Malaysia & Indonesia discuss MoU to tackle forest fires and transboundary haze

The proposed agreement would strengthen hotspot monitoring, fire prevention, and early intervention, as Malaysia coordinates an offer to help Indonesia tackle fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

Malaysia and Indonesia are exploring a proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the environment and climate change to strengthen efforts to prevent forest and land fires and reduce the risk of transboundary haze, Bernama reported on 21 October 2026.

Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability said the proposed cooperation would focus on sharing hotspot monitoring data, managing high-risk areas, and coordinating early action to prevent fires from spreading.

He said both countries would continue working through the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP), the main mechanism for strengthening haze prevention, monitoring and response measures. This supports ASEAN's aspiration to achieve a haze-free region by 2030.

According to Bernama, Minister Syed Ibrahim was responding to a question from Dato’ Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar) in Parliament on diplomatic measures and cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia to reduce the risk of transboundary haze.

He said Malaysia had formally offered assistance to Indonesia on 9 September to tackle forest and land fires, including aerial firefighting operations using water bombing and cloud seeding.

Indonesia had agreed to accept the offer to tackle fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Arrangements for deploying the assistance were being coordinated by the Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and relevant agencies.

At the ASEAN level, Malaysia has proposed two initiatives to strengthen regional haze management:

1. Science diplomacy to promote the use of scientific data and evidence.
2. A sustainable haze fund to expand financing for fire prevention and regional haze management efforts.

Discussions on the proposals will continue at the 21st Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the AATHP, scheduled to take place in Vietnam in December.

Separately, Minister Syed Ibrahim said a proposal to introduce specific legislation to address transboundary haze required careful consideration to ensure it could be implemented effectively.

Responding to a supplementary question from Syahredzan Johan (PH-Bangi), he identified the difficulty of obtaining sufficient evidence to establish the source of pollution and identify those responsible as a key challenge.

This would involve gathering information on the location and coordinates of fire-affected areas, land ownership, parties conducting activities in those areas, and evidence linking specific fire incidents to the haze pollution experienced.

The proposed MoU, alongside Malaysia's offer of firefighting assistance and its initiatives at the ASEAN level, forms part of ongoing efforts to prevent forest and land fires and reduce the risk of transboundary haze across the region.

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