KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is still awaiting a response from Indonesia to its offer of assistance in fighting forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, which have contributed to the haze affecting the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia had offered to deploy an aircraft, three helicopters and 55 personnel to support firefighting operations in the affected areas, Sinar Harian reported.
He said the offer was made during his recent official visit to Jakarta, where he met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the Foreign Ministry had also written to their Indonesian counterparts regarding the proposed assistance, but had yet to receive a reply, he added.
“We made the offer sincerely, but there has been no response to our offer to help them. We thank them.
“In this matter, we will assume the best and believe that perhaps they do not need our assistance. I said I am husnuzon… yes,” he told reporters after launching the 2026 National Preparedness Month at the Ipoh Convention Centre on Sunday.
The event, themed Madani Siaga, Tanggungjawab Bersama, was also attended by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and Nadma director-general Datuk Meor Ismail Meor Akim.
Ahmad Zahid, who chairs Nadma, said the haze issue should not be treated as a dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia but addressed through cooperation between the two neighbours.
“We are now being forced to import haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan, whether we like it or not.
“We have to breathe what they call smoke and what we call haze here… and we have no choice,” he said.
Asked whether legal action could be considered over the transboundary haze, the Rural and Regional Development Minister said the matter had been left to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to examine if necessary.
However, he favoured regional coordination and preventive measures over legal proceedings.
“In the spirit of Asean, coordination to prevent this is better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia have maintained high-level diplomatic communications over the haze, with Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir saying he had spoken to his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan to explain Jakarta’s firefighting efforts, Bernama reported.
“We have deployed more than 60,000 personnel. This is indeed a challenge because weather conditions are currently not in our favour, but we hope the situation will ease soon as rainfall is expected,” Arrmanatha told reporters.
He was responding to questions about Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement on Thursday that he had contacted Prabowo over the worsening haze situation.
Anwar also said Malaysia was prepared to assist Indonesia and had instructed Mohamad to contact the Asean Secretariat to seek a meeting of regional environment ministers to coordinate efforts against transboundary haze.
The diplomatic exchanges come as Indonesia faces an increase in fire hotspots. Its Forestry Ministry recorded 793 hotspots nationwide as of 9.10pm local time on Saturday, up from 437 the previous day.
The six priority provinces accounted for 421 hotspots, compared with 270 a day earlier.
Central Kalimantan recorded the highest number, at 288, followed by South Sumatra with 60, West Kalimantan with 44, South Kalimantan with 28 and Jambi with one. Riau recorded no hotspots.
“Today’s increase serves as a reminder that vigilance must not depend on trends over just one or two days,” the ministry said in a video update posted on its official Instagram account.
The ministry also reported unhealthy to very unhealthy air quality in several areas based on PM2.5 concentrations, with pockets of hazardous pollution detected in parts of Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua.
It said 61 aircraft remained on standby, including 44 for water-bombing operations and 17 for aerial patrols and weather-modification efforts. These were supported by ground teams working to contain the fires. – October 11, 2026