Prabowo Threatens to Revoke Company Licenses Over Indonesia's Forest Fires
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called human-caused forest and land fires "environmental terrorism" and warned that companies responsible for regulatory violations could lose their licenses. Police have named 11 corporations as suspects in fire cases, including three foreign-invested companies.
Warning to companies and foreign critics
At an October 21, 2026, plenary cabinet meeting at the palace in Jakarta, Prabowo blamed human activity, rather than natural causes, for Indonesia's forest and land fires, known as karhutla.
"This is a crime against humanity because what they are doing endangers the health of millions of our people. We must not take it lightly," he said.
Prabowo also warned countries mocking Indonesia over the fires that he could release data identifying the companies involved.
He made license revocations conditional on clear evidence of violations. "If the evidence is clear, we will take action, we will revoke all licenses of companies that violate regulations," he said.
Corporate investigations and permit suspensions
Prabowo directed police, prosecutors and the Forestry Ministry to thoroughly investigate corporate involvement, supported by the military and intelligence agencies. He said many corporations shared responsibility for fires across Indonesia and that members of the public had caught people deliberately setting fires.
The 11 corporate suspects include three foreign-invested companies, designated PMA in Indonesia. National Police Chief General Suyudi Ario Seto said the police Criminal Investigation Agency, Bareskrim, had moved 98 reports involving corporate-linked fires into formal investigation. On October 21, he said accountability would also reach company owners and shareholders, not just the corporate entities.
Separately, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni announced the suspension of Forest Utilization Business Permits (PBPH) for six additional companies in Central Kalimantan: PT Produk Kalimantan Jaya, PT Taiyong Engreen, PT Hutan Produk Lestari, PT Ramang Agro Lestari, PT Puspa Warna Cemerlang and PT Sinergi Hutan Sejati.
The latest suspensions brought the number of forestry firms sanctioned over the fires to 32, according to ANTARA News reporting on October 21-22. Those firms manage concessions covering more than 1.9 million hectares, including 18,489 hectares affected by fires.
Rising hotspots and the toll of haze
The Environment and Forestry Ministry reported that Indonesia's fire hotspot count had quadrupled from 270 on October 17 to 1,104 by October 19. Central Kalimantan had the largest increase, from 92 to 495, while West Kalimantan's count rose from 22 to 174, The Rakyat Post reported.
A September 14 report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air estimated that smoke and land fires caused 1,700 deaths in Indonesia during August 2026 alone. More than 280,000 respiratory cases had been recorded in haze-affected regions since August 18, including over 40,000 involving toddlers.
The disruption also reached air travel. Indonesia's Transport Ministry said haze affected 2,458 domestic flights nationwide between August 11 and October 17.
Aid offers on hold as rainy season is delayed
As of October 20, Indonesia had placed all offers of foreign firefighting assistance on hold. The government said it had not declared a national disaster and remained confident it could respond using its own resources. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said the country "is still capable," while noting technical challenges with fuel distribution and logistics.
Meanwhile, the weather agency BMKG reported a very strong El Nino, with a Nino 3.4 anomaly of +2.83, alongside a positive Indian Ocean Dipole. These conditions had delayed the rainy season's onset in 61 percent of Indonesia, according to an October 21 situation report from the Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center. BMKG expected peak rainfall only between December 2026 and January 2027.