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ational Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti announced on Monday that the police had named two foreign companies suspects in clearing land by burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan, a practice that has led to thick haze covering the two islands, as well as parts of neighboring countries.

'€œThe two companies are from Malaysia and China,'€ Badrodin told reporters during a press conference at the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry in Jakarta.

The police, he said, would investigate the two foreign companies'€™ possible motives for burning land in Indonesia.

'€œOne company from Singapore is still under our investigation for its involvement, too. However, I cannot give anymore information now,'€ Badrodin said, adding that the companies were all involved in the plantation business.

He refused to give the names or initials of the companies.

'€œWe do not intend to involve foreign police forces in our investigations yet,'€ Badrodin said.

He added that the investigations would continue and that more suspects might be named in coming days.

Separately, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suharsono said that the police had named 16 domestic and multinational companies suspects for their roles in burning land in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The spokesman refused to reveal the names of the suspects.

Suharsono further said that the National Police were currently investigating a total 244 cases with regard to peatland and forest fires in the two islands.

'€œSome 122 cases are already in the primary investigation phase and another 24 cases are still in the preliminary investigation. Of the 122 cases, 78 involve individuals and 44 involve corporations,'€ Suharsono told The Jakarta Post on Monday night.

Most of the cases relate to alleged crimes in South Sumatra and West Kalimantan provinces.

The National Police said they had named 16 corporations suspects, while police investigators were still working to collect evidence on another 28 companies, both domestic and foreign-owned, before naming them suspects.

The police will charge the suspects under Law No. 32/2009 Article 108, with any parties found guilty liable to face a 10-year prison sentence and Rp 10 billion in fines.

Badrodin said, however, that the police could not directly blame the landowners.

'€œIt is possible that it was not the landowners themselves who burned the land,'€ he said.

Previously, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has called for heavy punishment for companies responsible for starting forest fires, including prosecutions and revoking their licenses.

Jokowi stressed that the police would not be severe only with low-profile individuals.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reportedly spent Rp 500 billion to extinguish hot spots. The agency has asked for an additional Rp 750 billion, a request approved by the Finance Ministry.

The hazardous haze has forced the closure of thousands of schools, grounded hundreds of flights and caused transboundary air pollution affecting Indonesia'€™s neighbors, Malaysia and Singapore.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan acknowledged that it would take some time to extinguish all hot spots in the country.

'€œI don'€™t think we will manage [to extinguish] the fires within two weeks. But [the hot spots] will be reduced significantly. I'€™m holding out hope that heavy rains will come,'€ Luhut said.

He added that the government would focus on the Ogan Komering Ilir Area of South Sumatra, where much of the haze was coming from.

Luhut insisted that the government was pulling out all the stops to deal with land and forest fires, and that efforts were on the right track.

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that more foreign countries were planning to aid efforts to deal with the haze. Japan for instance, is expected to help by providing a chemical substance to extinguish the fires.

Russia, meanwhile, is preparing to send two BE-200 amphibious aircraft, which can carry 12,000 liters of water.

Malaysia, Singapore and Australia have already stepped in with support to help Indonesia to put out the fires and end the haze.

Thailand and China have also expressed their intention to help.

Foreign efforts have, as of Monday, been concentrated in South Sumatra.
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