"Everybody is equal before the law," the head of state remarked.Banjarbaru, S Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo affirmed that the law will be imposed equally on individuals and companies found guilty of causing or being involved in forest and land fires.
"Everybody is equal before the law," the head of state remarked during a visit to an area affected by a hotspot in Guntung Damar Village in the South Kalimantan city of Banjanbaru on Wednesday.
He noted that forest and land fires in certain parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan Island have caused losses worth trillions of rupiah.
Therefore, the president revealed that he had ordered Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar to revoke the principle business licenses of all companies found guilty of causing forest and land fires.
The haze from forest and land fires over the past weeks has triggered health problems among the people living in disaster zones and has also disrupted commercial flight operations in several main cities, including at the Kuala Namu International Airport in North Sumatra.
President Widodo said he will continue to monitor forest and land fires affecting the two main islands and has urged the military, police, and local governments to work together to extinguish them.
They also need to conduct a sustainable public awareness campaign program to educate the locals to stop using the slash and burn method to clear land, he remarked.
"Solid collaboration is needed as extinguishing forest and land fires, which have ravaged tens of thousands of hectares of land, is not easy. Therefore, all-out efforts are needed," he noted.
Meanwhile, Chief of the Antasari district military command Colonel Muhammad Abduh Ras stated that stringent law enforcement measures have been imposed on those allegedly involved in forest and land fires.
A total of 142 people have been questioned, and six have been declared as suspects, he said, adding that seven companies in South Kalimantan were also allegedly responsible for the forest and land fires.
In South Kalimantan, 1,538 hotspots have been detected, of which 1,460 have been put out. Thus, there are still 70 hotspots on the ground, he noted.
A CN295 aircraft, three Casa 212 light aircraft, and 17 helicopters were deployed to extinguish the remaining hotspots that indicate the presence of wildfires.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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