Indonesian police arrest 72 people as fires fill the region with smoke

Bushfires

Fires are burning in many parts of Indonesia and covering the area with smoke.

In short:

Indonesian officials have taken 72 people into custody for allegedly starting fires, while huge smoke clouds choke large parts of the country and its neighbours.

Malaysia has been hit hard by the smoke, especially its eastern state of Sarawak.

What's next?

Investigators are looking into possible company involvement in the fire‑setting, and the charges could bring up to 15 years in prison.

Indonesian police say they have arrested 72 suspects who are thought to have started recent forest and peat fires, creating a dangerous haze.

Indonesia is fighting fires that are made worse by a strong El Niño pattern and a long dry season, producing thick smoke that has drifted into Malaysia, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

Fires happen often in the country and can strain relations with nearby nations.

Plantation owners and small farmers often light fires to clear land for crops, says Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency.

Brigadier General Irhamni said the arson suspects are being investigated for 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on Borneo and four on Sumatra.

Areas in Sumatra are covered in smoke from large forest fires. (AP: Abriansyah Liberto)

He said most suspects are accused of deliberately burning land to clear it for plantations at lower cost.

Investigators are still checking financial records to see if companies paid for or ordered the land clearing, meaning the probe could grow beyond those arrested.

"We will not stop at the ground perpetrators," Brigadier General Irhamni said at a Sunday news conference in Jakarta.

"We will find out who benefited from these actions and who was really behind them."

Indonesian president visits fire‑hit zones

The suspects face charges that could bring heavy fines and prison terms up to 15 years, he said.

President Prabowo Subianto flew on Saturday to Central Kalimantan, where more than 7,600 hectares have burned, to urge officials to control the haze.

Mr Prabowo promised government resources to fight the fires, including helicopters and water pumps, and said any companies that helped cause the fires will be held responsible.

"I hope we can control this soon," Mr Prabowo said during the visit.

President Prabowo was accompanied by Prasetyo Hadi, head of the State Secretariat. He said at least four companies in West Kalimantan are being investigated for allegedly using fire to clear land.

If they are proven to have set the fires on purpose, they could lose their operating permits, he said.

El Niño brings drought to Australia, but another rain band is expected to bring rain to the country this week.

Smoke from Sunday’s fires covered parts of Borneo, the world’s third‑largest island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Indonesia controls about three‑quarters of the island, where the Environment Ministry recorded more than 3,700 hot spots on Sunday.

BNPB chief Suharyanto said fire activity rose in West, Central and South Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, where many fires worsened because of peatlands, keeping the haze dangerous in several areas.

Fires that look "extinguished" on the surface may still have hot embers underneath, so enough rain is needed to re‑wet the peat and fully put out the fires, said Lieutenant General Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.

South Sumatra’s western island also fought fires, with over 1,700 hot spots found on Sunday, creating a choking haze and reducing visibility to just 10 metres in some places, the ministry said.

Cloud‑seeding started again over Kalimantan on Sunday, with 30 helicopters dropping water and patrolling the sky, and another 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has been hit hard by the smoke, especially its eastern state of Sarawak.

One district reported "very unhealthy" air quality on Friday, while eight others showed unhealthy levels, leading to the closure of nearly 600 schools and affecting about 200,000 students, the Sarawak government said.

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