Malaysia offers Indonesia aircraft, helicopters to fight forest fires amid haze concerns, says Zahid

Malaysia has offered Indonesia a Bombardier aircraft, helicopters, and personnel to fight forest fires, as per Deputy Prime Minister Zahid's meeting with Indonesian Vice-President Gibran.

The assistance will be referred to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for approval, and is part of a broader visit aimed at fostering regional cooperation and addressing transboundary haze.

Malaysia aims to mitigate the annual fire and haze issues through cooperation with Indonesia, emphasising proactive strategies and bilateral disaster management initiatives.

JAKARTA, Sept 17 — Malaysia has officially offered assistance to Indonesia in tackling forest fires, including a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft previously deployed to help its neighbour combat similar fires.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this was conveyed to Indonesian Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka during a meeting held in conjunction with his four-day working visit to the country, which began today.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said the assistance would also include three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

“The matter will be referred to President Prabowo Subianto for the Indonesian government’s approval,” he told a press conference after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and Indonesia’s Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions here today.

The visit, which runs until September 20, is at the invitation of Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency (BPJPH) in conjunction with the 5th Halal 20 (H20) Summit.

Ahmad Zahid is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony tomorrow and participate as a panellist in a session on regional halal cooperation.

The MMEA’s Bombardier CL-415MP, which is capable of carrying out aerial firefighting operations, was previously deployed to South Sumatra in 2015, where it dropped 546,000 litres of water during a five-day mission.

Ahmad Zahid said the aircraft would draw water from lakes, seas or rivers before dropping it over fire-affected areas, while the three helicopters offered would also be deployed for the same purpose.

“Malaysia is deeply concerned about this problem, which occurs every year, whether due to open burning in Kalimantan or Sumatra, with the resulting haze reaching Malaysia.

“We want to help Indonesia address the problem together,” he said.

He said the assistance was not intended to interfere in Indonesia’s affairs, but rather to help address transboundary haze, which also affects neighbouring countries.

“What is important to us is to resolve this problem before it happens every year. This means having a mitigation plan or a strategy to prevent it from happening. The mitigation plan is in the interests of both Malaysia and Indonesia,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia and Indonesia also maintained close cooperation in disaster management through meetings and joint exercises, including at the Asean level. — Bernama

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据马来西亚副总理扎希德与印尼副总统吉布兰的会晤，马来西亚已向印尼提供庞巴迪飞机、直升机和人员，以帮助印尼扑灭森林火灾。

这项援助将提交给印度尼西亚总统普拉博沃·苏比安托批准，是旨在促进区域合作和解决跨境雾霾问题的更广泛访问的一部分。

马来西亚希望通过与印度尼西亚的合作来减轻每年的火灾和烟霾问题，重点是采取积极主动的策略和双边灾害管理举措。

雅加达，9 月 17 日——马来西亚已正式向印度尼西亚提供援助，以应对森林火灾，其中包括一架庞巴迪 CL-415MP 飞机，该飞机此前曾部署帮助其邻国应对类似的火灾。

马来西亚副首相拿督斯里艾哈迈德·扎希德·哈米迪表示，在今天开始的为期四天的对印尼工作访问期间，他与印尼副总统吉布兰·拉卡布明·拉卡举行了会晤，并向其传达了这一信息。

国家灾害管理委员会主席艾哈迈德·扎希德表示，援助还将包括三架直升机以及来自国家灾害管理机构（Nadma）、马来西亚海事执法机构（MMEA）和马来西亚皇家空军（RMAF）的 52 名官员和人员。

“此事将提交给普拉博沃·苏比安托总统，由印尼政府批准，”他在今天农村和区域发展部与印尼乡村和弱势地区发展部签署谅解备忘录（MoU）仪式后的新闻发布会上表示。

此次访问将持续到 9 月 20 日，是应印度尼西亚清真产品保证组织机构 (BPJPH) 的邀请，与第五届清真 20 (H20) 峰会同期举行。

艾哈迈德·扎希德计划于明日出席开幕式，并作为小组成员参加关于区域清真合作的会议。

马来西亚海事执法局的庞巴迪 CL-415MP 飞机能够执行空中灭火行动，此前曾于 2015 年部署到南苏门答腊，在为期五天的任务中投放了 546,000 升水。

艾哈迈德·扎希德表示，这架飞机将从湖泊、海洋或河流中抽取水，然后将其洒在受火灾影响的地区，而提供的三架直升机也将用于同样的目的。

“马来西亚对这个问题深表关切，这个问题每年都会发生，无论是由于加里曼丹还是苏门答腊的露天焚烧，产生的烟雾都会飘到马来西亚。”

他说：“我们希望与印尼共同解决这个问题。”

他表示，提供援助并非意在干涉印尼内政，而是为了帮助解决跨境雾霾问题，该问题也影响到邻国。

他说：“对我们来说，重要的是在每年发生这个问题之前就解决它。这意味着要制定缓解计划或策略来预防它。缓解计划符合马来西亚和印度尼西亚的共同利益。”

艾哈迈德·扎希德表示，马来西亚和印度尼西亚在灾害管理方面也保持着密切合作，包括通过会议和联合演习等方式，在东盟层面开展合作。——马新社

安华：受雾霾和高温影响，马来西亚家庭用电量不超过800千瓦时的家庭，在12月31日前可免缴空气设施费、零售费和销售与服务税。

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