Indonesia names 20 companies as forest fire suspects in crackdown on haze culprits - The Straits Times

A group of firefighters putting out a fire in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, on Sept 13.

JAKARTA – Indonesian police have named 20 companies as suspects in 2026’s forest and land fires, as the crackdown on plantation firms responsible for the regional haze gathers pace. They said four are foreign-owned, with investors from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

The four foreign-owned companies, identified only by their initials as HKI, RKA, API and AI, were disclosed on Oct 29 by Asep Safrudin, head of the national police’s criminal investigation department, at a briefing in Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan.

The other 16 suspects are Indonesian-owned companies. Police gave no further information about each company's links or its parent group.

The 20 suspects come from 97 companies under criminal investigation for the fires. Indonesian police said that 22 of the 97 have foreign backing. The remaining 77 companies are still being investigated.

According to the Indonesian police, Singapore accounts for the largest share, with nine of the 22 companies. They added that Malaysia has eight, Britain two, and China, Japan and South Korea one each.

“The state will not allow forest and land fires, whether deliberate or through negligence, to generate economic gains enjoyed by a handful of irresponsible parties while the environmental damage and its impact are borne by the public and the state,” Asep, a three-star general, said. 

Police have also asked the authorities to revoke the permits of 23 companies on the grounds that they had repeated fires on their land, that fires started inside their concessions, that they possessed inadequate firefighting equipment, and that the fires spread across more than 500ha.

At a Cabinet meeting on Oct 21, President Prabowo Subianto ordered the police and prosecutors to pursue both individuals and corporations, calling the fires a crime against humanity and saying many companies shared responsibility. He also likened the fires to environmental terrorism.  

Singapore has also stepped up action, with the National Environment Agency issuing legal notices to 10 Indonesian companies to provide documents and information on their links to fires in Indonesia. Senior executives of the 10 firms were also called to a meeting with Senior Minister K. Shanmugam on Oct 28.

The Singapore Exchange has separately asked seven Singapore-listed agricultural companies about their operations and any links to the fires. 

Indonesian police did not say on Oct 29 whether any of the four foreign-owned suspects are among those Singapore is targeting.  

These companies face charges under the 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law, which covers deliberate and negligent acts that damage the environment, Asep said. Fines range from three billion rupiah (S$211,000) to 15 billion rupiah.

Indonesian regulations require plantation companies to keep fire watchtowers and CCTV cameras, at least one water reservoir for every 500ha, pumps, hoses and trained firefighting crews. They must also budget for fire control and carry out fire drills every six months. Inadequate equipment was one of the reasons cited for the 23 permit revocations.

“The number of corporate suspects will continue to grow as our investigations proceed,” Asep added.

Police have filed 287 additional reports against individuals, covering about 5,860ha, and named 245 suspects. Most are accused of clearing land by burning, either deliberately or through negligence.

Individuals face up to 15 years’ jail under the 1999 Forestry Law and up to 10 years’ jail and fines of up to 10 billion rupiah under the plantation and environmental laws.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja has been Indonesia correspondent at The Straits Times since 2008, and is based in Jakarta.