Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono visited the quake-torn Papua regency of Yapen on Saturday to extend relief to victims of the disaster.
Vice presidential spokesman Yopie Hidayat said Vice President Boediono allowed Agung to leave for Papua on Friday night for the humanitarian mission.
“The government has taken measures to help the quake victims without fanfare,” Yopie said as quoted by kompas.com.
He was responding to Regional Representatives Council deputy speaker Queen Hemas who criticized on Friday the government’s slow response to the disaster, which killed at least 17 people and displaced 10,000 people in Yapen.
Yopie added that head of the National Disaster Management Agency Syamsul Maarif had been in Papua for the last few days to coordinate efforts to mitigate the impacts of the 7.1-magnitude quake which struck last week.
Note webmaster: klinkt allemaal erg spontaan. 17 doden en 10.000 daklozen en vice president Boediono "staat toe" dat minister Ageng naar Papua gaat. De ministers zijn niet meer dan marionetten. En het rijksdeel is kennelijk niet zo interessant als het om mensen en niet om economische belangen gaat.