President Prabowo in Sumatra to Observe Forest, Land Fires Management

President Prabowo Subianto, on Monday (08/24), headed to Pekanbaru, Riau province to observe the management of forest and land fires, reflecting the Government’s commitment to ensure that the management is carried out to completion, while simultaneously strengthening measures to prevent similar fires from recurring.

According to Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, President Prabowo wanted to ensure that hotspots are completely extinguished and all decisions made are executed quickly and accurately, rather than relying solely on reports.

He went on to say that the President on that occasion also emphasized the importance of coordination across regional governments, particularly the governors, regional military commanders (Pangdam), and regional Police Chiefs (Kapolda), in preventing the fires. Thus, a stronger prevention system must be established, for instance retention basins or water sources, permanent monitoring system, early hotspot detection, and the preparedness of villages prone to forest and land fires.

“The President has made clear directives that rather than extinguishing fires every year, we need to strengthen the prevention system,” Teddy said.

In addition to ensuring the fire extinguishing and preventive efforts, the Government will also conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the causes of the fires. Should any legal violations be detected, the Government will not hesitate to enforce strict sanctions according to the prevailing laws and regulations. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RAS/MMB)