Indonesian NGO Walhi’s 2026 analysis linked 21 companies affiliated with Malaysian business groups to active fire hotspots or incidents between January and September, contradicting Kuala Lumpur’s claim that no Malaysian plantation firms were involved.

Nearly half of Indonesia’s 30,927 recorded hotspots fell inside oil-palm and forestry concessions, with ownership chains traced to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and offshore jurisdictions; complementary data highlighted nine corporations and dozens more tied to groups such as Sinar Mas, Wilmar, Sime Darby and Genting.

Indonesian authorities have sanctioned 32 companies and named 20 corporate suspects, while Singapore has issued preventive notices, yet the article argues that weak ASEAN enforcement and fragmented cross-border ownership continue to shield parent entities from accountability.

The seasonal haze that once again blanketed much of Southeast Asia in 2026 has produced the familiar cycle of satellite hotspot maps, school closures, respiratory wards filling up, and official statements carefully calibrated to minimise domestic political damage. 

This time, however, an Indonesian environmental group has refused to let the story settle into the usual fog of mutual recrimination. Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (Walhi) has published its actor-mapping analysis, “Who Are Behind the Fires?”, identifying 21 companies linked to Malaysian business groups whose concessions showed active hotspots or fire incidents between January and September 2026. The findings directly contradict the Malaysian government’s earlier insistence that no Malaysian plantation companies were involved.

Walhi’s data is stark. Satellite monitoring recorded at least 30,927 hotspots across Indonesia in the first nine months of the year. Nearly half fell inside oil-palm and forestry concession boundaries. West Kalimantan alone accounted for 9,529 hotspots; Central Kalimantan another 7,141. Air quality in affected areas repeatedly hit unhealthy to hazardous levels. 

The NGO’s analysis does not stop at the Indonesian subsidiaries. It traces ownership and affiliation upward, revealing parent companies and principal shareholders based primarily in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong,........

© Eurasia Review