TIANJIN (CHINA): Malaysia is ready to assist Indonesia in tackling widespread forest and land fires after President Prabowo Subianto agreed to accept offers of aid from neighbouring countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia welcomed Indonesia's willingness to receive foreign assistance and remained committed to helping its neighbour, in the spirit of friendship and strong bilateral ties.
"We are grateful to the Indonesian government and President Prabowo for being open to accepting foreign assistance to tackle the forest fires.
"Even though the help we have offered is small, Malaysia is prepared to send aid to assist our neighbour," he said, adding that Malaysia values Prabowo's openness on the matter.
He was speaking shortly before departing China after concluding a five-day working visit.
Earlier, Indonesian Foreign Ministry official Arrmanatha Nasir said Prabowo had approved offers of assistance from neighbouring countries, with technical discussions under way to determine how the aid would be delivered.
However, he did not specify which countries had offered assistance or what form it would take.
Malaysia had previously offered to deploy a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, three helicopters and 52 personnel to help Indonesia tackle the fires.
On Sept 19, Zahid said Prabowo had accepted the offer during a meeting the previous day in Hambalang, West Java.
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