Dudung Explains Why Forest and Land Fires Have Not Been Declared a National Disaster
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs General (Ret.) Dudung Abdurachman said the government was still capable of tackling forest and land fires affecting several parts of Indonesia. The government would therefore not yet declare the fires a national disaster.
“Not yet, not yet. We are still capable of dealing with them,” Dudung said after a meeting with President Prabowo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday (12 October).
He said the government was focusing on six provinces, including Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra.
Dudung said one priority area in Central Kalimantan was around Tanjung Puting National Park, where protected wildlife is found.
“According to a report from the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), helicopter operations have been carried out. The response has relied more heavily on ground operations because access from the air is difficult due to the very thick smoke,” he said.
Dudung said the government had deployed all available resources to tackle the fires. He added that the response was a government priority, and that Prabowo had instructed officials to extinguish the fires as soon as possible.
He said Prabowo had also thanked all personnel involved, including members of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and other organisations.
Dudung also outlined plans to rotate personnel working in the field. He said various units, including the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), were ready to be deployed.
“Units from Kostrad are also being sent in. The TNI Commander has arranged rotations and replacements, and I am sure the military and police leadership have taken this into account,” he said.
Earlier, Daniel Johan, a member of the House of Representatives’ Commission IV, called on the government to declare a national disaster over fires that have affected various parts of Indonesia for at least three months.
He said the government had taken action, but that it had yet to produce significant results. Thick smoke continued to disrupt people’s daily activities, aviation, health services, schools and the local economy.
“The situation is now approaching a level that is extremely dangerous to public health. Three months of fires have made life hell for affected residents,” Daniel said in Jakarta on Monday, according to Antara.
Given that the impact had lasted around three months, he said the government needed to take strategic action and mobilise all available resources to tackle the fires.
“One step would be to declare these fires a national disaster. In reality, they have already become an international disaster,” said Daniel, who represents West Kalimantan.
He said foreign assistance was also needed, adding that accepting help would not indicate weakness but rather reflect the scale of the problem and the need for regional cooperation.
“Neighbouring countries such as Malaysia have offered to help address these fires,” he said.
Daniel appealed to President Prabowo Subianto to declare a national disaster. He also called for children, older people and other vulnerable residents to be temporarily evacuated to areas less affected by smoke if necessary.
“This is the state’s great responsibility: to protect all Indonesians. The current situation is a health, environmental, social and economic emergency for areas affected by the smoke,” Daniel said.
On Monday afternoon, Prabowo summoned several ministers and agency heads to a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. One item on the agenda was a review of the response to forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.