00:01Indonesia is under pressure to crack down harder on polluters and accept more international help
00:07fighting forest and peatland fires as transboundary haze chokes the region.
00:12The fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra have hit a critical phase this year,
00:17blanketing neighbouring countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, in toxic smog.
00:22Malaysia has reported unhealthy air pollution readings in Kuala Lumpur,
00:26Johor and 12 other locations, about one-fifth of monitored areas.
00:32Johor announced a week-long closure of all schools and educational institutions from Monday.
00:38Singapore also recorded unhealthy air quality and is considering suspending classes and
00:43national examinations if pollution reaches the hazardous level.
00:47In Indonesia, around 60,000 joint personnel have been deployed across six priority provinces
00:54for aerial firefighting and weather modification.
00:57Indonesia's Foreign Ministry also reaffirmed the country's compliance with the ASEAN Agreement
01:02on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which requires regular reporting on fire activity and firefighting
01:08responses.
01:09Singapore and Malaysia have both offered help.
01:13Singapore's Sustainability and Environment Minister Grace Fu said her country stands ready
01:19with assistance, while Malaysia offered three helicopters, an aircraft and 52 personnel in
01:24September, a gesture President Prabowo Subianto welcomed.
01:28At home, Prabowo and dozens of local and central administrations face a lawsuit from indigenous
01:35and civil society groups in West Kalimantan, who accuse them of negligence in preventing and
01:40handling the fires.
01:42The first hearing in Pontianak was postponed to October 21, after almost all defendants failed
01:49to attend.
01:50Plaintiff's lawyer, Gloria Sanen, said the central government's absence delayed efforts to
01:55handle the worsening fires.
