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.