Palace Responds to Claims Prabowo Appointed Haji Isam as Forest Fire Coordinator
The State Palace has responded to claims that businessman Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, also known as Haji Isam, was appointed by President Prabowo Subianto as coordinator for handling forest and land fires (karhutla).
State Secretary Minister (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi asserted that the report is untrue.
“There is none. It does not exist. That is not true,” Prasetyo said when met at the JCC in Jakarta, as quoted by detikcom on Sunday (23/8).
Prasetyo said all parties are indeed being asked to help tackle the forest and land fires. However, he stressed that any special appointment of Haji Isam is not correct.
“That all parties are asked to help, yes. But to become the coordinator, no, because the authority does not lie there,” he explained.
Previously, information that Haji Isam had been appointed by Prabowo went viral on social media. One post on X claimed that Haji Isam had been tasked by Prabowo to lead the handling of forest and land fires.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has recorded the extent of forest and land fires in Indonesia. According to BNPB records, the total area of forest and land fires in Indonesia has reached 72,798 hectares.
Based on data presented by BNPB Deputy for Prevention Abdul Muhari on Sunday (22/8/2026), the province with the largest area of forest and land fires is West Kalimantan (Kalbar) with 38,310 hectares. A total of 10,010 personnel have been deployed to extinguish the fires in West Kalimantan.
The following is a list of forest and land fire areas in Indonesia:
Burned land area:
West Kalimantan: 38,310.89 ha
Riau: 16,249.24 ha
South Kalimantan: 8,019.62 ha
Central Kalimantan: 7,634.46 ha
South Sumatra: 1,926.23 ha
Jambi: ± 658.29 ha
Total: ± 72,798.73 ha
Ground task force personnel:
West Kalimantan: 10,010
Central Kalimantan: 10,700
South Kalimantan: 1,408
Riau: 17,764
Jambi: 5,818
South Sumatra: 11,567
Total: 57,267