Tsunami - whom shall we help?

I received several emails asking about where the funds I collect will be sent. My reply is, currently, it will be sent to Malaysians working in the affected areas. I say Malaysians working in affected areas because the people receiving the donation does not focus solely in Malaysia. They work wherever they are needed if it is possible for them to go there. From the works I have been doing in the United Kingdom thus far, I am fortunate to have contacts with people in the Foreign Office as well as a few who are working in charitable organizations. I am trying to lobby them to allocate funds to Malaysia. I have not received definite positives yet. International aid agencies are focusing their efforts to countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The countries with the most number of deaths are receiving the most help, at least in the immediate term. I was saying to myself, if countries other than Malaysia are the ones that need the most help, then surely I should help to raise funds for them (ie: not for Malaysia). Malaysia was not too badly affected. The death tolls were only less than 70. Why give money to a country that was not too badly hit? However, one friend who works in a London-based charitable organization told me that it is wiser for me to focus on Malaysia. He argued that since a country like Malaysia is not receiving so much international help (I am not saying there is none. Just less), Malaysians should group together to do whatever they can to help their own country. If people from countries who were not so badly affected refuse to help their own country, AND at the same time very little international aid is coming into that country because the impact was not too severe, then these so called "less severely affected countries" will be worse off in the long run. Everyone is focusing on the worse affected countries, while those that were not so badly affected will be left to their own aid. At the end, the governments of those countries will have to cover the cost of everything, and ultimately, it is the citizenry who will be affected. Thus, this colleague, who has more than 15 years experience working in relief efforts, refused my offer to help him collect money for the general fund. He bluntly told me "Go help people in your own country first. We already raised £25 million last night for the general fund, none of which will go to your country, but a large chunk will go to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Who will help your country if you do not do it?" I suppose that makes sense. By focusing my efforts to helping those in my own country, I am not neglecting the fact that others have been worse hit. I am merely ensuring that the miniscule effort I am putting in is targeted to bring benefits to an area "un-noticed" by the international community due to the relatively small number of deaths - Kuala Muda in Kedah. After all, this particular area has not even been mentioned by any British media. They are truly un-noticed. I must also admit that it hurts to make such a decision especially when you see so much suffering in BBC News 24. But I keep reminding myself that just because Kuala Muda is not covered by the British media does not mean people there are not suffering. They were simply forgotten in the midst of such a massive destruction. I am also comforted by the fact that parts of the fund will also be disbursed to places outside Malaysia. The allocations will be decided by the people on the ground. We should let the decisions be made by those who really know the situation. And a decision has been made that some funds should go to Acheh in the form of a temporary hospital with seven doctors. (When I phoned them earlier today, we were discussing the possibilities of getting more doctors there). If they see a need for more works outside Kuala Muda, I am sure they will transfer the funds as and when necessary.