IPOH, Oct 11 — Malaysia is still awaiting a response from Indonesia on its offer to help put out forest and land fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan that have caused transboundary haze, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

He said that during a visit to Jakarta last month, he had met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and a representative of the Vice-President to discuss the offer of assistance.

“The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and the Foreign Ministry have also written to their respective counterparts, but there has been no response yet.

“We take a positive view that perhaps they do not require our assistance. We remain optimistic and assume the best,” he told reporters after officiating the launch of National Preparedness Month (BKN) 2026 at the Ipoh Convention Centre here today.

In his speech, Ahmad Zahid, who is also chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, said Malaysia had offered a firefighting aircraft, three helicopters and 52 officers and personnel to assist with firefighting operations in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, he said the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) not only assisted in managing disasters domestically but was also always ready to provide aid to other countries affected by disasters.

He said the team had also been deployed to Nepal to help locate 55 Malaysians who remained uncontactable following a disaster there, including by sending DNA samples to assist in the identification process.

“So far, we have not found any remains to be brought back to Malaysia. We are still waiting, and I would like to congratulate the SMART team,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid also expressed pride in SMART’s recognition as the second-best rescue team in Asia after Japan.

He said SMART had also retained its international Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) classification after undergoing a 36-hour assessment involving 173 criteria. — Bernama