry around 12-15 tons of water,” said Jokowi.
Land and forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra have been ongoing for several months, pushing down the air pollution index of areas in the two islands to a dangerous level. The haze disaster has disrupted many public activities. Schools were closed while thick haze led to flight delays and cancellations.
As reported earlier, President Jokowi is scheduled to observe the handling of fires in Jambi on Thursday. (ebf) (++++)
Malaysia deploying assets to help Indonesia put out fires, says Hisham
FIRDAOUS FADZIL The Star 8 Oct 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is deploying its assets to help Indonesia put out fires in Palembang and South Sumatra.
Ministry of Defence Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein (pic) made the announcement after attending a meeting on the revamped National Service 2.0 at the ministry here, on Thursday.
He said the decision was made after the president of Indonesia requested our help through the Prime Minister to put out the fire there.
"I have contacted my counterpart Ryamizard Ryacudu and Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi," he said.
"The Malaysian Government will deploy an amphibious plane Bombardier CL415MP for the mission," said Hishammuddin.
He added that the aircraft is able to drop 6,137 litres of water in 12 seconds while flying at the speed of 130kmh (70knots).
The operation, which will be coordinated between Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), will see water dropped at affected areas as determined by the Indonesian authorities.
Indonesia seeks help over fires
RAZAK AHMAD The Star 9 Oct 15;
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia, Singapore, Russia and Japan will help Indonesia put out Kalimantan and Sumatra forest fires that are causing the terrible haze in the region.
After initially rejecting all offers of assistance to beat out the flames, Indonesia finally decided to let the other nations help.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will be sending a Bombardier CL415MP amphibious aircraft.
Working with the Royal Malaysian Air Force, the MMEA will use the aircraft to douse fires at locations determined by the Indonesian authorities.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Indonesian President Joko Widodo had, through Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, asked Malaysia for help.
Joko, in a statement yesterday, said he needed aircraft that could carry between 12 and 15 tonnes of water each.
He said he hoped this would help speed up the process of putting out the fires, which are on peat soil, making them harder to extinguish unlike regular forest fires.
Singapore would send three aircraft while Russia would deploy several water bombers, said Joko, who is popularly known as Jokowi.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar welcomed Indonesia’s request for assistance.
“This should be regarded as a positive development in regional cooperation,” he said.
He said he made the offer on behalf of Malaysia to help Indonesia about three weeks ago.
In 1997, during the worst transboundary haze incident, Malaysia sent 1,200 firemen to Indonesia for 28 days to help put out fires in various locations there.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi will discuss cooperative efforts on transboundary haze at a two-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur that starts today.
The 14th Meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia will see both ministers also discussing a number of bilateral issues.
Dr Wan Junaidi, in another statement yesterday, said the haze situation in Malaysia was expected to improve until Monday, due to more rainfall here following the end of tropical storm Mujigae over north Vietnam.
“However, transboundary haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan will still affect the air quality in the country,” he said.
Indonesia formally accepts help from Singapore to tackle haze
MFA said it is awaiting further details from Indonesian counterparts on the assets under Singapore's haze assistance package which Indonesia will require.
Channel NewsAsia 8 Oct 15;
SINGAPORE: The Government of Singapore has received a formal note from Indonesia, stating that Indonesia “welcome(s) the cooperation offered by Singapore to suppress large-scale forest fires in Indonesia”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 8).
It comes a day after Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he had a good discussion with his Indonesian counterpart on the fires which are causing transboundary haze pollution across Indonesia's neighbours such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has also requested help from Malaysia, Russia and Japan to battle the fires on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
MFA said it is awaiting further details from Indonesian counterparts, on the assets under Singapore's haze assistance package which Indonesia will require.
"To elaborate on our package, we have offered one C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding operations. However, such operations will ultimately depend on whether cloud conditions are conducive for cloud seeding," an MFA spokesman said.
"One Chinook helicopter with one 5,000 litre heli-bucket under-slung, will also be made available. This Chinook will be used for the aerial fire-fighting and water-bombing efforts. The heli-bucket will be operated by a Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) from the SCDF."
In a Facebook post on Thursday evening, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the Singapore Armed Forces' Chinook "stands ready, and will be able to take off once the Indonesians' approval is given".
Singapore has also offered to share high resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates with Indonesian authorities.
- CNA/ly
Indonesia seeks help from several countries to fight fires
Gayatri Suroyo and Kanupriya Kapoor PlanetArk 9 Oct 15;
Indonesia on Thursday asked several countries including China, Singapore, Russia, and Japan for help to put out fires that have sent choking smoke drifting across the region for weeks.
Indonesia had repeatedly declined offers of outside help to tackle the smoke, which is mostly caused by companies using fire to clear land for palm oil and pulp wood plantations on Sumatra island and its part of Borneo island.
"We have asked for help," President Joko Widodo said in a statement, adding that Indonesia was hoping for at least three aircraft from Singapore and Russia to help douse the fires that often smolder underground for weeks in peat deposits.
"What we need now are planes that can carry 12-15 tonnes of water, not like the 2-3 tonnes we have now," Widodo said.
"We hope this will speed up the process because fires on peat land is different from regular forest fires."
Indonesia was also in talks with Australia and Malaysia about how they might help, said foreign ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir.
"We have been using all our resources but what we see is our progress is not quick enough," Nasir told Reuters, adding that Indonesia was exploring what roles the countries could play and what equipment they could provide.
They aimed to finalize details "as soon as possible", he said.
Indonesian officials did not elaborate on why the government had now decided to seek foreign help. It had faced criticism for turning down offers from Singapore.
The smoke has pushed up pollution to dangerous levels across parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand, disrupted flights and closed schools on bad days.
Tourism operators are fretting and health authorities across the region have warned people to avoid exercise when the smoke is heavy.
Indonesia routinely brushes off complaints while vowing to act to stop the burning. But year after year, the problem flares in the dry season.
It has been exacerbated this year by the El Nino weather phenomenon which has brought unusually dry conditions.
Indonesia's national disaster management agency said last week it was hoping for rain to help douse the fires by early November, when the northeast monsoon usually starts.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is expected to meet her Malaysian counterpart on Friday to discuss the problem.
Singapore's foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, said on his Facebook page the city-state had offered personnel, aircraft, and satellite imaging.
(Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Robert Birsel)
MFA waiting for details of Indonesia’s needs
Today Online 9 Oct 15;
SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) today (Oct 8) said it was waiting for Indonesia to provide more details on which of the assets offered under the haze assistance package the latter would require.
“We have received a formal note from Indonesia, stating that Indonesia ‘welcome(d) the cooperation offered by Singapore to suppress large-scale forest fires in Indonesia’,” said an MFA spokesperson.
Earlier today, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia was hoping for at least three aircraft from Singapore and Russia to help douse the fires. “What we need now are planes that can carry 12 to 15 tonnes of water, not like the 2 to 3 tonnes we have now,” Mr Widodo said.
As part of the haze assistance package, Singapore has offered one C-130 aircraft for cloud-seeding operations, which will depend on cloud conditions, as well as one Chinook helicopter with one 5,000-litre heli-bucket under-slung.
The Chinook helicopter will be used for the aerial fire-fighting and water-bombing efforts, while the heli-bucket will be operated by a Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The SCDF’s fire-fighting assistance team, which will not be involved in fighting the flames on the ground, will assist Indonesian authorities in field planning. They will also make recommendations on how best to deploy resources needed for fire-fighting operations. They will be led by a senior SCDF officer who is “experienced in conducting rapid assessment for fire-fighting operations”, the MFA spokesperson said.
Up to two C-130 aircraft will be on standby to provide further support. Singapore has also offered to share its high resolution satellite pictures and hotspot coordinates.
Writing on Facebook, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said he was glad that the Indonesian leaders have stated publicly that they accept Singapore’s help. The Chinook helicopter, which was previously used to put out forest fires in Chiang Mai, will be able to take off “once the Indonesians’ approval is given”, he said. A Super Puma helicopter with a 2,000 litre heli-bucket could also be activated if needed, he added.
Jakarta rejected earlier offers ‘over concerns S’pore would claim credit’
Today Online 8 Oct 15;
JAKARTA — Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that Jakarta had earlier rejected Singapore’s offers of assistance to combat the transboundary haze crisis in the region because it was concerned that the city state would claim credit for solving the problem, even while the officials were worried about the rapidly deteriorating situation.
“The (Indonesian) government is not closing ourselves off to assistance. But if we are assisted, the government does not want them (Singapore) to claim the credit. It is the government that is working hard to resolve (this smog disaster) … So we do not want it to reach the point of them claiming credit for it,” Mr Anung told CNN Indonesia yesterday (Oct 7).
According to Indonesian media reports, President Joko Widodo held an unscheduled closed-door meeting yesterday to discuss the haze problem, which has worsened this week.
Jakarta today asked for help from Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and Japan to put out forest fires that have caused choking smoke to drift across South-east Asia, after having turned down several offers of foreign assistance from other countries, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, which have also been affected by haze since the crisis began last month.
Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar said yesterday that the government had opened up to the possibility of accepting international assistance as the situation was getting worse.
Dr Siti Nurbaya explained that as the fires spread and difficulty of putting them out increased, Indonesia would need support from abroad to provide equipment that is capable of providing water capacity and stronger volume pressure. “It seems that there is a need to receive support whether from Singapore, Russia, Austria, and others,” said the minister at the Presidential Palace Complex yesterday. She added that water bombing and artificial rain would be the most effective and in this regard, Indonesia required more aircraft at its disposal
This was despite Dr Siti Nurbaya stating earlier that Indonesia did not require any assistance from Singapore as it has more than enough aircraft.
Mr Anung stressed yesterday that while the government had not yet decided to declare the smog that is blanketing Sumatra and Kalimantan as a national disaster, it was very concerned about the problem. He said Mr Widodo was actively monitoring the situation, especially through social media, including direct view content uploaded by the community.
“Earlier we showed this (information from social media) to the President. The President knows everything, because we want the President to get information that is as complete as possible to the events that happened,” the Cabinet Secretary highlighted.
Mr Widodo planned to go to a number of areas affected by the haze but he has not been able to do so as the air quality and visibility worsened. AGENCIES
SCDF ready to leave for Indonesia to fight fires
Francis Chan, Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Straits Times AsiaOne 9 Oct 15;
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel and aircraft from the Singapore Armed Forces are standing by - ready to leave for Indonesia at a moment's notice.
This after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) received a formal note from Indonesia stating that it welcomes the "co-operation offered by Singapore to suppress (the) large-scale forest fires".
"Currently, we are awaiting further details from our Indonesian counterparts on the assets under our haze assistance package which Indonesia will require," an MFA spokesman said in response to queries from The Straits Times.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said yesterday that apart from Singapore, Russia and Malaysia will also help his country tackle the forest and peatland fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. "We hope efforts to fight fires will be accelerated," he added.
Mr Joko had faced pressure from local politicians who told the government not to turn away foreign offers of help to fight the fires.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post last night that he was glad Indonesia accepted the help. Singapore had extended the offer several times but was turned down until now.
MFA said the assistance package includes a Chinook helicopter with a 5,000-litre heli-bucket for use in aerial firefighting and water-bombing operations. The heli-bucket will be operated by the SCDF's elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team.
A C-130 Hercules aircraft will be deployed for cloud seeding. When the operation will take place will ultimately depend on cloud conditions, the ministry said.
"A firefighting assistance team from the SCDF will be deployed to provide field assessment and planning assistance... (and) the team will be led by a senior SCDF officer, experienced in the conduct of rapid assessment for firefighting operations," added the MFA. "Up to two C-130 aircraft will be on standby to provide further support."
Singapore has also offered to share its high-resolution satellite pictures and hot-spot coordinates.
Indonesia's disaster management agency (BNPB) said yesterday that foreign assets will be deployed specifically in South Sumatra's Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin regencies, which are among the worst hit by peatland fires this year.
A coordination meeting will be held to discuss in detail such items as the type of assistance needed and the work flow, BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Dr Ng said the Chinook, which was deployed to put out forest fires in Chiang Mai in March, stands ready and will take off once Indonesia gives the green light. He added: "In addition, we can follow up with a Super Puma helicopter with a 2,000-litre heli-bucket as needed."
Jakarta accepts foreign help to fight raging forest fires
Francis Chan, Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, AsiaOne 8 Oct 15;
After weeks of trying to tackle the country's forest fires on its own, Indonesia yesterday welcomed help from abroad, including from Singapore and Russia.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a Facebook post last night: "Had a good discussion this evening with (Indonesia's) Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi who indicated that Indonesia will now take up our offer. Good for our countries to work together to resolve this as soon as possible."
As for the Russian offer of a Beriev Be-200, which can carry up to 37,200kg of water, it came after earlier talks had stalled.
Indonesia has been facing mounting pressure, both at home and abroad, to resolve the transboundary haze crisis, with Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha the latest leader to demand more collective action. Parts of southern Thailand were shrouded by smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan that has already affected air quality in Singapore and parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The haze prompted General Prayut to push for ASEAN-level efforts to tackle the decades-old issue. His call on Wednesday follows that by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday to do more.
Singapore has repeatedly said it stands ready to help but its offer was turned down until last night. Its assistance included a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) land firefighting team, a C-130 aircraft for cloud seeding and a Chinook helicopter equipped with a water bucket for aerial firefighting.
Yesterday, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended another SCDF team to provide assessment and planning assistance, high-resolution satellite pictures and hot spot coordinates.
Mr Atmadji Sumarkidjo, a close aide of Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, said last night Russia has offered a Beriev Be-200.
As to when the Singapore assets will be deployed, he added: "We are trying to find the right timing... The haze is thick now so they won't be effective."
It is widely recognised that President Joko Widodo's administration is already doing more than any previous government to tackle the latest haze crisis. But the high economic and human costs prompted Indonesian politicians to ask the government to do more, including accepting foreign offers of aid.
Democratic Party spokesman Imelda Sari said: "Indonesia must open up. We do not need to be embarrassed to get assistance from the neighbouring countries. This is part of the ASEAN solidarity."
Mr Mochammad Romahurmuziy, a senior leader in the United Development Party, said that "with help from neighbouring countries, we can solve it (crisis) faster".
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