Brunei sultan tours ravaged Aceh

Brunei sultan tours ravaged Aceh

Associated Press, Banda Aceh

The ruler of Brunei on Tuesday toured Indonesia's Aceh province -
the first foreign head of state to visit the tsunami-hit region -
where he brought 2,000 copies of the Quran for distribution.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, dressed in military fatigues, piloted
a Brunei air force Blackhawk helicopter himself, flying over the
western coast and to Weh island off Sumatra Island's northern
tip.

The 58-year-old sultan was accompanied by Indonesia's
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab - who is
in charge of the relief operations in the province - on the hour-
long flight from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and back.

Hassanal visited a tsunami-damaged mosque near a beach north
of Banda Aceh and announced that he was considering paying for
its repairs, Alwi said.

He said the sultan, a devout Muslim and an ardent aviator,
also brought 2,000 copies of the holy Muslim book Quran for
distribution at several mosques.

Hassanal, a graduate of the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy
in England, is the prime minister, defense minister, finance
minister and the religious head of the Islamic sultanate of
Brunei.

The sultan returned to Brunei later in the day. He did not
speak to reporters.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister John Howard was scheduled
to visit Aceh on Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
toured the area last month after attending an international
conference in Jakarta on the aid effort.

Tiny, oil-rich Brunei is located on Borneo Island, which it
shares with Malaysia and Indonesia. Borneo was not affected by
the Dec. 26 tsunami, which wreaked havoc on Sumatra, killing more
than 100,000 people.

The Brunei government's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund has so
far sent aid worth 250,000 Brunei dollars (US$149,000), according
to the fund's chairman, Jemat Bin Haji Ampal.

He told reporters in Brunei last week that the aid consists of
dried foodstuffs, cooking oil, rice, clothing, blankets, 10 units
of electric generators and 10 units of water pumps. The material
was distributed on Simeulue Island, Meulaboh and Tenom towns.

In addition, Brunei has also dispatched medical teams to Aceh
and its military has set up an aid station in Panga Pucok to
provide medical assistance to refugees.

Jemat has urged Brunei's public to donate money rather than
material aid because they can be purchased at much cheaper prices
in Indonesia.