JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Suharyanto has apologized for saying that daily life remained “normal” amid forest and land fires (karhutla) in Kalimantan. He clarified that he was referring only to basic public activity rather than environmental or health conditions.

Suharyanto issued the clarification through a social media statement on Friday, September 25. This followed criticism of his report during a limited Cabinet meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto two days earlier.

“By ‘normal,’ I referred only to limited indicators of basic public activity, such as road traffic, trade and public services, which continued to operate,” Suharyanto said.

He stressed that the statement did not mean air quality had returned to normal. It also aimed to acknowledge the difficulties experienced by people affected by forest and peatland fires.

“I did not intend to reduce the fact that the quality of life of people affected by the fires and haze has declined,” he said.

Suharyanto acknowledged that residents in several areas, particularly Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan, were still experiencing serious effects from smoke.

Air pollution has affected public health and education, while poor visibility has disrupted some flights and other activities.

He said the word “normal” may have created the mistaken impression that communities were not suffering significant disruption.

“I apologize to the communities affected by the fires if my choice of words created the impression that the government regarded conditions during the haze disaster as ordinary. That was not what I meant,” he said in the statement. His words appeared on his account in collaboration with BNPB’s official Instagram account.

The clarification came while authorities were still conducting firefighting operations. During Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Suharyanto reported that teams were working to extinguish fires across 209.78 hectares.

BNPB also planned to continue weather-modification operations until seasonal rainfall returned to normal levels, according to the State Secretariat.

Meteorological data also showed that the wider haze threat had not ended. Satellite monitoring on September 24 detected smoke over West, Central, South and East Kalimantan. In addition, smoke appeared in several provinces in Sumatra, according to BMKG.

Earlier monitoring recorded 5,283 high-confidence hotspots in Central Kalimantan during the 10 days ending September 21. West Kalimantan recorded 1,357 over the same period, demonstrating why continued caution remained necessary.

Suharyanto said the government would continue its emergency response while prioritizing residents’ safety and health. His clarification underscores an important distinction.

Commerce and public services may continue operating during a disaster. However, that activity alone does not establish that living conditions have returned to normal.