KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): The Malaysian government will assist the Indonesian government in fighting fires that have caused smoke to billow across the region for weeks.

In a tweet via his official Twitter account today, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the Malaysian government is liaising with Indonesian authorities over ways in which the government here can help to fight the fires.

"#haze Good Morning all. I can confirm that we have been in touch with Indonesia to see how Msia can assist in putting out fires there," the tweet read.

Meanwhile, The Malay Mail Online reported that Malaysia had agreed to mobilise their assets to Indonesia to help deal with the haze issue which is plaguing Southeast Asian countries, quoting Hishammuddin at a press conference.

He said he had contacted his Indonesian counterpart to discuss the aid needed on receiving orders directly from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"I have contacted my colleague in Indonesia Ryamizard Ryacudu and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on this matter. For now, help sought by Indonesia involves an aircraft that is able to put out widespread fires. The Malaysian government will fly an amphibious Bombardier CL415MP for the mission to Indonesia," he reportedly said.

Reuters reported that Retno was expected to meet her Malaysian counterpart on Friday to discuss cooperation on the issue.

The news agency also reported that Indonesia president Joko Widodo said today he had asked Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and Japan for help to put out fires after repeatedly declining offers of help from overseas to tackle the smoke.

Widodo said he was seeking at least three aircraft from Singapore and Russia.

"What we need now are planes that can carry 12 to 15 tonnes of water, not like the 2 to 3 tonnes we have now," he said.

The main cause of the fires have been reportedly attributed to companies clearing land for palm oil and pulp wood plantations on Sumatra island and its part of Borneo island.

The fires are exacerbated by the fact that it is on peat land, coupled with dry weather precipitated by the El Nino effect.

The fires are set to clear vegetation but often burn for weeks in underground peat deposits, the report stated

The fires have caused air pollution indices (APIs) in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to surge, with the API in Palangkaraya, Kalimantan, exceeding the 2,000 mark.

The haze had also caused the APIs in Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand to hit dangerous levels, disrupting airport operations and closing schools.