A blame game has erupted between some of Indonesia’s provincial authorities and the central government as forest fires scorch Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Central Kalimantan’s administration under Governor Agustiar Sabran, pressed by Jakarta to step up firefighting, has publicly complained that forest concession permits are issued by the central government, while the provincial authorities and residents are left to deal with the fires.
Similar complaints have not been publicly voiced by provincial leaders in Sumatra.
Since the 2020 Job Creation Law centralised licensing powers, authority over business activities in forest areas has rested largely with Jakarta.
The row has now spilt onto the streets, with protest rallies held by the students of a few universities in Central Kalimantan, piling further pressure on the local government.
On Oct 19, a female university student led a protest outside the governor’s office in Palangka Raya, urging Agustiar to take bolder measures, including pressing the central government to declare the fires a national disaster.
A TikTok video of the protest, with 26,000 likes and 888 comments as at the morning of Oct 20, has since circulated widely.
“We have suffered greatly for more than four months,” she said at the gate of the office.
She then mocked a banner that read: “Central Kalimantan free of haze 2026. Preventing forest fires starts with us”, emphasising that both the provincial and central governments had been warned about the intensity of this year’s El Nino since February, but failed to take action.
Agustiar listened calmly, surrounded by his deputies, aides and police officers, but did not respond.
He promised to return to answer the protesters after praying but never reappeared, angering the students.
The protesters’ demands went to the heart of the dispute.
Among them was a call for provincial governments to regain the power to revoke companies’ concession permits.
However, this would be a long, drawn-out process through Parliament and unlikely to succeed.
Last month, Joni Harta, head of Central Kalimantan’s environment agency, said in a video posted on Instagram that drew 55,000 likes and more than 5,000 comments: “When the forest burns, why is Central Kalimantan province told to put out the fire?
“Why are the people of Central Kalimantan told to put it out?
“Not a single permit in forest areas was issued by the province.
“Should we be the ones putting it out?
“Don’t pass the buck and blame my governor whenever something happens,” he added.
The dispute raises questions about who is ultimately accountable for resolving fires in Indonesia, whose recurring haze crises have consequences far beyond its borders, particularly for Singapore and Malaysia. — The Straits Times/ANN
