PM AND DEFENCE MINISTER VISIT GROUND ZERO AT MEULABOH

Singapore Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, and Defence Minister, Mr Teo Chee Hean, touched down in Meulaboh on 4 Jan.

They were scheduled to visit the tsunami-ravaged coastal town on Western Sumatra and see the relief efforts that were carried out by Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel.

After the Super Puma had landed on a temporary airfield that used to be a soccer field in the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) army barracks, the ministers were welcomed by the Indonesian Coodinating Minister for Social Welfare, Alwi Shihab, and SAF Joint Humanitarian Assistance Task Force (JHATF) Commander, Colonel (COL) Tan Chuan-Jin, before they were whisked away to the city centre at Bupati where a mobile SAF medical team was located.

The field tent set up by the SAF medical team housed public healthcare facilities and supplies. A primary healthcare team had been providing medical assistance in refugee camps, starting with Alor Penyang, since 3 Jan.

On the very first day, the team treated 150 patients in about three hours. They plan to continue setting up mobile field tents to cover as many areas as possible.

Together with a surgical team that operates in a local hospital, there are, in all, 50 SAF doctors, nurses and medics, including six volunteers, who attend to locals on a daily rotational basis.

After visiting the primary healthcare team, the PM and Defence Minister and their delegation were ferried to the coastal areas to see the SAF construction engineers at work.

Besides operating heavy equipment like excavators and dozers, the engineers were clearing smaller bits of debris by hand.

The task ahead for them was to clear the way for inland routes to be established from the two identified landing sites on the beach.

Throughout their visit in the town of Meulaboh, the Singapore ministers interacted with the locals and encouraged individual SAF personnel to keep up their good work in providing relief aid to the victims.

The last leg of the Meulaboh visit was onboard the Republic of Singapore Navy's Landing Ship Tank (LST), RSS Endurance.

COL Tan briefed the ministers on the current situation in Meulaboh and explained that with the "unprecedented scale of destruction that few of us would have seen in our lifetime", the task force had no preconceived idea of what should be done.

"We are developing a better picture as things go by," COL Tan said.

"Our current focus is to coordinate with the Indonesian authorities and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) on what needs to be done."

The Prime Minister concurred, saying: "You need to work closely with the Indonesian authorities to see what is needed, and also, so they can take over when you have done your part."

As for what is ahead for the task force, COL Tan cited three immediate priorities: to continue with the projection of essential assets, to create space for at least one helo-landing spot onboard the LST to enable airlift options, and lastly, to identify more Chinook and Super Puma landing points inland, as the road leading to the current landing spot is deteriorating rapidly.

He also revealed that a second LST was on its way to Meulaboh with additional heavy equipment and supplies.

Following the briefing, the ministers viewed the vehicles and supplies loaded onto the flight deck and returned to shore to catch their flight to Bandar Aceh for a press conference and another visit.

Consolidated JHATF assets:

- RSS Endurance (LST 207)
- Sea transport: four FCEPs, two FCUs.
- Air support: six Chinooks, two Super Pumas.
- Construction engineering equipment: dozer, shovel, excavator, forklift
- Transportation vehicles: Light trucks, five-tonne trucks, Land Rovers