The author is a student of the Government Science Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Muhammadiyah Malang.
JAKARTA, JurnalPost.com — The forest and land fires that have once again struck several regions in Indonesia throughout 2026 serve as a serious test for the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto's administration. This issue is not merely about the ability to extinguish flames, but also demonstrates the extent to which central government policies can be translated into concrete actions on the ground.
Amidst the threats of environmental degradation, health disruptions, and the interruption of public activities due to haze, the decisiveness of a leader is crucial. However, the government's success in facing a crisis is not measured solely by the number of instructions, coordination meetings, or the volume of personnel deployed.
A more fundamental question is whether all these measures are truly capable of controlling the fires, protecting the public, and preventing similar incidents from recurring.
President Prabowo's Response to the 2026 Forest Fires
President Prabowo demonstrated direct involvement in handling the forest fires through a limited cabinet meeting on October 12, 2026. The meeting discussed the progress of fires in six priority provinces: Central Kalimantan, South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, Jambi, West Kalimantan, and Riau.
During the meeting, the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto, reported that there were still 639.23 hectares of burnt land requiring intervention from personnel.
The government then continued to intensify firefighting operations via land and air. More than 60 thousand joint personnel were deployed, supported by firefighting helicopters and weather modification operations.
The scale of this mobilization highlights the government's seriousness in addressing the emergency. Nevertheless, the deployment of resources is not the only metric of success.
Based on the BNPB report as of October 19, 2026, the target for handling forest fires in the six priority provinces reached 1,024.33 hectares. Of that total, 454.25 hectares have been successfully extinguished, while another 570.08 hectares are still undergoing suppression and cooling processes.
This data indicates that government operations are yielding progress, but it also reveals the significant amount of work that remains to be completed.
The Threat Persists Despite Rainfall
Entering November 2026, progress in handling the forest fires began to show changes as rainfall increased in several regions.
BNPB reported that the area of burnt land recorded on November 1, 2026 reached 742 hectares across several provinces. Central Kalimantan was among the regions with the largest fire coverage, followed by South Papua and Southeast Sulawesi.
These figures cannot be directly compared to previous reports because the coverage areas and data categorization differ.
More importantly, attention must be paid to the BNPB warning regarding embers still smoldering beneath the peatland surface.
This condition indicates that the arrival of rain does not necessarily end the fire threat. Fires invisible on the surface still have the potential to flare up again when environmental conditions are favorable.
Therefore, the success of forest fire management should not be viewed solely from the reduction in hotspots, but also from the government's ability to ensure that all affected areas are truly safe.
Crisis Leadership Extends Beyond Instructions
In the study of Government Science, the response to forest fires can be understood through the concept of crisis leadership or leadership in crisis situations.
Boin, 't Hart, Stern, and Sundelius (2016) explain that leaders face five strategic tasks when managing a crisis: understanding the situation, decision-making, establishing communication, managing accountability, and conducting post-crisis learning.
This framework is relevant for evaluating President Prabowo's response.
In terms of decision-making, the government has taken concrete steps through national coordination, personnel deployment, and the strengthening of firefighting operations.
However, the next challenge lies in how these instructions are consistently executed by all elements of the government.
Handling forest fires involves many agencies with different responsibilities, including BNPB, relevant ministries, local governments, the military (TNI), the police (Polri), and law enforcement officials.
Without effective coordination, the vast resources deployed risk failing to produce optimal results.
The central government must ensure that every region has access to information, equipment, personnel, and budgetary support commensurate with the level of fire threat.
At the same time, local governments must be capable of taking swift action without always waiting for directives from the center.
Law Enforcement Must Provide a Deterrent Effect
Beyond firefighting, law enforcement is an inseparable part of efforts to overcome forest fires.
Based on a government report in October 2026, the police recorded 286 police reports related to individual forest fire cases, with 243 individuals named as suspects.
Meanwhile, based on data as of October 20, 2026, the handling of corporate cases included 100 police reports, with 13 corporations holding suspect status.
President Prabowo has also emphasized the need for firm action against companies proven to have violated the law.
“If the evidence is clear, we will act; we will revoke all permits of companies that violate the law,” President Prabowo asserted during the Plenary Cabinet Session on October 21, 2026.
This statement demonstrates the government's commitment to strengthening enforcement. However, political commitment must still be proven through a transparent, objective, and fair legal process.
Naming suspects is not the end of accountability. The investigation process, proof in court, and the execution of legal rulings must be a shared concern.
In addition to imposing sanctions on those proven guilty, the government needs to ensure environmental restoration measures are taken so that the damage caused by fires does not continue to burden the public.
Government Success is Measured by Tangible Results
From the perspective of governance, the ability to handle a crisis is a key indicator of leadership quality.
A president can issue firm instructions, but the effectiveness of a policy is only visible when all agencies are able to execute it in a coordinated manner and produce changes that the public can feel.
The 2026 forest fires provide a lesson that an emergency-only approach is insufficient. The government also needs to strengthen prevention, monitoring of fire-prone areas, peatland management, and sustainable law enforcement.
Evaluation of the response must lead to systemic improvements, not just reports on how much land has been successfully extinguished.
The public needs assurance that the threat of fire can be suppressed, air quality protected, and daily life activities not constantly disrupted every time the dry season arrives.
Ultimately, President Prabowo's response to the 2026 forest fires needs to be assessed proportionally. The deployment of resources and the firmness of instructions are important steps worth noting, but they are not reasons to overlook shortcomings in implementation.
Effective leadership is not just the ability to give orders when a crisis occurs, but also ensuring those orders are executed, monitored, evaluated, and result in tangible protection for the public.
As long as the threat of fire remains, the government's work cannot be considered finished. True success is only visible when Indonesia is able to reduce the risk of forest fires sustainably, rather than just extinguishing flames that reappear every year.
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