Malaysia sends planes, three helicopters to help put out the fire in Borneo

JAKARTA, Sept. 19: Malaysia will send a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel to assist forest and land fire fighting operations in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the aid was approved by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at their meeting at the Indonesian President's residence in Hambalang, Bogor yesterday.

"President Prabowo welcomed and gave permission to Malaysia's offer to jointly deal with the fire problem in Borneo", he told reporters, today.

Ahmad Zahid said he will ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan to coordinate the assistance with the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM), Department of Meteorology Malaysia and Department of Bombs and Rescue.

He said that the cooperation not only aims to assist in short-term extinguishing operations, but also includes long-term planning for dealing with forest fires occurring in Sumatra, Kalimantan and several other provinces of Indonesia.

"As Indonesia's closest neighbour, Malaysia will continue to cooperate, in particular to reduce the impact of cross-border dust that is also affecting Sarawak", he said.