REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia will send an amphibious Bombardier CL415MMP aircraft to Indonesia to help fight forest and land fires that have spread haze up to Malaysia and Singapore for the past few months.
Malaysia's Defense Minister Datuk Serei Hishammuddin Tun Hussein stated here on Friday that the aircraft will be sent to Indonesia following Indonesian President Joko Widodo's request to Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to help fight the fires.
"The Indonesian president has sought the prime minister's help to fight the fires around Palembang in South Sumatra. The prime minister has also ordered me to coordinate the assistance," he affirmed.
"I have communicated with my counterpart in Indonesia, Ryamizard Ryacudu. Right now, the focus of assistance is on an aircraft that is capable of fighting fires in a vast area," he remarked.
Hishammuddin reported that the CL415MMP aircraft belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Law Enforcement Agency is able to drop 6,137 liters of water in 12 seconds while flying at a speed of 130 kilometers per hour.
In a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Widodo announced Indonesia's readiness to accept international assistance to deal with the fires.
According to the Indonesian foreign ministry, Indonesia needs assistance in the form of aircraft that can conduct water bombing and cloud seeding operations as the affected areas have been comparatively larger than the previous years.
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