The Straits Times
NUSANTARA
Singapore Home Affairs Minister Shanmugam denies use of Internal Security Department to "drone strike" those responsible for illegal slash-and-burn activity in Sumatra & Borneo
Ramesh Ravichandran Palinasamy
PUBLISHED 12.03.2022
SINGAPORE - In an intense Question Time in Parliament, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam today denied allegations that the Internal Security Department has been ordered to "drone strike" those responsible for illegal slash-and-burn activities in the Indonesian provinces of South Sumatra, Riau, as well as all across Kalimantan on Borneo.
Illegal agricultural fires set for purposes of deforestation are responsible for the Southeast Asian haze phenomenon which affects air quality across Nusantara every year between July and October, causing tens of billions of dollars in economic losses.
Activists and opposition politicians have accused the Internal Security Department of clandestinely deploying aerial drones, satellites, and surveillance aircraft to monitor and launch strikes against these illegal activities in Indonesian territory, allegations which if true could shake the Nusantara League to its core.
Worker's Party MP He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) displayed commercial satellite imagery allegedly showing former RSAF Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft deployed to a rough-cut airstrip in central Kalimantan, along with several IAI Heron drones. Video footage showing the aftermath of an alleged air strike against what appears to be an illegal slash-and-burn operation was also shown in Parliament, with MP He Ting Ru accusing the government of bombing impoverished Indonesian farmers.
[GALLERY: Toxi
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