If you thought you could finally put away your N95 mask, the dreaded haze is back to grey-wash the Marina Bay skyline—but don’t worry, our neighbours have a perfectly logical explanation. Syahganda Nainggolan, the head of Indonesia’s government communications agency, recently reminded everyone to be more grateful for their daily breaths. Addressing the haze crisis currently choking Singapore and Malaysia, he boldly stated: ”We’re not just sending over the haze. When there’s no haze, we send oxygen. The oxygen from Singapore and Malaysia is from our forests, right?”—and naturally Singaporeans have reacted online. Read on to find out more about the Indonesia oxygen claim and Singapore haze.
The reality behind the record-breaking haze
The audacity of the statement lands at an especially sensitive time for the Lion City. Just last week, Singapore claimed the title of the world’s most polluted city as the 2026 F1 began at Marina Bay.
The poor Singapore air quality is actually fueled by El Niño, and widespread fires across Borneo and Sumatra have effectively turned our island into a giant barbecue pit.
However, Syahganda reportedly explained that the regional blazes are ”beyond human error” and actually to do with nature. Although, there’s no scientific evidence to back these claims that oxygen is sent to Malaysia and Singapore.
Unsurprisingly, Singaporeans took to the comments online to roast the situation. The local internet held nothing back. From one user begging ”Can you just send us healthy oxygen?” to others cheekily asking how to track this mysterious imported 02, and a Reddit user stating they might as well claim responsibility for sunshine…it’s giving major flashbacks to the 2015 haze crisis when Indonesia’s then-VP said we should thank them for 11 months of clean air.
Meanwhile, Singapore and Malaysia are taking immediate action to protect citizens from haze. Our government rolled out medical subsidies to ensure people can easily afford treatments for respiratory issues caused by the air pollution. Plus, Malaysia temporarily shut down schools in the hardest-hit regions.
