Indonesia has been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Niño pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB.
Fires are a regular problem in Indonesia that strain relations with neighboring countries.
Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land for farming, said Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency.
The arson suspects were being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on the island of Borneo and four on Sumatra, Irhamni said.
He said most of the suspects were accused of deliberately burning land to clear areas for plantations at lower cost. Investigators were still tracing financial records to determine whether companies financed or ordered the land clearing, signaling the probe could expand beyond those arrested.
