JAKARTA — Indonesia has ordered a tougher crackdown on companies suspected of being behind forest and land fires as thick smoke continues to spread across parts of Southeast Asia, affecting communities in Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia while Singapore remains on alert for worsening haze.
President Prabowo Subianto ordered authorities on Monday, Aug. 24, to revoke the business permits of corporations found to have ordered land or forest burning.
Prabowo delivered the warning during a coordination meeting on forest and land fire management in Riau, making clear that companies suspected of deliberately ordering fires could face the loss of their operating licences.
The order comes as Indonesia faces a rapidly worsening fire season, with authorities battling thousands of hotspots across Sumatra and Borneo.
72 people arrested as investigation widens
Indonesian police have already arrested 72 people suspected of starting forest and peatland fires.
Authorities are investigating 89 fire-related cases across several provinces, including areas on Borneo and Sumatra. Investigators are also examining whether companies financed or ordered the burning as a cheaper way to clear land for plantations.
Police have indicated that the investigation could extend beyond the people who physically started the fires, with authorities seeking to identify who benefited from or organised the burning.
At least four companies in West Kalimantan are reportedly under investigation. Indonesian officials have warned that companies found to have intentionally used fire to clear land could face sanctions, including permit revocation.
Nearly 285,000 hectares affected
The scale of the fire crisis is significant.
Indonesian authorities have reported that around 285,000 hectares of land have burned across the country this year, according to CNA’s latest regional coverage. The fires have been particularly active in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Peatlands are adding to the challenge. Fires can continue burning beneath the surface even after flames appear to have been extinguished, making rainfall crucial for fully suppressing the fires and preventing them from reigniting.
Smoke crosses into Malaysia
The consequences are already being felt beyond Indonesia.
Malaysia’s Sarawak state has experienced some of the worst impacts, with deteriorating air quality prompting the closure of nearly 600 schools and affecting about 200,000 students, according to authorities cited by CNA and AP.
Malaysia has also called for stronger ASEAN cooperation to deal with the growing risk of transboundary haze, stressing the importance of early intervention, information sharing and regional coordination.
In a separate development, Malaysia said Indonesia had granted permission for Malaysian agencies to enter Indonesian airspace to conduct cloud-seeding operations as both countries work to reduce the impact of the fires.
Singapore is watching the situation closely
Singapore has not been spared from the regional risk.
The National Environment Agency said on Aug. 24 that it had detected an escalation in hotspot and smoke-haze activity, particularly over Kalimantan and southern Sumatra.
Singapore’s 24-hour PSI remained in the moderate range of 70 to 94 as of the latest CNA report, below the unhealthy threshold of 101 and above. However, authorities warned that occasional periods of haze could affect Singapore if fires intensify.
The ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre has also raised its alert to Level 2, indicating an increasing risk of transboundary haze in the southern ASEAN region.
Singapore’s authorities have activated preparations involving an inter-agency haze task force should air quality deteriorate further.
Why the fires are becoming harder to control
The current crisis is being intensified by prolonged dry conditions and an El Niño pattern, which can produce hotter and drier weather and make vegetation and peatlands more vulnerable to fire.
Indonesia has responded with ground crews, helicopters, water-bombing operations and cloud-seeding efforts. AP reported that authorities have deployed significant aerial resources across affected areas, while investigations into suspected deliberate burning continue.
The regional concern is not only the fires themselves but the smoke they generate. When winds carry smoke across national borders, what begins as a local land-clearing or wildfire problem can quickly become a wider public-health, transportation and environmental issue.
The question now: who will be held responsible?
Indonesia’s latest move could mark a significant escalation in its response.
Authorities are no longer focusing solely on people caught setting fires. Investigators are also attempting to determine whether companies financed, organised or benefited from deliberate burning.
For now, the companies under investigation have not been established as guilty, and any sanctions will depend on the findings of Indonesian authorities.
But with fires continuing across parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, schools already closed in parts of Malaysia and Singapore preparing for possible worsening haze, pressure is mounting on Indonesia to bring the situation under control.
The bigger question is whether the crackdown will be strong enough to stop the fires before the region faces an even more serious haze episode.
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