I needed to act: Indonesia's Christie donates over RM300k to victims of forest fires

Indonesian shuttler Jonatan Christie explained he was deeply moved to help victims of the raging forest fires in his country which led him to donate his entire Asian Games bonus.

Christie was part of the men’s team who clinched gold at the multi-sports Games, which earned him an estimated RM336,000 bonus from the Indonesian government.

But the world number nine was eager to help the millions of Indonesians affected by the disaster, at the expense of his own career expenses.

“While I appreciate the bonus given from the (Indonesian) federation, there is something that troubled me, which is our people who have been affected by the forest fires in Indonesia. I feel I needed to do something.

“In times where people are going through so much challenges in their lives, I am still blessed to receive this bonus. This made me ponder, the blessings which I receive is not for me to enjoy on my own, instead it became an opportunity for me to help.

“This doesn’t mean the bonus doesn’t mean anything to me. As a professional shuttler, I have to source my own funds for tournaments including travel costs and to support my team.

“But in this time of need, the people affected by the fires need the funds more than me. So I will be donating all my funds from the Asian Games towards helping them,” he said.

To date, more than 400,000 people have suffered from acute respiratory illnesses in Indonesia as a result of almost 2 million hectares of land destroyed in the ongoing forest fires.