"The handover of this water pump assistance is in order to provide supporting facilities to anticipate handling forest and land fires that occurred in West Kalimantan," Governor Sutarmidji said in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Friday.
According to Sutarmidji, the assistance is also a form of commitment and a reflection of the good relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia as allied countries with direct borders.
"We appreciate the assistance provided by the Malaysian Consulate. We have often done this collaboration, considering that the plantations in West Kalimantan are quite large and numerous, and it is undeniable that one of the investors is from Malaysia," he said.
In addition, the cooperation between Indonesia, especially with West Kalimantan, and Malaysia has been carried out frequently.
"What is clear (is that), we, as neighboring countries, continue to maintain and increase cooperation in any field; including during COVID-19, we experienced a shortage of oxygen and that was thanks to the cooperation with the Malaysian Consulate, (in) no more than 24 hours, we were able to bring oxygen to the people who needed it," said Sutarmidji.
Meanwhile, Azizul Zekri Bin Abd Rahim from the Malaysian Consulate said that the handover of water pump machines to the West Kalimantan provincial government was a form of synergy between the countries and good diplomacy as neighboring countries.
"The activity we are carrying out today is handing over water pump machines as a form of our synergy between the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia, especially in West Kalimantan, to anticipate changes in the weather, such as the El Nino, which can cause forest and land fires. Of course, this event has not only happened in West Kalimantan, but also had an impact on several countries and even Malaysia itself," said Azizul Zekri.
Related news: Indonesia lauds Malaysia for assistance in handling forest fires
Translator: Rendra Oxtora, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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