Malaysia closed schools in several states on October 9, 2026, after toxic smog from Indonesian wildfires pushed air quality to unhealthy levels. Timor-Leste closed schools the following week when haze spiked in Dili, and President Ramos-Horta is seeking an independent international cost evaluation. Indonesians protested in the capital demanding the government hold corporations linked to the fires accountable; police later used tear gas and water cannon on Jakarta protesters. Singapore issued preventive measures notices to several Indonesian companies under its Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, then formed a joint haze task force with Indonesia. Protesters want the president to declare a national emergency; he says only rain will fix it. The fires continue to burn underground in peatland, with illegal slash-and-burn…