Indonesia Arrests 72 Over 89 Forest Fire Cases Amid Malaysia Haze

Indonesian police have arrested 72 people suspected of starting forest and peatland fires, as blazes in central and western parts of the country generated dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia, Associated Press reported.

The suspects are being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra. Authorities are also examining whether companies financed or ordered the burning of land to clear areas for plantations, meaning the investigation could extend beyond those already arrested.

Indonesia has been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, with smoke from the blazes crossing into Malaysia, according to the National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB. Forest and land fires are a recurring problem in Indonesia and have often strained relations with neighbouring countries.

Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency, said plantation owners and traditional farmers often use fire to clear land for farming. Most of the suspects are accused of deliberately burning land to clear areas for plantations at a lower cost.

Investigators are tracing financial records to determine whether companies financed or ordered the land clearing, Associated Press reported.

“We will not stop at the perpetrators on the ground,” Irhami said in a news conference Sunday in the capital, Jakarta. “We will determine who benefited from these activities and who was ultimately behind them.”

The suspects face charges carrying penalties ranging from hefty fines to prison terms of up to 15 years, he said.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto travelled on Saturday to Central Kalimantan province, where more than 7,600 hectares (18,700 acres) have burned. He pledged the government resources needed to contain the fires, including helicopters and water pumps, and said companies found to have contributed to the fires would be held accountable.

“I hope we can control this soon,” Prabowo said during the visit. “We have experienced worse forest and land fires in the past, and we were able to overcome them.”

Prasetyo Hadi, the head of State Secretariat, accompanied Prabowo during the visit. He said at least four companies in West Kalimantan province were under investigation for allegedly using fire to clear land. If they are proven to have intentionally set the fires, they could face sanctions, including the revocation of their operating permits.

Smoke from the fires on Sunday blanketed parts of Borneo, the world’s third-largest island, which is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesia administers about three-quarters of the island, where the Environment Ministry recorded more than 3,700 hot spots on Sunday.

BNPB chief Suharyanto said fire activity had increased in West, Central and South Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, where many blazes have worsened due to peatlands, prolonging the dangerous haze.

“Fires that appear ‘extinguished on the surface may still contain embers underneath, so sufficient rainfall is crucial to rewet the peat and fully suppress the fires,” said Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.

South Sumatra was also battling fires, with more than 1,700 hot spots detected there on Sunday, the Environment Ministry said. The resulting haze reduced visibility to only 10 metres (33 feet) in some areas.

Cloud-seeding operations resumed over Kalimantan on Sunday, with 30 helicopters being used for water-bombing and aerial patrol missions and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra, Associated Press reported.

The fires have also caused severe smoke pollution in Malaysia, with the eastern state of Sarawak among the worst affected. One district recorded “very unhealthy” air quality on Friday, while eight others reported unhealthy readings, the Sarawak government said.

The conditions prompted the closure of nearly 600 schools and affected about 200,000 students, the Sarawak government said.