Indonesia's Forest Fires: Bakom Says Our Opponent Is Not Singapore-Malaysia, But...

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Senior Expert of the Indonesian Government Communication Agency (Bakom) Hariqo Wibawa Satria stated that Indonesia's opponents in the ongoing forest and land fires (karhutla) are not Singapore, Malaysia, or businessmen.

He identified the true enemy of karhutla as 'serakahnomics'.

"We need to emphasize that our opponents are not businessmen, they are not wealthy individuals, they are not Singapore, they are not Malaysia. They are not group A or group B. They are not anyone at all. President Prabowo has clarified who our enemy is? Serakahnomics. Our enemy is serakahnomics," Hariqo stated during a Prabowo volunteer event in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Thursday (22/10/2026).

He described Singapore and Malaysia as allies, considering they are both part of the regional community.

He asserted that Indonesia has good relations with the people of Malaysia and Singapore.

"We are one family. We have no issues with the people of Malaysia. We have no issues with the people of Singapore or Thailand. The president has emphasized from the outset that our enemy is greed, avarice," he explained.

Hariqo mentioned that the real enemies are companies that burn forests and lands out of greed.

He reported that 230 individuals and several corporations have been designated as suspects in the karhutla cases.

"We are optimistic that with all the resources we have, we can extinguish the fires in Kalimantan and Sumatera. We continue to pray that our brothers and sisters in Kalimantan and Sumatera are safe, especially the 69,000 personnel who are deployed day and night, along with 2,000 healthcare professionals, 1,800 community health centers, and 380 hospitals that are on standby," said Hariqo.

Meanwhile, Hariqo reminded that the government will remain dedicated to the public.

He expressed that those in government are moved to tears when seeing citizens affected by karhutla suffering from respiratory illnesses or difficulty breathing.

"And such commitments are what strengthens law enforcement in connection with forest and land fires," he added.