By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-24 01:26:28 | Updated at 2026-09-19 08:37:51
3 weeks ago
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The Ampera Bridge shrouded in haze from wildfires in Palembang, in Indonesia’s South Sumatra province, on Aug 23.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Published Aug 24, 2026, 09:10 AM
Updated Aug 24, 2026, 09:10 AM
- Indonesian police have named 72 suspects in deliberate land burning linked to clearing land for oil palm plantations in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
- President Prabowo ordered rapid disaster response, deploying army battalions and firefighting equipment to control spreading fires, especially in Kalimantan's peatlands.
- Authorities are investigating companies’ involvement, with possible permit revocations if found guilty, while the President plans to visit quake-hit East Nusa Tenggara soon.
JAKARTA – The Indonesian police have named 72 suspects in their crackdown on deliberate land burning after President Prabowo Subianto ordered over the weekend a rapid response to disasters ravaging parts of the country, including efforts to contain the land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) on Aug 23 said police investigations across five provinces in Kalimantan and four in Sumatra found evidence suggesting that fires detected through satellite-monitored hot spots had been deliberately set by the suspects.
