Former Indonesian trade minister Muhammad Lutfi has criticised Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for urging Asean to treat Indonesia as an “outcast” over the haze, arguing that Malaysian plantation companies also bear responsibility for environmental damage linked to forest fires.
In a video posted on Instagram, Lutfi said he was disturbed by the proposal to subject Indonesia to regional diplomatic pressure over fires in its forests.
“Indonesia is being called an outcast over the haze from our forest fires. And I’m disturbed when my entire country is ridiculed by politicians just to score cheap points in parliament,” he said.
Lutfi accused Syed Saddiq of overlooking the role of foreign investors, particularly Malaysian plantation companies operating in Indonesia.
“You are attacking a nation of 280 million people when we should be talking about the companies operating on the ground,” he said.
He claimed Malaysian groups controlled up to 3.4 million hectares of oil palm concessions in Indonesia, with investments covering plantations, processing facilities and downstream operations.
Lutfi, who previously chaired Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board and served on the board of Sime Darby, now known as SD Guthrie, said Malaysian companies had entered Indonesia for commercial gain.
“The Malaysian companies did not come here to Indonesia out of pity. They didn’t come here for charity. They came here for survival. They came here to make money,” he said.
He argued that Indonesia had granted investment licences and tax incentives to foreign companies, making it unfair to hold the entire nation responsible for environmental damage associated with plantation activities.
Lutfi also pointed to the palm oil supply chain, saying crude palm oil produced in Indonesia was processed in Malaysia before being sold to overseas markets.
He further challenged Syed Saddiq’s proposal to restrict financing for companies linked to open burning, noting that Malaysian banks also financed Malaysian corporations investing in Indonesian plantations.
Lutfi said Indonesian authorities had arrested 223 suspects, charged nine corporations and suspended the permits of 26 companies in connection with forest fires.
“If a company, Indonesian or Malaysian, is responsible for a fire, prosecute that company, but do not insult the entire nation, and never call Indonesia an outcast,” he said.
During the debate on Malaysia’s 2027 Budget, Syed Saddiq had urged the government to rally Asean members to exert diplomatic pressure over the haze, restrict financing for companies implicated in open burning and encourage consumers to boycott businesses linked to the fires.
“You need to treat them as an outcast in the region,” Syed Saddiq said.
Lutfi served as Indonesia’s trade minister from Feb 14 to Oct 20, 2014, under then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and from Dec 23, 2020, to June 15, 2022, under then-president Joko Widodo.
