IDNEWSNOW.COM, Jakarta – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in opening today’s limited meeting at the Merdeka Palace asserts that the government must not forget about preventing land and forest fires despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president said that 99 percent of the forest fires that have happened are mainly due to human intervention.
“To solve this problem, law enforcement must act strictly and without compromise,” said Jokowi at the Merdeka Palace on June 23.
Jokowi cited the report by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) warning that 17 percent of Indonesian regions had started to enter the drought season in April, with 38 percent facing drought in May and 27 percent in June.
The rest of Indonesia will be entering the drought in August. President Jokowi strongly reminds state ministries to thoroughly monitor existing hotspots that are prone to land and forest fires in Indonesia.
“We must be swift in our response. No matter how small the fire may be, we must be quick to respond. I ask the same swiftness from governors, regents, mayors, military commanders, regional military command, police chiefs,” said President Jokowi.
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