Jakarta, Jan. 11 -- The Indonesian government's decision to set up the National Central Command Post for Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Acceleration in Banda Aceh has marked a significant shift in how the state responds to large-scale cross-provincial disasters.

Selecting Aceh as the site of the command post is not merely because of its status as the hardest-hit province, but also because Aceh has a long history of facing crises, from conflict to disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

There is also a symbolic and strategic message behind it: that post-disaster recovery is no longer seen as just a series of scattered, sector-specific projects. Instead, it is understood as a unified national orch...