SINGAPORE — Singapore spent Friday serving notices on seven companies in Indonesia to put out the fires on their land, and telling its own children, elderly and people with heart or lung disease to cut back on going outside.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) named PT Bumi Andalas Permai, PT Bumi Mekar Hijau, PT Paramitra Mulia Langgeng, PT Sumatera Alam Anugerah, PT SBA Wood Industries, PT Hutan Lestari Raya and PT Bangkanesia. It cited “indications” that smoke from fires on their concessions could have moved to Singapore, part of the smoke from Indonesia forest fires that has hung over the island, on and off, since late September.
The notices demand three things: firefighters on the land, no burning, and a plan to prevent a repeat. NEA sent the same three demands, word for word, to four Indonesian companies in September 2015. A ministerial reply in 2021 counted six companies served over that haze, with two cases closed and four still open.
Singapore’s own air has worsened while the paperwork repeats. NEA’s evening update put the 24-hour pollutant index at 159 to 222 at 8 p.m. on Friday, and its forecast for Saturday is 150 to 230. NEA reports a range across the island, not one figure.
Jakarta’s position is harder to read. In May 2016, Indonesia’s foreign ministry reportedly said its embassy had “strongly protested” an NEA court warrant against a company director, remarks Singapore’s foreign ministry called “puzzling”.
Jakarta says it is chasing the same kind of company. In September, Xinhua reported, Prabowo told police to examine whether firms linked to fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan bear criminal liability, saying “license revocation alone would not be sufficient.” On Friday, Xinhua said, smoke reached Jakarta, where the meteorological agency read 67.5 micrograms of fine particles per cubic metre in Kemayoran at noon. Xinhua linked the dry spell to a stronger El Niño, the subject of TEH’s El Niño record report on Wednesday.
At home, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s response has been practical. He wrote on X that N95 and equivalent masks were going to “vulnerable Singaporeans,” with air-conditioned shelters opening at community clubs and some residents’ centres.
The notices are demands, not findings. NEA’s release names the companies but not their owners, and sets out no deadline for replies. In 2016 Singapore’s foreign ministry said it had repeatedly asked Jakarta for information on companies suspected of illegal burning and was “yet to receive any information.” TEH found no Indonesian response to Friday’s notices. Whether Jakarta will share concession records this time is the question neither government has answered in public.
