KUALA LUMPUR – Guthrie has rejected allegations linking its subsidiaries or employees to forest and land fires in Indonesia, saying its latest ground inspections found no active fires within its estates and no credible evidence that the group was responsible for starting them.
In a statement today, the group said the allegations were inconsistent with findings from its latest inspections.
“The allegations against Guthrie are not supported by credible evidence and do not reflect the facts established through the Group’s latest ground checks,” it said.
Guthrie also clarified that some companies identified in public reports as its affiliates were neither owned nor managed or controlled by the group, and called for outdated or inaccurate attributions to be corrected.
The group said it had enforced a strict Zero-Burning Policy across its operations since 1985, alongside a commitment to No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation.
Its fire prevention efforts include real-time water-level monitoring, maintaining moisture in peatland areas, community-based prevention programmes, and training smallholders and local farmers in responsible land management.
Guthrie said its Indonesian subsidiary, Minamas Plantation, operated 67 firefighting teams comprising 1,005 trained personnel. The teams are supported by drone and infrared monitoring across the company’s plantation concessions and approximately 322,000ha of surrounding community land.
The group spends an estimated IDR3.5 billion (RM800,000) a month maintaining and deploying these resources.
Between January and September 2026, its firefighting teams responded to and extinguished 2,411 fires, including 2,376 on community land, according to the statement.
Guthrie said its teams also tackled fires outside its concession boundaries in cooperation with Indonesian authorities, stressing that responding to blazes beyond its operational areas should not be taken as evidence that it caused them.
“When a fire is detected within or near its operational boundaries, the Group’s operations will respond immediately, regardless of its source,” it added.
The group also raised concerns over reports that allegedly relied on outdated Hak Guna Usaha (HGU) maps, which it said did not accurately reflect current ownership or operational boundaries.
It added that the oil palms in the areas concerned were productive and relatively young, rather than mature trees due for clearance. As such, it argued, there was no operational justification for burning them to clear land.
Guthrie said it would continue working with Indonesian authorities and other stakeholders to prevent fires and safeguard communities and the environment. It also urged parties to correct inaccurate data and ownership claims, and ensure allegations were backed by credible evidence.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is not accepting foreign assistance to tackle the widespread forest and land fires as the situation has yet to be declared a national disaster, an official said.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said the government remained confident it could manage the crisis with its own resources, but would consider Malaysia’s offer of assistance if the situation was declared a national disaster.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reiterated Malaysia’s readiness to help Indonesia and proposed an Asean-level cooperation mechanism to strengthen regional coordination, preparedness and collective action against transboundary haze.
Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia was prepared to deploy firefighting assets, including a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, three helicopters and 50 personnel, subject to official approval from the Indonesian government. – October 20, 2026