President requests additional PPE and masks for regions affected by forest and land fires

President Prabowo Subianto has asked his staff to increase the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and masks to regions affected by forest and land fires (karhutla) and the resulting haze.

During a coordination meeting on forest and land fire management in Palembang, South Sumatra, which was monitored online from Jakarta on Monday, President Prabowo asked about the needs of regional governments in South Sumatra, Jambi and Lampung that should be added to support forest and land fire handling efforts.

“Can PPE be increased? How much PPE can be added? I think masks are also needed, right? Please deploy as many as possible to all regions,” said Prabowo.

Not only PPE and masks, the President also agreed to requests from regional governments for additional equipment to support forest and land fire management, such as excavators, trail motorcycles and water pumps.

In addition, several regional governments also requested additional helicopters for aerial firefighting or water bombing, as well as the construction of more retention basins, drilled wells and canal blocks to ensure peatlands remain wet.

On that occasion, the President also expressed appreciation for the performance of ministries and agencies, regional governments and especially the personnel on the front lines of efforts to extinguish forest and land fires in Sumatra.

“Convey my thanks to all officers in the field, everyone at the command posts, at our forward posts. We will strive to provide support for everyone on the front lines,” said Prabowo Subianto.

In addition to handling forest and land fires in South Sumatra, the President also held online coordination meetings with regional government officials in Jambi and Lampung regarding forest and land fire management in their respective areas.

Earlier on Monday morning, Prabowo arrived in Pekanbaru, Riau to lead a meeting on forest and land fire management in that region.