Reconstructing Aceh

In the article, Indonesia: The amazing and the baffling, dated May 17, your writer stated that Kuntoro slammed the government for not doing enough to reconstruct Aceh after the tsunami struck last year.

In reality, the devastation was so enormous and mind-boggling for the Indonesian government that it was difficult for it to know where and how it should get started, besides calculating how much money and resources were required for the immediate action to be taken. Another important factor to consider was: Where was the "big" money coming from -- Australia and other donor countries had pledged huge sums of money -- but much of it had not arrived yet.

Next, the writer referred to a deal about the installation of a broadband service in Aceh led by Intel. Corp, which he said was hardly a priority. I don't agree. When Aceh was in chaos and pandemonium -- power, water and telecommunications supplies were totally destroyed.

If I was adversely affected in Aceh, I would have queued up at such an Internet service to inform my loved ones living in the other provinces in Indonesia that I was well and good, as they would be worried sick about me -- not forgetting that they would also have difficulty establishing my whereabouts.

This idea was also mooted when relief workers found that communications were totally absent. All said, please remember that the "necessities of life" did arrive when the Republic of Singapore sent a ship loaded with food, water, medicine and relief workers as early as the third day of the tsunami, followed by continual relief assistance from abroad from that time on.

Surely your writer must have a basic understanding of the logistics of disaster relief.

SONY L Singapore