Singapore is also ready to dispatch Disaster Assistance Rescue Teams (Darts) and medical doctors if Myanmar thought they would be useful to its recovery and relief efforts.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong disclosed this yesterday in a message to his Myanmar counterpart, General Thein Sien.

Mr Lee said: 'I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the great loss of lives and extensive damage suffered by the Myanmar people after Cyclone Nargis hit your country last Saturday.

'On behalf of the Government and people of Singapore, I would like to extend our condolences to the families and friends of the victims, with the hope that they will find the strength to recover from their grief and loss.'

Singapore's ambassador in Yangon, Mr Robert Chua Hian Kong, will be liaising with Myanmar officials on the handing over of the relief package, which includes medical supplies, drinking water, water-purifying tablets, tents, groundsheets, blankets, sleeping bags and emergency food.

Yesterday, Asean appealed to its member nations for help, saying they could not afford to be complacent in responding to natural disasters.

'We are now appealing to all Asean governments, the private sector and the civil society in the Asean region to please respond generously,' said the bloc's secretary-general, Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

He added that the 10-member grouping was thinking of tapping into an 87,000-tonne emergency rice reserve it maintains under its own food security agreement.

The extent of the damage created by Cyclone Nargis was reflected in a rare appeal by Myanmar's military regime for urgent international assistance.

'We need help, not only from our nationals but also from overseas,' Information Minister Kyaw Hsan said at a news conference, adding: 'We are greatly thankful to friendly countries which are giving assistance to us.'

However, the junta said that foreign aid teams would have to negotiate with the regime to be granted access.

UN aid agencies were yesterday still waiting for visas for disaster response teams. A spokesman for the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remained confident that a five-member disaster assessment team on standby in Bangkok would get visas soon.

Said Ms Elisabeth Byrs: 'The government has shown a certain openness so far...they have shown their willingness to welcome international assistance.'

Still, the restrictions have drawn flak from leaders such as US First Lady Laura Bush, who criticised the junta for proceeding with a May 10 constitutional referendum and for not warning citizens about the storm.

The United States, she said, was ready to pump more aid into Myanmar to help its recovery from the cyclone, but that help was conditional upon a US disaster response team being allowed into the country.

'I'm worried that they won't even accept US aid,' said Mrs Bush, the administration's chief voice on human rights and political conditions in Myanmar. The State Department says permission has been denied.

She also faulted the junta for keeping critical, live-saving information from its people and not warning them of the cyclone, saying: 'We know already that they are very inept.'

Australia, however, yesterday urged the international community to focus on providing humanitarian aid to Myanmar instead of criticising the junta's handling of the crisis.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS