SAMARINDA, thekabarnews.com—East Kalimantan Governor Rudy Mas’ud has faced public scrutiny after a photograph appeared to show him having breakfast in Singapore while forest and land fires (karhutla) continued to affect parts of the province.

A Threads user posted the photograph on Monday, Oct. 12. It showed Rudy and his wife at a hotel that social media users identified as Marina Bay Sands. The post attracted thousands of reactions.

The East Kalimantan provincial administration confirmed that Rudy had travelled to Singapore. Provincial Communications and Information Agency head Ririn Sari Dewi said he underwent a medical examination at Mount Elizabeth Hospital because his health had declined amid a busy schedule.

“The governor did undergo a medical check-up in Singapore. He paid with personal funds, not the regional budget,” Ririn said, as quoted by Kaltim Today.

“The examination was deliberately scheduled for the weekend so it would not disrupt government duties and public services,” she added.

According to the provincial administration’s account, Rudy attended a Golkar Party event in Bandung on Saturday, Oct. 10, in his capacity as the party’s East Kalimantan chairman.

He flew to Singapore that night and underwent the examination on Sunday. He travelled through Jakarta the following day before returning to Balikpapan on Monday afternoon.

Officials said Rudy had obtained verbal permission from the home affairs minister. They said the administration processed his written application simultaneously because the trip fell on a weekend.

Home Affairs Ministry procedures classify overseas medical treatment as an “important reason” for regional leaders to travel abroad. The application normally requires supporting medical documents, proof of private funding and formal ministerial approval.

The ministry had not publicly confirmed the reported verbal permission or the status of Rudy’s written application as of Tuesday.

The controversy emerged while East Kalimantan remained under an emergency alert for forest and land fires until Nov. 30. Provincial disaster-management data showed that fires had affected approximately 8,329 hectares across 2,022 recorded locations as of Oct. 7.

Authorities had deployed 11,711 personnel for prevention and firefighting operations, according to the East Kalimantan Disaster Management Agency.

The province had also recorded 13,086 acute respiratory infection cases through its special fire-disaster reporting system between July 27 and Sept. 15, the provincial administration reported.

Meanwhile, a BMKG monitoring station in Samarinda measured PM2.5 at 74.2 micrograms per cubic meter at noon on Oct. 13 and classified the air as unhealthy.

Ririn acknowledged that the journey had generated concern.

“We apologize if this trip has raised questions, disappointment or an unfavorable perception,” she said.

The provincial administration’s explanation clarified the stated purpose and funding of Rudy’s visit. However, the timing continued to draw criticism because the province was still managing fires, smoke exposure and their public-health consequences.