Malaysia’s offer to help Indonesia fight forest fires still stands, says minister

PETALING JAYA – Malaysia remains ready to deploy firefighting assets to Indonesia to help tackle forest fires contributing to the regional haze, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.He said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had reiterated the offer during the Oct 23 Cabinet meeting, while expressing appreciation for the strong diplomatic ties between the two countries.“The offer still stands. Malaysia remains ready to provide assets if they are needed,” he told a press conference.However, Fahmi said Malaysia had yet to receive a full response from Indonesia on the type of assistance it was prepared to accept.He said both the Foreign Ministry and the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry were still awaiting further details from the Indonesian authorities.Meanwhile, Fahmi said no Malaysian companies had been identified as being involved in forest burning activities in Indonesia so far.He said the Cabinet had been informed that the Indonesian authorities had taken action against 11 companies, following an announcement earlier on Oct 23.“However, so far, no Malaysian companies were found to be involved in forest burning activities in Indonesia,” he said.Fahmi added that Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup had also briefed the Cabinet on several developments concerning the haze situation. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK