The emergency alert — which activated a series of coordinated responses — was declared by the governors of Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
"I saw several fire spots in Riau, North Sumatra and South Sumatra. We should put them all out before they spread," Jokowi said in a statement.
Despite the alerts, the president said there are fewer fire spots this year compared to last year. "74 percent fewer, the data said. But we still have 217 fire spots across Indonesia, and all of them need to be put out quickly," Jokowi said.
Jokowi praised residents in several provinces who have volunteered to join fire patrols and called for the use of cloud-seeding planes to create artificial rain and prevent the wildfires from spreading.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) already have 16 water-bombing and patrol helicopters, two water-bombing planes and eight cloud-seeding planes on standby.
Enforce the law, prevent wildfires
The president also stressed the importance of enforcing the law against those who caused the wildfires. The president said he would no longer grant new concessions to companies in peat land areas, and called on the Forestry Minister and Peat Land Restoration Agency to rehabilitate areas destroyed by fires last year.
"We have to be firm on people who break the law by starting up fires in forest and peat land areas. Sanctions should be imposed, and implemented. The public deserves justice," Jokowi said.
APFP 2010-2014