PETALING JAYA – A claim by an Indonesian official that his country supplies Malaysia and Singapore with “oxygen, not just haze” has sparked a wave of online ridicule, with social media users responding with sarcasm and disbelief.
Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia’s Government Communications Agency, made the remark while addressing concerns over transboundary haze caused by ongoing Indonesian forest fires.
“We’re not just sending over the haze. When there’s no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia comes from our forests, right?” Syahganda was quoted as saying by news outlet Kompas on Saturday (Oct 10).
His comments quickly triggered backlash on social media, where users mocked the idea of attributing atmospheric oxygen to a single nation.
“How do you identify oxygen from Indonesia?” asked Facebook user Richard Wong, while another commenter, Foong Sp, noted: “How do you quantify O2? But we can definitely quantify haze.”
Others poked fun at the logic, with user Stanley Yeo quipping, “Send oxygen to create more fire? Thanks ah,” while another commenter suggested Indonesia might as well claim responsibility for the sunshine.
Syahganda also attempted to downplay human involvement in the crisis, framing the forest fires as an unavoidable natural phenomenon rather than the result of land clearing or negligence.
“We hope our neighbours understand that this is beyond human error; this is truly nature,” he said, adding that discussions with Malaysia and Singapore regarding joint mitigation efforts remain ongoing.
The controversy comes amidst diplomatic discussions over the regional haze. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously raised concerns with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Oct 8, while Singapore’s Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu reaffirmed on Oct 10 that the republic remains ready to assist in firefighting operations.
ANN/The Star