NUSAJAYA: The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department has not received an official request from Indonesia for its firemen to help put out the raging peat fires.
Its director-general Datuk Wira Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said 1,500 Malaysian firemen were available for two weeks and would do what they could to control the fires during that period.
“Both governments need to decide, as the mobilisation of such a huge team together with the equipment and vehicles will involve a huge cost,” he added.
Wan Mohd said only flooding of the area would work since much of the fires were in peatland.
“You can carry out aerial water bombing, but the best way is to fight the fires on the ground.
“There will be many challenges but with our experience in 1997, we know how to overcome these obstacles,” he said after opening the new Nusajaya fire station here yesterday.
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