Shanmugam criticises Indonesian official’s ‘oxygen’ remarks, welcomes haze response
Singapore’s senior minister called the remarks disappointing as fires affected the region, while welcoming Indonesia’s approval of foreign assistance.
Singapore Senior Minister K Shanmugam criticised an Indonesian official’s remarks about haze on 19 October at Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore, while welcoming President Prabowo Subianto’s response to fires in Indonesia that have affected neighbouring countries, CNA reported. Shanmugam called the official’s claim that Indonesia supplies its neighbours with oxygen when there is no haze disappointing as people in the region suffered from the fires.
The official, Syahganda Nainggolan, heads Indonesia’s Government Communications Agency. He made the remarks on 10 October while defending Indonesia against criticism over haze, according to CNA. Nainggolan also characterised forest fires as a natural phenomenon beyond human error. Shanmugam said the comments were ‘not right’ and, citing reactions to them, said he did not believe the view was widely shared by Indonesia’s government or public.
Why Shanmugam disputes the account of the fires
Shanmugam described transboundary haze as preventable and driven by companies pursuing profits. He said responsibility should be established clearly, recalling the haze episodes Singapore experienced in 2013 and 2015 and saying the problem had returned after several years without it. He also said Singapore would use legal, regulatory and economic measures against companies responsible for haze and was prepared to strengthen its laws urgently. Singapore has previously examined companies’ possible role in Indonesian fires and issued notices to firms, as covered in NewsJaws’ earlier report on haze laws and company notices.
Smoke from the fires spread towards Singapore and Malaysia, The Straits Times reported. Indonesia initially said it could handle the fires despite offers of help from both countries. Prabowo welcomed a Malaysian offer of aircraft and firefighters in September, but that assistance had yet to materialise weeks later, the paper reported.
Indonesia’s approval of foreign assistance
Shanmugam welcomed steps he said Prabowo’s administration had taken: replacing the head of the agency responsible for firefighting and disaster relief, issuing directives against slash-and-burn practices on peatland, and making fire prevention a long-term priority. He said Prabowo had approved foreign assistance and that Singapore had offered help and would support Indonesia’s efforts, CNA reported.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said on 15 October that discussions on assistance from neighbouring countries had reached a technical stage, according to CNA. The Straits Times separately reported Prabowo’s approval and the ongoing technical discussions. It was not immediately clear which offers Indonesia would use, what help would be deployed or when it would arrive.
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Sources and context
- Shanmugam calls Indonesian official's 'oxygen' remarks disappointing, welcomes Prabowo's actions on hazeCNA
- Indonesia’s haze response comes into focus as Prabowo marks two years in officeThe Straits Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.