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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The South China Sea Dispute Isn't About Oil, At Least Not How You Think




Jeremy Maxie

The geopolitical context in the South China Sea (SCS) has evolved considerably since I first wrote a client briefing on the implications of the territorial disputes on upstream oil and gas development in 2008; however, the fundamental nature of disputes over oil and gas development remains much the same. On April 8, 2016, Hanoi demanded that China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) remove its Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HD-981) exploratory drilling rig from Vietnam’s territorial waters. This same Chinese-built rig sparked a similar incidents in 2014 and 2015. Despite high-profile incidents such as the ones involving the HD-981 drilling rig, the SCS territorial dispute is not about oil and gas—at least not how you think.

All too frequently the SCS dispute is framed as a militarized contest for access and control over an untold abundance of oil and gas thought to lie beneath the seabed. This “resource conflict”  narrative overlooks the complex and dynamic geopolitical and strategic drivers at play, and misplaces the role of hydrocarbons. In terms of resource competition, disputes over fishing are far more frequent than those involving offshore drilling and are arguably more important. Indeed, on April 3, 2016 Vietnam seized a Chinese ship that intruded into its territorial waters carrying fuel to resupply a Chinese fishing fleet operating in the area.

Applied to the SCS territorial dispute, the resource conflict narrative inverts the causal relationship between hydrocarbon development and the territorial disputes. Competition over offshore oil and gas resources is a component rather than the proximate cause of the territorial disputes between China and other claimants. The SCS dispute is about oil and gas resources to the extent that offshore developments are leveraged to assert or challenge territorial claims. China is not asserting expansive territorial claims and risking military confrontation with its neighbors (and potentially the United States) just to gain access and control of unproven oil and gas resources; instead, the development of offshore oil and gas resources is contested because it evokes sovereignty.

Estimates of oil and gas reserves vary since the SCS remains mostly under-explored with the majority of unproven reserves located in offshore deep-water areas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) the South China Sea is thought to hold 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (Tcf) including both proven (P90) and possible (P50) reserves. These high-end estimates are the most widely quoted, frequently without the caveat that it includes probable reserves which only have a 50% certainty of being recovered under existing economic and technological conditions. This misrepresentation adds to the misconceptions that drives the resource conflict narrative.

The EIA South China Sea report estimates Vietnam’s reserves at 3.0 billion barrels of liquids and 20 Tcf of natural gas, while China’s are at 1.3 billion barrels of liquids and 15 Tcf of natural gas. The Philippines’ share of reserves is only 0.2 billion barrels of liquids and 4.0 Tcf of natural gas. Malaysia has the biggest share, with 5.0 billion barrels of liquids and 80 Tcf natural gas, while Indonesia hold 55 Tcf of natural gas but only 0.3 billion barrels of liquids.

In contrast, CNOOC claims that the SCS holds an estimated undiscovered 125 billion barrels of oil and 500 Tcf of natural gas. These numbers are likely inflated for political purposes, as the consultancy Wood Mackenzie estimates that the SCS only holds about 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The focusing on estimated reserves of oil or natural gas is also misleading, as global average recovery rates for “oil in place” is only about 35% with technical limits estimated at 60-70% with enhanced oil recovery techniques.

To put things into perspective, all of the recoverable oil in the entire SCS would cover less than two years of Chinese oil demand and slightly more than two years of Chinese oil imports. In 2015, China’s oil demand averaged 10.32 million barrels per day (mb/d) while oil imports were 6.74 mb/d. This puts China’s annual oil demand at approximately 3.77 billion barrels, while annual oil imports were about 2.46 billion barrels. Assuming that all of the 11 billion barrels of proven and possible reserves in the entire South China Sea (including both contested and non-contested areas) were extracted at a 50% recovery rate, this would result in about 5-6 billion barrels of commercially recoverable crude oil. Vietnam’s 3.0 billion barrels of oil reserves located in the SCS would likely only yield enough recoverable crude oil to cover about six months of Chinese imports. The energy security dividend in terms of equity oil secured through Beijing’s attempt to commandeer the SCS is therefore tenuous.

The SCS is mostly gas prone. With an estimated 190 Tcf of proven and probable natural gas, the potential gas prize is much greater relative to oil. In 2015, Chinese gas demand was approximately 192 billion cubic meters (bcm) or 6.78 Tcf, including imports of 32 bcm (1.13 Tcf) of piped gas and 27 bcm (0.95 Tcf) of LNG. Therefore, the entire proven and possible gas reserves in the SCS (in contested and non-contested waters) is enough to theoretically cover 28 years of Chinese gas demand and 91 year of imports. Vietnam’s portion of the SCS is thought to only hold 20 Tcf, which is about 3 years of Chinese gas demand and ten years of imports. The estimated gas reserves in the Philippines are a marginal 4.0 Tcf.

Most of the gas in the SCS is located in offshore deep-water fields (defined as 400-1,200 meters) that is more technologically challenging and costly to develop than shallow-water or onshore fields. In order to monetize any potential deep-water gas discoveries, subsea pipelines would need to be built to onshore processing facilities. This means that gas developed in contested areas claimed by China but located near Vietnam or the Philippines could be delivered via pipeline to Vietnam or the Philippines to be sold on the local market or converted to LNG for export.

Such arrangements are politically inconceivable in the currently geopolitical environment unless the countries eventually agree to joint development—which may be one possible end-state that Beijing is working toward. An alternative option would be for China to use floating LNG (FLNG) vessels, but CNOOC reportedly abandoned such expensive and unproven plans in 2015.

Wherever SCS gas would be marketed and how it would be delivered (pipeline or LNG) would likely be based on commercial rather than political decisions and which may not materially contribute to Chinese energy security. These commercial, technological and logistical considerations strengthen the argument that the SCS territorial dispute is not driven by resource competition as an end to itself. Rather, resource competition is a means to an end—as an instrument for Beijing to assert territorial sovereignty for geopolitical and strategic purposes.

Even more indicative is that China’s most assertive and belligerent claims are directed towards Vietnam and the Philippines, rather than towards Malaysia and Indonesia which hold the largest shares of offshore oil and gas resources in the SCS. Beijing’s assertive behavior in the SCS has had a chilling effect on oil and gas exploration in disputed areas over the past decade that further suggest that developing offshore resources is not Beijing’s strategic priority.

To argue otherwise is to implies that Beijing is willing to risk military conflict in order to advance the commercial interests of a handful of Chinese oil companies in gaining control over unproven oil and gas resources that would make uncertain contributions to Chinese energy security—an improbable scenario considering the catastrophic consequences of such a conflict.

While offshore oil and gas resources are important sources of much needed supplies to Vietnam and  Philippines, the SCS is more consequential for Chinese energy security as a vital shipping lane than as an energy resource base. Currently, around 50% of the world’s oil tanker traffic is estimated to flow through the SCS. By 2035, it is expected that 90% of the Middle East fossil fuel exports will be shipped to East Asia with much of it transiting the SCS en route to China, Japan and South Korea.  In this context, the SCS is very much about oil and gas.


Sumber - Forbes

Avoid b’day overspending: HM


His Majesty, accompanied by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (C), the Crown Prince
and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik during
yesterday’s executive committee meeting at the Prime Minister's Office building.

Quratul-Ain Bandial
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, urged the government to avoid excessive spending for his upcoming 70th birthday celebrations.

During a meeting of the executive committee yesterday, the monarch said decorative banners and arches should be used in moderation and that the committee should not exceed the allocated budget or be too reliant on private donors.

“Each year the committee convenes or holds its meeting, but rarely or never before have the members seriously discussed the issue of wastage,” he said in a titah at the Prime Minister’s Office. “It is not because the global economy is beset by problems that we now talk of wastefulness. Whether the economy is in trouble or not, it is still necessary to avoid waste.”

While praising the generosity of private donors, His Majesty said sponsorships had facilitated overspending, and that the funds could be put to better use by alleviating the burden of the needy.

“All these time we only know how to spend and accumulate money for the celebration… In the past we witnessed ministers or other officials receiving donations from many sources. This is most displeasing.”

The Sultan said that previous committees for his birthday celebrations and National Day had failed to pay their debts to vendors, and that sometimes full payment not made until the following year.

“Both committees need to be more careful because at the end of the festivities they have been found to have not paid up some of their obligations… I don’t think there is a problem of insufficient funds… It is simply for holding a celebration. We can estimate the cost to fit the budget.”

His Majesty said the annual celebration, held on July 15, was a unique tradition that served as a platform to deliver royal directives, as well as foster a close relationship between the monarch and the people.

He added that all forms of celebration within Brunei must be “thoroughly scrutinised and their limitations and criteria must be identified”.

“They should not be unrestrained or according to whims and fancies. Entertainment has its limits or boundaries and one should not go all out with abandon to celebrate,” he said. “We need not spend lavishly to our hearts’ content… such activity is strongly forbidden by religion. It is here where common sense must prevail, and here lies one of the important responsibilities of the committee.”

Accompanying His Majesty to the meeting yesterday was His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office; HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah; and HRH Prince ‘Abdul Malik.

The executive committee for His Majesty’s 70th birthday celebrations is chaired by the Minister of Home Affairs YB Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Awg Abu Bakar Hj Apong.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Kampung Ayer losing heritage, culture: UBD research


Khai Zem Mat Sani
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

KAMPUNG Ayer is facing the threat of losing its sociocultural heritage mainly due to the beautification project in the capital and the emigration of its residents to land.

This was deduced in a research undertaken by 66 undergraduate students at the Academy of Brunei Studies (APB), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

The research looked at five villages in Kg Ayer namely Kg Setia, Kg Lurong Sikuna, Kg Burung Pingai, Kg Sumbiling and Kg Sungai Kedayan. Based on the research, several villages in Kg Ayer now no longer exist or are facing the risk of being inhabited due to migration to land.

During a handing over ceremony of the research’s results at the Brunei History Centre yesterday, the research coordinator, Noralipah Hj Mohamed told The Brunei Times that the loss (culture) of Kg Ayer are closely related to migration and modernisation.

“Two villages: Kg Sumbiling and Kg Sungai Kedayan are no longer inhabited while other villages now cease to exist,” she said.

In a 2015 report, figures from the Department of Economic Planning and Development showed that more than 13,000 people have moved out from Kampong Ayer in the past 30 years.

The water settlement was estimated to have a population of 28,000 in 1981 and as of 2011, has dwindled down to about 13,000 people.

Housing development and new buildings in the capital she said are main contribution for the migration.

“Change is inevitable. When people move out of Kg Ayer, it will have an effect on the social lifestyle of the community.

“This influences the socioculture of people in Kg Ayer,” she said, adding that time constraint and socio-economic challenges also prevent people from practicing traditions.

“For example, in Malay wedding ceremonies, there are a lot of customs that are no longer practiced by Malay people in Kg Ayer. People now are busy with work and they don’t have time to hold unnecessary ceremonies. This has led to the loss of culture within the community,” she said.

Meanwhile, one of the participating research students, Hj Md Ardini Hj Rias, said that there is a diminishing sense of community amongst Kg Ayer residents.

“People in the past were more community oriented and were always ready to lend a helping hand to other villagers. But now, as some families have moved to land and new people moving in to Kg Ayer villages, semse of community is slowly diminishing.”

Besides social and geographical changes, the research also highlighted the historical background of the five villages.

Present to handover the research to the Acting Deputy Principal of the Brunei History Research Hanafi Hj Salleh, was the APB’s Director Associate Professor Ampuan Dr Hj Brahim Ampuan Hj Tengah.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

‘Kg Panchor’s rows of vacant units worrisome’




Darren Chin
BRUNEI-MUARA

RESIDENTS of the Kg Panchor National Housing Scheme have voiced concerns that the number of yet unoccupied houses will only give rise to social ills if they continue to be left vacant.

When visited by The Brunei Times yesterday, rows of terraced and semi-detached houses were still vacant two years after being completed in March 2014.

Some houses were missing windows and concrete drain covers and a few of the front doors were either unlocked or left slightly open.

A resident of the housing scheme, Mohammad Hj Tahir, said he believes the vacant houses are easy targets for thieves.

“When I moved in about half a year ago, I already heard complaints from neighbours that their houses had been missing windows or even ceiling fans when they wanted to move in initially, so they had to request for replacements which cost the government money unnecessarily,” said the 56-year-old.

“Also, the vacant houses which have been left unlocked for some reason are making it easy and inviting perhaps to some people who might be looking for a place to commit social ills such as drug-taking or fornication - not that I’m saying that these things happen regularly,” he said.

Mohammad, who is a veteran of the Fire and Rescue Department, said the unkempt state of the exterior of the vacant houses could also attract unwanted pests such as snakes which could endanger local residents.

“Based on my many years of experience on the job catching all sorts of animals, the tall lalang grass like that growing around the vacant houses is usually where snakes could be hiding,” he said.

“Most of the time, it’s usually a harmless python. But there’s always a possibility of someone dying from a poisonous snake bite like in Malaysia,” he said, referring to a 7-year-old girl who recently died after she was bitten by a snake in the state of Kelantan.

Another resident, who wished only to be identified as Alif, said security measures have been relaxed over the last few months and that crime could be deterred in the area if the houses are all filled.

“Currently there are police patrols in the area, which I’m grateful for. But I remember security was more strict when I first moved in a year ago as construction workers would set up barricades and patrol the area themselves. But that’s no longer being done,” he said.

“I’m unsure why many units have been vacant for this long, but I trust that the housing authorities will approve the applications and draw lots (to determine the applicants who get the houses) soon so that they will be filled as the vacant houses could encourage thieves to take advantage of the situation while security is relatively lax,” he said.

Diana Asai, who moved into her terraced unit in the housing scheme in October last year, said that having a village head specifically for the residents of the 4,000 houses in the Kg Panchor National Housing Scheme would be helpful.

“Currently, there is no village head for this national housing scheme. But if there was one like in other older national housing schemes in the country, it would be helpful as he could organise neighbourhood watch patrols, especially around the rows of vacant houses,” she said.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Brunei Darussalam sets its sights on a rebound


Infrastructure was a major beneficiary in Brunei Darussalam’s budget for FY 2016/17, alongside other key segments of the economy expected to steer the country toward more robust growth.

Weaker performances in the hydrocarbons and services sectors dampened the Sultanate’s economic performance in the final quarter of 2015, leaving growth in negative territory at the end of what proved to be a challenging year.

However, prospects for 2016 look brighter, with consumer confidence already on the rise, supported by a healthy pipeline of projects.

Better than expected

Brunei Darussalam’s GDP shrank by about 0.6% in constant prices in 2015, according to data issued by the Department of Economic Development and Planning, driven down primarily by lower returns from the oil and gas sector.

Upstream energy’s contribution to GDP fell by 1.2% to BN$8.44bn ($6.3bn) in 2015, though the drop was more significant when measured in current prices, declining by more than 27% over the period. Earnings from downstream production also slipped, albeit more modestly.

Nonetheless, the contraction in economic output was more measured than many international financial institutions (IFIs) had predicted. In March of last year the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it expected the economy to shrink by 1.5%, while the IMF forecast a 1.2% contraction as recently as October.

The full-year results also demonstrate a solid improvement over the previous two years, when Brunei Darussalam’s economy shrank by 2.3% (2014) and 1.8% (2013).

Non-oil growth

Losses were offset by gains in other sectors, including the agriculture, fisheries and forestry industry, which ended the year up 6.4%. The fisheries segment led growth, expanding by 19.1%, while the vegetables, fruits and remaining agricultural component rose by 9.7%.

Brunei Darussalam’s economy also received a boost from household expenditure, which rose by 4.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, following a 2.8% increase the previous quarter.

If consumer confidence and spending power improves further in 2016, this could spur higher levels of growth in key sectors, notably retail and real estate.

Budget boost

Looking ahead, Brunei Darussalam aims to leverage its FY 2016/17 budget of BN$5.6bn ($4.2bn), which came into force on April 1, to stimulate the economy.

Infrastructure development was one of the budget’s winners, with BN$523.6m ($390.1m) allocated for a broad range of projects. Other engines of growth, such as forestry, fisheries, agriculture and agri-foods, also fared well, receiving a combined BN$46.6m ($34.7m) in funding.

Despite a 1.78% reduction in overall fiscal spending, however, the raft of new infrastructure projects could add to the budget deficit. Government projections put public revenue at BN$1.76bn ($1.3bn) for FY 2016/17, which could drive the deficit up from an estimated BN$2.28bn ($1.7bn) in FY 2015/16 to BN$3.84bn ($2.9bn), according to local media.

Improved outlook

Nonetheless, Brunei Darussalam’s fiscal prospects are looking increasingly positive. From a low of $28 per barrel in January, Brent crude has risen to close to $45 as of mid-April, with analysts at Credit Suisse suggesting prices could rebound to $50 by May on resurgent demand in the US, India, South Korea and China. If this trend continues, Brunei Darussalam could see increased revenue flows for by the second half of 2016.

Some IFIs have been similarly upbeat about the Sultanate’s economic prospects.

In late March the ADB said it expected Brunei Darussalam’s economy to post positive growth in 2016 on the back of higher energy prices and increased production from existing fields thanks to the deployment of new extraction technology.

Provided global oil demand and prices continue their recovery, Brunei Darussalam’s GDP should increase by 1% this year, rising to 2.5% in 2017.

The OECD, meanwhile, said in late 2015 that it expects Brunei Darussalam to average GDP growth of 1.8% per annum through to 2020 – lower than the forecasts for its ASEAN counterparts but sufficient to signal something of a turnaround after three challenging years.

The ADB added that growth would be supported by higher levels of activity in the construction sector, particularly large-scale infrastructure projects like the BN$138.9m ($103.5m) Sungai Brunei Bridge.

The bank also urged Brunei Darussalam to use the period of lower energy prices to reduce subsidies on both fuel and electricity without burdening consumers with steep increases in tariffs. Importantly, this would free up more resources for both physical and social infrastructure development, spurring further non-oil growth.


Sumber - Oxford Business Group

Brunei drops to 155th of 180 on World Press Freedom Index




Darren Chin
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI has dropped 34 places in the annual Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index to rank 155th out of 180 countries in 2016, its lowest ranking since 2009.

The rankings, released on Wednesday, showed that Brunei scored 53.95 points out of 100 (with 100 being the worst possible result) which is down 17.09 points from last year’s 36.76.

Among all countries on the index, Brunei and Tajikistan recorded the biggest decline, with both dropping 34 places.

Brunei also lost its crown as ASEAN’s best performing country in the index, placing third-worst out of the 10 countries in the regional bloc, with only Laos and Vietnam ranked below the sultanate at 173rd and 175th, respectively.

A statement from Reporters Without Borders said that the 2016 index showed there has been a deep decline globally in respect for media freedom at both the global and regional levels.

“The 2016 World Press Freedom Index reflects the intensity of the attacks on journalistic freedom and independence by authorities, ideologies and private-sector interests during the past year,” it said.

“The climate of fear results in a growing aversion to debate and pluralism, a clampdown on the media and reporting in the privately-owned media that is increasingly shaped by personal interests,” it said.

Timor-Leste was the only country from Southeast Asia to rank inside the Top 100 at 99th place, up four places from last year.

Finland retained its position at the top of the index for the eighth year in a row, followed by the Netherlands and Norway while Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea remain unmoved from last year in the bottom three.

As posted on the Reporters Without Borders’ website, the index is determined by compiling responses from questionnaires sent to media professionals, lawyers and sociologists around the world.

The questionnaire covers a range of criteria including pluralism, media independence, transparency, legal framework, the environment that the media operates in and the level of abuses against journalists.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

It's way past time to stop mistreating Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar


A Rohingya Muslim man who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape religious violence cries as he pleads from a
boat after he and others were intercepted by Bangladeshi border authorities in Taknaf, Bangladesh, in June 2012.
Bangladesh had been returning thousands of Rohingya Muslims, according to human rights groups.

By Syed Hamid Albar

There are more refugees and displaced people today, driven from their home by war, persecution, poverty, and climate change, than at any time since World War II. In America, perhaps, it is the Syrian refugee crisis that earns the most attention. But there is another crisis which also speaks deeply to the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, and to the Muslim world: the plight of the Rohingya.

The Rohingya are the indigenous people of southwestern Myanmar, or so-called Rakhine State. For years now, they have taken to overcrowded and leaky boats on the open sea, submitted to dangerous human trafficking networks, and seen their families split apart in a desperate bid to find safety somewhere, anywhere. Like many of the world’s refugees, they are Muslim.

But Myanmar is not Syria, torn apart by civil war. Last year, Myanmar’s economy was the fastest-growing in the world. Myanmar is entering a widely heralded new era of democracy, under the direction of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Some of the praise she and her country receive is deserved. But much of it overlooks the unacceptable treatment of her Muslim citizens, who have suffered an ongoing and accelerating process of "otherization" and dehumanization that is deeply frightening to watch.

For decades, the Rohingya have been subject to strict restrictions. Since 1982, they were summarily rendered stateless. Today they have been herded into detention and internment camps, stripped of their valuables, denied freedom of movement, and left impoverished and lacking in even basic healthcare. It is no wonder that so many thousands make such risky journeys across treacherous waters. The plight of the Rohingya may not be well known in the West, but it is well known in the ASEAN and Muslim world.

In fact, it is one of our highest priorities.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, the world’s second largest intergovernmental organization after the U.N., has appointed me as special envoy to Myanmar. It is a sign of how seriously we take the systemic Islamophobia of Myanmar’s government, and the inexplicable silence of Aung San Suu Kyi--otherwise a champion of the dispossessed and distressed--over this treatment.

Last week in fact, heads of state from more than 30 Muslim countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Pakistan, among others, and delegations from the remaining OIC member states, gathered in Istanbul for the 13th Islamic Summit. They reiterated their support for the Rohingya and called on the new government of Myanmar, under Aung San Suu Kyi, to begin a national reconciliation process, to restore to the Rohingya the rights they deserve, to honor the potential and promise of this new era in their history.

Indeed, national reconciliation and reintegration of the Rohingya is the only feasible, practicable way of addressing the humanitarian crisis created by years of discriminatory policy and exclusion. Should Myanmar truly wish to re-enter the international community, and realize the full potential long denied it by years of isolation and exclusion, then the question of the Rohingya must be addressed. The country has much to lose, and much to gain.

We hope the lessons of the past years, and the potential of years ahead, encourages the government of Myanmar to move in the right direction. For our part, the OIC is committed to leveraging the full diplomatic, economic and political resources of the Muslim world to that end - a commitment that was also made at last week’s Islamic Summit in Istanbul.

We remind the government of Myanmar, too, of all the ways in which they have worked with, benefited from, and built ties to our member states.

Myanmar is already a member of ASEAN, which groups 10 Southeast Asian countries together, forming what would be the world’s seventh-largest economy, and third-largest country. Three of ASEAN’s members are OIC member states--Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Of these, Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country and largest economy. Sixty percent of the world’s Muslims live in the Asia Pacific area, meaning that Myanmar is at the heart of a growing region, and a fast-growing Muslim market, which is developing strong links between the Gulf region and Southeast Asia, for which Myanmar could be a potential hub.

We hope, too, that the government of Myanmar can see the undeniable benefits of a long-term partnership with the Muslim world. A resolution of the status of the Rohingya would open the door to deeper ties with the Muslim world, which bring political, economic and national security benefits to Myanmar. A close relationship between Myanmar and the Muslim world is common sense. As Myanmar opens to the world, it welcomes investment, trade and tourism. The Muslim market would look to Myanmar, given its location between South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. These are not abstract aspirations.

In 2015, during catastrophic floods, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar. On the election of Myanmar’s first civilian president, Indonesia’s (also elected) president, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, called for increased cooperation between these two Southeast Asian democracies, “especially in the fields of economy, trade and democratization.” Bilateral trade was $500 million in 2014, and businessmen from both countries have met to discuss doubling that amount in this very year.

Malaysia, in turn, imports $303 billion worth of goods from Myanmar, while trade between these two countries is also accelerating. Malaysia is the seventh-largest investor in Myanmar; for example, OCK Group, a Malaysian telecom provider, is planning to build 900 cellphone towers in the country.

These relationships are natural, beneficial and critical. But should the Rohingya crisis continue, Myanmar may find that many of its neighbors--including Bangladesh, one of the world’s largest Muslim countries--will be closed for business, for assistance, and for political engagement and long-term relationships.

No country should be so isolated. The choice to gain new partnerships, new relationships, and to benefit from the region in which it lies, or to descend into ever more discriminatory and violent policies, belongs to Myanmar. We hope Myanmar will make the right decision, and we stand ready to work with Myanmar to finally bring the Rohingya peace and provide them the citizenship, prosperity and security they have so long been denied. It is the better thing to do. It is also the right thing to do. Let us work together to make it happen.

Syed Hamid Albar is the OIC special envoy to Myanmar. He is former foreign minister and minister for defense for the government of Malaysia.


Sumber - LA Times

Malaysia calls for greater regional cooperation to guard the Sulu Sea


The proposal follows an increase in kidnapping cases in the troubled waterways and criticism over Malaysia’s assets to tackle cross-border crime in the region.

By Melissa Goh

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is proposing greater military cooperation with Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei to ensure safety and security in the Sulu Sea. He was speaking on Sunday (Apr 17) after a walkabout at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition and conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The proposal comes following a rise in kidnapping cases in the troubled waterways where tugboats were increasingly being targeted by Abu Sayyaf related gunmen from southern Philippines. Mr Hishammuddin said having the best asset alone is not going to be enough.

The Minister added, Malaysia must tighten cooperation with its regional neighbours including replicating the joint patrol and Eyes in the Sky (EiS) program in the Strait of Malacca to the waterways off Sabah.

The comments come after criticism that Malaysia’s maritime enforcement agency's assets were old and ineffective in tackling cross-border crimes like piracy and kidnap for ransom.

"To say any country has enough assets, just look at assets utilised in Iraq and Syria, the super hornets, the typhoon ... you have the best assets but it is still not resolved. If you look at the regional issue, the Sulu sea, the threat of militancy trying to establish in the region we have no choice but to work together," said Mr Hishammuddin.

Currently, Malaysia is using four of Brunei's Black Hawk helicopters to beef up its defence forces. In turn, Kuala Lumpur is arming the helicopters for Brunei.

Malaysia also recently bought four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that are currently operating out of Lahad Datu east coast of Sabah for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes. Minister Hishammuddin said he will be meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Ryamizard Ryacudu next week on the sideline of the DSA exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.

"This is the way we have to work forward, thinking outside the box. The enemy we are facing is the same, the threat of military Daesh and IS involves us all," he said.

The DSA exhibition and conference which will showcase some of the latest defence systems from 1200 companies worldwide, is expected to attract over 34,000 trade visitors over the next 4 days.


Sumber - Channel NewsAsia


Bersatu lebih teguh


Baginda Sultan berkenan bergambar ramai bersama para pemimpin negara di Sidang Kemuncak OIC ke-13.

ISTANBUL, 14 April – Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam, hari ini bertitah menekankan kepentingan bagi perpaduan dan kesepakatan dalam kalangan negara-negara ahli OIC dalam menegakkan keadilan dan kedamaian dunia.

Titah Baginda, keadaan keselamatan global yang semakin kompleks dan menakutkan serta ketidaktentuan perspektif ekonomi dunia telah menimbulkan cabaran-cabaran dan peluang-peluang terhadap masyarakat OIC.

Justeru itu, sesuai dengan tema sidang kemuncak, Baginda menekankan agar negara-negara ahli perlu bersatu lebih teguh lagi berbanding sebelum ini.

Dalam titah Baginda pada Sesi Kerja Pertama sidang kemuncak itu yang diadakan di Pusat Kongres Istanbul, Republik Turki, Baginda Sultan memuji kerja-kerja yang telah dilakukan oleh OIC dalam melaksanakan Program Sepuluh Tahun Mekah, dan seterusnya melahirkan rasa gembira atas segala usaha yang telah membawa kepada peningkatan dalam perdagangan intra-OIC; penekanan yang lebih besar terhadap kesihatan, pendidikan, wanita dan kanak-kanak; dan penubuhan suruhanjaya hak asasi manusia.

Baginda dalam titahnya juga menekankan terhadap keperluan bagi OIC untuk terus meningkatkan kerja dan usaha lagi bagi mengatasi cabaran-cabaran seperti isu teras Palestin, pengganasan, keganasan melampau, Islamofobia, kemiskinan, wabak-wabak penyakit dan bencana-bencana alam.

Baginda menyambut baik Program Tindakan 2025 OIC dan memberi sokongan terhadap pelaksanaannya. Pelan tindakan yang baru itu diwujudkan atas program tindakan OIC yang sebelum ini dan ianya menangani matlamat-matlamat yang baru seperti perubahan iklim dan pembasmian kemiskinan.

Program baru itu, tambah Baginda, juga menggalakkan dialog-dialog dan moderation antara agama yang merupakan penting dalam menangani kebimbangan terhadap keganasan melampau dan Islamofobia.

Antara perkara penting yang turut Baginda tekankan adalah mengenai nasib rakyat Palestin yang telah dinafikan hak dalam pertumbuhan dan pembangunan sosioekonomi yang bermakna berikutan cabaran-cabaran geopolitik di rantau Asia Barat.

Baginda seterusnya menggesa negara-negara ahli OIC agar terus mengukuhkan segala usaha mereka melalui apa saja cara yang mungkin dapat menyelesaikan isu berpanjangan Negara Palestin, dan seterusnya memberikan sokongan yang tidak berbelah bahagi Negara Brunei Darussalam kepada rakyat Palestin dalam perjuangan mereka untuk mendapatkan hak bagi menentukan nasib mereka sendiri.

Dalam mengakhiri titah, Baginda menyeru semua negara ahli OIC untuk bersatu dalam jiwa dan raga mereka dalam perpaduan bekerja agar OIC lebih relevan lagi terhadap rakyat-rakyat yang mereka wakili.

Terdahulu Baginda berkenan berangkat menghadiri Sesi Pembukaan Sidang Kemuncak OIC Ke-13 yang diadakan di Pusat Kongres Istanbul, Republik Turki.

Keberangkatan tiba Baginda dialu-alukan oleh Presiden Republik Turki, Tuan Yang Terutama Recep Tayyip Erdogan yang juga Pengerusi Sidang Kemuncak Pertubuhan Kerjasama Islam sesi ke-13.

Baginda seterusnya dijunjung menyertai sesi bergambar ramai bersama raja-raja serta ketua-ketua negara dan kerajaan negara-negara ahli dan bukan ahli Pertubuhan Kerjasama Islam (OIC).

Sesi Pembukaan bagi Sidang Kemuncak OIC Sesi Ke-13 dimulakan dengan ucapan pembukaan oleh Presiden Republik Arab Mesir, Tuan Yang Terutama Abdel Fattah al-Sisi selaku Pengerusi Sidang Kemuncak OIC Sesi Ke-12 yang disampaikan oleh Menteri Hal Ehwal Luar Negeri Republik Arab Mesir,Tuan Yang Terutama Sameh Hassan Shoukry.

Ini diikuti dengan ucapan daripada Setiausaha Agung OIC, Tuan Yang Terutama Iyad Ameen Madani serta ucapan daripada Tuan Yang Terutama Presiden Republik Turki selaku Pengerusi Sidang Kemuncak OIC Sesi Ke-13.

Di samping menghadiri sesi kerja pertama itu, Baginda Sultan turut berkenan mengadakan Perjumpaan Dua Hala dengan Raja Arab Saudi dan Penjaga Dua Masjid Suci, Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud yang berlangsung di Hamidiye Salon, Pusat Kongres Istanbul, Republik Turki.

Semasa perjumpaan tersebut, Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam dan Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Saudi bertukar-tukar pandangan mengenai hal ehwal serantau dan antarabangsa dan seterusnya membincangkan cara-cara bagi memperkukuhkan lagi hubungan erat antara kedua-dua buah negara.


Sumber - Media Permata

JANGAN BIARKAN TAMU DAN PASAR SERIA JADI ASET YANG TERABAI







11 APRIL 2016: Beberapa ahli-ahli Majlis Eksekutif Ranting (MER) Parti Pembangunan Bangsa (NDP) Perumahan Rakyat Jati Lorong 3 Seria dibawah pimpinan Sdra Haji Tengah bin Metamit pada hari Jumaat 8 April kemarin telah membuat lawatan kerja ke Tamu Hujung Minggu dan Pasar Seria bagi tujuan meninjau dan meneliti kemaslahatan petani-petani, para usahawan tani dan pengunjung-pengunjung dikawasan tersebut.

Presiden NDP sdra Malai Hassan Othman, Timbalan Presiden sdra Pg Haji Zainal Pg Talip, Naib Presiden NDP Belait sdra Haji Metali bin Haj Ibrahim, Setiausaha Agung NDP sdri Hajjah Saemah Kepli, Ketua Himpunan Wanita NDP sdri Hajjah Kartini Manap dan beberapa ahli-ahli Majlis Tertinggi NDP Belait serta anggota JASA yang lain juga turut diundang untuk menyertai lawatan kerja tersebut. 

Di sesi lawatan tersebut beberapa pandangan dan cadangan telah dapat dikumpulkan dari pengusaha-pengusaha kecil dan juga orang ramai yang sempat ditemubual di sesi lawatan kerja tersebut. 

Berikut sesi lawatan kerja tersebut NDP telah mengambil ketetapan seperti berikut:
  
1. NDP mengambil maklum dan menyokong apa jua usaha dan langkah Kerajaan kearah membangun dan memajukan Pengusaha Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) khususnya anak-anak tempatan yang berkecimpung dalam sektor pertanian dan perikanan

2. NDP juga mengambil maklum apa jua usaha dan langkah yang sedang dan akan terus diungkayahkan adalah semata-mata untuk mencapai matlamat memperkasa keupayaan dan dayasaing PKS tempatan yang sekaligus setentunya akan dapat menyumbang kearah memperkukuh ekonomi negara dan meningkatkan kadar pertumbuhan Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) di sektor bukan minyak dan gas.

3. Dalam hal ini NDP mengambil ingat akan titah Tahun Baru Masehi 2016 KDYMM seperti petikan berikut:

“Di sini, kita perlu turut melihat prestasi ekonomi kita sendiri, di mana beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, kadar pertumbuhan Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) adalah agak perlahan yang memerlukan kita menggandakan usaha untuk meningkatkan keluaran dalam negara, terutama yang di luar sektor minyak dan gas.
Di antara yang di luar sektor minyak dan gas itu, ialah seperti sektor pertanian atau perikanan, sektor pembuatan, sektor perkhidmatan termasuk perkhidmatan kewangan, pengangkutan, logistik, telekomunikasi, perdagangan, pelancongan dan lain-lain”

4. Sehubungan dengan itu NDP juga mengalu-alukan dan menyokong penuh titah Baginda itu yang juga memperkenankan langkah reformasi ekonomi yang diharap dapat mencapai matlamat mengembang dan mempelbagaikan ekonomi negara.

5. Dalam konteks ini dan bagi mencapai matlamat memenuhi keperluan perusahaan tempatan yang berskala kecil dan sederhana itu, Baginda antara lain telah memperkenankan penubuhan Pusat Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PPKS), yang akan mengambilalih pelbagai peranan, yang dulunya dilaksanakan oleh beberapa agensi kerajaan.

6. NDP juga mengambil maklum tentang perancangan-perancangan yang telah disusun oleh pihak-pihak berkenaan khususnya Kementerian Sumber-Sumber Utama dan Pelancongan (KSUP) serta Menteri Tenaga dan Industri di Pejabat Perdana Menteri kearah meningkatkan prestasi ekonomi negara serta kearah meningkatkan keluaran dalam negara sektor bukan minyak dan gas khususnya dibidang pertanian dan perikanan.

7. Sehubugan dengan itu NDP berharap Pusat Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PPKS) yang baru ditubuhkan akan tidak terlepas pandang keatas kemaslahatan petani-petani dan para usahawan tani yang sudah lama bergiat dalam perusahaan pertanian dalam keghairahan PPKS membantu dan memudahcara kemajuan PKS yang diluar bidang pertanian bak kata pepatah “kera di hutan disusukan anak di rumah mati kelaparan.”

8. Dari itu NDP mencadangkan agar PPKS dapat meninjau keadaan petani-petani dan para usahawan tani tempatan seluruh negara terutama mereka yang bergiat di Daerah Belait setiap hujung minggu yang jelas kurang diberikan perhatian serious dalam usaha memudahcara perniagaan hasil-hasil tanaman petani-petani dalam dan luar daerah.

9. PPKS juga disarankan agar dapat berkerjasama dengan Jabatan Pertanian dan Jabatan Bandaran dalam menyelaraskan misi dan visi kedua-dua Jabatan ini kearah mencapai satu wawasan iaitu kearah memajukan dan mengembangkan perusahaan kecil dan sederhana terutama dibidang pertanian seperti yang dihasratkan oleh KDYMM dan Kerajaan.

10. Melalui langkah ini NDP yakin usaha kearah memajukan sektor pertanian akan lebih mudah dicapai.

11. Hasil kunjungan di Tamu dan Pasar Seria, NDP mendapati petani-petani dan usahawan-usahawan tani tempatan terpaksa berhadapn dengan senario kawalan dari dua pihak iaitu pihak Jabatan Pertanian yang bertanggungjawab keatas kemaslahatan petani dan hasil-hasil tani dan pihak Jabatan Bandaran yang menyediakan dan mengawal prasarana pasaran dan kegiatan urusniaga usahawan tani.

12. NDP mendapati petani-petani dan para usahawan tani yang bergiat di Daerah Belait, contohnya, tidak disediakan kemudahan dan kawasan tamu hujung minggu yang kekal, sempurna dan selamat dengan kemudahan yang selesa untuk mereka mengiatkan usaha mereka.

13. Hakikatnya mereka sering di pindah-pindah mengikut citarasa Jabatan Bandaran tanpa dibawah berunding dan sekarang ditempatkan di kawasan-kawasan letak kerita kawasan pasar Seria dan Pasar Baru Kuala Belait.

14. Mereka juga terpaksa mengangkut paying-payung besar, kemah-kemah dan meja-meja jualan selain barangan hasil tani yang akan dipasarkan.

15. Dalam masa sama NDP juga terkilan dengan keadaan Pasar Seria yang telah dibina lebih 20 tahun lalu tetapi hingga kini sunyi senyap tidak ramai penghuni kecuali pengusaha besar Pasar Raya dan beberapa bangku dan ruang yang disikan oleh beberapa pengusaha tempatan yang umpama hidup segan mati tak mahu.

16. NDP juga mendapati tahap kebersihan dan keselamatan di Pasar Seria dan kawasan persekitarannya kurang diberikan perhatian yang sewajarnya.

17. NDP berpandangan ianya satu pebanziran harta kerajaan sedangkan kemudahan yang ada didalam bangunan Pasar Seria sebenarnya dapat dimajukan untuk dijadikan tamu hujung minggu seperti kemudahan yang disediakan di tamu Daerah Tutong.

18. NDP melihat langkah ini tidak Begitu memerlukan perbelanjaan yang terlalu besar cukup dengan dorongan kesungguhan politik, anjakan paradigma, berfikir luar kotak, imganisai dan kreativiti pihak-pihak berkuasa yang berkenaan.

19. NDP juga berpandangan usaha perlu tumpukan kearah mewujudkan dasar dan sistem tamu yang liberal dan mesra-pasaran dengan membina prasarana yang lengkap dan sempurna seperti yang diungakayhkan oleh negara jiran sebelah yang sangat popular dikalangan pengunjung-pengunjung dari Belait.

20. Dalam masa sama NDP mencadangkan agar pihak-pihak berkenaan mengubah sikap dan membuka minda dengan membawa berunding semua ‘stake holders' dan mengambil kira semua aspek secara adil bukan sahaja untuk kepentingan pihak berkuasa tetapi juga untuk kepentingan pengusaha-pengusaha yang terlibat secara langsung dalam melaksanakan sebarang perancangan.

21. NDP kesal dengan sikap segolongan pegawai pentadbir dan penguatkuasa yang masih bersikap autokratik dan tidak mesra PKS. NDP bimbang jika sikap ini terus diasuh hasrat KDYMM untuk melaksanakan reformasi ekonomi negara mungkin akan tidak tercapai.

22. Dengan mengambil ingat apa yang pernah disentuh oleh KDYMM Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam Sempena Hari Keputeraan Baginda Yang Ke-69 Tahun pada 15 Ogos 2015 pada mana Baginda menekankan bahawa;
“…Brunei mesti dengan segera melakukan penghijrahan minda: Dari suka menunggu-nunggu dan berpeluk tubuh kepada rajin bekerja. Dari banyak bergantung harap, kepada lebih membanyakkan usaha, dan dari kurang berdikari, kepada lebih berdikari. Inilah sumber kekuatan kita...”
NDP dengan ini menyeru pihak-pihak berkenaan agar terus menanai titah ini melalui usaha masing-masing iaitu dengan menyediakan dan memudahkan suasana perniagaan dan perusahaan yang mengalakkan pertumbuhan dan produktiviti bukan yang menyulitkan melalui perlaksanaan peraturan yang terlalu mementingkan untung rugi jabatan, birokratik, menekan dan menyusahkan.


Sumber - Laman Aspirasi

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Philippines, Vietnam to explore joint sea patrols


Philippines’ Foreign Secretary Jose Rene Almendras (L) poses for a photo with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the Government Guesthouse in Hanoi, on Monday

MANILA

DEFENCE officials from the Philippines and Vietnam will meet this week to explore possible joint exercises and navy patrols, military sources said, shoring up a new alliance between states locked in maritime rows with China.

Ties have strengthened between the two Southeast Asian countries as China’s assertiveness intensifies with a rapid buildup of man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago, to which Vietnam and the Philippines lay claim.

Both states are also on the receiving end of a renewed charm offensive by the United States, which is holding joint military exercises in the Philippines to be attended this week by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

Vietnam and the Philippines would discuss patrols and exercises, but a deal this week was unlikely, a senior army official said.

“These are initial discussions,” he said. “These may take time but we would like to move to the next level.”

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The information was confirmed by another defence ministry source in Manila.

Naval patrols between the Philippines and United States were proposed by Manila in January. They could happen within a year, a foreign ministry official said. “The two sides are still talking about this,” the official told Reuters.

The exploratory talks between Vietnam and the Philippines come as ships from the United States and Japan, which has its own maritime wrangles with China, have visiting ships currently docked at Subic Bay in the Philippines, which hosted Washington’s main naval base during the Vietnam War.

The regional dynamic has shifted substantially since then, with the United States now engaging Vietnam’s military having eased a lethal arms embargo in 2014. Japan is also working closely in defence issues with Manila and Hanoi, and two of its guided-missile destroyers are currently on a rare visit to Vietnam’s strategic base at Cam Ranh Bay.

Vietnam and the Philippines agreed on a strategic partnership in November to boost security relations as China expands its presence in the strategic waterway and deploys military equipment in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Their closer ties mark a bold step in a region where China’s economic influence has made some countries reluctant to take a joint stand against its maritime manoeuvring.

Joint exercises would be one of the biggest steps taken by the two countries’ militaries since signing a defence agreement six years ago.

The meeting between Vietnam’s vice defence minister, Nguyen Chi Vinh, and Honorio Azcueta, the Philippine undersecretary of defense, is scheduled for today and comes as a court in The Hague nears a decision in an arbitration case lodged by Manila.

The ruling in the case, which seeks to clarify parts of a United Nations maritime law, could dent China’s claim to 90 per cent of the South China Sea, parts of which Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also claim.

The South China Sea will figure in the talks between the two countries, as will bilateral exchanges, information-sharing, military logistics and defence technology, the sources said.

Vinh would tour Philippine bases, including a major naval facility. Vietnam’s state media has not reported the visit.

Two Vietnamese frigates made port calls to Manila in 2014 and a Philippine warship may do the same in Vietnam this June. Troops from both sides have played sports together twice since 2014 on disputed islands they occupy.

On Monday, Philippine Foreign Minister Jose Rene Almendras was the first foreign dignitary to meet Vietnam’s new prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Insolvency law introduced, puts stress on rehabilitation


Koo Jin Shen
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced that the Insolvency Order 2016, a new legislation covering insolvency in the country, is now in effect.

“The Ministry of Finance is pleased to announce that His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented for the introduction of the Insolvency Order 2016 which is effective on March 1, 2016,” the ministry said yesterday.

The MoF said the Insolvency Order is a new law which incorporates the winding up provisions relating to corporate insolvency under Chapter 39 of the Companies Act.

It also includes new provisions which had been adopted from the United Kingdom and Singapore, according to information posted on the government’s Ease of Doing Business portal www.business.gov.bn.

“It is intended to create a shift in the insolvency culture, with a greater emphasis placed on company rescue and rehabilitation, and protection for all creditors and debtors,” according to the website.

Among the new features of the order are provisions on company voluntary arrangements which allow a company to propose a possible loan restructuring and/or corporate reorganisation to its creditors. To complement this new provision in winding up of a company, a new list of preferential payments will be paid in priority to all unsecured debts.

The new order also includes provisions for the introduction of insolvency practitioners.

The insolvency practitioner acts as a liquidator, provisional liquidator, judicial manager or receiver. He/she can be a nominee or supervisor, where a voluntary arrangement in relation to the company is proposed or approved, according to the new order.

The new order notes that important issues of suitable qualifications, technical knowledge and skills, standards of competence and other related areas are central to the proper functioning of an insolvency regime and the finance minister may designate a recognised professional body to regulate the practice of insolvency practitioners.

More information on the insolvency order can be obtained through www.business.gov.bn or the MoF website www.mof.gov.bn. Printed copies of the Insolvency Order are available for sale at the government’s printing department. It can also be downloaded from www.agc.gov.bn.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Bruneians still top water use in SE Asia




Rachel Thien
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEIANS still consume the highest amount of water compared to citizens in other ASEAN member states, officials from the Department of Water Services said.

An official from the department’s Water Conservation Unit, who did not want to be named, said Bruneians consume an average of 420 litres of water per day, which is equivalent to 280 of 1.5 litre water bottles.

In 2015, Malaysians used 212 litres of water per day, while Singapore residents consumed 151 litres of water in a day.

In an interview yesterday, he said taking a bath accounted for 52 per cent of an individual’s daily water consumption in Brunei.

He added that each drop of wasted water per second from a streaming tap equates to wasting four litres of water per day.

Another Department of Water Services official called on Bruneians to save water because it is not just about consumers saving money, but helping the government to spend less in producing clean and quality water to every household.

“Water is subsidised in Brunei. The question is not how much money a person can save by saving and conserving water.

“The key and important thing is by saving water, one can save the capital investment and cost of producing water which is borne entirely by the government,” she added.

In a previous report, the department said saving water will also help the government lessen expenditure of water treatment costs.

She recommended the public to install a rainwater harvesting system, where rainwater can be collected and reused for flushing toilets, general washing and irrigation.

The department said the rainwater harvesting system is currently being integrated at some houses at the Kg Katok National Housing Scheme.

The first part of the system that rain comes into contact with is the roof itself, she said.

“The roof is a critical component of the rainwater harvesting system and will define some of the other system components such as filtration,” she added.

The recommended roofing materials include the standing seam metal, ethylene propylene diene monomer slate or tile.

She went on to say that storage tanks for the collected water come in many shapes, sizes and materials, and they can be placed near the roof or at other locations.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Secret Six




A half-dozen groundbreaking Ferraris were built for the Prince of Brunei.
Only one made it out of the jungle alive

By Ryan ZumMallen

The order came from the Sultan of Brunei’s nephew. It was 1994, and Prince Abdul Hakeem, then 20 years old, had inherited two things: access to a $40 billion fortune, and his family’s penchant for spending it.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the monarchs of this tiny, oil-rich nation in the South China Sea bankrolled a fleet of special custom vehicles, ordering the most coveted cars in the world by the half-dozen or more. Their notorious collection — located in nondescript concrete garages, surrounded by razor wire, and patrolled by armed Nepalese soldiers known as gurkhas — numbered in the thousands. Visitors described rows and rows of warehouses, filled to the brim with luxury cars, sometimes organized by make, model, or even color. In his online newsletter, Ferrari broker Michael Sheehan described one floor dedicated solely to black Mercedes SL500s, another to red Ferrari Testarossas, and yet another to bright yellow Bentleys and Lamborghinis. One particularly star-studded showroom included a Ferrari 288 GTO Evo, F40 LM, F50, and three McLaren F1s.

Several of the cars in these warehouses were one-of-a-kind, built specifically for Brunei, and could be found nowhere else in the world. For his next order, Prince Hakeem again wanted something special: a Ferrari with a semi-automatic transmission. At the time, the technology didn’t exist on any street-legal vehicle in the world. That didn’t give him any pause. Prince Hakeem was used to getting what he wanted. According to a Fortune article published in 1999, as a teen Prince Hakeem had decided he wanted to learn to play American football, so the Royal Family paid Joe Montana and Herschel Walker to come to Brunei and teach him the game. No one was allowed to tackle the prince, who scored touchdowns every time he touched the ball. On his 18th birthday, he received $1 billion in cash.

For a job like this, Prince Hakeem knew just who to turn to: legendary automotive design house Carozzeria Pininfarina, which had already completed one-off versions of Ferraris, Bentleys, Jaguars, and other historic marques for the Royal Family. It’s estimated that in less than a decade, Pininfarina had built more than 50 cars destined for Brunei.

The assignment came to Paolo Garella, Pininfarina’s prototype manager. Garella’s team would take the Ferrari Testarossa, a pillar of automotive style and performance, and crank up the adrenaline. It was a tall order, but Garella had the experience, talent, and vision necessary for the job.

What Garella’s team built would become one of the most mysterious and compelling supercars ever, one that would come to be known as the Ferrari FX.

Born and raised in Italy, Garella knew by age five that he would make cars his life’s work. After seeing the Ferrari Pinin concept — the first, and still the only four-door Ferrari ever produced — at the 1980 Torino Auto Show, he committed to becoming an engineer and creating one-of-a-kind designs. He quickly established an enviable career: in the late 1980s, Garella spent five years working at Goodyear, testing prototypes — like, as luck would have it, the Ferrari Testarossa — around its famous Circuit de Mireval in France. He then returned to Italy, developing hybrid and electric racecars for PTI Albatech. In 1992 Pininfarina came calling, and Garella became manager of the Prototype Manufacturing and Engineering Department, working on experimental, often top-secret projects. Photos from the ‘90s show him with the pushbroom mustache and wide, round glasses typical of the era — often, with a beaming smile. Garella was 35 when the FX project came to him, and uniquely qualified to make the prince’s dream car a reality.

Pininfarina opted for the Ferrari Testarossa as the platform for the new car. With its supercar proportions and mid-engine layout, it was the premiere horse in the Ferrari stable. Having designed the original Testarossa in the early 1980s, Pininfarina was very familiar with the car. In fact, they had already been involved in a custom job based on the Testarossa, called the Ferrari Mythos, a drool-inducing prototype shown at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show. Ferrari made it clear the Mythos was not for sale. Somehow, two cropped up in the Brunei warehouses anyhow.

With the platform chosen, Garella and his team could turn to the task at hand. The only requirement, Garella says, was the semi-automatic transmission. Until then, supercars like the Testarossa almost exclusively featured five- or six-speed manuals. Semi-automatics came from the world of motorsports, where they began appearing in rally cars in the late 1980s, and Formula One cars in the early ‘90s. Instead of relying on the driver to depress the clutch, manually engage a new gear, and then release the clutch before accelerating, the semi-automatic used computers to execute shifts — with input from the driver via buttons, paddles, or a lever — in a fraction of the time. Built for quickness and nothing else, semi-automatic transmissions were far too jerky and unrefined for the road in the early 1990s. Pininfarina faced a tall order in adopting one for the FX.

Pininfarina turned to British racing outfit Prodrive, a company that had made a name for itself with Subaru in the World Rally Championship in the early ‘90s. Prodrive was already in the process of gauging public interest in a semi-automatic transmission for the street that could be fitted directly to a manual gearbox; buttons on the steering wheel would shift gears while an electronic control unit worked the clutch. Pininfarina saw an opportunity to collaborate, and assigned an engineer whose sole responsibility was working with Prodrive to adapt their system for the FX. Prodrive transmission was mated to the stock Ferrari six-speed manual gearbox already in the Testarossa that Garella had picked out. It wasn’t a perfect fit. While the clutch was hydraulic, engaging different gears was pneumatic. "Prodrive had a system that was a little bit complex," says Garella. "It had a number of problems and was not really straightforward."

The transmission was going to need continued work, and in fact required constant attention from mechanics to be driveable at all. But it was the best option available at the time. The rest of the FX internals came together without much issue. Pininfarina moved the radiator from the back of the car to the front, to make room for the rear-mounted transmission’s additional electronics, and to capitalize on the increased airflow from the redesigned front end. The engine was tuned, and the exhaust was converted into a snarling straight Tubi system. The catalytic converters on the 4.9-liter V12 were removed, pushing its 420 horsepower northward. Everything else was left stock.

With the engineering complete, Garella and Pininfarina turned to what they do best: the exterior design.

The result was stunning, if polarizing. Though the deeply inset headlights bring to mind Camaros of the era, and quickly became dated, sculpted dual intakes bring an elegance to the aggressive slope of the front end. Massive, scooping hips presaged the Ferrari 360 Modena — designed, of course, by Pininfarina — that wouldn’t come out until 1999. At the rear, the car’s roofline flows down like cooling lava, smoothing out into a point. Quad round taillights from the Ferrari 355 punctuate a dark mesh grille. From the rear three-quarter perspective, the FX radiates aggression, and tremendous potential for speed. The transparent plastic cover over the mid-mounted engine has twelve portholes — one for each cylinder — that simultaneously invite and distort the view inside; a Ferrari funhouse. A stylized "FX" logo on top of the engine makes it clear this is no run-of-the-mill Ferrari. It is the only such emblem on the car.

Pininfarina tested the design in its on-site wind tunnel, and came away pleased. "The car was definitely better than the Testarossa," says Garella. "And I think it was a quite attractive design for the car at that time." Then-chairman Sergio Pininfarina personally showed the completed FX to Gianni Agnelli, the former head of Ferrari parent company Fiat, who simply said: "We are lucky to have such clients."

Pininfarina built the entire outer shell from carbon fiber, which is lighter than aluminum, stronger than steel, and was, at that time, unfathomably expensive. It was also difficult to work with, as very few companies had experience with the material. Pininfarina went through three suppliers before finding the quality necessary. The Pininfarina office in Germany originally constructed the prototypes, but after several mishaps and botched models, the work was brought back to the in-house design center in Cambiano, Italy. At one point, Pininfarina built an entire bonnet for the FX and sent it to Brunei, just to see how it reacted to the sun and humidity of the stifling South Asian climate (an exercise that would prove prophetic). The quality gradually improved. "We worked a lot to have perfect surfaces," says Garella. "At the end, [it] was the best carbon fibre body Brunei had."

Pininfarina completed the FX in late 1995, with the transmission being its crowning — but still problematic — achievement. It was unlike anything done before.

Pininfarina built three FXs, and continued experimenting with the Prodrive transmission, adding it to a couple Ferrari F355s – more than a year before Ferrari made its F355 F1 the first production car with a semi-automatic transmission, in 1997. Pininfarina even put one in another Brunei project, the equally evasive Jaguar XJ220 known internally as "The J." Two were built: one caught fire and was destroyed, the other’s location is simply unknown.

Delivering a car to the royal family of Brunei isn’t as simple as rolling up in a transporter. Pininfarina often loaded the cars into a massive Antanov aircraft, then sent them to Brunei unfinished and had crews complete the work on site. The cars needed to be perfect before the Royal Family saw them.

Occasionally, this led to panic-inducing deadlines. The team once flew a custom Bentley B2 to Brunei the night of a birthday party for Prince Jefri, Hakeem’s father. Condensation from the flight made the car soaking wet, and many of the electronics weren’t working. The car had to be hand-dried, and delivered to the palace in the nick of time. Hours later, though, Garella got a call that the steering wheel wouldn’t line up perfectly straight. The team pulled the wheel apart and were still working when Prince Hakeem suddenly walked outside to present the car to his father and the entire court. Garella hid behind a pillar — the Royal Family was not pleased to find their newest vehicle in pieces.

Another time, converting a Ferrari 288 GTO to right-hand drive had somehow caused the turn signal indicator to stop automatically returning. The team began repairing the problem at 5PM and as time went on, their hosts grew impatient. Around 3AM, Brunei officials seized their passports, effectively holding them hostage. Garella and the team stayed up to finish the work, and reclaimed their passports around 7AM. "I think still that this was the longest night of my life," he says. "Yes it was stressful but also fantastic. I love it, for an engineer to have the possibility to do a project with an almost unlimited budget is a lifetime dream… and I was there."

To Garella’s relief, there weren’t any such "difficulties" with the FX. In early 1996, Garella and a select few associates made the 6,800-mile trek to Brunei to deliver the three custom Ferraris (during the height of the Royal Family’s car-buying frenzy, he made this trip every other month).

The cars came off the plane ready to be presented, and Prince Hakeem was very pleased with his new toys. Satisfied with the progress of the build months prior, Hakeem had ordered three more FXs; this time, based on the newly-released F512M, a lighter, faster platform that would come with an extra 20 horsepower, a lightweight crankshaft, and titanium connecting rods. Not only that, but the family decided to send the new cars to Oxfordshire, England-based Williams F1, one of the most successful teams in Formula One history, in order to better tune and refine the complicated transmission.

Five of Garella’s FXs were painted the same familiar Ferrari red; the other, FX No. 4, was painted a deep sapphire blue. It’s the only FX that actually made it to Williams, and the only FX that escaped the decaying garages of Brunei.

Once it had possession of the car, Williams used a team from their F1 arm to build the new and improved transmission system in FX No. 4. They replaced the Prodrive components, taking special care to remove all Prodrive branding. Williams plugged in the semi-automatic unit they had been using in Formula One since 1992, and ran immense amounts of wiring through the car. They also replaced the buttons on the steering wheel with paddles. The paddles in the FX appear primitive by today’s standards: they are made of metal, with red on the left for down shifts, and green on the right for up. But it was shaping up to be a marked improvement over the first FX.

The transmission was still being tuned when the Asian markets crashed.

In the summer of 1997, the free fall of the Thai baht sparked a domino effect that spread across the Asian markets, and quickly set off a global financial meltdown. Buoyed by its vast oil reserves, Brunei emerged relatively unscathed. The following year, however, a company called Amedeo Development Corporation — owned and operated by Prince Hakeem’s father, Jefri — collapsed, leaving behind $6 billion in debt. Prince Jefri’s brother, the Sultan, ordered a review of the country’s financials (Vanity Fair once reported that 200 accountants were assigned to the case) and found Jefri had raided some $14 billion of Brunei’s oil funds as his personal piggy bank, using Amedeo to fund extravagant public and personal projects.

Jefri’s exploits during this fantastic spending spree have since become the stuff of legend. His family of four wives and at least 18 children lived lavishly across London, Paris, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. He commissioned life-sized bronze sculptures of couples having sex, just to offend his more-conservative brother Mohamed. He owned a 152-foot yacht named "Tits," and called the lifeboats "Nipple 1" and "Nipple 2." Court documents would reveal that Jefri ultimately spent some $78 million with Pininfarina alone. Some estimates pegged the total number of cars in his priceless collection at more than 2,500 — others, closer to 5,000.

"Other heads of state and wealthy people have had impressive collections of bespoke cars, but I am pretty sure the Royal Family of Brunei is unparalleled in this regard," says Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis for Auto Pacific. "Certainly nothing like what they were doing back then is happening now."

Though Jefri was the chief financier of the collection, his brother the Sultan, who once held the title of richest man alive, certainly has his own excessive and frightening habits: he owns (and regularly pilots) a Boeing 747 with a gold and crystal interior, and participated with Jefri in a sex harem that included dozens of women. Some of these women were models and actresses that later claimed they were lured into joining, and sued the brothers. It would be naïve to suggest the Sultan was unaware of his family’s obscene spending. Garella personally witnessed private concerts by the likes of The Gipsy Kings and Sting on palace grounds. Michael Jackson once performed in Brunei for a fee of $17 million, in a stadium built specifically for the event.

Still, the Sultan has held his throne for nearly 50 years, and successfully distanced himself from the global scorn that forced Jefri to flee the country. The Sultan removed Jefri from his positions as Brunei’s minister of finance, and head of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), that housed the oil funds that Jefri had likely been using to keep Amedeo afloat. In 2000, Prince Jefri turned over his assets. Meanwhile, the prince’s groundbreaking Ferrari sat in a British workshop, suddenly with no owner.

Williams made a phone call. American businessman Dick Marconi picked up. About $1.3 million and 15 years later, I’m staring at my reflection in the indigo carbon fiber weave of Ferrari FX No. 4 in Tustin, California.

"This is Mr. Marconi’s baby," says Marconi Museum operations director Todd Ottosen, more than once, as he carefully lowers the entire back section of the FX. Before closing it, he makes a show of effortlessly lifting the carbon fiber engine bay up and down, with two fingers. "Pretty cool, huh? You can’t even do that with the F40."

The Marconi Museum is located inside an unassuming warehouse in a Southern California business park and houses one of the most eclectic, star-studded car collections you could conjure up. Ferraris from every era are scattered about, along with icons like the DeLorean DMC-12 and Lamborghini Countach, and ultra-rare finds like the Cizeta V16T and Aston Martin DB AR1 Zagato. Several retired Indy and Formula One racecars are parked on the floor; others, like the McLaren MP4/4 that Ayrton Senna drove during his 1988 championship season, hang vertically from the walls like 200-mile-per-hour drapes.

The museum is the passion project gone wild of Dick Marconi, a co-founder of Herbalife, who has used his fortune to bring automotive brilliance to the public. (Admission is free — there’s a suggested $5 donation that benefits the museum’s childrens foundation.) This is where Ferrari FX No. 4 has spent the majority of its life, occupying a space between the AR1 and another Pininfarina creation for the Royal Family: a forest-green convertible based on the Ferrari 456 four-seater, called the Venice (like the FX, there are several of these still in Brunei, possibly dozens if you count the custom sedan and wagon versions). Though it may be a relatively pedestrian existence for the FX, one of the most compelling automotive mysteries in a world full of them, the car’s allure is still strong. Rumor has it Marconi has repeatedly turned down offers to sell the car for no less than $10 million.

Automotive journalist Winston Goodfellow is one of the few people to have driven the FX outside of Marconi Museum mechanics, when he reviewed the car for an issue of FORZA Magazine in 2001.

In his article, Goodfellow raved that the low weight and advanced technology in the FX made it a thrill to drive: "While this Ferrari pulls with more alacrity than any TR, what makes the FX truly extraordinary when run hard through the gears is the way the engine works in concert with the transmission: it delivers an excitement that the heavier, production TRs — or any 355 or 360 — can’t touch."

Fifteen years after that drive, the experience of the Williams transmission is still clear in his mind. "One thing I will say, that does still linger, is it remains one of the coolest things I’ve driven," he remembers. Goodfellow’s impressions may provide the clearest perspective to the car’s potential, and that of the Williams semi-automatic system, that we’ll ever have.

"You could feel it going through the motions of what it did, even though it was all paddles. That gave it this perfect blend of coming ‘digital’ couple with beautiful analog sensations. It had a unique taste that was most appealing, particularly that howling exhaust."

Some of the cars at the Marconi Museum get out more than others. The FX, for example, made a couple of appearances in local car shows during the 2000s, but has otherwise been a homebody. On a routine test drive about two years ago, the FX limped back to the museum spewing white smoke, and hasn’t run since. In total, FX No. 4 has approximately 1,800 miles on the odometer. If they still function — a big if — it’s likely that the five other FXs have rarely (or more likely, never) been driven at all.

Few have seen it; fewer still have seen what it’s capable of. Vincent Marconi, a 26-year-old mechanic, who also happens to be Dick’s grandson, has seen the FX’s guts spewed out all over the floor. Last year he and Larry Englehart, owner of Ferrari Technology in nearby Orange, began the long journey of making sense of the transmission, and getting the car running again.

"It’s still a work in process, and it’s a slow process," says Vincent. "It’s a combination of F1 and space technology, and there are no schematics."

Vincent describes a system truly ahead of its time. The gearbox is the stock six-speed from the F512M, with small modifications to the gears and differential. The attached Prodrive semi-automatic system features fascinating technologies, like an early version of automatic rev-matching to prevent power loss between shifts. Prodrive appears to have never brought its innovative transmission to market, unable to smooth out the wrinkles.

Even now, it will likely take a Williams technician visiting the car again to get the computer systems ready to run. Vincent Marconi and Englehart plan to get back around to finishing the project one day, but the museum has lots of cars that need attention and the FX isn’t very high on the priority list. Still, the payoff is enticing.

"It works bitching once everything is rocking and rolling," says Vincent.

Garella, now 57, resembles his younger self, though the glasses are thinner and the mustache is grayer. He remains a force in innovative design and construction. He spent 17 years at Pininfarina, the final seven as Head of Special Projects. In recent years, he’s been the invisible hand behind two of the most celebrated one-off designs of the past decade. The first is the Pininfarina New Stratos, a modern interpretation of the famous, wedge-shaped Lancia Stratos.

The other is the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina, commissioned by the filmmaker Jim Glickenhaus. It’s built on a Ferrari Enzo but completely redesigned to pay homage to the legendary 1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4. Garella would also become Project Manager for the company’s associated racing program, designing the P4/5 Competizione, which was built on a Ferrari F430 Scuderia and homologated to race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours. In 2012, it placed 12th overall and won its class. Last year, the team debuted and raced the SCG 003, a new variation that shattered the lap record at The Ring and fielded two entries in the 24-hour race. All of the Glickenhaus racing cars are street-legal, and compete with New York license plates. Another one-off project is underway, but that’s all Garella can say. (In an email, Glickenhaus described Garella as being "Not fazed by problems and willing to work until they are solved.")

Still, the FX holds a special place on his long list of accomplishments. Garella often visits the US to attend events like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey, and in 2007, he looked up the Marconi Museum and made the trip down the coast to Tustin. Dick Marconi was waiting for him, and the two posed for pictures with the FX — a legend created by one and saved by the other. The car wasn’t running then, but its futuristic carbon fiber was still there; as were its eye-popping design, and its embattled but ambitious transmission. Its advancements in design, construction, and technology make the FX a sort of automotive missing link.

"The FX was definitely ahead of its time for having a semi-automatic gearbox," says Kim.

"The Sultan and his brother really were R&D for many high-end automakers. They were building custom bespoke cars that not only had unique bodies and interiors, but sometimes exotic technologies. And the money was limitless."

Garella maintains that the true masterpiece of the FX is its body. Not for the design, but for the materials. Today, carbon fiber technology is commonplace in supercars, and even many sports cars. BMW now uses carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) for both the frame and the body of their i3, as well as multiple parts of the new 7 Series luxury sedan. The FX helped set the stage for a new movement in mass production as automakers aim for weight savings to improve performance and fuel economy.

"For me personally, and I think also for Pininfarina, it was the project in which we learned most about carbon fiber and the composite process," he says. "I think for sure that was the project where we brought back the maximum know-how at that point."

Never intended for public consumption, the FX led to the adoption of many new ideas that are common practice in the cars that drive our streets every day. For now, it waits in the museum for an overhaul that may never come, in exile from those that commissioned it; the product of a man who poured years into making it a reality and would use it to influence his trend-setting creations in the future. When he visited the Marconi Museum, the sight of the FX was a welcome one for Garella.

"Prince Hakeem wanted to have all the cars with semi-auto transmission," says Garella. "He thought that this was the future.

"He was right."

Sumber - The Verge

Brunei records highest number of HIV cases last year


Sally Piri
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI recorded the highest number of new HIV cases in a year with 28 cases reported in 2015, the president of Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council cited statistics from the Ministry of Health.

Iswandy Ahmad said out of the 28 cases, seven were women. “The increase in number of cases involving women represents a worrying trend as women represented only a very small minority of HIV cases in previous years.”

According to a report last year, 38 new HIV cases were reported from 2012 to 2014.

Speaking to The Brunei Times on the sidelines of the Red Ribbon Run 2016, Iswandy said based on the council’s observation, the rise in number of HIV cases was due to greater awareness about HIV among people and more people engaging in “risky behaviours”.

In a statement, Iswandy said the AIDS council has always maintained that the key is to involve government agencies and other stakeholders in responding to the HIV epidemic.

He said the council is concerned with the marked increase in the number of cases and believed that efforts spearheaded by the Ministry of Health to address this issue should have greater support from collaboration with other government agencies.

Efforts should focus on increasing awareness and education on prevention of HIV and sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), particularly among most at-risk groups, including youth and men who have sex with men.

“In this regard, BDAC believes that the introduction of comprehensive reproductive education in schools will play a big role in reducing the number of HIV cases in the long run,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

He added that comprehensive reproductive education is not only about pregnancy or STIs, but it also touches matters pertaining to life skills, youth empowerment, community development and family support.

At the same time, BDAC also believes that any response should respect and protect the rights of people living with HIV and most-at-risk populations who may suffer from discrimination and stigma based on their status, he said.

Md Rafee Isa, captain of Penyinar Club (youth wing of BDAC), said in a statement that young people need to step up and talk about issues concerning their health, including HIV and AIDS prevention.

“Bruneians are very lucky to have free or highly subsidised healthcare. Imagine putting yourself in the shoes of citizens of other countries who are infected with HIV/AIDS, they have to pay for their own medication and healthcare.

“This is why reproductive health knowledge and awareness is important so that we will not burden the country with unnecessary healthcare costs, which actually can be prevented in the first place,” he added.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

‘Average of 40 zakat applicants every month’


Khai Zem Mat Sani 
TEMBURONG 

AN AVERAGE of more than 40 people register for zakat (tithe) every month, according to the minister of Religious Affairs yesterday.

Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Awg Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Awg Othman said around 40 to 50 people register for tithe every month.

During the 12th Legislative Council (LegCo), the minister also noted that the number of applicants is increasing from time to time.

“Not every applicant will be given the tithe. The tithe is only given to the right people... especially those who fall under six categories or asnaf,” he said.

The six categories are fakir miskin (poor and needy), muallaf (converts), amil (those appointed to collect tithe payments), al gharimin (those in debt but not due to extravagance or illicit habits), and ibnu sabil or musafir (a wayfarer in need of money while travelling).

YB Pehin Dato Ustaz Hj Awg Badaruddin said that the ministry has to follow the procedure in choosing the right person to receive the assistance.

“We must look at the requirements... are they really poor without any form of income, and if they do have jobs, is it (salary) enough?

“Another example, applying for school assistance, we have to look at the other forms of welfare. Is the person receiving any aid from the Community Development Department (JAPEM)? Do they really go to school as in if their attendance is not consistent, then definitely they will not be considered for school aid,” said the minister.

“With the tithe, we hoped the recipients can improve their livelihood. At the same time, we also urged people to find ways on how to earn for living,” he said.

Tithe in the sultanate is under the control of Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB).

It is the highest body of Islamic religion in Brunei and has jurisdiction in the management of the collection and distribution of zakat since 1955.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Kecewa permohonan ditolak


Oleh Hajah Saemah Kepli

KUALA BELAIT, 8 April – Seorang ayah melahirkan rasa kekecewaannya terhadap keputusan penilaian pihak berkuasa tertentu ke atas permohonan anak perempuannya yang tidak layak menerima bantuan Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) selepas disahkan mengalami lumpuh kekal pada bahagian tangannya oleh pihak hospital.

Bapa perempuan itu, Pengiran Ismail bin Pengiran Haji Ali, 63, semasa memberitahu Media Permata, hari ini, mendakwa kecacatan yang dialami oleh anaknya, Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah, 29, adalah akibat kecuaian seorang doktor semasa mengendalikan kelahiran anaknya itu pada tahun 1987.

Menurutnya harapan anaknya untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan turut terjejas akibat keadaan itu dan melihat masa depan anaknya agak samar apa tah lagi tidak mempunyai caruman Tabung Amanah Pekerja (TAP).

Beliau juga menyatakan anaknya sering diberhentikan kerja akibat kecacatan itu kerana tugas yang diberi tidak dapat dilaksanakan dengan baiknya kerana hanya menggunakan sebelah tangan sahaja.

Atas dasar tersebut dan rasa tanggungjawab sebagai seorang ayah, beliau telah menghadapkan permohonan untuk mendapatkan bantuan Tidak Berdaya Anggota melalui pihak JAPEM untuk kali pertamanya dalam tahun 2013, kemudian menghadapkan lagi permohonan kali kedua pada tahun 2015 bagi mendapatkan bantuan Orang Kurang Upaya. Bagaimanapun jawapan bagi kedua-dua permohonan tersebut sangat mendukacitakan apabila permohonan tersebut ditolak atas alasan kecatatan anaknya tidak termasuk dalam akta persyaratan menerima bantuan berkenaan.


Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah, menunjukkan bagaimana dia melakukan
kerja memotong sayur dengan hanya menggunakan tangan kirinya.

Sementara itu, dalam permohonan untuk mendapat bantuan kebajikan yang dikemukakan pada awal tahun ini, ianya juga ditolak dengan alasan bahawa anaknya itu masih muda dan tidak mempunyai tanggungan.

“Memang anak saya dilihat masih muda pada masa ini, tetapi saya memikirkan masa depannya, dalam usianya dari setahun ke setahun, lebih-lebih lagi jika sudah tiba waktunya saya meninggalkan dunia ini, di manakah tempat dia mengadu, sedangkan pada masa ini pun, kekurangan upayanya dipandang ringan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu, jauh sekali ada sokongan untuk menyediakan prasarana pekerjaan yang sesuai dengan keadaannya, atau sokongan-sokongan lain bagi memastikan OKU seperti anak saya ini merasa terjamin, dan dia bukanlah jenis pemohon yang hanya duduk berpeluk tubuh, malahan merupakan seorang yang kuat berdikari, walaupun kemampuannya terbatas, kerana kadang-kadang sering mengalami kesakitan di bahagian tangannya yang lumpuh, akibat kerosakkan dalaman badannya termasuk bahagian urat saraf,” kata Pengiran Ismail lagi.

Menceritakan sejarah punca kecacatan anaknya itu, Pengiran Ismail yang merupakan seorang pesara Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (ABDB) berkata, semasa isterinya hendak melahirkan, beliau meminta supaya dilakukan pembedahan kerana menurut doktor anak kandungannya ketika itu besar dan beratnya 10lb, namun cadangan tersebut ditolak oleh doktor yang mengesahkan isterinya boleh melahirkan secara normal.

Bagaimanapun semasa isterinya melahirkan, beliau telah mengalami kesukaran apabila sebelah daripada bahu anaknya itu tersekat dan doktor yang bertugas pada masa itu menarik tangan kanan anak damitnya itu bagi membantu mengeluarkan sebahagian lagi badannya.

“Setelah dua hingga tiga minggu selepas kelahiran, kami suami isteri menyedari lengan anaknya sebelah kanan tidak bergerak lalu membawa untuk pemeriksaan doktor pakar, dan doktor pada masa itu memberitahu kepada mereka suami isteri bahawa anak kami itu dalam keadaan normal. Namun pada usia enam bulan, tangannya masih tidak bergerak dan doktor masih mengatakan ia normal sehinggalah dia berusia empat tahun, barulah doktor mengesahkan anak saya lumpuh,” katanya.

Mereka kemudiannya mengambil keputusan untuk mendakwa pihak berkenaan namun dinasihatkan untuk melupakan hajat itu dan dijanjikan untuk memberikan rawatan rapi ke atas anak mereka.

Menurut Pengiran Ismail lagi, ekoran itu, pihak kerajaan telah menghantar anaknya ketika berusia empat tahun untuk menerima rawatan di Hospital Nasional Universiti Singapura dan menerima rawatan sebanyak 13 kali di Singapura dalam masa dua tahun, selain menjalani pembedahan sebanyak empat kali semasa berusia empat hingga enam tahun.

Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah, biarpun dalam keadaan kurang upaya, beliau tetap menguatkan semangat untuk terus berjuang dalam kehidupannya. Beliau mula bekerja secara sambilan di sebuah kedai farmasi semasa masih bersekolah menengah pada sebelah malam, kemudian terus bekerja di sana setelah menamatkan pembelajarannya sehingga Tingkatan Lima Peringkat ‘O’ di Anthony Abell College, Seria.

Di samping itu, beliau juga tidak mahu ketinggalan untuk merebut peluang meningkatkan kemahirannya dengan menyertai beberapa latihan kemahiran yang dikendalikan oleh Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan, seperti Kursus Solekan dan Dandan Rambut di Pusat Pembangunan Belia bagi sesi 2012-2013.

Tanpa rasa putus asa, Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah yang juga merupakan seorang ibu kepada anak lelakinya yang berusia lapan tahun, terus berusaha mendapatkan pekerjaan, dan pada masa ini bekerja sebagai pembantu di salah sebuah hotel di sini.

Bagaimanapun baru-baru ini, menurutnya beliau telah diberikan surat peringatan daripada majikannya untuk memperbaiki prestasi perkhidmatannya yang dilihat kurang memuaskan.

Beliau telah ditinggalkan suaminya sejak kira-kira hampir enam tahun tanpa diberikan sebarang nafkah dan anaknya kini di bawah jagaan suaminya itu. Kini Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah bergantung hidup di bawah tanggungan ayahnya.

“Biarpun semasa temuduga saya dijanjikan untuk hanya membuat kerja yang ringan sesuai kemampuan dari segi keupayaan, tetapi setelah bekerja, pihak majikan memberikan tugas yang sama seperti yang dilakukan oleh rakan sekerja yang keupayaan fizikal yang normal, dan semasa jangka masa percubaan, ada juga majikan yang memberikan surat peringatan menyatakan kerja saya kurang memuaskan,” kata Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah.

Beliau juga mendakwa, biarpun dalam keadaan kurang kemampuan dari segi fizikal, tetapi beliau juga menanamkan minat untuk menyertai program-program belia seperti bazar dan sebagainya, tetapi menurutnya beliau kurang mampu untuk membayar sewa.

“Saya kadang-kadang turut terkilan, kenapakah OKU seperti saya tidak diberikan kelonggaran seperti dikurangkan harga sewa petak, atau diberikan bentuk sokongan lain yang berpatutan.”

Sementara itu, semasa ditemui Media Permata, Ketua cawangan JAPEM, Daerah Belait, Dayang Noridah binti Haji Ishak, mengesahkan jabatan mereka telah menerima surat permohonan daripada Pengiran Siti Nur Khatizzah, sebanyak tiga kali dan setelah penyelidikan dilakukan, termasuk menilai daripada laporan yang diberikan oleh pihak perubatan, jabatan mereka telah memberikan sokongan untuk permohonan tersebut dibawa ke pihak atasan.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, pihak Unit Jawatankuasa Menilai Permohonan Bantuan, yang melibatkan sebanyak enam buah kementerian yang berbeza, telah membuat keputusan bahawa pemohon berkenaan adalah tidak layak bagi persyaratan akta Orang Kurang Upaya bagi menerima bantuan pencen tidak berdaya anggota, begitu juga ke atas permohonan bantuan kebajikan bulanan yang dihadapkan pada tahun lepas, berdasarkan pemohon berkenaan masih muda dan tiada mempunyai tanggungan.


Sumber - Media Permata