Criticism of the RI-Singapore Officials' Debate on Forest Fires: Expert Questions, Can Debate Extinguish the Fire?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of International Law at the University of Indonesia, criticized the debate between officials from Indonesia and Singapore regarding the forest and land fires disaster.

"My question is, will the fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra be extinguished by this debate?" he stated in a video statement on Wednesday (21/10/2026).

He argued that officials should focus on collaborating to extinguish the ongoing fires.

According to the ASEAN agreement on transboundary haze pollution, the country experiencing forest fires contributes to the haze affecting other ASEAN nations.

"Thus, what? All ASEAN countries must unite to resolve this fire issue, focusing on how to extinguish the flames?" he explained.

Hikmahanto emphasized that if any nation feels its people are suffering the most due to the impact of the forest fires, Indonesia shares that sentiment as well.

"Not only are the people in Malaysia, Singapore, or Brunei affected, but our citizens in Indonesia, both in Sumatra and Kalimantan, are already feeling the impact," he added.

Therefore, he reiterated that political debates should be set aside, as the urgent matter at hand is putting out the fires.

The "Send Oxygen" Debate

The debate originated from a statement made by the Head of the Communication Agency of Indonesia (Bakom) Syahganda Nainggolan on October 10, 2026.

At that time, Syahganda defended Indonesia against criticism regarding the transboundary haze.

He mentioned that Indonesia does not solely send haze to neighboring countries but also supplies oxygen when there is no haze.

“We do not only send haze. When there is no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia comes from our forests, right?” said Syahganda.

He also referred to the forest fires as a natural phenomenon beyond human control.

In response, Singapore's Senior Minister K Shanmugam expressed his disappointment.