TIANJIN, Oct 16 — Malaysia is ready to help Indonesia tackle widespread forest and land fires after President Prabowo Subianto agreed to accept offers of assistance from neighbouring countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia welcomed the Indonesian government’s openness to receiving foreign assistance to fight the fires.
He said that although Malaysia’s offer might be modest, Putrajaya 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 valued Prabowo’s openness on the matter.
He made the remarks to Malaysian journalists during an afternoon tea session shortly before departing China today, following a five-day working visit.
Earlier, Indonesian Foreign Ministry official Arrmanatha Nasir reportedly said President Prabowo had approved offers of assistance from neighbouring countries, with technical discussions underway to determine how the aid would be delivered.
However, Arrmanatha 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 September 19, Ahmad Zahid said Prabowo had accepted the offer during a meeting the previous day in Hambalang, West Java. — Bernama