Over the past two weeks, people and countries the world over have rallied to help the victims of the tsunami disaster. But many have also lamented that the rich Muslim countries in the Middle East should have contributed more to help their fellow Muslim brethren as compared to the aid extended by the Western countries.

No matter what excuses the rich Middle East nations give, it is a double tragedy to see that the poor and helpless Muslim tsunami victims depend on non-Muslim countries and volunteers to help them in their hour of need rather than their own Muslim brothers.

Malaysians will be proud to note that our local volunteers led by Dr Jamilah Mahmud had arrived in Aceh first to render assistance, It is good to know that in time of disasters, Malaysians, regardless of race or creed, are ever willing to help ease the suffering of others.

However, one to wonder aloud about the sincerity of the Western nations in helping the Asian tsunami victims. It must be remembered that this same spirit was not forthcoming at all when a devastating earthquake hit Bam in Iran on Dec 23, 2003. More than 40,000 people were killed and more than 80 percent of the city destroyed.

Was this because Iran is considered by the US as one of the nations on the axis of evil together with North Korea and Cuba? The record has it that the people of Bam had to rebuild their lives and city all by themselves without much help form the Western nations.

One tends to wonder then if it is the height of hypocrisy for Western countries to help the Asian tsunami nations hit by the disaster? Are they helping only because some of their own citizens perished in the tragedy? Or is there some other hidden agenda which is only known to them?

One has to be grateful that nature had caused this hardship in Southeast Asia, as I am sure that if the cause of 150,000 deaths had been pinpointed to a terrorist act, the superpowers and their cohorts would have seized the chance send in their marine and military assets to overwhelm us.