It is no wonder that the government is having to respond to criticism about its tardy response to the flashfloods that swept across Wasior area in West Papua.

The scale of destruction – more than 144 people killed, more than 120 others missing, over 1,000 people injured and thousands left homeless – is large enough to demand a swift response from the government in Jakarta.

Instead, it took six full days following the Oct. 4 devastating floods before representatives of the Cabinet, led by Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono, descended in the area to oversee the relief operation.

It was while visiting the location that Agung had to repeatedly deny the government was not quick enough in its reaction, pointing out the fact that the national agency for disaster management was already active on the ground since day one.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, having earlier planned to leave Sunday, has now postponed his trip until Wednesday. Here is a President who has struggled this past week against domestic and international opinions for his emotional decision to cancel his trip to the Netherlands on the pretext of some misplaced national pride.

The President would have won far more plaudits had he said he was staying behind to oversee the latest natural disaster to hit the country, just as he postponed his foreign trips in the past in the wake of similar natural calamities that struck Java or Sumatra.

The central government's slow response to the unfolding tragedy in Papua raises serious questions about Jakarta's attitude toward the tragedy that affected their countrymen in the far flung province to the east.

Such indifference is not exclusive to Yudhoyono. The entire Jakarta political elite, including the House of Representatives, the business community and the mainstream media, have been noticeably slow in showing their solidarity and in extending a helping hand.

Contrast this to how the government and the nation responded to earthquakes in Padang (West Sumatra), Yogyakarta and Cianjur in West Java in recent years, it is easy but dangerous to conclude that we are talking about two different countries.

Our fellow countrymen in Papua already have grievances about the way the central government is treating them. Now, they have another reason to complain about the discriminatory attitude of the Jakarta political elite.

Indonesia has invested resources, time and money abroad to ensure that countries around the world respect its territorial integrity, including in particular its sovereignty over Papua, where Jakarta is fighting a low-level armed separatist movement. But as the poor handling of the Wasior flood shows, the one thing that may push Papuans to press for their own independent state is really the attitude of the political elite in Jakarta.

The government needs to invest more time and resources in Papua rather than abroad. It is never too late to help the flood victims in Wasior. But bear in mind, Jakarta needs to change its attitude toward Papua too, now more than ever.