Malaysians have reacted with sarcasm and disbelief to an Indonesian official’s claim that his country provides the region’s oxygen, as toxic smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan chokes neighbouring nations.
Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia’s government communications agency, prompted the backlash after invoking his country’s forests when questioned on Saturday about the severe smog that has forced school closures and triggered health warnings across Malaysia and Singapore.
“We don’t just send smoke; when there is no smoke, we send oxygen,” he said in a widely circulated video published by Indonesian media outlet Kompas. “The oxygen in Singapore and Malaysia also comes from our forests.”
On social media, users questioned whether they were breathing imported air and why Malaysia’s own forests appeared to have been forgotten.
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