KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Malaysia cannot afford to stand by as raging forest fires in Indonesia send thick haze across the region, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said today, as the country offered to deploy helicopters and water-bombing aircraft to help contain the blazes.
But Mohamad warned that dangerously poor visibility, reportedly below 50m in affected areas, could hamper aerial firefighting operations and put pilots at risk.
“It is indeed difficult. Even the Japanese team was previously unable to do anything and has since returned to their country. But as a country affected by the situation, we cannot simply sit back and do nothing,” he said, according to Sinar Harian.
Speaking to reporters at the 10th National General Assembly of the National Solidarity Association (PerSoNa) in Melaka, Mohamad said the fires were burning deep in remote inland areas, making them difficult to reach by land.
