South Sumatra Police Urge Community Unity to Prevent Forest and Land Fires in Muara Enim
The South Sumatra Regional Police (Polda Sumsel), via the Muara Enim Police, is reinforcing mitigation measures against forest and land fires (karhutla) in Sungai Rotan District, Muara Enim Regency. The effort was carried out through a preparedness socialisation event involving government elements, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the community, and relevant stakeholders.
The activity, held at the Sungai Rotan Sub-district Head Office hall on Tuesday (11/8), was led by Muara Enim Police Chief AKBP Hendri Syaputra. He was accompanied by Muara Enim Police Operations Head Kompol Herry Widodo, Sungai Rotan Police Chief Iptu Suhendri, and members of the Sub-district Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimcam). The socialisation also involved the 404-01 Gelumbang Military Rayon Command led by Captain Inf. Sutrisno, sub-district and village administrations, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the fire service, the Agriculture Office, community health centres, company representatives, religious and community leaders, Fire Care Communities (Masyarakat Peduli Api), and other related parties.
AKBP Hendri stressed the importance of continuous communication and coordination among parties, especially in anticipating areas prone to forest and land fires. "Establish good communication and coordination with all relevant parties. Areas prone to forest and land fires must be continuously anticipated, and we must remain careful in handling them. We must protect this nature for future generations," said AKBP Hendri in a statement on Wednesday (12/8/2026). He also reminded the public not to ignore the emergence of hotspots, noting that early handling is crucial to prevent fires from spreading and becoming harder to control.
"If the community finds a hotspot, immediately extinguish it if it is still possible. If the fire grows, immediately involve relevant stakeholders. We must unite in tackling forest and land fires even though the equipment we have is limited," he said. According to him, forest and land fire prevention cannot be carried out by a single agency alone. Synergy between the National Police, the TNI, regional and village governments, companies, Fire Care Communities, and the public is an important part of strengthening preparedness at the regional level.
The mitigation measures are of particular concern given that parts of Sungai Rotan District have peatland characteristics that require extra vigilance against the potential emergence of hotspots. Therefore, the Sungai Rotan Police, together with related elements, continue to conduct socialisation, hotspot checks, dissemination of land-burning prohibition appeals, and coordination with village governments and other stakeholders.
In addition to the socialisation, AKBP Hendri and Forkopimcam members also inspected firefighting equipment. The inspection was carried out to ensure the readiness of supporting facilities if needed at any time for fire handling in the field. As part of the series of activities, social assistance was symbolically handed over to the Fire Care Community and attending residents as part of efforts to strengthen partnerships and collective concern for protecting the environment.
Meanwhile, South Sumatra Police Head of Public Relations, Commissioner Nandang Mu’min Wijaya, affirmed that preventive measures and cross-sector synergy are important parts of the South Sumatra Police and its ranks’ efforts to prevent forest and land fires. "Prevention must start as early as possible through education, patrols, monitoring of vulnerable points, and active community involvement. The South Sumatra Police encourages all ranks to continue building coordination with regional governments, the TNI, the business world, and the community so that every potential forest and land fire can be anticipated and handled quickly," he said.
Through this strengthening of mitigation and preparedness, the South Sumatra Police and all stakeholders hope that forest and land fire prevention efforts in Sungai Rotan can be carried out in a more integrated manner. Furthermore, community participation is an important part of ensuring that potential fires can be detected earlier, handled quickly, and their impact on the environment and community life can be minimised.