Colonialism, all bad, or some good?

Just watched a program on railways in Asia hosted by Michael Portillo which was on travel in Java which was colonised by the Dutch.

On a heritage railway line he interviewed the tour guide who was a local (naturally) female wearing a hijab who without equivocation stated without the Dutch "we'd have no railway".

There's a lesson there. Post 1945 the Indonesians fought hard to kick the Dutch out but have the honesty to acknowledge that the Dutch provided some (limited) benefits.

Too bad there's not so much of these sorts of sentiments here.