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SINGAPORE: Singapore has pledged another US$10m to help victims of the tsunami disaster.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who spoke at the opening of an emergency disaster summit in Jakarta, also made a moving appeal for the global community to work together for the long term to rebuild the lives of those affected by the disaster.
Leaders from tsunami-hit nations, donor countries and international organisations heard Mr Lee's appeal at the one-day summit mooted by Mr Lee.
Thursday's summit in the Indonesian capital is an important first step to coordinate aid to the affected countries and set up an early warning system in the Indian Ocean.
The meeting brought together leaders from 26 nations and international organisations, including the prime ministers of Australia, China and Japan, Southeast Asian chiefs and representatives of the European Union, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The summit started off with a minute of silence to remember the 150,000 who died, the half a million injured and the more than one million displaced as a result of the tsunami disaster.
Opening the summit, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said: "Your presence here means so much to us in Indonesia and, I am sure, to all the communities devastated by the tsunami of December 26. It means that you care and you care deeply and for that we are grateful."
Mr Yudhoyono also said a tsunami warning system similar to one in the Pacific should be set up in the Indian Ocean.
"The cost of putting up a similar system on the Indian Ocean rim should be much less. At any rate, as a world community, we should not be counting costs today so that in the future we will not be counting lives lost," he said.
Indonesia, closest to the epicentre of the earthquake that triggered the tsunamis, is the worst-hit nation with a death toll of more than 94,000.
Next, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan launched a "flash appeal", appealing to the global community for an immediate US$977m to cover urgent humanitarian needs for 5 million survivors over the next six months.
Although pledges have reached almost US$5b, the UN chief said donor nations need to quickly turn their pledges into cash.
The tsunamis have left millions homeless and unless action is taken to stop the spread of disease, the death toll could double.
He said: "Although we were powerless to stop the tsunami, together we have the power to stop those next waves. We must set the stage for efforts in the longer term as we move from saving lives to recovery and reconstruction."
For this effort, Singapore has contributed not only in money but in kind.
Stressing that the response from individual countries must be co-ordinated to ensure the aid gets to those who need it most, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed that the UN is the only universal global institution able to fulfil this role.
He said: "I believe the UN is uniquely placed to do three things: to coordinate immediate relief, efforts and resources, to put in place an international warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and to sustain the political will for the immense longer term reconstruction effort. This is going to take an extraordinary effort. I commend the UN for launching a flash appeal at this conference and organising an international pledging conference in Geneva. Singapore will pledge US$10 million beyond what we have already committed."
Mr Lee also proposed that the UN chief appoint a special representative to coordinate international relief efforts, mobilise additional resources for reconstruction and sustain international attention.
He said: "The most important long-term role of the special representative will be to sustain international attention and political will for the reconstruction effort. Past tragedies have shown that natural disasters leave a long aftermath but the world's attention is, unfortunately, short."
Mr Lee also shared what he had seen first-hand in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh.
"I was overwhelmed by the endless and total devastation, the smell of death hanging in the air and the sense of deep loss and shock of survivors. But, amidst the pain, fear and despair, I also saw the resilient human spirit. Scattered among the countless tragic stories are heroic tales of survival and of selfless sacrifice for others. They speak of our shared humanity."
Singapore already has 900 personnel and equipment on the ground and was the first to bring help to Meulaboh.
Mr Lee, who spoke with the Singapore media after an earlier meeting with the Indonesian President, said Singapore is in a position to make a useful contribution.
"We are a small country but we can catalyse assistance from other countries. Also, because of our location which happens to be close to the disaster area, I think that gives us a better feel and allows us to respond more quickly and sensitively to whatever the needs are," he said.
Money is vital to these efforts but money alone will not solve the problems.
Prime Minister Lee said the global community has to respond to solve the problems and to respond collectively.
"Let us seize this unique moment of focus and shared purpose, to commit ourselves to concrete steps that will help the affected countries to tackle their problems in a prompt, effective and most importantly, sustained way. Then in time we can rebuild what we have lost and prevent a similar disaster from happening again," said Mr Lee.
The results were immediate and concrete.
After the summit, UN chief Mr Annan said he would consider Singapore's proposal to appoint a special representative to coordinate relief efforts.
And, Thailand proposed that the ASEAN disaster preparedness centre be enlarged to develop a regional early warning system.
Thailand also proposed a ministerial-level meeting later in the month to coordinate regional efforts. - CNA
Watch or read Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's address
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