Brunei’s economy slips 2.3%

Fitri Shahminan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI’s economy continued to decline year on year, this time by 2.3 per cent in 2014, owing to a slowdown in the oil and gas sector, the Department of Economic Planning and Development Board (JPKE) reported yesterday.

This is a furher decline from the 1.8 per cent year-on-year contraction recorded in 2013.

The JPKE said the oil and gas sector, which accounted for more than half of the Sultanate’s gross domestic product (GDP), fell by 3.7 per cent in 2014.

The non-oil and gas sector declined by 0.4 per cent.

By expenditure approach, the JPKE attributed GDP’s decline to a 34.6 per cent decrease in gross capital formation, imports of goods and services by 19.7 per cent and domestic consumption by three per cent.

Brunei’s exports rose by 4.3 per cent in 2014, while government spending increased by 2.9 per cent.

In the fourth quarter of 2014 alone, Brunei’s GDP grew by 0.2 per cent on year. The 2.7 per cent growth in the non-oil and gas sector offset the 1.6 per cent decline in the oil and gas industry.

The gains in the agriculture and services sectors supported the non-oil and gas sector in the fourth quarter.

Agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors rose by 3.1 per cent thanks to a 25.7 per cent rise in the production of vegetables and fruits as well as an 8.6 per cent growth in forestry production.

The services sector increased by 2.2 per cent on the back of higher growth posted by finance, transport and education service sectors.

The industrial sector decreased by 1.1 per cent pressured by a poor performance in oil and gas mining.

Brunei’s GDP at current prices in the fourth quarter of 2014 was estimated at $5.245 billion compared to the $5.209 billion in the previous quarter.

JPKE said the fourth quarter national income accounts is the first quarterly report to be released that used 2010 as the base year in calculating the country’s gross domestic product.

JPKE previously used 2000 as the base year in calculating GDP.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Philippines to ‘downgrade’ Sabah claim to fight China

Joe Fernandez

The question that arises is whether it can “downgrade” something that it never had in the first place.

KOTA KINABALU: The Philippines, in a desperate note which literally asks Malaysia to risk its growing ties with China, has offered out of the blue to “downgrade” its “claim” to Sabah if Putrajaya supports its (Manila’s) case against China, on its maritime borders, at the United Nations Arbitral Court.

It’s not entirely clear what this “downgrading” means”. The question that arises is whether it can “downgrade” something that it never had in the first place. Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, in an immediate response, said Putrajaya does not recognise any claim by the Philippines to Sabah. “What claim? We don’t recognise any claim, (so) the note is irrelevant.” He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the two-day Asian Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Combating Wildlife Trafficking in Tuaran, Sabah.

Manila’s offer is contained in a note verbale, a copy of which was obtained by VERA Files according to the Philippine Star, handed to the Malaysian Embassy in Manila last week by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The note follows a week after a visit by Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to Manila.

The note refers to the May 6, 2009 joint submission by Malaysia and Vietnam to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental She’d (CLCS). Malaysia, in the joint submission, claims an extended continental shelf, 350 nautical miles from the baseline, which was clearly projected from Sabah.

The Philippines, which protested the joint submission on Aug 4, 2009 on the grounds that Sabah belongs to it, is now willing to “review” its protest. China protested the submission too and this is likely to stand even if Manila withdrew its objections.

However, Manila’s review would depend on Malaysia’s support for its case against China at the UN. The case is contained in two “requests” i.e. Malaysia to confirm that its extended continental shelf extends from the peninsula; and that it will not claim any continental shelf beyond 12 nautical miles, as provided for under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), from the maritime features in the Spratly Islands it claims.

The Philippines claims ownership of Sabah, “which is at present occupied by Malaysia”, based on the “title” of the Sultanate of Sulu (defunct) which purportedly ceded proprietary rights over the 76,115-square-kilometer land to the Philippines in 1962.

The Sultanate of Sulu in Borneo, but only along the eastern seaboard of Sabah was not territorial, but claimed the “right” to collect toll along the waterways initially along the east coast and later in Northern Sabah which it claimed was handed to it by the Brunei Sultanate. Brunei has denied handing the right to collect toll along the waterways in Northern Sabah to Sulu.

It’s not entirely clear whether Manila claims the whole of Sabah, and if so, on what basis.

Activists claim that Malaysia in Borneo is an unfinished chapter in the history of the British Empire in the region and are calling for decolonisation of Sabah and Sarawak since Putrajaya has been in non-compliance on the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Putrajaya’s approach to China’s claims in the South China Sea has been an expressed willingness to jointly engage in oil and gas exploration works.


Sumber - Free Malaysia Today

Letter From America: ‘Hidden Hands’ Behind Communal Violence in Myanmar - I told you so

By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

In a country that has been infested with the blight of unfathomable racism and bigotry for decades, rumors are enough to trigger communal riots. And if the press, priests, public servants and people’s representatives are all working in cahoots as a party to a very sinister program – which I have been calling a ‘national eliminationist project’ – one does not have to be Einstein to understand the impact of such false rumors. And that is what happened to Mandalay in central Myanmar (formerly Burma) in July of last year when we witnessed anti-Muslim violence there. It was all part of a highly orchestrated criminal program with deep support at every level of the local and central government.

On July 3, 2014, U Soe Min, a Muslim man, was walking to morning prayers (Fajr) at a nearby mosque when a man with a machete struck him dead with a deep blow to his skull. The 51-year-old Mandalay resident, who ran a bicycle shop, was one of two innocent victims that day of communal violence sparked by reports – later proven to be false – that a Buddhist woman had been raped by two Muslim brothers.

Since May of 2012 starting with the gruesome lynching to death of ten Tablighi Muslims by a Rakhine mob, we have witnessed how the Buddhist mob and criminals have often been empowered by such false rumors to terrorize and exterminate Muslims, which sadly have been led by Buddhist monks and security forces.

The May (2012) ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims started under a similar pretext: a Rakhine woman - Ma Thida Htwe - was raped and murdered by 3 Rohingya (the so-called Bengali) Muslims. The dead body was found, rather conveniently, in a Rakhine village – not too far from a Rohingya locality. Interestingly, the lead accused - named Htet Htet - was not a 'Bengali' – and not even a Muslim. He was a married Buddhist Bama who in his childhood was adopted by a Rohingya Muslim family. As we have seen in many such incidents under police and NASAKA custody, Htet Htet was found dead in his prison cell. The police announced that he had killed himself.

Dr. Maung Zarni, a Burmese human rights activist, says that “the rape narrative of the Rakhine woman - the late Ma Thida Htwe - raped by 'Bengali men' was patently false, but spread by President Thein Sein's men the likes of Major Zaw Htay (Hmu Zaw), Colonel Ye Htut (now deputy information minister) as a trigger event to set the fire of genocidal hatred towards the Muslims. Ma Thida Htwe was NOT raped but was simply murdered - the doctor who examined her body told Ko Zaganar [a popular comedian], in no uncertain terms, that there was absolutely no evidence of rape on Ma Thida Htwe's dead body. The doctor was forced to sign the medical report which claims falsely she was raped. The rape story was spread by government agents on the social media and was used as a launching pad to start waves of mass killings against the Rohingya and the Muslims across Burma or Myanmar.”

“Within a month of his death - when [Maung Thura[ Zaganar attempted to meet Htet Htet's wife,” writes Dr. Zarni in his blog, “she was found dead in a village well. How convenient!” It is believed amongst the independent analysts that NASAKA security forces killed Ma Thida Htwe and possibly Htet Htet’s wife.

For years I have been saying that if one is serious about finding the origin of race/ ethnic/ religious riots and pogroms inside military-controlled Myanmar that inquiry should start with the government itself. As subsequent inquiries have revealed I was not wrong: most of the anti-Muslim pogroms and genocidal activities inside Burma (or Myanmar) owe their origin to the government – central and local. These crimes are sometimes scripted and often times sanctioned by the government. True that we sometimes see the faces of angry Buddhist mob taking the lead in such heinous crimes, but these low-lives are often used as pawns in this chess game of ethnic cleansing of the targeted victims. And no one can deny the powerful influence of the Sangha in agitating and mobilizing Buddhists. The terrorist Buddhist monks have been employed by the regime to polarize public opinion against Muslims and aid in its sinister plan.

It is no accident that after his release from prison in 2010, Wirathu – the head abbot of the Masoyein monastery in Mandalay - with a large following has now become the face of Buddhist terrorism. His 969 (fascist) Movement provides the foot soldiers for Nazi-like blitzkrieg against unarmed Muslims. He led a rally of monks in Mandalay in September, 2012 to promote President Thein Sein's controversial plan to expel Rohingyas to a third country. A month later more violence was directed against Muslims in the Rakhine state resulting in displacement of some 140,000 Rohingyas. His fascist movement has been behind all the subsequent pogroms directed against Muslims (and not just limited to Rohingyas) all across Myanmar. His disciples have also been behind all state-managed protest rallies against the NGOs, UN and OIC reps, including the Doctors Without Borders, worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting the Muslims of Myanmar.

With the vast support Wirathu and other racist and bigoted Buddhist monks enjoy within the broader Buddhist community, they have been able to rally hateful Buddhists to attack and kill Muslims and burn their properties with impunity. Police and other security forces, if they did not participate in such heinous crimes themselves would often time stand unperturbed, as if nothing had gone wrong, or that they have no business to stop such horrendous crimes of fellow savage Buddhists.

According to multiple corroborated eyewitnesses, the Mandalay riots of July 2014 were carried out over two straight nights by a small group of Buddhist terrorists on motorcycles carrying clubs and swords who rampaged through Muslim neighborhoods destroying homes, businesses and mosques. This took place in plain view of fully armed riot police, who followed the rioters and watched the mayhem unfold without taking action. As hinted above, Mandalay – the second largest Myanmar city – is home of the terrorist monk Wirathu. The local Panthay (Chinese) Muslims were forced to hide or keep a very low profile.

Justice Trust - an international human rights organization that partners with lawyers and activists in Myanmar to strengthen local communities fighting for justice – investigated the matter. It found ‘hidden hands’ (read: government hand) in the attack. In its released report, “Hidden Hands Behind Communal Violence in Myanmar: Case Study of the Mandalay Riots,” it documented the use of organized gangs of armed men to commit anti-Muslim riots under the guise of spontaneous mob violence.

The NGO held a press conference in Bangkok on March 23, 2015 to release the report.

“This report shows what most Burmese have known for a long time – that religious hatred between Buddhists and Muslims is being stoked by hidden hands and manipulated as a pretext for maintaining their grip on power,” said U Thein Than Oo, a Mandalay lawyer who serves on Justice Trust’s steering committee. “We have seen this script many times before – the deployment of plainclothes forces [Swah Ah Shin] rather than uniformed soldiers to commit national-scale political violence, and the scapegoating of minorities to divert public attention away from the country’s real needs.”

Drawing on six months of research by a team of local and international lawyers, the report analyzes the riots that shook Mandalay in July 2014 and places these riots in the context of previous waves of communal conflict carried out under past military regimes.

The Mandalay riots closely followed every element of this pattern, starting with a false charge of rape spread on Facebook. But unlike in previous riots, where large mobs developed and the violence spun out of control, local people in Mandalay refused to participate despite the best efforts of outside agitators. In fact, local monks, activists and journalists arrived and tried to contain the situation. Without the protective cover of a sympathetic crowd, the outside agitators were exposed, the stage-managed nature of their violence was made visible to the public, and the overall damage was limited.

“The Mandalay riots were designed to appear as a spontaneous outbreak of mob violence, but in fact were perpetuated by an organised gang of armed men brought in from outside Mandalay to enact a pre-determined script written and stage-managed by hidden hands for political ends,” the report says.

The report states that: “The case of Mandalay therefore provides the clearest evidence yet of a deliberate political strategy to foment anti-Muslim violence, as well as the best example of countering this strategy through a local early warning system to mobilize an immediate on-the-ground response.”

The report says they follow a similar pattern of events, including rape allegations, speaking tours by Wirathu and visits by gangs of fomenting outsiders. “Lots of people recognise that the 969 movement has a history of inciting riots … and once Wirathu posted the [rape] allegation to Facebook, the local civil groups alerted others to the coming storm,” said Roger Normand, executive director of Justice Trust.

Mandalay is far from the only orchestrated incident inside Myanmar, which has a long history of military regimes employing the “dual threat of external intervention and internal disintegration” to ensure control, according to the report. Notable examples of such diversions include General Ne Win’s anti-Chinese riots in the 1960s to distract from a countrywide rice shortage, and Buddhist-Muslim tensions after democratic mass uprising in 1988.

Anti-Muslim pogroms in Myanmar are not new. They have surfaced periodically in recent decades. The fascist elements within the Buddhist country have exploited their deep-seated racism and bigotry against ethnic minorities and non-Buddhists to glue the fractured Buddhist majority. Their propaganda encourages a blind racist nationalism and an unparallel bigotry, full of references to ‘protecting the race and religion’, meaning that if the national race Burmans (Bama) do not oppress other nationalities then they will themselves be oppressed and if the Buddhist majority likewise does not expel the non-Buddhists (esp. the Muslims) then they will become a minority, ‘national reconsolidation’, meaning forced assimilation, and preventing ‘disintegration of the Union’, meaning that if the Army (Tadmadaw) falls then some kind of ethnic chaos would ensue. In this new Myanmarism, ethno-religio-fascist Buddhism (coined first by self-exiled researcher Dr. Shwe Lu Maung), monks have become the regime’s pit bulls that are aided from center to the local level politicians. Even Suu Kyi is a silent partner.

As noted by Human Rights Watch in its report “All You Can Do Is Pray”, immediately after the first wave of anti-Muslim genocidal activities in Arakan in June 2012, local Rakhine Buddhist monks circulated pamphlets calling for the isolation of Muslims. For instance, on June 29, monks in Sittwe (formerly Akyab) distributed an incendiary pamphlet telling all Arakanese Buddhists that they “Must not do business with Bengalis [Rohingya],” and “Must not associate with Bengalis [Rohingya].” It implored the Rakhine people to follow the demands to socially and economically isolate the Rohingya to prevent the “extinction of the Arakanese.”

On July 5, 2012 monks representing the Sangha in Rathedaung Township, 30 kilometers north of Sittwe, held a meeting and subsequently issued a 12-point statement. The preamble unabashedly presents a plan for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya: ‘Arakan Ethnic Cleansing Program’. It called for the establishment of a “rule to control the birth rate of the Muslim Bengali community living in Arakan”; it advocated forced relocation by demanding the government “remove some Bengali villages located near Sittwe University and beside traffic communication roads throughout Arakan State”; and it expresses opposition to any reintegration plans that would “put Buddhist and Muslim people together.” Furthermore, the statement called for a “peoples’ militia in all ethnic villages along the border and [for the government] to supply sophisticated arms to the people’s militia.” The statement called for strict adherence to the 1982 Citizenship Law, which effectively prevents Rohingya from obtaining Burmese citizenship. The Rathedaung statement was sent to President Thein Sein, leaders in parliament, and the presidential commission established to investigate the situation in Arakan State.

The statement also called on the Rakhine Buddhists in Rathedaung Township to avoid employing Rohingya in a range of jobs, including day laborers, carpenters, masons, and in farming. It also said that the Rohingya should not to be employed in government offices or by NGOs operating in the township, and that all NGOs providing aid to the Rohingya in the township must withdraw. On July 9, 2012 the monks' association in Mrauk-U (once the capital of Arakan) released a similar statement: “No Arakanese [Rakhine Buddhist] should sell any goods to Bengalis, hire Bengalis as workers, provide any food to Bengalis and have any dealings with them ...”

The ruling RNDP in the Rakhine state also played an instrumental role in stoking fear and encouraging isolation of and violence against the Rohingya. One of the racist provocateurs by the name of Aye Chan depicts Rohingya as ‘Influx Virus’ which needs extinction. Members of the Buddhist sangha and the RNDP have also called for changes to the demographic makeup of Arakan State and Burma, such as the expulsion of all Rohingya from the country, in interviews with the international media. The monk Sandarthiri likewise told BBC that Rohingya have no right to stay in Burma: “Around the world there are many Muslim countries. They should go there. The Muslim countries will take care of them. They should go to countries with the same religion.”

The RNDP leaders issued orders to the Rakhine people to deny food entering the Rohingya part of the villages. “If any food comes, take it, crush it, and destroy it” was a notice on the corner of the road in front of the food market with orders saying no one could allow any food to reach the Rohingya village. On that paper it said that any Buddhist taking money from the Rohingya for rice or other things would be killed.

The HRW report directly implicated "political and religious leaders in Arakan State" in the planning, organization, and incitement of attacks against the Rohingya and other Muslims in October of 2012.

Buddhist monks were again in the headlines in June 2013 when it was reported that participants at a monastic conference were preparing a draft law that would put severe restrictions on inter-faith marriage and penalize Muslim men who married Buddhist women without converting.

The fact-finding reports from multiple NGOs have confirmed what we suspected for a number of years about who these ‘hidden hands’ are that are responsible for genocidal crimes against Muslims and other vulnerable minorities inside Myanmar. It is high time for the world community, esp. the UNSC, to try these fascists in the ICC for their crimes against humanity for surely the strongest antidote to genocide is justice. And nothing will sober the culprits of Myanmarism except such punitive measures.


Sumber - Asian Tribune

Performance evaluation in civil service

Rabiatul Kamit
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

NO CIVIL servant or government agency will be spared from performance measurement and evaluation, cautioned the Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) yesterday.

Dato Paduka Hj Abdul Wahab Juned said the Public Sector Performance Grading Programme (3PSA) will assess the performance of all public organisations including its personnel, strategic plans, succession plans and best practices among others.

The new programme was developed by the Management Services Department (MSD) to ensure high standards of governance in civil service towards achieving Vision 2035.

“These efforts cannot be delayed or neglected or dealt with procrastination, because it assesses and measures our performance in the public sector as a vehicle towards excellent service, which is embodied by a shift in mindset and absorption of positive mindset,” said the deputy minister.

He added that MSD “did not take shortcuts” in coming up with 3PSA as it was based on comparative studies, benchmarking and extensive consultation.

The state-level programme will be reviewed from time to time to ensure it has been implemented with success, while its requirements will be monitored and assessed on an ongoing basis including continued benchmarking and independent evaluation by an external body.

“There is no deadline for efforts like 3PSA, which becomes a vehicle for achieving excellence, as excellence is a moving target,” said Dato Hj Abdul Wahab at the launch of 3PSA at PMO.

He hoped the grading programme will be a platform that will serve as “a catalyst to holistically push the values of integrity, culture, practices and mindset from the status quo to an inclination towards the flow of challenging and dynamic development”.

“Take this as a strong resolve to call on all parties in civil service not to be satisfied and complacent with inferior standing,” he said, urging for positive change in the public sector.

In his speech, the deputy minister also voiced grave concerns over prevailing issues associated with the civil service such as the tardiness of civil servants arriving to work as well as the succession plan and performance assessment. “In matters such as these, parties of all levels must be honest and frank towards our actual problem instead of finding excuses or pointing fingers to other parties,” he said.

Citing a titah of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Dato Hj Abdul Wahab reiterated that civil servants must shift their mindset to think more positively.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

HAWA hulur sumbangan air mineral

Oleh Hajah Saemah Kepli

KUALA BELAIT, 27 Mac – Himpunan Wanita Parti Pembangunan Bangsa (HAWA NDP) hari ini telah menghulurkan sumbangan bantuan air mineral untuk diserahkan kepada Pos Kawalan Insiden di kawasan Jalan Pirau Mumong dekat sini.

Timbalan Ketua HAWA NDP Pusat Dayang Kartini Abd Manap menyerahkan sumbangan air mineral di Pos ICP hari ini

Bantuan tersebut yang antara lain bertujuan untuk bersama-sama memberikan sokongan kepada semua yang terlibat dalam Operasi Memadam Kebakaran Hutan berlaku di Daerah Belait telah disampaikan oleh Timbalan Ketua Himpunan Wanita Pusat NDP Dayang Kartini binti Abd Manap, diiringi bersama oleh Naib Ketua Badan Perhubungan NDP Daerah Belait Dayang Rosiah binti Alah.

Sumbangan tersebut juga merupakan salah satu aktiviti berkebajikan kumpulan tersebut melalui Projek Jejak Ehsan mereka yang dilaksanakan secara berterusan sepanjang tahun. Kotak-kotak air mineral itu diserahkan di Pos Kawalan Insiden dekat sini, yang telah diaktifkan ekoran kejadian kebakaran hutan yang berterusan di kawasan Pirau Seria sejak 23 Mac lalu melalui arahan Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Daerah Belait (DDMC Belait) yang dipengerusikan oleh Pegawai Daerah Belait Awang Haji Haris bin Othman pada hari yang sama.

DDMC diaktifkan bagi memastikan keselamatan orang awam dan juga pasukan bertindak kecemasan adalah terjamin, serta bagi mengawal kerosakan kepada alam sekitar dengan menggunakan kaedah dan sumber pemadam kebakaran yang bersesuaian.


Sumber - Media Permata

SURAT TERBUKA KEPADA UMAT ISLAM: “ISU HUDUD YANG DIKELIRUKAN”

Ditulis oleh ABDUL HADI AWANG

Saudara dan saudari yang dihormati,

Dengan rasa rendah diri, surat ini saya tujukan kepada semua umat Islam dengan semangat saling ingat memperingati sesama kita.

Ada dalam kalangan umat Islam yang memberi alasan bagi menolak usul persendirian berkaitan undang-undang jenayah dengan menggunakan beberapa perkataan yang berkaitan hukum Islam. Antaranya menyebut perkataan-perkataan seperti “Siyasah Syari’yyah”, “Maqasid Syari’ah”, “Fiqh Aulawiyyat”, “Maslahah” dan lain-lain.

Ketika membicarakan tajuk yang berat seperti ini, maka tentunya sangatlah tidak manis sekiranya kita menjadi laksana burung kakaktua yang pandai hanya menyebut kalimah yang diajar oleh tuannya, namun tetap berstatus binatang tanpa akal tanpa memahami hakikat atau tasawwur daripada perkataan yang diucap. Maka menjelaskan maknanya dengan ilmu yang bersumberkan al-Quran dan as-Sunnah adalah sangat penting.

“Hudud” adalah cabutan daripada salah satu daripada hukum jenayah yang banyak dan menyeluruh. Mungkin sengaja dijadikan hujah yang difikirkan bagi menolak syari’at. Mereka menganggap Hudud paling sesuai dijadikan sasaran kerana pandangan mereka paling ganas, tanpa mengetahui secara detail dan objektif. Tanpa menyedari pula betapa ganasnya undang-undang ciptaan manusia yang masih dibanggakan, seperti hukuman bunuh secara kuno : menjerut tali ke leher secara menggantung, begitu juga hukuman sebat sehingga menyeksa  tanpa kesan mendidik masyarakat.

Penjelasan ini khusus bagi penganut Islam yang jahil tanpa dimaafkan, kerana beriman tanpa ilmu dan tidak berbudiman terhadap agama sendiri, serta tanpa peduli terhadap batas-batas iman dan kufur yang wajib diketahui dan dipelihara secara fardu ‘ain.

Dr Yusuf al-Qardawi dalam kitabnya  تيسير الفقه للمسلم المعاصر  (Memudahkan kefahaman terhadap agama kepada Muslim Semasa atau terkini) di halaman 102 menjelaskan :

Terdapat tiga madrasah (pandangan) apabila menghadapi masalah semasa :

1- Kalangan yang berpegang kepada nas juzi’i yang zahir secara jumud tanpa menterjemahkannya secara ijtihad melalui ilmu Siyasah Syariyyah, Usul dan Maqasid.

2- Kalangan yang menyalahggunakan Siyasah Syariyyah, Usul dan Maqasid sehingga membelakangi nas yang nyata.

3- Kalangan yang mengambil kira kedua-dua aspek yang penting dalam ilmu Islam.

Nas yang nyata adalah ilmu Allah yang difirmankan atau ucapan Rasul S.A.W. yang bersifat ma’sum. Adapun yang lain dari nas yang nyata adalah keizinan Allah bagi ruang ijtihad di kalangan para ulama bagi melaksanakan syariat Islam dengan bijak dan adil, bukannya meninggal syariat Allah dengan alasan sehingga  boleh digantikan dengan undang-undang ciptaan manusia yang dianggap lebih baik.

1- Siyasah Syari’yyah

Perkataan  “siyasah” daripada bahasa Arab yang bermaksud mentadbir, mengurus dan memandu atau memimpin yang disebut terkini dengan perkataan politik atau pentadbiran atau panduan. Dicampur dengan perkataan Syara’ dengan maksud kaitannya dengan urusan pelaksanaan syariat mengikut jadual, pelaksanaan, dan pengurusan melaksanakan hukum Islam, bukannya meninggalkan hukum Islam untuk diganti dengan yang lain. (Sila lihat huraian secara khsus dalam kitab-kitab Ahkam Sultaniyyah Karangan  al-Mawardi dan Ghiyath al-Umam karangan Imam Haramain daripada Mazhab Syafie; al-Siyar al-Kabir daripada mazhab Hanafi; Siyasah Syariyyah Ibnu Taimiyyah dan Turuq Hukmiyyah Ibnu Qayyim  daripada mazhab Hambali dan Muqaddimah Ibnu Khaldun daripada mazhab Maliki).    

Tegasnya ialah melaksanakan Syariat dengan betul, bukannya meninggalkan Syariat Allah dengan gantian hukum yang lain.

2- Maqasid Syari’ah

“Maqasid” bermakna tujuan-tujuan, maksudnya ialah tujuan pelaksanaan syariat. Objektifnya ialah cara mencapai matlamat membawa maslahat kebaikan kepada manusia secara umum dan khusus secara adil dan istiqamah dan menolak kemudaratan. Di sini pula ada tujuan yang telah ditetapkan oleh syara’  dan ada juga yang tidak disebut di mana Allah memberi keizinan mengikut kemampuan akal dan ilmu manusia.

(Kepada yang mampu berbahasa Arab sila rujuk kepada dua tokoh ilmu Maqasid : Al Syatibi : Al Muwafaqat : J:2, muka surat 391. Ibnu ‘Asyur : muka surat 19)

Contohnya, apabila khalifah Umar R.A. tidak memotong tangan pencuri di tahun melesetnya ekonomi kerana berlakunya kemarau panjang, dan bukannya kerana meninggalkan hudud, tetapi disebabkan melihat keadaan desakan hidup apabila dibayar gaji yang tidak mencukupi, menjadikan seseorang itu melakukan jenayah secara terdesak. Maka kerana itu hukuman potong tangan adalah haram dilaksanakan, kerana Hadis Rasulullah S.A.W. : “Hukuman Hudud ditolak kerana adanya syubhat”.

Ditolak hukuman hudud ini pula bukan bermakna terlepas begitu sahaja. Tetapi hendaklah dipindahkan kepada hukuman takzir yang termasuk dalam ruang Syariat Islam. Hukuman hudud tidak boleh dijatuhkan kerana tidak memenuhi syarat yang mencapai adil dan mendidik masyarakat mengikut kemampuan. Mudarat daripada kemelesetan ekonomi yang menimpa penjenayah adalah lebih besar. Sebaliknya kalau pencuri itu seorang berpendapatan tinggi sudah tentu dihukumkan.    

Maqasid Syari’ah tidak bermakna membatalkan penguatkusaan undang-undang Hudud. Maqasid Syari’ah dalam hal ini bermakna hukuman tidak boleh dijatuhkan kerana menafikan tindakan secara adil yang menjadi matlamat syariat. Kalau dijatuhkan hukuman juga, bermakna kita tidak melaksanakan syariat kerana tidak mencapai matlamatnya. Meninggalkan syariat secara total menghilangkan segala maqasidnya.

Contohnya juga ialah mengenai kalimah Allah dibenarkan penggunaannya pada asalnya oleh penganut bukan Islam walau pun salah mengikut penafsiran kita, tetapi apabila tujuan penggunaannya bagi mengelirukan penganut Islam yang jahil, maka pihak berkuasa berkenaan agama Islam berhak menghalangnya . Mengikut  Qaedah  الأمور بمقاصدها  (Semua perkara dilihat juga kepada tujuannya).

3- Fiqh Aulawiyyat 

Bermaksud melihat keutamaan secara fiqh (faham mengikut panduan Syariat).

Contohnya Islam meletakkan perkara keperluan rukun hidup bagi manusia ialah memelihara (1) Aqidah agama, (2) Nyawa, (3) Akal, (4) Keturunan dan (5) Harta.

Contohnya tidak dijatuhkan hukuman hudud terhadap pencuri kerana lapar adalah kerana keutamaan memelihara nyawa hendaklah didahulukan daripada memelihara harta. Hukuman hudud ditangguh dalam keadaan perang kerana menghalang penjenayah melarikan diri kepada musuh, kerana keselamatan negara diutamakan. Bukan bermakna penjenayah dibebaskan, tetapi diturunkan kepada hukuman takzir.

Orang bukan Islam dikecualikan dahulu kerana berdakwah dalam konsep tiada paksaan dalam agama adalah lebih aulawiyyat.

Contohnya juga seperti pengambilan tanah untuk mendirikan hospital atau jalan raya adalah diizinkan kerana kepentingan umum hendaklah didahulukan daripada kepentingan individu atau segelintir, dan hendaklah diganti tanah itu secara yang adil pula.

“Aulawiyyat” itu pula hendaklah dalam ruang lingkup hukum syariat terlebih dahulu, bukannya bermakna meninggalkan hukum syariat.

Apabila segala syarat tidak ada bagi hukum Hudud dan Qisas maka hendaklah dipilih dalam ruang hukum takzir yang sangat luas.

Bukannya melarikan diri kepada hukum ciptaan Barat yang banyak kelemahannya. Perlu disedari bahawa di sana ada juga tidak yang sama dengan undang – undang yang sedia ada, perbezaannya tidak ada roh seperti syariat Islam.

(Sila lihat Dr Yusuf Al Qardhawi dalam Siyasah Syariayyah halaman 284-297)

4- Maslahah

“Maslahah” dengan maksud tujuan membawa kebaikan. Sama ada mendapat faedah atau menolak kemudaratan.

Para ulama membahagikan maslahat itu kepada tiga kedudukan :


1- Maslahah Mu’atabarah 

Ialah dalam perkara yang telah ditetap oleh Allah Yang Maha Mengetahui dan Rahmat terhadap makhluknya. Maka ada yang diwajibkan dan ada pula yang diharamkan. Maka percayalah bahawa semua yang diwajibkan tetap membawa kebaikan dunia dan akhirat. Perkara yang diharamkan tetap mendatang mudarat kepada diri atau masyarakat. Contohnya ialah seperti wajibnya berpuasa kepada yang mampu dan haramnya arak dan judi. Ianya adalah ketetapan Allah SWT.

2- Maslahah Mulghah

Dalam perkara yang diharamkan kerana mudaratnya lebih besar atau manfaatnya tidak ada .Contohnya seorang yang mencuri atau merompak atau mengedar dadah dengan maslahat mengumpul duit untuk kebajikan atau nafkah keluarga. Maslahat ini dibatalkan kerana mudaratnya sangat besar sehingga menimbus segala kebaikannya.

3- Maslahah mursalah atau Masoleh mursalah 

Dalam perkara yang didiamkan oleh al-Quran dan Hadis maka ruangnya adalah terlalu luas kepada manusia di sepanjang zaman.

Melaksanakan Syariat adalah maslahah yang telah ditetapkan oleh Allah Yang Maha Mengetahui dan Penyayang kepada makhluknya.


Isu Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariat (KJS) Negeri Kelantan 

Isu undang-undang  jenayah Syariat menjadi hangat sejak kedatangan penjajah apabila mereka menghapuskannya. Seterusnya menjadi hangat di kalangan umat Islam sendiri kerana kejahilan agama dan pendekatan, sehingga berlakunya isu kafir mengafir dalam masyarakat sendiri kerana kejahilan hukum dan kejahilan  cara pendekatan berdakwah.

Apabila keadaan dapat diredakan, maka PAS mengambil langkah ke depan melalui kemenangannya di Kelantan, kemudiannya di Terengganu secara ilmu dan demokratik.

Langkah pertama ialah menubuhkan pasukan daripada Parti dan kerajaan. Pasukan ini melibatkan Ketua Dewan Ulama dan kalangan ahli majlis Syura Ulama, Tun Salleh Abas (Mantan Ketua Hakim Negara), al-Marhum Prof Ahmad Ibrahim salah seorang pengasas UIA (mantan Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat tahun lima puluhan daripada Singapura dan mantan Peguam Negara Singapura yang pertama), al-Marhum Dr Mahmud Saedon Awang Othman dari UIA dan Pakar Syariah Negara Brunei Darussalam, al-marhum Datuk Abdul Halim Muhammad mantan Penasihat undang-undang negeri Kelantan dan Exco kerajaan negeri, dan Datuk Daud Mohamad Kadi Besar negeri Kelantan.

Sebelum enakmen ini dibawa kepada DUN Negeri Kelantan, ianya terlebih dahulu dibentangkan kepada umum di berbagai forum – seminar dan dialog. Akhirnya enakmen berkenaan dibawa ke Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan pada tahun 1993 dan DUN Terengganu pada tahun 2000. Manakala Kelantan pula memperkukuhkannya secara mengadakan seminar dan sambutan mengenainya secara tahunan.

Kini setelah lebih dari 20 tahun (dua puluh tahun) PAS memperkenalkan enakmen ini, di samping melaksanakan proses pendidikan mengenai KJS dalam masyarakat, dialog dan sebagainya, maka PAS ingin bergerak setapak lagi dalam proses mendidik masyarakat untuk mengenali hukum-hakam syariat Islam yang menyeluruh. Hasilnya kini suara yang mengeji hukum Islam ini semakin hari menjadi terpencil.

Maka dengan sedikit ruang yang ada ini, Enakmen KJS ini mengalami beberapa pindaan- pindaan memperkemaskannya dengan mengambil kira cabaran dalam perlembagaan dan masyarakat majmuk, tanpa paksaan, dan bagi orang Islam sahaja setelah mengambil kira pandangan para ulama daripada semua mazhab dan sejarah pelaksanaan yang berjaya di sepanjang zaman.

Dalam masa yang sama, apa yang ingin dicadang dan akan dibawa oleh PAS menerusi Private Members Bill nanti pula bukanlah rang undang-undang hudud, tetapi pindaan dalam akta Mahkamah Syariah untuk membuka sedikit ruang bagi membolehkan satu-dua aspek syariah itu dilaksanakan terhadap penganut Islam sahaja.

Kita adalah makhluk yang berilmu, bertamadun dan matang. Maka dengarlah dahulu apa yang ingin dikemukakan. Jangan terus melompat dan bertempik gegak gempita memberikan kritikan tanpa mengetahui hujung pangkalnya.

Firman Allah:

(Dan hendaklah kamu melaksanakan kalangan mereka hukum yang telah diturunkan oleh Allah, dan jangan sekali-kali engkau mengikut hawa nafsu mereka (meninggalkan hukum Allah) sehingga engkau meninggalkan sebahagian daripada apa yang telah diturunkan oleh Allah kepadamu. Maka jika sekiranya mereka berpaling (enggan) maka ketahuilah bahawa sesungguhnya Allah hendak mengenakan mereka dengan sebab sebahagian daripada dosa-dosa mereka. Dan sesungguhnya sebahagian daripada manusia itu adalah orang-orang yang jahat. Adakah mereka mahukan hukum jahiliyyah, padahal siapakah lagi yang paling baik hukumnya daripada Allah kepada orang-orang yang percaya dengan yakin).

Semoga semua kita mendapat manfaatnya dan mencapai keredhaan Allah SWT.


Saudaramu dalam Islam,

ABDUL HADI AWANG

PRESIDEN PAS


Sumber - Laman Web Rasmi PAS Pusat

ADB report: Brunei must improve business environment

Azlan Othman

ACCORDING to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Outlook 2015 report released yesterday, Brunei Darussalam’s economy performed well in 2014.

But declining hydrocarbon production has weighed on Brunei’s economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted for two years and is projected to contract further this year. Consumer prices are forecast to ease for a second straight year. Growth in sectors unconnected to energy indicates that the country is making gradual progress towards broadening its economic base.

The report also said Brunei’s GDP growth is expected to slow down to -1.5 per cent in 2015. However for 2016, ADB anticipates Brunei’s GDP growth to rise to 0.8 per cent.

The ADB report added, subdued production and the impact of lower global prices for hydrocarbons will likely see GDP contract in 2015 before a slight rebound in 2016, assuming that some recovery in oil and gas output will occur.

Accurate forecasting is hampered by uncertainty over the timing of oil and gas production from new fields and of stoppages for maintenance of wells and pipelines. Prospects for growth also depend on the timing of several large construction projects.

The biggest is an oil refinery and aromatics cracker planned for Pulau Muara Besar with capacity to produce 160,000 barrels a day of petroleum products for domestic use and for export.

Also last year, investors from China signed a land-lease agreement with Brunei to build a $50 million carbon steel pipe factory. This plant is scheduled to start operating in 2017, with the capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes per year of welded rounding carbon steel pipes for the oil and gas and construction industries.

A company from South Korea signed a non-binding agreement to build a $107 million plant to produce 120,000 tonnes per year of aluminium billet casting and 48,000 tonnes per year of aluminium extrusions, mainly for export.

These projects are part of the government’s strategy to diversify the economy through export-oriented manufacturing and services. The government intends to build bridges, roads, and utilities for the projects.

However, the government has also signalled that its expenditure in the financial year 2015 is constrained by the slide in revenue from oil and gas. The budget is expected to fall into deficit before accounting for income from investments.

Consumer prices are forecast to decline marginally again this year, despite a recent uptick in prices and the potential for further depreciation of the Brunei dollar against the US dollar.

The report added, in 2016, prices are seen edging higher as domestic demand improves and global commodity prices turn up. Weak global oil and gas prices are projected to lower export receipts again in 2015.

Next year, rising oil prices and the anticipated pickup in oil production will see exports start to recover. Imports, too, are expected to decline in 2015 but bounce back in 2016 if substantial construction gets under way on proposed projects. Nevertheless, exports will still comfortably exceed imports to maintain substantial trade and current account surpluses.

The report added, heavy reliance on oil and gas sector leaves the economy vulnerable to swings in global energy demand and to the gradual depletion of hydrocarbon reserves. Aiming to diversify the economy, the government has identified certain industries and provides incentives to draw foreign investment to develop export-oriented businesses.

This includes petrochemicals, Halal products, information and communications, Islamic financial services, and aviation and oilfield support services. Incentives include the provision of land and infrastructure, liberal trade and labour policies, competitively priced utilities, and tax breaks.

From 2015, the government has cut the corporate tax rate to 18.5 per cent, abolished corporate tax for small businesses, and increased tax breaks for investment in plant, machinery, and industrial buildings.

Investments made and planned by foreign companies indicate, along with the gradual expansion of the domestic private sector, that the strategy is achieving some success. Nevertheless, more could be done. Brunei Darussalam is ranked near the middle of 189 countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2015, putting it above Indonesia but well below Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, and also under the Philippines and Vietnam.

Improving the business environment is key to attracting new investment and diversifying the economy, the report concluded.


Sumber - Borneo Bulletin Online

Project ‘unpopular’ among Kg Ayer folks

Aziz Idris

ONLY 60 out of the 135 families have agreed to proceed with the Phase Two of the revitalisation project for Kampong Ayer residents, as part of an initiative to revive the Bruneian heritage in the Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) Development Master Plan.

This observation was made by Minister of Home Affairs, YB Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman on the final day of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Meeting yesterday.

The minister explained that the number showed that the project was not popular among residents.

He was doubtful whether this project should be continued or be allowed to be part of the master plan.

He said authorities must first clearly identify the benefits to the Kg Ayer community.

The Phase Two received an allocation of $26.33 million, involving 548 residents and 135 families – 129 families from Mukim Saba and six families from Kampong Peramu.

Apart from the construction of houses, the project also involves the building of an integrated connecting platform, an open area, an electric sub-station, a fire preventive system, sewerage system and water piping system.

The project is aimed at enhancing the cultural features and improving the development and structure of the Bruneian landmark.

The minister also noted several other projects within the BSB Development Master Plan, including the proposal to rebuild the existing 12 shop houses along Jalan Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien, Bumiputera Commercial Trade Centre and two multi-storey car park buildings.

The unit shop houses are set to be revamped to ensure the properties along the road are “more attractive” for businesses and investors.

Open invitation for the proposal to invest, build and operate the units has been offered to interested parties and Request for Proposal (RFP) documents have been sent out.

To conclude, the minister painted the picture of Sg Kedayan promenade, which falls under Zone A of the eco-corridor project.

The Riverfront Eco-Corridor project under the BSB Development Master Plan received of a total of $40 million.

“The first stage will involve the demolishing of vacant houses, followed by other houses once occupants have been relocated to government-provided accommodation,” said the minister.


Sumber - Borneo Bulletin

Kadar obesiti negara antara yang tertinggi

Oleh Sim Y. H.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 23 Mac – Negara Brunei Darussalam mempunyai kadar berat badan berlebihan dan obesiti di antara yang tertinggi di rantau ASEAN, dan ia bukanlah sesuatu yang dapat dibanggakan malahan amatlah merisaukan serta harus membuka mata semua pihak untuk mengambil tindakan segera dengan tegas dan serius dalam menangani cabaran itu.

Menteri Kesihatan, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Adanan bin Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohd Yusof (gambar) menyatakan perkara ini dalam ucapan penangguhannya di Majlis Mesyuarat Negara yang bersidang pada hari ke-13 di Bangunan Dewan Majlis, hari ini.

Yang Berhormat Pehin mengongsikan hasil Kaji Selidik Kebangsaan Status Kesihatan dan Pemakanan menunjukkan bahawa kadar berat badan berlebihan dan obesiti dalam kalangan orang dewasa telah meningkat daripada 44.4 peratus pada 1997 kepada 60.6 peratus pada 2011.

Manakala itu, mengikut kaji selidik Global School Health Survey 2014, baru-baru ini, di Brunei, kadar berat badan berlebihan dan obesiti dalam kalangan penuntut atau remaja berumur di antara 13 hingga 15 tahun adalah 36.1 peratus.

“Salah satu faktor risiko yang paling membimbangkan adalah kadar obesiti yang telah meningkat di kalangan masyarakat di Negara Brunei Darussalam.”

Yang Berhormat Pehin turut mengongsikan hasil dapatan mengenai trend peningkatan penyakit-penyakit tidak berjangkit seperti kanser, penyakit jantung, kencing manis atau diabetes dan serebrovaskular atau strok yang mana penyakit-penyakit itu adalah penyebab kematian utama di Negara Brunei Darussalam.

“Pada tahun 2013, jumlah mereka yang meninggal dunia akibat penyakit kronik dan penyakit-penyakit tidak berjangkit seramai 762 orang iaitu 54.4 peratus kematian daripada jumlah keseluruhan kematian seramai 1,400 orang di negara ini.”

Jumlah itu, tambah beliau lagi, adalah termasuk penyakit buah pinggang yang merupakan komplikasi akibat penyakit-penyakit tidak berjangkit yang tidak terkawal.

Beliau berkata lagi, faktor risiko yang menyebabkan penyakit-penyakit tidak berjangkit termasuk penyakit buah pinggang telah terbukti dan tidak dapat dipertikaikan di peringkat global adalah seperti obesiti, pemakanan tidak sihat dan tidak seimbang, kurang kegiatan fizikal dan merokok.

Oleh itu, beliau menegaskan bahawa isu kesihatan itu harus ditangani bersama dengan penuh keazaman dan komitmen oleh semua pihak termasuk agensi-agensi kerajaan, pihak swasta, institusi pendidikan, pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO), pemimpin-pemimpin peringkat akar umbi, semua lapisan masyarakat dan bukan sahaja dipertanggungjawabkan semata-mata kepada Kementerian Kesihatan.

Orang ramai adalah disarankan untuk memanfaatkan sebaik-baiknya dengan melibatkan diri dalam apa jua aktiviti dan program promosi kesihatan di samping menggunakan kemudahan-kemudahan kesihatan yang disediakan oleh Kerajaan Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam sepertimana jua Perkhidmatan Klinik Pemeriksaan Kesihatan (Health Screening Clinic) di kesemua pusat-pusat kesihatan di seluruh negara terutama sekali mereka yang berumur 40 tahun ke atas.

Menteri Kesihatan, bagaimanapun, melahirkan rasa kecewa kerana didapati sambutan bagi perkhidmatan itu kurang menggalakkan dan sekali lagi menyeru kepada orang ramai dan para pemimpin akar umbi supaya menggalakkan masyarakat setempat untuk datang mendapatkan perkhidmatan pemeriksaan kesihatan (health screening) bagi mendukung usaha memperkesankan lagi langkah-langkah pencegahan dan pengawalan penyakit-penyakit tidak berjangkit.

Dalam pada itu, Yang Berhormat Pehin turut mengongsikan hasil kajian Projek Pelan Induk Sistem dan Infrastruktur Kesihatan, Negara Brunei Darussalam yang menunjukkan bahawa unjuran peruntukan kewangan bagi penjagaan kesihatan yang diperlukan dianggarkan akan meningkat daripada lingkungan $380 juta setahun kepada lebih $940 juta setahun dalam tempoh 20 tahun akan datang iaitu jika perubahan serta pengukuhan sistem penjagaan kesihatan negara secara lebih efektif tidak diambil perhatian dan tindakan serius.

“Ini termasuklah juga strategi pengurusan penjagaan kesihatan dan sikap lebih bertanggungjawab individu dan masyarakat terhadap penjagaan kesihatan masing-masing.”


Sumber - Media Permata

Oil doesn’t determine country’s welfare, says representative

Danial Norjidi

AS THE 11th Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting drew to a conclusion yesterday, LegCo members delivered their closing remarks.

In his closing remarks, YB Awang Haji Zulkipli bin Haji Abdul Hamid spoke on how the country’s economy faces challenges, with the global oil prices having fallen 50 per cent since last year, considering that oil and gas represents more than 90 per cent of the Brunei’s exports.

However, we should not assume that the oil determines the country’s welfare, he said. “We should learn that among the richest and most developed countries in the world are those that either do not possess or possess very little natural resources.”

“We must take a positive approach and understand the challenges faced during this time as an opportunity to change the situation in a better direction,” he said.

“In the face of the current economic climate is not only the challenge of the government’s financial deficit but also a knowledge deficit, which is in greater need of attention and action.”

He highlighted that the country needs to have the ability to acquire and generate knowledge for improving and moving towards a knowledge-based economy.

Towards this, the country needs quality human capital that is knowledgeable and skilled. He asserted the need to enhance the capacity of Brunei’s human capital in a focused and continuous way.

“The country’s human capital will be the deciding factor of our future prosperity and will allow the country to contribute high added value to the global value chain and the world economy, which will take the country forward and contribute to human development.”

Brunei’s human capital is its most important asset that will be able to shape a brighter and more resilient future, he added.

On his third point, he spoke on the need to put more confidence and belief in our own people to contribute towards the country’s development and progress.

“If not our own people, then who else?” he asked.

Meanwhile, YB Datin Paduka Dayang Hajah Zasia binti Sirin in her closing remarks referred to the point of developing a positive mindset among the people of this country as mentioned in the titah of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam during the opening day of the 11th Legislative Council meeting.

She highlighted that creating this positive mindset “is the responsibility of all parties entrusted as leaders at all levels, including managers, administrators and so on, including, without limitation, members of the Legislative Council in this hall, because we all have been mandated to serve the people and residents categories of various roles.”

YB Awang Haji Ramli bin Haji Lahit, in his closing remarks, spoke in regards to diversifying and developing the economy outside of oil and gas, saying that the agricultural and agrifood sectors along with the tourism industry can be major contributors.

In Tutong, there are many large enterprises being run, such as the farming of shrimp, fish, poulty, quales, buffaloes and goats, as well as fruits and paddy. In addition, the district has a food and beverage processing plant, he said.

“If all these products can be combined in a planned and systematic way, the Tutong district can become a halal hub,” he said.

He noted that the construction of new centres is concentrated in the Brunei-Muara district due to the ease of connectivity with centres administration.

“I hope that this halal hub can be built in the rural areas that are large in Tutong, as this will indirectly promote the area and spur population growth while also providing employment opportunities to the residents of the district.”

He also went on to highlight that the tourism sector can help diversify the economy because it can serve as a way of boosting the market for foreign exchange and promote the products of this country internationally, while also making Brunei a holiday destination that can create more employment opportunities.

“Therefore, if the essential products are assisted, developed and improved, the tourism sector will be able to prove lucrative to the country,” he said.

As examples, he suggested improving the elements of arts and culture in tribal villages, Kampong Ayer, at long houses and also at homestays. He also suggested enhancing and adding to heritage items at museums and galleries.

Ecotourism, however, is the most exciting field in which to develop the country’s tourism sector, he added.


Sumber - Borneo Bulletin

Jangan hanya mengharapkan bantuan tanpa berusaha

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Isnin, 23 Mac. - Golongan-golongan yang mendapat bantuan dari pihak-pihak berkenaan dalam kerajaan terutama bagi golongan yang masih berupaya dari sudut sihat tubuh badan, sihat mental dan fizikalnya dan masih mampu melakukan pekerjaan supaya dapat mengubah sikap mereka lebih positif dan tidak hanya mengharapkan bantuan tanpa berusaha dan berdikari.

Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Negara (MMN), Yang Berhormat Datin Paduka Dayang Hajah Zasia binti Sirin menekankan demikian pada ucapan penangguhan Mesyuarat Pertama dari Musim Permesyuaratan Kesebelas MMN di Dewan Bangunan MMN.

Justeru itu, Yang Berhormat berharap ia bukan sahaja diletakkan atas kemampuan mereka semata-mata tetapi memerlukan pemikiran, penelitian dan strategi-strategi yang berkesan daripada pihak-pihak yang berkenaan.

Menyentuh kembali titah Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam sempena Majlis Istiadat Pembukaan Rasmi Mesyuarat Pertama dari Musim Permesyuaratan Kesebelas MMN mengenai pendekatan penyerapan positif 'mindset' kepada rakyat iaitu "penghijrahan 'mindset' daripada semata-mata bergantung kepada bantuan kepada lebih berdikari dan berusaha" menurutnya titah tersebut adalah satu pandangan yang jauh dan bernas yang semestinya dijunjung tinggi.

"Alhamdulillah, kita juga mendengar penjelasan terperinci bagaimana pelaksanaan bantuan yang diberikan oleh pihak Jabatan Pembangunan Masyarakat (JAPEM), Majlis Ugama Islam dan agensi-agensi dalam kerajaan yang mana beberapa strategi juga telah dilakar oleh Jawatankuasa Khusus Menangani Isu Kemiskinan semata-mata dengan harapan golongan yang berkaitan akan terlepas daripada lingkaran kesempitan hidup dan kemiskinan," jelasnya.

Hal ini tambah Yang Berhormat kerana isu kemiskinan di negara ini adalah sebagai kemiskinan relatif tidak seperti keadaan kemiskinan di sesetengah negara lain.

"Kalau ini sudah menjadi dapatan atau 'finding' dalam setiap kajian kemiskinan, maka memang perlu dicari jalan supaya ada perubahan sikap yang positif, bersemangat dan seterusnya berusaha dan berdikari," katanya.

Oleh itu, Yang Berhormat menjunjung tinggi titah baginda untuk menyerapkan 'positive mindset' kepada rakyat supaya lebih matang bertindak selaras dengan tuntutan zaman. Perkara ini menjadi tanggungjawab semua pihak yang diberikan amanah sebagai pemimpin, pengurus, pentadbir dan seterusnya di semua peringkat untuk berkhidmat kepada rakyat dan penduduk dalam kategori peranan yang berbeza-beza.


Sumber - Pelita Brunei

Kecilkan ‘hierarchy bureaucracy’ bagi cepatkan keperluan rakyat

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Isnin, 23 Mac. - Yang Berhormat Dato Paduka Awang Haji Abdullah bin Haji Mohd. Ja’afar berkata, adalah perlu dan mustahak memperkecilkan ‘hierarchy bureaucracy’ bagi mempercepatkan sesuatu keperluan rakyat.

Tambahnya, kelambatan kementerian dan jabatan-jabatan berkenaan mungkin disebabkan kekurangan pemahaman, komitmen dan dedikasi serta kecuaian daripada pegawai-pegawai dan pemimpin khususnya ketua bahagian dan juga kakitangan yang diamanahkan.

Perkara ini disuarakan oleh Yang Berhormat ketika menyampaikan ucapan penangguhan pada Mesyuarat Pertama dari Musim Permesyuaratan Kesebelas MMN yang bersidang bagi hari yang ke-13 di Dewan Majlis, di sini.

Yang Berhormat dalam ucapannya juga melahirkan keprihatinan terhadap kelicinan pengurusan pentadbiran, pemantauan dan perhubungan di peringkat daerah, yang mana Yang Berhormat menyarankan supaya kedudukan pegawai daerah itu diiktiraf sebagai ketua daerah dan jabatan-jabatan dari kementerian lain di daerah tersebut di bawah pemantauan pegawai daerah.

“Ini untuk memastikan rancangan-rancangan pembangunan di peringkat daerah dapat dikongsi bersama bagi mengelakkan kerja-kerja ‘overlapping’ dan konsep efisiensi dan keseragaman dapat berjalan dengan baik dan teratur,” jelas Yang Berhormat.

Di bawah kuasa pegawai daerah, perlu diadakan permuzakarahan sekerap mungkin dalam kalangan ketua jabatan di daerah tersebut, di samping permuzakarahan pemimpin-pemimpin akar umbi selain dari penghulu-penghulu dan ketua-ketua kampung perlu juga diadakan.

Secara langsung, kata Yang Berhormat, penglibatan rakyat dalam proses pembangunan dapat dicapai secara bersama yang mana ini serupa dengan konsep Majlis Mesyuarat Daerah yang pernah ditubuhkan pada tahun 1960-an.

Yang Berhormat dalam ucapannya melahirkan sukacita atas dasar baru pengambilan pekerja asing dan memperkenalkan pendekatan baharu proses mempercepatkan urusan perniagaan termasuk mengeluarkan lesen kepada peniaga-peniaga tempatan.

Dasar ini kata Yang Berhormat, akan dapat melahirkan ramai usahawan Melayu bumiputera yang memiliki perusahaan dan perniagaan sendiri.

Dalam Wawasan Negara 2035 ujar Yang Berhormat, salah satu keutamaan ialah memajukan sektor swasta bagi meningkatkan dan memartabatkan ekonomi memerlukan penglibatan rakyat dalam menggerak peluang-peluang yang ada di sektor berkenaan.

Mempelbagaikan ekonomi adalah salah satu mekanisme yang boleh meningkatkan ekonomi dari terus bergantung pada hasil minyak dan gas, kata Yang Berhormat.

“Kaola berpendapat industri pelancongan adalah salah satu sektor dan usaha yang boleh dikembangluaskan dan boleh menyediakan peluang-peluang pekerjaan kepada rakyat seperti yang pernah dijanjikan,” ujarnya.

Untuk menjayakan industri pelancongan ini, kerjasama yang padu antara pihak kerajaan dan swasta hendaklah diwujudkan, tegas Yang Berhormat lagi.


Sumber - Pelita Brunei

Sultan tidak terkecuali hudud Kelantan, kata Nik Abduh

OLEH MOHD FARHAN DARWIS

Undang-undang hudud yang dibawa PAS Kelantan tidak mempunyai sebarang pengecualian dalam pelaksanaannya, termasuk kerabat diraja, kata Nik Abduh Nik Aziz.

Ahli Parlimen Pasir Mas itu berkata, hudud PAS meliputi semua umat Islam di Kelantan, dan bagi kesalahan yang dilakukan di Kelantan.

"Dalam enakmen itu disebut, semua Muslim yang melakukan kesalahan itu di Kelantan, Muslim itu semua, tiada pengecualian, orang Johor kalau buat kesalahan di Kelantan pun dia kena," katanya ditemui pemberita di lobi Parlimen hari ini.

Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kelantan meluluskan Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (II) (1993) Pindaan 2015 pada 19 Mac lalu.

Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang bagaimanapun dilaporkan menghantar notis pemberitahuan usul kepada Dewan Rakyat pada 18 Mac, sehari sebelum enakmen berkenaan diluluskan untuk membolehkan rang undang-undang persendirian hudud itu dibawa ke Parlimen.

Susulan tindakannya itu, Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng hari ini menggesa Hadi meninggalkan Pakatan Rakyat (PR).


Sumber - The Malaysian Insider

Lee Kuan Yew meninggal dunia

SINGAPURA: Bekas Perdana Menteri pertama Singapura, Lee Kuan Yew dan pemimpin yang bertanggungjawab mengubah sebuah negara kerdil di Asia Tenggara kepada pusat perdagangan dan kewangan global meninggal dunia pada usia 91 tahun, kata Pejabat Perdana Menteri.

"Encik Lee meninggal dunia di Hospital Besar Singapura pada kira-kira jam 3.18 pagi tadi," kata kenyataan itu.

Lee, seorang peguam lulusan Cambridge disifatkan sebagai pemimpin yang bertanggungjawab menjadikan Singapura sebagai salah sebuah negara terkaya berdasarkan pendapatan per kapita yang tinggi.

Mendiang adalah pengasas pertama Parti Tindakan Rakyat (PAP) yang memerintah Singapura sejak 1959 dan mengetuai negara itu berpisah daripada Malaysia pada 1965. - Reuters


BIODATA 

Lee Kuan Yew 

16 September 1923: Lee dilahirkan di Singapura, kemudiannya tanah jajahan British.

1942-45: Mendapat pendidikan di Raffles College tetapi tergendala akibat penjajahan Jepun di Singapura pada Perang Dunia II.

1946: Pergi ke England dan mengikuti pengajian undang-undang di Universiti Cambridge, dikenali dengan panggilan Harry, nama panggilan oleh datuknya.

1947: Berkahwin secara rahsia dengan Kwa Geok Choo, rakan pengajian di Cambridge.

1950: Kembali ke Singapura.

1954: Bantu Parti Tindakan Rakyat, menjadi setiausaha agung parti.

1955: Menang kerusi dewan undangan, tubuh firma undang-undang Lee & Lee bersama isterinya.

1959: Lee menjadi Perdana Menteri Singapura selepas Parti Tindakan Rakyat menang besar dalam pilihan raya umum. Britain memberi Singapura kuasa mentadbir sendiri dalam semua urusan kecuali pertahanan dan hal ehwal luar negara.

1963: Lee mengumumkan Singapura merdeka sepenuhnya daripada Britain, menyertai Malaya untuk tubuh Persekutuan Malaysia.

1965: Singapura berpisah dari Malaysia.

1968, 1976, 1980: Di bawah pimpinan Lee, parti pemerintah menang semua kerusi dalam pilihan raya Parlimen.

1990: Selepas Singapura menikmati lebih dua dekad pertumbuhan ekonomi yang pesat, Lee letak jawatan sebagai perdana menteri. Mendiang dilantik sebagai menteri kanan dan semakin berpengaruh.

2004: Anak lelakinya, Lee Hsein Loong menjadi perdana menteri Singapura ketiga.

2011: Letak jawatan menteri Kabinet dan letak jawatan dari jawatankuasa eksekutif Parti Tindakan Rakyat selepas prestasi parti itu merosot sedikit.

5 Ferbuari 2015: Dimasukkan ke hospital kerana alami radang paru-paru yang teruk.

23 Mac 2015 - Lee meninggal dunia di Hospital Besar Singapura.


Sumber - Berita Harian

Belait reactivates disaster centre

The temporary control camp at Km 9 along the Mumong-Seria bypass

Daniel Wood
BELAIT

THE District Disaster Management Centre (DDMC) was reactivated yesterday in response to the ongoing forest and peat fire emergency in the district.

During a meeting at the Belait District Office, DDMC Chairperson cum Belait District Officer Hj Haris Othman stressed the need for “synchronised efforts”, asking all DDMC components to communicate often and effectively use the pool of resources available.

“From our experiences last year, we can learn… What we need is anticipation, to be always prepared. For now, (the major hotspot) is still focused on one area but in reality, this is likely to spread,” said Hj Haris.

The Fire and Rescue Commanding Officer of Belait District Branch 'B' said his immediate task is to identify a suitable location to set up an Incident Control Post (ICP) for almost 50 firefighters, warning that the current emergency was likely to take weeks to overcome.

“We are in a discussion with our superiors to identify a suitable spot for the ICP. Temporarily, we have a temporary command camp managed by the Seria Fire Station to channel and coordinate our firefighting actions,” said Commanding Officer Muhd Shahreeni Hj Mohd Yussof.

“Our priority now will be to reduce smoke emissions that are cutting visibility on the roads. Our strategy is to work on the smoke as well as reduce traffic congestion,” he added.

Belait residents spent an unusually long time on the alternative inter-town roads yesterday morning, due to the road closures along the Mumong-Seria bypass.

Traffic entering Seria stretched all the way to Anduki as early as 7am, while traffic leaving Kuala Belait was crawling from Panaga at the same time.

By noon, however, the highways were re-opened when conditions improved at 300m visibility, easing the traffic snarl.

Muhd Shahreeni was unable to say when the fires would be put out, but said experience puts the estimation at two to three weeks.

He added that Public Works Department assistance in creating “fire-breaks” (small strips of space in the forest to prevent spread of fire) has been valuable and the tactic will continue to be used at identified locations.

The DDMC chairperson has asked all agencies, particularly the Fire and Rescue Department and Royal Brunei Police Force to ensure updated information such as road closures and re-openings be disseminated to the public through the media.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Brunei has highest water usage rate in SE Asia

Ak Md Khairuddin Pg Harun
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI’S water usage is at 420-450 litres/day per person — the highest in Southeast Asia — said Acting Director of the Department of Water Services (DWS) yesterday.

Speaking to The Brunei Times, Alice Lim said Brunei had a sufficient supply of water because of the country’s developed water supplies infrastructure.

One of the reasons for Brunei’s high consumption of water was because of accessibility, she said.

After Brunei achieved independence in 1984, one of the targets set by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam was to achieve the Millennium Development Goals to improving access to water, sanitation, power and sources of energy, said the acting director.

“After independence, His Majesty started work to achieve sufficient water supplies for the country. The development of infrastructure for water supplies kept ahead of population growth. That’s why we always have sufficient water supply,” she said.

She said that the government had taken initiatives to improve the water system infrastructure to cater the needs of the population.

The accessibility of water was also mentioned in a recent Friday sermon.

The sermon said that as water was easily accessible in Brunei it made Bruneians take it for granted and resort to using it excessively.

Asked about ways to conserve water, Lim urged members of the public to cooperate with the DWS especially when they encounter pipe leakages.

“Pipe leakages cannot be detected by the department alone, she said. They have to be reported by members of the public.”

She also encouraged members of the public to send in photos to the department when they encounter pipe bursts or leakages anywhere in Brunei regardless of how small they are.

“There is a shift in the mindset of the public on the importance of water now. People are concerned about water and I think our department has received a lot of public cooperation on this issue,” she said.

Today, Brunei is celebrating World Water Day to remind the public about the importance of conserving water as well as educating them on proper water usage.

According to the department’s website, the Public Works Department provides 99.9 per cent of potable water to the people of Brunei Darussalam (including 0.2 per cent of rural water supply).

DWS is responsible in overseeing the planning, design and managing the country’s water resources to ensure sustainability and adequate resources to meet future demand.

This includes protection and conserving the existing and future potential resources.

In case of water supply disruptions, she said that members of the public should contact the Darussalam Hotline 123.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Housing schemes mooted in Kampong Ayer

Quratul-Ain Bandial
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

NATIONAL housing schemes should be built in Kampong Ayer to preserve the population and cultural heritage of one of Brunei’s iconic landmarks, said a member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) yesterday.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Kerna Dato Paduka Seri Hj Yaakub Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Diraja Dato Paduka Hj Zainal lamented the migration of people from Kampong Ayer to the mainland, saying it was contributing to the demise of the water village.

“There has been a significant migration of people from Kampong Ayer who have applied for housing (on land) through the National Housing Scheme”.

“This is a sad occurrence as it leads to the dwindling of the water village population,” he said during a session of the 11th Legislative Council.

“For hundreds of years, Kampong Ayer symbolised Brunei heritage and tradition, and was the centre of government and administration.”

In the 1980s, the water village population was estimated at 40,000 but according to the 2012 national census, it has dwindled to 13,162.

The LegCo member proposed that the government create housing schemes in the water village itself – similar to those on land – that honour the architectural heritage of Kampong Ayer by mirroring the style of 1950s and 1960s homes.

There are already two national housing schemes located in the water village – Kg Bolkiah ‘A’ and Kg Bolkiah ‘B’ – as well as the 64 eco-friendly houses that are part of the Upgrading Kampong Ayer Pilot Project.

He said the proposal to build more public housing in the water village is in line with recommendations proposed under the BSB Development Masterplan, which touted the regeneration of Kampong Ayer as the key to attracting tourism and developing infrastructure.

“Kampong Ayer was synonymous with the title ‘Venice of the East’, as one of the largest water villages in the world.”

“If we Gooogle Brunei, Kampong Ayer will appear as one of first destinations to visit.”

This could also help solve the problem of insufficient land for housing schemes, said YB Pehin Dato Hj Yaakub.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Gov’t distributed $18m in ‘zakat’ funds last year

Quratul-Ain Bandial
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Brunei government distributed almost $18 million in zakat (alms) funds in 2014, the Minister of Religious Affairs said yesterday.

In response to questions raised during at the Legislative Council meeting, Yang Berhormat Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Pg Hj Abd Rahman said a total of $17,922, 284 had been collected from the population last year.

Some $15,970,127 was distributed to the poor and needy (Asnaf Fakir Miskin); $1,086,580 to new Muslim converts (muallaf); $657,775 to those in debt (Al-Gharimin); and $207,801 to the Amil (those employed to administer zakat).

The majority of the alms collected – some $16,923,245 from 4,386 people – was zakat harta, or alms paid on wealth.

Zakat harta refers to the mandatory alms payable by Muslims who own specific types of property, such as cattle, farms, mines or businesses.

The minister said there is still low awareness on this kind of alms-giving, which is mandatory for Muslims who possess certain kinds of wealth.

“The Friday sermon is one of the effective mediums to convey such messages. More aggressive efforts however will be carried out to remind the Muslim community of their obligation to pay zakat on wealth,” said YB Pg Dato Dr Hj Mohammad.

The rest of the zakat funds – around $924,402 collected from 328,452 people – came from zakat fitrah, the traditional alms given before Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

The minister added that all zakat funds were audited on a regular basis.

“Information disseminated needs to be easily understood to instil public confidence that the management of zakat by the relevant agency is undertaken in a proper, smooth and efficient manner.”


Sumber - The Brunei Times

BND1 bilion diperuntukkan bagi RKN 2015 / 2016

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sabtu, 21 Mac. - Pelaksanaan projek-projek yang dirancang di bawah Rancangan Kemajuan Negara (RKN) Ke-10 telah berjalan dengan lancar bagi mendukung aspirasi negara sebagaimana objektif yang telah ditetapkan di dalam Wawasan Negara 2035.

Walau bagaimanapun usaha untuk membangun dan membina sektor swasta yang kukuh masih lagi perlu dipertingkatkan bagi mencapai matlamat dasar untuk mempelbagaikan sumber ekonomi negara.

Menteri Pembangunan, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman menyatakan perkara tersebut semasa membentangkan mukadimahnya mengenai Anggaran Belanjawan - Kemajuan bagi pihak Menteri Kewangan II (Kedua) di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim pada Majlis Permesyuaratan Kesebelas Majlis Mesyuarat Negara (MMN) di Bangunan MMN, di sini.

Sebagaimana huraian dan penjelasan semasa pembentangan cadangan Belanjawan Tahun Kewangan 2015 / 2016 beberapa hari yang lalu jelas Yang Berhormat, ekonomi negara berdepan dengan cabaran ekonomi global yang tidak menentu dan sukar diramal selain pendapatan negara dan kerajaan juga terjejas disebabkan oleh penurunan secara drastik harga minyak di pasaran global.

Oleh itu tegasnya, perancangan perbelanjaan di bawah RKN perlu berasaskan kepada keupayaan perbelanjaan kerajaaan, dan mendukung dasar fiskal ‘sustainability’ dan fiskal ‘consolidation’ yang menjadi teras dalam pengurusan dan perancangan perbelanjaan kerajaan.

Justeru bagi Tahun Kewangan 2015 / 2016 jelasnya, perbelanjaan RKN juga dirangka bagi mendukung fokus dan keutamaan belanjawan berdasarkan tema belanjawan, iaitu ‘Modal Insan Berkualiti Mendukung Pembangunan Inklusif’.

“InsyaaAllah melalui perancangan dan pemantauan yang rapi, serta panduan yang diberikan oleh Jawatankuasa Tertinggi RKN Ke-10 yang di Pengerusikan oleh Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, Menteri Kanan di Jabatan Perdana Menteri.”

“Usaha-usaha akan dipergiatkan lagi bagi mencapai sasaran-sasaran seperti yang dimuatkan dalam rangka strategi dan dasar bagi pembangunan (outline of strategies and policies for development - OSPD). Bagi RKN Tahun Kewangan 2015 / 2016 Masihi ini, kerajaan akan menyediakan peruntukan sebanyak BND1,000,000,000,” ujar Yang Berhormat.

Menurut Yang Berhormat peruntukan tersebut adalah bagi membiayai 553 projek dengan harga rancangan sejumlah BND8,225,907,753. Ini termasuk 424 projek yang diteruskan dari RKN Ke-9. Iaitu RKN 2007 / 2012 yang lepas.

Pengagihan peruntukan tersebut tambahnya, berdasarkan kepada fokus dan keutamaan perbelanjaan yang telah ditetapkan selain pengagihan peruntukan tersebut juga berdasarkan komitmen projek.

Katanya, ia lebih ditumpukan kepada komitmen projek-projek yang telah siap, tetapi masih ada tanggungan. Projek dalam pelaksanaan, projek yang menunggu ‘award’ dan projek yang ditawarkan itu adalah projek-projek siap disediakan peruntukan sebanyak BND71.2 juta (7.1 peratus); Projek dalam pelaksanaan disediakan sebanyak BND822.8 juta (82.3 peratus); Manakala projek dalam peringkat tawaran diperuntukkan sejumlah BND15.8 juta (1.6 peratus); Projek dalam peringkat reka bentuk BND14.0 juta (1.4 peratus).

Tambahnya, bagi projek yang memerlukan kos tambahan bagi yuran perkhidmatan konsultan, pembelian perabot serta kerja-kerja tanah dan infrastruktur, kerajaan akan menyediakan sebanyak BND2 juta, iaitu 0.2 peratus di bawah Tajuk Rampaian; BND6.3 juta, iaitu 0.6 peratus di bawah Tajuk Kemajuan Tapak dan Bagi keperluan-keperluan perbelanjaan yang tidak dijangkakan yang berkeperluan dan keutamaan tinggi, sejumlah BND68 juta, iaitu 6.8 peratus disediakan di bawah Simpanan Gagasan.

Secara keseluruhannya jelas Yang Berhormat, pengagihan peruntukan adalah mengikut beberapa sektor utama seperti Sektor penggunaan awam disediakan peruntukan sebanyak BND233.7 juta atau 23.4 peratus yang mana tumpuan sektor ini antara lain termasuk menyediakan bekalan air bersih yang mencukupi, merawat kumbahan, pembetungan, pembaikan sistem saliran bagi pengawalan banjir dan penyediaan bekalan elektrik; Sektor perkhidmatan sosial disediakan sebanyak BND225.9 juta ataupun 22.6 peratus dari keseluruhan peruntukan kemajuan, sektor ini merupakan sektor yang menumpukan pada pelaksanaan projek-projek yang berkaitan dengan pendidikan, kesihatan, perumahan negara dan sumber tenaga manusia; Sektor Pengangkutan dan Perhubungan, disediakan peruntukan sebanyak BND156.2 juta atau 18.6 peratus. Sektor ini menumpukan kepada pelaksanaan projek-projek seperti jalan raya, telekomunikasi, penerbangan awam dan lain-lain; Sektor perindustrian dan perdagangan diperuntukkan sebanyak BND100.5 juta, iaitu 10.5 peratus dari keseluruhan peruntukan. Ia adalah bagi melaksanakan beberapa projek perekonomian yang telah dikenal pasti untuk dikendalikan dan dilaksanakan oleh agensi-agensi kerajaan.

Yang Berhormat seterusnya menjelaskan, di Sektor Rampaian disediakan sebanyak BND76.3 juta, iaitu 7.6 peratus dari jumlah keseluruhan peruntukan. Peruntukan ini termasuk bagi membiayai projek- projek yang memerlukan kos tambahan; Sektor Bangunan Awam pula diperuntukkan sejumlah BND59.1 juta, iaitu 5.9 peratus, iaitu untuk menaik taraf dan penyediaan bangunan-bangunan kerajaan; Sektor Keselamatan yang meliputi Sub-Sektor Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (ABDB) dan Pasukan Polis Diraja Brunei (PDB) disediakan sebanyak BND53.7 juta atau 5.4 peratus daripada jumlah keseluruhan; dan Sektor Teknologi Maklumat dan Infokomunikasi diperuntukkan sebanyak BND43.6, iaitu 4.3 peratus.

Dalam sektor Sains dan Teknologi Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan dan Inovasi pula tambahnya diperuntukkan sebanyak BND16.6 juta, iaitu 1.7 peratus ia merangkumi peruntukan ‘research and development’ di bawah kawalan Majlis Penyelidikan Brunei, iaitu Brunei Research Council.

Sementara kriteria-kriteria yang digunakan dalam menilai RKN 2015 / 2016, terang Yang Berhormat adalah memberi tumpuan kepada perkara-perkara yang berikut, iaitu Projek yang mendapat menjana pertumbuhan ekonomi; Projek yang mendapat meningkatkan produktiviti sektor awam atau swasta; Projek yang menjurus kepada pengetahuan, penyelidikan, peningkatan inovasi; Projek yang telah siap dilaksanakan bagi membayar ‘final payment’ dan wang tahanan; Projek yang sedang dilaksanakan bagi membayar kemajuan projek; dan Projek dalam tawaran dalam reka bentuk bagi membayar kerja-kerja awal dan yuran perunding.

Sehingga 12 Mac 2015, masalah perbelanjaan sebenar RKN 2014 / 2015 terang Yang Brhormat berjumlah BND937.1, iaitu 81.5 peratus peruntukan sebanyak BND150,000,000 telah disediakan.

Jumlah ini, ujar Yang Berhormat menjadikan perbelanjaan RKN Ke-10 setakat ini ialah sebanyak BND3,798.7 juta. Perbelanjaan RKN Tahun Kewangan 2014 / 2015 ini dijangka meningkat kepada BND1,100,000,000.

Yang Berhormat menekankan bagi memastikan pelaksanaan dan perbelanjaan projek-projek RKN dilaksanakan mengikut jadual yang telah ditetapkan dan peruntukan yang telah diluluskan pihak-pihak yang terlibat akan membuat pemantauan rapi serta melaksanakan langkah-langkah.

Langkah-langkah itu termasuk mengeluarkan projek-projek yang belum dilaksanakan selaras dengan garis panduan penggunaan RKN Ke-10; Menekankan bahawa Projek Ke-9 yang ditunda mestilah disiapkan dalam RKN Ke-10 bagi menggelakkan permohonan tambahan peruntukan projek; Kerap membuat lawatan ke tapak-tapak projek, di samping membuat lawatan mengejut; Memastikan pembayaran dilaksanakan mengikut perjanjian kontrak; Memastikan setiap kementerian membuat perancangan rapi dan mengikut skop asal dan jadual; Memastikan skop kerja adalah berasaskan kepada tujuan ‘functionality’ dan tidak berlebih-lebihan dan Menyediakan sistem pemantauan projek dan pembayaran yang lebih berkesan.

Bagi mendukung usaha pembangunan negara, Jabatan Perancangan dan Kemajuan Ekonomi (JPKE), Jabatan Perdana Menteri tegasnya, akan berterusan meneliti kesesuaian projek-projek yang dirancang dalam menyumbang secara ‘sustainable’ dan berkesan kepada pertumbuhan sosioekonomi negara, di samping mengambil tindakan-tindakan yang bersesuaian seperti memastikan setiap projek atau setiap pembelian yang dilaksanakan berdasarkan peruntukan yang disediakan bagi memastikan perbelanjaan RKN secara keseluruhannya terkawal mengikut peruntukan yang diluluskan; Memastikan keperluan projek-projek yang dilaksanakan dinilai dari segi keperluan yang sebenar. Keutamaan dan hasil (outcome) yang akan diperolehi terutama menyediakan peluang-peluang pekerjaan yang tetap dan berkualiti kepada anak-anak tempatan dan hasil kerajaan yang akan diperolehi; Memberi tumpuan dan keutamaan kepada perancangan perbelanjaan yang benar-benar dijangka dapat membantu mendorong dasar mempelbagaikan ekonomi negara; Memastikan cadangan perbelanjaan bagi setiap projek, skop dan signifikasi kerja diteliti dengan memberi tekanan kepada dasar keutamaan dan ‘value for money’ dan konsep guna sama serta tidak ‘over satisfied’ dan berlebihan daripada fungsi keperluan sebenar.

Di samping itu tambahnya, memastikan mana-mana projek yang tidak ada peruntukan, tidak ada ditawarkan ataupun tidak ada ditender kecuali kebenaran telah diperolehi atau telah mendapat pengesahan peruntukan yang mencukupi; Mana-mana projek yang telah siap dilaksanakan dan masih mempunyai baki peruntukan hendaklah tidak digunakan sewenang-wenangnya baki wang tersebut kerana ialah sebagai penjimatan kepada kerajaan; Memastikan kontrak-kontrak di bawah sesuatu projek dikenal pasti bagi mengelakkan mana-mana peruntukan dan harga rancangan yang telah disediakan tidak digunakan untuk membiyai kontrak yang baharu yang kurang keutamaan dan berterusan meneliti keperluan projek yang dirancang agar mana-mana projek yang tidak diperlukan dan keutamaan ditiadakan bagi memberikan laluan pada projek-projek baharu yang lebih utama dan berkualiti bagi mendukung Wawasan Brunei 2035.

Bagi memastikan penyelarasan projek di RKN Ke-10 tercapai, selaras dengan matlamat terang Menteri Pembangunan, DYTM Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah selaku Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tertinggi RKN Ke-10 telah berangkat dari semasa ke semasa mengadakan lawatan ke tapak-tapak projek RKN bagi meninjau secara dekat dan memastikan projek RKN Ke-10 berjalan dengan lancar menurut perancangan waktu dan peruntukan yang telah ditetapkan bagi mencapai keberhasilan dan meraih impak yang menyeluruh selaras dengan matlamat Wawasan Negara 2035.

Sumber -Pelita Brunei

Berfikiran terbuka, penyelidikan berterusan bantu capai Wawasan Negara 2035

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sabtu, 21 Mac. - Yang Di-Pertua MMN, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Lela Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohamed Taib telah memberikan ruang kepada Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Negara (MMN), Ahli MMN, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Kerna Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Yaakub bin Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Dato Paduka Awang Haji Zainal bagi Perkara IX, ucapan-ucapan penangguhan.

Ucapan penangguhan tersebut berlangsung pada Majlis Mesyuarat Pertama dari Musim Permesyuaratan Kesebelas MMN yang bersidang kembali pada hari ke-12 sesi petang, bertempat di Dewan Persidangan MMN, Bangunan MMN.

Mengenai titah perkenan Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam bagi Penubuhan Majlis Wawasan Negara 2035 dan titah semasa Istiadat Menghadap dan Mengurniakan Bintang-Bintang Kebesaran Negara Brunei Darussalam sempena Hari Keputeraan Baginda Ke-68 yang berlangsung di Balai Singgahsana, Istana Nurul Iman pada 14 Ogos 2014, Yang Berhormat menyatakan beliau mempunyai beberapa cadangan dan pandangan yang meliputi bidang pendidikan dan Program Khidmat Bakti Negara (PKBN).

Dalam bidang pendidikan, Kebawah DYMM Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam telah memperkenankan satu skim yang dikenali sebagai Skim Perkhidmatan Tenaga Akademik bagi menarik minat sumber tenaga manusia daripada kalangan tenaga akademik berkualiti bertaraf dunia, ujar Yang Berhormat.

Baginda, jelas Yang Berhormat, telah memperkenankan peruntukan tambahan berjumlah BND270,000,000 bagi menampung kos mendatangkan tenaga pengajar mahir dari luar negara untuk mengajar mata-mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggeris dan Matematik. Baginda juga memperkenalkan penubuhan-penubuhan Institut Pendidikan Teknikal Brunei bagi menerajui kemajuan Pendidikan Teknikal dan Vokasional, iaitu bertujuan melahirkan golongan berpendidikan mahir lagi mampu berdaya saing, sanggup menghadapi apa jua cabaran pada masa hadapan, terang Yang Berhormat.

Pada masa ini, insyaaAllah mampu menggantikan tenaga pengajar dari luar negara dan Yang Berhormat juga mengingatkan agar jangan lupa atau terlepas pandang dengan hasrat Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam agar pengambilan tenaga pekerja asing dapat diseimbangkan.

Jika negara kita mampu mengeluarkan tenaga pengajar yang berkemahiran dan berkualiti, ini akan mengurangkan pengambilan tenaga mahir luar dan memberikan satu pengiktirafan kepada graduan-graduan institusi-institusi tinggi tempatan, tegas Yang Berhormat.

PKBN merupakan satu kaedah yang amat sesuai untuk melahirkan warganegara yang cintakan tanah air, nyata Yang Berhormat. Pelaksanaan program ini, “Kita berharap golongan belia masa kini akan dapat memenuhi keperluan modal insan yang cukup berilmu dalam segala bidang duniawi dan ukhrawi, berketerampilan cemerlang dan dinamik. Itulah di antara inti pati titah-titah Kebawah DYMM Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam,” nyata Yang Berhormat lagi.

Di samping itu, Yang Berhormat juga menyuarakan tiga pandangan dan cadangan bagi pihak-pihak yang berkenaan bagi kemajuan negara juga.

Cadangan pertama, Yang Berhormat mencadangkan Skim Rancangan Perumahan Negara (RPN) yang dilaksanakan di darat semenjak tahun 1980-an dilaratkan ke Kampong Ayer dengan dinamakan Skim Pembinaan dan Pengubahsuaian Rumah-Rumah di Kampong Ayer.

“Di bawah skim ini, kaola bercadang struktur, reka bentuk luaran atau ‘external design’ rumah-rumah ini mestilah menggambarkan ciri-ciri ala kebruneian, iaitu bentuk rumah-rumah dalam tahun-tahun 50-an dan 60-an seperti namanya jenis Rumah Tungkup, Rumah Balah Bubung, Rumah Potong Limas, Rumah Loteng, Rumah Belanggar dan lain-lain lagi dengan tujuan sebagai aras identiti kita orang Brunei, jelas Yang Berhormat.

Perkara yang dicadangkan, nyata Yang Berhormat, adalah selaras dengan hasrat kerajaan dalam Pelan Induk Pembangunan di Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) (BSB Development Masterplan), iaitu pembangunan semula Kampong Ayer dalam menghidupkan infrastruktur industri pelancongan dan untuk mewujudkan bandar yang selesa sekali gus mengekalkan identiti kebruneian berteraskan Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB).

“Skim ini juga bertujuan bagi menampung ketidakcukupan kawasan tanah untuk membina rumah-rumah perpindahan di darat pada masa kini. Perkara ini pernah dinyatakan oleh Yang Berhormat Menteri Pembangunan melalui temu bual beliau dengan pemberita televisyen pada bulan November tahun lepas,” tambah Yang Berhormat.

Cadangan kedua, Yang Berhormat pula mengingatkan kepada jabatan-jabatan yang berkenaan agar dapat memberikan perhatian yang secukupnya terhadap apa juga projek pembangunan kerajaan yang dikendalikan oleh pihak swasta untuk memastikan tidak berlaku unsur-unsur penipuan, kecuaian atau rasuah bagi menggalakkan kejadian yang tidak diingini berlaku setelah merujuk insiden pembangunan Maktab Sains di Daerah Belait yang lepas.

“Mengenai Pelan Induk Pengangkutan Darat Brunei Darussalam, menurut laporan yang dinyatakan melalui akhbar tempatan Borneo Bulletin bertarikh 29 Oktober 2014, Pusat Strategik dan Pengajian Dasar (CSC) melaporkan hasil kajian yang telah dibuat mengenai perkara di atas bahawa sistem Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) masih bersesuaian digunakan di negara ini dengan memberikan tambahan bilangan kenderaan sehingga menjelang tahun 2035 Masihi,” jelas Yang Berhormat.

Pandangan dan cadangan Yang Berhormat seterusnya agar kita perlu berpandangan jauh ke hadapan untuk merealisasikan Wawasan Negara 2035. Walaupun kajian awal, tambah Yang Berhormat, melaporkan Perkhidmatan Sistem Pengangkutan, BRT masih bersesuaian digunakan sehingga tahun 2035, namun penggunaan sistem pengangkutan BRT amat penting diberikan pemerhatian, kajian dan kaji selidik secara berterusan dari semasa ke semasa bagi benar-benar menentukan keberkesanannya dalam jangka panjang perlu dilakukan.

Mengambil contoh dari negara-negara maju di mana penggunaan sistem pengangkutan moden seperti MRT, sistem pengangkutan pentas, ‘on rail’, ‘underground trains’ mengambil peranan penting dalam memastikan pergerakan trafik berjalan lancar, ujar Yang Berhormat.

“Bagi negara kita, kaola benar-benar dan penuh berharap perkara yang kaola sebutkan mengenai sistem yang pengangkutan moden ini tidak akan dilupakan dan diketepikan begitu sahaja bisaitah jua perkara ini diambil ingatan dan pemerhatian serta kaji selidik diteruskan dari semasa ke semasa,” tegas Yang Berhormat.


Sumber - Pelita Brunei

Malaysia Proposes Joint Asean Peacekeeping Force

Plan aims to build trust among members amid conflicts over how to handle Beijing

By Trefor Moss

LANGKAWI, Malaysia—Malaysia proposed that Southeast Asian countries form a joint peacekeeping force, saying it would help rebuild trust after bitter arguments over how to handle China’s territorial challenges in the South China Sea.

Members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations —not all of which have interests in the South China Sea—have been anything but united in recent years over how to deal with Beijing.

The Philippines and Vietnam have accused of China of aggressive behavior in the sea’s disputed areas, a characterization China disputes. The disagreements between Asean members have spilled out at recent Asean summits, and cast doubt on a project to form a new “Asean Community” in December designed to usher in an age of regional unity.

“We need to find matters where we can unite,” Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Wednesday at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition. “If we continue to look only at dotted lines and competing claims, the future looks very bleak.”

Malaysia said a joint peacekeeping force could be deployed to regional trouble spots such as the Cambodian-Thai border, where the two neighbors clashed over a disputed temple in 2011.

Even if not aimed at resolving tensions around South China See issues, the Malaysian proposal could exacerbate tensions between Asean and China, which has long maintained that territorial disputes should be resolved bilaterally between claimant states, rather than through multilateral bodies.

China’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Recently it has strongly objected to criticism of China’s occupation of disputed islands in the South China Sea by Asean’s top official, Secretary-General Le Luong Minh.

“We support the building of the Asean community, but Asean is not a party concerned to relevant disputes over the South China Sea,” Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman, told a regular March 11 news briefing. He urged Mr. Minh to “strictly abide by the neutral stance that Asean takes on the South China Sea issue.”

Ms. Zhang Jie, an international-relations expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Beijing will need to observe how Asean moves ahead with the force before drawing any conclusions. “My understanding is that the so-called Asean peacekeeping force is not very relevant to or targets the South China Sea,” Ms. Zhang said.

Establishing the force will be a key focus of Malaysia’s 2015 Asean chairmanship, said Mr. Hishammuddin. Its size and makeup have yet to be determined, he said.

Malaysia will find it difficult to persuade other Asean members to join, said Tim Huxley, executive director of IISS-Asia, a Singapore-based security think tank. “There isn’t a great deal of trust on security matters between Asean members,” he said. “The trust has to come first, then the cooperation.”

Malaysia is also working to establish joint monitoring and patrols of the Sulu Sea involving Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Mr. Hishammuddin said, in hope of replicating a similar joint effort in the Strait of Malacca.


Sumber - WSJ