The three companies are PT Buana Megatama Jaya, PT Mananjung Hayak and PT Baratama Putra Perkasa. The notices require them to deploy firefighting personnel, stop burning activities and submit action plans. Seven pulpwood suppliers in Sumatra were targeted last week.
Singapore Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said the smog was "entirely preventable" and driven by companies pursuing profits. "They may think that it is hard to get evidence, and that they may think that they can escape scrutiny. But they should not underestimate the Singapore government's determination to act," he said, as carried by broadcaster CNA.
Shanmugam said the Singapore Exchange has sought information from seven Singapore-listed agricultural companies about possible links to fires. He also criticised an Indonesian official for belittling the crisis, while welcoming Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's efforts to tackle the fires, including accepting foreign assistance.
Indonesia's top security minister, Dudung Abdurachman, said Monday the government would not declare the forest fires a national disaster for now, insisting the country remained capable of handling the crisis despite mounting haze concerns. Indonesia's Forestry Ministry has recorded more than 2,020 square kilometres of burned land between January and July, while the Nusantara Atlas project estimated nearly 8,960 square kilometres had burned by end of August.