Resource wealth and unequal benefits
Cak Imin described ensuring that every resident benefits from the province's resources as a major national responsibility. His remarks, reported by Kompas.com, also addressed the drought and forest and land fires confronting South Kalimantan.
Coal remains central to the provincial economy. A July 2026 report by Transisi Energi Berkeadilan, the Just Energy Transition initiative, described South Kalimantan as heavily dependent on coal mining, particularly in Tanah Bumbu and Tanah Laut regencies. The report put the mining sector's contribution at 17.4% of provincial GDP.
A separate measure illustrates coal's role in government finances: in September 2023, the Meratus Geopark Management Agency said coal mining supplied about 30% of South Kalimantan's regional revenue.
Fires during a prolonged dry period
Cak Imin said drought and a prolonged El Nino posed substantial challenges for the government. He attributed forest and land fires in Kalimantan to both natural cycles and human negligence, while acknowledging residents' resilience.
"Forest fires, whether due to natural cycles or negligence, are currently being faced with resilience by the people of South Kalimantan," he said.
The province's emergency alert for forest and land fires and drought runs from July 6 through October 31, 2026, according to IQAir's October 1 wildfire situation report. South Kalimantan's Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) recorded 27,202 hectares burned as of October 14, Kompas.com reported on October 22.
The fires are also a national concern. In its October 22 report, Kompas.com cited the Ministry of Forestry's SiPongi system, which recorded about 202,000 hectares burned across Indonesia by the end of July 2026. That exceeded the totals for the same period in both 2019 and 2023. A separate satellite-based estimate from Nusantara Atlas put the area burned at about 1,916,588 hectares by the end of September.
IQAir's October 1 report cited Indonesia's meteorological agency, BMKG, as expecting El Nino to continue into early 2027. Rainfall was unlikely to help extinguish the fires until late October or November 2026, according to the report.
The same IQAir report said wildfire haze had exposed more than 12.5 million people across seven Indonesian provinces. Respiratory infections linked to the fires totaled 113,336 cases as of September 9.
Water, medical care and other assistance
At the office inauguration, Cak Imin prayed for South Kalimantan residents' health, patience and strength in facing the region's difficulties. He also provided Rp 5 million in assistance for 10 representatives of volunteer fire brigades.
PKB distributed 28,000 liters of clean water to Banjarbaru City residents and offered free medical treatment to residents across South Kalimantan. Its assistance also included 65,000 free masks distributed throughout the province's districts and cities, along with 1,500 basic food packages.
