Haze: Malaysia still awaiting Indonesia’s response to firefighting aid offer, says DPM Zahid

Malaysia is still waiting for Indonesia's response to its offer to help with forest and land fires causing transboundary haze, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Malaysia offered a firefighting aircraft, three helicopters, and 52 personnel to assist Indonesia, and remains hopeful despite no response yet.

The SMART team, recognised as Asia's second-best rescue team, has been assisting in Nepal to locate uncontactable Malaysians following a disaster.

IPOH, Oct 11 — Malaysia is still awaiting a response from Indonesia on its offer to help put out forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan that have caused transboundary haze, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

He said that during a visit to Jakarta last month, he had met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and a representative of the Vice-President to discuss the offer of assistance.

“The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the Foreign Ministry have also written to their respective counterparts, but there has been no response yet.

“We take a positive view that perhaps they do not require our assistance. We remain optimistic and assume the best,” he told reporters after officiating the launch of National Preparedness Month (BKN) 2026 at the Ipoh Convention Centre here today.

In his speech, Ahmad Zahid, who is also chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, said Malaysia had offered a firefighting aircraft, three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel to assist with firefighting operations in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, he said the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) not only assisted in managing disasters domestically but was also always ready to provide aid to other countries affected by disasters.

He said the team had also been deployed to Nepal to help locate 55 Malaysians who remained uncontactable following a disaster there, including by sending DNA samples to assist in the identification process.

“So far, we have not found any remains to be brought back to Malaysia. We are still waiting, and I would like to congratulate the SMART team,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid also expressed pride in SMART’s recognition as the second-best rescue team in Asia after Japan.

He said SMART had also retained its international Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) classification after undergoing a 36-hour assessment involving 173 criteria. — Bernama

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据马来西亚副首相拿督斯里艾哈迈德·扎希德·哈米迪称，马来西亚仍在等待印尼对其帮助应对造成跨境烟霾的森林和土地火灾的提议作出回应。

马来西亚已向印度尼西亚提供了一架消防飞机、三架直升机和 52 名人员，尽管尚未得到回应，但仍抱有希望。

SMART 团队被誉为亚洲第二好的救援队，一直在尼泊尔协助寻找灾难后失联的马来西亚人。

怡保，10月11日讯——马来西亚副首相拿督斯里阿末扎希表示，马来西亚仍在等待印尼对其帮助扑灭苏门答腊和加里曼丹森林和土地火灾的提议作出回应，这些火灾已造成跨境烟霾。

他说，上个月访问雅加达期间，他与印尼总统普拉博沃·苏比安托和副总统代表会面，讨论了援助事宜。

“国家灾害管理署（Nadma）和外交部也已致函各自的对口部门，但目前尚未收到任何回复。

“我们持乐观态度，认为他们或许不需要我们的援助。我们保持乐观，并抱持最好的期望。”他今天在怡保会展中心主持2026年全国防灾准备月（BKN）启动仪式后告诉记者。

马来西亚国家灾害管理委员会主席艾哈迈德·扎希德在讲话中表示，马来西亚已提供一架消防飞机、三架直升机和 52 名官员和工作人员，协助印度尼西亚开展消防行动。

与此同时，他表示，马来西亚特别灾害援助和救援队（SMART）不仅协助处理国内灾害，而且随时准备向其他受灾国家提供援助。

他说，该团队还被派往尼泊尔，帮助寻找在当地发生灾难后仍然失联的 55 名马来西亚人，包括送检 DNA 样本以协助身份识别过程。

“到目前为止，我们还没有找到任何可以带回马来西亚的遗骸。我们仍在等待，我谨向SMART团队表示祝贺，”他说。

艾哈迈德·扎希德也对SMART被评为亚洲第二好的救援队（仅次于日本）表示自豪。

他表示，SMART在经过一项历时36小时、涵盖173项标准的评估后，仍然保持了其国际重型城市搜救（USAR）资质。——马新社

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国防部将利用闲置的军事用地保障粮食安全和退伍军人福利，哈立德·诺丁表示。

据印尼部长称，马来西亚和印尼就烟霾问题保持高级别沟通，雅加达已部署6万人扑灭火灾。