The city-state has been cloaked in smog blown in from tinder-dry Sumatra island for about three weeks, the worst such episode since mid-2013 in a crisis that grips the region nearly ever year during the burning-off season.
The closure of primary and secondary schools as well as government-run kindergartens due to the haze problem is unprecedented, the Straits Times daily said as the air quality index shot up above 300, a level considered "hazardous".
While Jakarta says it is taking steps to deal with the problem, "at the same time, we are hearing some shocking statements made, at senior levels, from Indonesia, with a complete disregard for our people, and their own," the minister said in a Facebook post late yesterday.
"How is it possible for senior people in government to issue such statements, without any regard for their people, or ours, and without any embarrassment, or sense of responsibility?" he said.