Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the offer was conveyed to Indonesian vice-president Gibran Rakabuming Raka during a meeting held in conjunction with his four-day working visit to Indonesia, which began today.

Zahid, who is also the National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said the assistance would include three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and Royal Malaysian Air Force.

“The matter will be referred to president Prabowo Subianto for the Indonesian government’s approval,” he was quoted by Bernama as saying in Jakarta today.

MMEA’s Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, which is capable of carrying out aerial firefighting operations, was previously deployed to south Sumatra in 2015, where it dropped 546,000 litres of water during a five-day mission.

“Malaysia is deeply concerned about this problem, which occurs every year due to open burning in Kalimantan and Sumatra, with the resulting haze reaching Malaysia.

“We want to help Indonesia address the problem together,” he said.

Zahid said the assistance was not intended to interfere in Indonesia’s affairs but rather to help address transboundary haze, which also affects neighbouring countries.

“What is important to us is resolving this problem before it happens every year. This means having a mitigation plan or a strategy to prevent it from happening. A mitigation plan is in the interests of both Malaysia and Indonesia,” he said.