Minister Luhut to Prioritise Haze issue over Trip to U.S

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan went to encourage other ministers in the working cabinet to monitor forest and land fire sites in the Pulang Pisau area of Central Kalimantan.

A number of ministers, which include Minister of Social Affairs, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Health Minister Nila F Moeloek, Environmental Minister Siti Nurbaya and Education and Culture Minister, Anies Baswedan responded positively to such encouragement with the conduction of such sites monitoring performed earlier today (24/10/2015).

Luhut and other ministers travelled with a helicopter and reportedly departed from Syamsuddin Noor airport in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

Luhut’s gesture was not without any request from the President himself. Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo previously requested Minister Luhut to help him and the nation address forest and land fire issue.

Such request means that Luhut will have to cancel his plan to accompany President Jokowi for his trip to the U.S later this evening. Minister Luhut’s responsibility doubled as he has been assigned to find the proper solution to manage the haze which is now reported to have choke many of East Asian region.

Minister Luhut will be leading a joint national group of governors, regents, mayors, Indonesian Armed Forces Commander Gatot Nurmantyo and Head of RI Police Badrodin Haiti to put out the large scale fires all across the archipelago state and discuss methods to contain and eradicate haze, which has resulted in the escalating number of death and individuals with respiratory illnesses.

(Akp/Tnt)