TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Director of Special Criminal Investigation of the Indonesian National Police, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Irhamni, stated that investigators have named 162 suspects in land and forest fire cases across various regions of Indonesia.
“There are a total of 219 cases related to the fires spread across regional police jurisdictions,” Irhamni said during a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, broadcast on the ministry’s YouTube channel on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
Irhamni detailed the regional police forces handling fire cases. West Kalimantan Regional Police leads with 65 cases, followed by Riau with 57, South Sumatra with 24, Central Kalimantan with 25, East Kalimantan with 16, Jambi with 14, South Kalimantan with 9, Aceh with 2, North Kalimantan with 2, Lampung with 2, South Sulawesi with 1, and Central Sulawesi with 2 cases.
Of the total cases, 54 remain at the preliminary inquiry stage, while 116 have progressed to formal investigation. “Across all cases, 162 individuals have been named suspects,” Irhamni stated.
Corporate Involvement Under Scrutiny
In addition to individual cases, police are also probing allegations of corporate involvement in starting forest and land fires. Investigations target 33 corporations under West Kalimantan Regional Police, 10 under South Kalimantan, 7 under East Kalimantan, and 14 under Central Kalimantan.
Additionally, North Kalimantan Regional Police are investigating 3 corporations, South Sumatra 16, Riau 6, Jambi 2, Lampung 3, and Bangka Belitung 1 corporation. “In total, there are 95 corporations,” Irhamni said.
Prabowo Demands Zero Mercy
Previously, President Prabowo Subianto instructed Indonesian National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to go all out and deploy personnel to examine and probe any potential criminal involvement by companies responsible for land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
“I ask that there be no further hesitation. If their responsibility is clear, we must revoke all their permits, and if necessary, pursue criminal charges even after revocation. There will be no mercy going forward,” Prabowo said in an official statement on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
Six Priority Regions Battling Haze
Berton SP Panjaitan, Acting Head of the Data, Information, and Disaster Communication Center at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and Director of Disaster Mitigation, stated that authorities have prioritized six regions for fire suppression. Among them is West Kalimantan, where seven hotspots spanning 122.9 hectares have been detected, with roughly 65 hectares successfully extinguished.
Visibility across several parts of West Kalimantan has dropped below 1 kilometer. Affected areas include Mempawah, Pontianak, Melawi, Sambas, Ketapang, Kubu Raya, Sintang, Kapuas Hulu, and Singkawang City. Meanwhile, Central Kalimantan recorded 94 hotspots covering over 218 hectares yesterday, with 108.7 hectares already extinguished.
“Hopefully, there will be no new hotspots and all existing fires can be put out today,” Berton said on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
Visibility in Central Kalimantan is also severely restricted to less than 1 kilometer. In South Kalimantan, 36 hotspots have burned over 131 hectares, with 96.8 hectares extinguished. Visibility there remains under 6 kilometers. Flight operations in South Kalimantan continue without disruption.
In South Sumatra, fires have burned over 531 hectares across 24 hotspots as of yesterday. Crews have managed to extinguish roughly 240 hectares. Visibility remains below 4 kilometers, while flight operations are operating relatively normally.
Meanwhile, Jambi Province reported 39 hotspots covering more than 106 hectares of burned land. Approximately 65 hectares have been brought under control. Visibility has dropped below 1 kilometer, particularly in the morning, pushing air quality into very unhealthy levels. BNPB also noted that flight operations to Jambi experienced delays yesterday.
In Riau, reports indicate over 53 hectares burned across 21 hotspots, with more than 29 hectares extinguished. However, 23.8 hectares continue to burn. Visibility in the province ranges between 4 and 8 kilometers, with air quality varying from moderate to very unhealthy, while flights remain relatively normal.
Read: Indonesia Commits to ASEAN Mechanisms for Forest Fire Response
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