en.malanginspirasi.com — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has contacted Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for the second time to address the worsening transboundary haze crisis caused by forest and land fires in Indonesian provinces including Kalimantan.
The smoke from the blazes has blanketed parts of Malaysia, driving air quality to unhealthy levels, prompting school closures in several states and the federal territories, and raising widespread public health concerns.
Anwar described the situation as worrying and said he raised the matter directly with Prabowo.
The Indonesian president agreed to take the necessary steps, and both leaders concurred on further measures to tackle the crisis.
Indonesia has mobilised a large-scale response, deploying tens of thousands of personnel across affected provinces, along with aircraft and helicopters for water-bombing and related operations.
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Authorities report extinguishing fires across hundreds of hectares while pursuing legal action against individuals and companies linked to the fires.
Malaysia, for its part, is intensifying near-daily cloud-seeding operations in an effort to induce rain and clear the air.
Anwar has also directed Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan to engage the ASEAN Secretariat to convene a meeting of regional environment ministers focused on the haze.
The latest diplomatic outreach follows weeks of coordination between the two countries’ foreign and environment ministries.
Malaysia has repeatedly offered assistance to Indonesia in fighting the fires at their source.
The haze, driven by seasonal dry conditions and peatland fires, has affected air quality across the region, with multiple Malaysian areas recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index readings.
Schools in several locations were ordered closed to protect students, particularly those with respiratory vulnerabilities, as the thick smoke reduced visibility and heightened health risks for the public.
Indonesian authorities continue monitoring hotspots via satellite systems and conducting ground and aerial firefighting operations in priority provinces such as Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Riau and Jambi. Enforcement efforts include investigations into corporations and individuals suspected of contributing to the fires through land-clearing practices.
Both governments emphasised the need for sustained bilateral and ASEAN-level cooperation to mitigate the annual haze problem, which has long strained relations and public health across Southeast Asia.
Officials indicated that further updates on joint actions and the proposed ministers’ meeting would follow in the coming days.
