Indonesia’s Widodo threatens to sack officials over forest fires as smog hits Malaysia, Singapore

The threat came as Indonesia faced pressure from its neighbours to douse the blazes, which are blamed for sending air quality plummeting

Thousands of extra personnel have been deployed to prevent a repeat of 2015, when the worst fires for two decades choked the region in haze for weeks

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A firefighter works to extinguish a blaze in Indonesia’s South Sumatra province on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:39pm, 6 Aug 2019Updated: 1:35pm, 12 Dec 2019

Indonesian leader Joko Widodo warned on Tuesday that officials would be sacked if they failed to stamp out rampant forest fires that are belching out toxic smog over Malaysia and Singapore.

The threat came as Indonesia faced pressure from its neighbours to douse the blazes, which are blamed for sending air quality plummeting in parts of Southeast Asia.

“I’ve told the military and police chiefs to sack people who don’t tackle forest fires,” Widodo told a ministers’ meeting on the issue in Jakarta.

“We’ll be humiliated in front of other countries if we can’t solve this haze problem.

“No matter how small the fire is, put it out immediately,” he added.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo pictured in Jakarta on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Indonesian authorities are deploying thousands of extra personnel to prevent a repeat of 2015, when the worst fires for two decades choked the region in haze for weeks.