Indonesia Deserves Better Than Another Excuse Part 1

Indonesia’s 2026 haze is a public-health and economic problem rooted in recurring forest and land fires. Dry weather worsens the danger, but land management, prevention and enforcement help determine how much burns.

On 9 October, Singapore’s National Environment Agency reported unhealthy air and linked worsening haze to increased hotspots in Sumatra and unfavourable winds.

Weather explains how smoke travels. It does not settle who should prevent the fire.

Prevention needs more than a rainfall forecast

Peatlands are naturally wet. Drain them for agriculture or development and their carbon-rich soil becomes vulnerable to burning. Peat fires can smoulder underground, making suppression difficult.

UNEP identifies land-clearing fires, land disputes and drained peat as recurring drivers. Prevention therefore means keeping peat wet, maintaining early-warning systems and helping communities clear and manage land without burning.

Helicopters matter during emergencies. They cannot substitute for protecting water levels and inspecting fire-prone land before the emergency.

Waiting for rain is a forecast, not a prevention policy.

Corporate accountability must survive the announcement

On 29 October, Indonesian police reported 245 individual suspects and 20 corporate suspects in forest and land fire cases. Investigators also recommended revoking 23 companies’ business licences, citing indicators including recurring fires and inadequate firefighting infrastructure.

Those are documented enforcement steps. Suspect status is not a conviction, and a recommendation is not a completed revocation.

The public should be able to track which cases reach court, which sanctions take effect and whether damaged land is restored.

Companies controlling concessions should face scrutiny over prevention, drainage and emergency readiness. Responsibility must follow evidence, including where fires started and what operators did.

Counting investigations is useful. Counting consequences would be considerably more reassuring.

Regional assistance needs a visible timetable

On 11 October, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister said written offers of firefighting assistance were still awaiting a response. On 15 October, Indonesia’s foreign minister said regional assistance had presidential approval and technical arrangements were being discussed.

That record supports questions about coordination and timing. It does not justify claiming Indonesia rejected all foreign help.

Publish what was offered, approved and deployed, with dates. People breathing smoke deserve more clarity than “under discussion”.

The financial stakes extend beyond firefighting budgets. Treatment costs, missed work, damaged crops and disrupted transport spread losses across households and businesses. The World Bank estimated Indonesia’s 2015 fires caused US$16.1 billion in damage and economic losses. That is historical context, not a 2026 estimate.

Indonesians closest to the fires bear immediate harm; neighbouring communities bear costs too. Neither group should have to treat another smoke season as an unavoidable subscription.