Indonesia welcomes Singapore, Malaysia help against worsening haze — SkimNews
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- BNPB acting spokesman Berton Panjaitan told The Straits Times on Oct 10 that ground personnel would be more useful than helicopters due to low visibility, though he stressed this was a personal assessment rather than an official request for international assistance.
- Singapore's 24-hour PSI reached 192 in central Singapore at 6pm on Oct 9 — its highest reading of 2026 and just below the "very unhealthy" threshold of 201 — as the city hosted the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix from Oct 9 to 11.
- Singapore Minister Grace Fu said on Oct 10 she had contacted Indonesian Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat to offer support, saying: "We are aware that efforts are going on. We stand ready to assist where we can."
- Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim said on Oct 8 he had spoken with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto by telephone about the haze, with Prabowo agreeing to take steps; Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on Oct 7 Prabowo had accepted Malaysia's firefighting assistance offer.
- Indonesia's Forestry Ministry said 61 aircraft are on standby to fight fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan, where peat fires have proven especially stubborn — Berton said only "heavy rain, and not just once or twice," expected in late October or early November, can flood the peatland fully.
- The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control — set to be based in Indonesia — has yet to take effect, with ASEAN's own legal instruments database listing it as "Not In Force," despite a June 2026 Singapore-Indonesia environmental cooperation deal and progress noted at a July 9 Bali meeting.
Why it matters: The crisis exposes how toothless regional cooperation frameworks remain: the ASEAN haze centre treaty Indonesia agreed to host is still legally "Not In Force," and Indonesia's own disaster agency says only monsoon rain — not foreign helicopters — can extinguish the peat fires, meaning Singapore's F1 weekend and millions across Sumatra, Kalimantan and the Malay Peninsula face unhealthy air until late October or November.
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