Posting mengikut label

Saturday, September 19, 2015

BELASUNGKAWA


19 September 2015, JALAN KEBANGSAAN : Dukacita dimaklumkan Pak Haji Zaini bin Haji Ahmad, salah seorang Pemimpin PRB, telah kembali ke Rahmatullah pada pagi tadi di rumah kediaman beliau di alamat No.59 Spg 336-52 Jalan Kebangsaan.




Beliau antara pimpinan PRB yang paling aktif dalam perjuangan kemerdekaan, dan pada 1957 turut bersama A.M Azahari dan Yasin Affandy mewakili PRB di London dalam perundingan dengan Colonial Office berhubung penggubalan Perlembagaan Brunei.

Selepas peristiwa pemberontakan 8 Disember 1962, beliau antara ahli PRB yang turut menjadi mangsa tahanan selama lebih sepuluh tahun.

Pada bulan Julai dan November 1975 beliau bersama A.M Azahari dan Yasin Affandy sekali lagi diberi kepercayaan di dalam rombongan PRB ke United Nations (PBB) untuk mengemukakan petisyen bagi menuntut Kemerdekaan Brunei. Akhirnya, sebuah Resolusi telah diterima oleh PBB mengenai tuntutan tersebut yang dikenali sebagai Resolusi PBB 3424 (1975).




Semoga Allah SWT mencucuri rahmat ke atas roh Allahyarham dan moga Allahyarham ditempatkan bersama orang-orang yang soleh. Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.


BELASUNGKAWA


17 September 2015, LIMBARUH HIJAU : Bendera 'Sang Setia' hari ini dikibar separuh tiang bagi menghormati Naib Presiden Parti Pembangunan Bangsa Daerah Tutong, Allahyarham Saudara Haji Ismail bin Ibrahim yang kembali ke Rahmatullah pada pagi tadi.




Allahyarham menghembuskan nafas terakhir di Hospital Pg Muda Mahkota Pg Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, Daerah Tutong.

Jenazah Allahyarham selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Orang-Orang Islam Telisai.

Allahyarham Haji Ismail bin Ibrahim merupakan salah seorang Ahli NDP yang banyak berjasa dan menyumbang kepada pergerakan NDP khususnya di Daerah Tutong.

Semoga Allahyarham ditempatkan Allah SWT bersama para syuhada. Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Tiba masanya kaji isu-isu penuaan


BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 8 Sept – Sudah tiba masanya Brunei Darussalam mempunyai satu penyelidikan dan analisis mengenai pelbagai dimensi isu-isu penuaan yang dianggap penting untuk menyokong dasar-dasar berasaskan bukti dan perundangan untuk melindungi dan mempromosikan hak asasi warga tua.

Menurut laporan Jabatan Pembangunan Masyarakat (JAPEM), Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan, seramai 28,706 orang tua menerima elaun bulanan pencen tua setakat Ogos 2015.

Sementara itu, pada 2014, penduduk Brunei mencecah 422,675 dengan 4 peratus berusia 65 ke atas, dan kadar jangka hayat ialah 76.6 bagi lelaki dan 79.8 bagi wanita.

Naib Presiden 1 Majlis Kesejahteraan Masyarakat (MKM) yang juga selaku penjawat kini Setiausaha Majlis Serantau bagi Kebajikan Sosial di Rantau Tenggara Asia dan Pasifik (ICSW SEAP), Dayang Nur Judy binti Abdullah dipetik sebagai berkata sedemikian dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh MKM, di sini, hari ini, selepas menghadiri Forum ASEAN GO-NGO mengenai Kebajikan Sosial dan Pembangunan ke-10, yang berlangsung di Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, kelmarin.

Beliau berkata perlindungan undang-undang bagi warga tua daripada sebarang bentuk pengabaian dan penganiayaan fizikal, kewangan dan emosi telah diketengahkan dalam forum berkenaan.

Katanya, Klinik Penasihat dan Nasihat Perundangan MKM telah menyediakan akses kepada keadilan bagi warga emas di negara ini dan sukarelawan MKM telah mengendalikan kes-kes warga emas berkaitan dengan perbalahan harta serta menyediakan nasihat kebajikan mengenai keperluan perumahan dan pentadbiran teratur pencen tua oleh anggota keluarga.

Menurut kenyataan MKM, forum di antara agensi-agensi kerajaan (GO) dan bukan kerajaan (NGO) itu membincangkan tema Memperkasa Warga Tua di ASEAN, yang dipengerusikan bersama oleh ICSW SEAP dengan Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Komuniti Malaysia. Sementara itu, MKM merupakan ahli aktif ICSW dan menghadiri forum berkenaan menerusi tajaan ICSW.

Forum berkenaan memberikan peluang bagi delegasi-delegasi agensi kerajaan dan bukan kerajaan untuk bertukar-tukar pandangan mengenai isu-isu yang berkaitan dengan memperkasa warga emas di negara-negara anggota ASEAN termasuk pekerjaan/pengambilan semula bekerja yang fleksibel, pembelajaran sepanjang hayat, keselamatan pendapatan, pencen sosial, penjagaan kesihatan, perkhidmatan penjagaan kesihatan dan program-program kebajikan sosial lain bagi warga tua.


Sumber - Media Permata

ASEAN ministers tackle food security


Sixteen ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will visit the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on September 12 to strengthen agricultural cooperation and ensure food security across the region.

The visit is part of the 37th meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) hosted by the Philippines this year.

“It is high time for ASEAN member countries, which are in the largest rice-growing regions of the world to support the scientific research necessary for the sustainability of their rice sectors,” said Bruce Tolentino, deputy director general for communication and partnerships of IRRI.

Tolentino said IRRI is fulfilling its crucial role in providing the scientific foundation, technical support, and capacity-building to each of the ASEAN member-countries “in pursuing their own national rice and food security programs.”

Each ASEAN member-nation has its own strategy and approach in meeting targets in this area.

Some Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand, export rice, while the Philippines and Indonesia, among others, are rice importers.

Myanmar is on its way to regaining its agricultural competitiveness. In the 1950s, Myanmar led the ASEAN countries in rice exports.

Brunei and Singapore, on the other hand, do import rice, and only the best quality rice. Moreover, Singapore is making investments to become the ASEAN cen¬ter for biotechnology.

“So, each of these countries has differing approaches to achieving their food security goals. But all of these countries are bound together because there is a common ASEAN-wide framework for food security,” Tolentino explained.

That framework, according to him, which also includes a strategic action plan on food security, does not simply focus on strengthening the national capacity of each of the ASEAN member countries to produce any agricultural commodity, but also facilitation of trade.

The strategic action plan was conceptualized as part of the ASEAN member states’ need for a long-term agricultural development plan that focuses on sustainable food production and trade, especially in the context of problems brought about by the food crisis in 2007 to 2008.

The ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework, along with the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in the ASEAN Region, enables sharing of any agricultural commodity.

A close inspection of various countries reveals variation in natural resources for rice production. This is also the case for other crops and agricultural commodities.

“In effect, there will be a country agenda and there will be a regional agenda, tied together by trade. ASEAN countries could look at exporting high-quality rice to, say, Europe, for example. And Africa is a major growth area because of its rising demand for rice. All these topics, including IRRI’s support to the Philippine Department of Agriculture’s Food Staples Sufficiency Program will be part of the discussions during the ASEAN event next week,” he noted.

Aside from the 37th AMAF, the Philippines is also hosting the 15th AMAF Plus Three Meetings with China, Japan, and South Korea this year.


Sumber - The Manila Times Online

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Top surveyor found guilty of all 20 corruption charges


Syazwan Sadikin
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


BRUNEI’S surveyor-general and a contractor have been found guilty of all corruption charges at the Magistrates’ Court yesterday in a trial that lasted more than three years.

Hj Mohammed Jamil Hj Mohammed Ali was found guilty of four counts of corruptly accepting $7,155.31 in bribes, to vary tender specifications for a government spatial mapping project.

The surveyor-general had accepted six return plane tickets, bill payments for car servicing, mobile phone chargers and broadband Internet from co-accused Puah Heng Yew of Selective Powertech Consulting.

Hj Mohammed Jamil was also found guilty of all 16 charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which forbids public servants from obtaining “valuable things” in the line of duty. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and a fine.

Intermediate Court Judge Hj Abdullah Soefri POKSM DSP Hj Abidin also found Puah guilty of bribing the surveyor-general as an inducement or reward to vary tender specifications for a e-government project.

The court further found Puah guilty of abetting the commission of offences that were committed by the surveyor-general.

The case revolved around a $9.5 million e-government project to create a national spatial data infrastructure, which was awarded to Puah’s Selective Powertech Consulting in 2007.

However, it was revealed during the trial that the implementation of the project experienced problems such as delays in delivering hardware and disagreements between project members and the surveyor-general, while the Ministry of Development had been unaware of the changes made by Hj Mohammed Jamil.

The project was deemed “unsalvageable” after the contractor failed to meet its one-year completion date even after the firm was given an extension twice when the project fell behind schedule.

During the trial, Deputy Public Prosecutor Aldila Hj Mohd Salleh had called 15 prosecution witnesses including the former Deputy Permanent Secretary of Development Eddie Dato Paduka Hj Sunny and Deputy Auditor-general Pg Siti Norbaya Pg Shaminan.

Following the verdict yesterday, the court extended both defendants’ $10,000 bail and one local surety pending their mitigation on Saturday, September 13.

Defence counsel Ahmad Basuni Hj Abbas will be giving the mitigation on behalf of Hj Mohammed Jamil, while defence lawyer Mohd Shazale Salleh is representing Puah.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Usah alpa dengan kedudukan


Oleh Abdul Rahim Haji Ismail


BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 7 Sept – Sikap mementingkan kedudukan dan anggapan bahawa sebagai pegawai kerajaan mereka mempunyai status berbeza daripada orang ramai, membuatkan sebahagian mereka hilang punca atau lupa sebab mengapa mereka sebenarnya wujud dan ‘makan gaji’ dengan kerajaan serta alpa akan kewajipan sebenar terhadap orang ramai.

Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Wahab bin Juned berkata, fahaman perkhidmatan awam itu sebahagian daripada kerajaan dan berada di strata yang tinggi dan tidak berasingan dengan pihak bukan kerajaan, adalah fahaman yang keliru serta tidak menguntungkan.

Ketika mengimbas kembali kefahaman terhadap makan gaji dalam perkhidmatan awam, beliau berkata, gaji yang diterima perlu dinilai mengikut nilai perkhidmatan di pasaran.

Ini kerana produktiviti terlalu lemah berbanding dengan kadar gaji yang tinggi, keadaan yang tidak seimbang akan mewujudkan kedudukan yang tidak berdaya tahan.

“Justeru perkhidmatan awam perlu kompetitif, bersaing dan mempunyai daya saing,” katanya semasa berucap pada Majlis Penutup Program Pembangunan Eksekutif Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan ke-22 serta Program Pembangunan Eksekutif bagi Pegawai Kerajaan Peringkat Pertengahan ke-20 dan ke-21, hari ini.

Beliau turut menekankan bahawa pihak pengurusan dalam perkhidmatan awam perlu mencapai keberkesanan yang lebih tinggi untuk mengimbangi nisbah tenaga manusia yang tinggi berbanding keperluan, kerana senario itu boleh menyebabkan kedudukan yang kurang efisien.

Dengan tenaga manusia yang terlalu ramai, sewajarnya pencapaian Tekad Pemedulian Orang Ramai (TPOR) berlipat ganda keberkesanannya dan impak ke atas nilai TPOR akan lebih positif dengan jaminan perkhidmatan akan terus berubah dari satu tingkat persada kepada tingkat persada yang lebih tinggi lagi.

Menurut Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Wahab, jumlah tenaga manusia dalam perkhidmatan awam adalah satu aspek penting yang perlu dibawa ke tahap optimum.

“Semakin lama negara kita membangun, tanggungjawab dan komitmen kerajaan kian bertambah dan dalam keadaan ini peluang perlu kita ambil untuk menggunakan tenaga manusia yang sedia ada secara optimum,” ujarnya.

Seramai 73 peserta program berkenaan menerima sijil mereka hari ini.

Program Pembangunan Eksekutif bagi Pegawai Kerajaan yang dianjurkan oleh Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kapasiti kepimpinan dan kewibawaan pegawai kanan kerajaan.


Sumber - Media Permata

US cautions against using force in territorial dispute


Rabiatul Kamit
BRUNEI-MUARA


THE United States yesterday cautioned claimants in the South China Sea dispute against using strong-arm tactics as territorial tensions threaten to undermine maritime security in the region.

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Vincent R Stewart said the US opposes the use of threat or force or coercion by any claimant to advance their own claims.

“Maritime security is an issue particularly relevant to the Asia-Pacific region and one that requires an international solution,” he said during the opening of the Eighth Asia-Pacific Intelligence Chiefs Conference here.

Warning claimants to steer away from strong-arm tactics, he asserted the US has “a national interest in freedom of navigation, maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea”.

Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and China have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in natural resources.

The director also called on Asia-Pacific intelligence chiefs to seek a collective approach to neutralise the threat of “homegrown radicalisation to return of foreign fighters from Jihadi hotspots”.

“Terrorism threatens us all. When the foreign fighters who went to Syria return home, and they will, there’s potential for re-energising terrorist organisations leading to increased violence in Southeast Asia,” he said.

Lieutenant General Stewart urged them to explore ways to remove or mitigate the conditions that feed radicalism as well as to counter such “violent and extreme ideology”.

“Underlying all of these efforts is the need to collaborate to find innovative approaches for our intelligence practices and personnel. At the Defense Intelligence Agency, we are focused on building the analysts of the future to deal with a myriad of threats and challenges that we all face,” he said.

He noted they face threats from nation states as well as organisations that “look and act like nation states, but are destructive to the established order”.

“We face complex threats in both kinetic, nuclear arms states and non-kinetic cyberspace challenges. We face threats in a dynamic world in which information moves faster than most of us are capable of understanding what is going on in the world,” he added.

To help decision-makers make critical decisions, the director said they must focus on building their core skills, knowledge and leadership.

He said intelligence professionalisation is fundamental in ensuring organisations can effectively do their jobs to protect national and regional security, pointing out diversity in sharing lessons “offers opportunities to develop new ideas and compliment military capabilities”.

Meanwhile, Brunei’s intelligence director Captain Abdul Rahman Bakar said the scope of challenges is “getting bigger and wider, compounded by a variety of unknowns”.

He believed it is no longer sufficient to merely engage with immediate neighbours or regional grouping alone as the corresponding expectations and demands on intelligence have been growing.

“No matter how good or valuable any kind of information and its accompanying analysis may be, intelligence is deemed a failure and ineffective if it is not timely,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of intelligence networks, Captain Abdul Rahman noted the conference has paved the way for the building of “an informal yet efficient” information-sharing network made available to Asia-Pacific intelligence chiefs.

He said such linkages are necessary in providing a more accurate and timely insight into regional as well as global security to aid decision-makers in formulating strategies to address risks and threats.

The three-day conference opened at The Empire Hotel and Country Club yesterday, bringing together military intelligence chiefs from 24 countries. It is the first time Brunei is co-hosting the conference with the US.


Sumber - The Brunei Times

Indonesia anticipates risk of dispute in South China Sea


Indonesia will strengthen its weaponry systems on Natuna Island in order to anticipate future threats from the South China Sea dispute.

Natuna, located 550 kilometers east of Batam Island, borders Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. The island is on the border of Indonesia that is nearest to the South China Sea.

"We will equip Natuna with a port and extend its military air base runway. The runway should be enough to accommodate four jet fighters," Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told journalists.

He added that more jet fighters would be stationed at the Ranai military air base in Natuna.

The defence minister has made a list of weapons systems needed for borders, saying having proper weapons systems along the borders was necessary to prevent possible threats to Indonesia's territory.

"We are not in a war situation, but the South China Sea is very close to us. We have to be prepared. Our weaponry systems are good, but we need to add more [weapons], so that we don't need to worry all the time," he said.

The South China Sea is a semi-enclosed sea bordering China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Due to its proximity to so many nations, complicated, often sensitive questions over jurisdiction are common. In recent years, a series of disputes over islands have rocked relations between China and other countries.

Previously, Indonesia had upgraded a naval base (Lanal) in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, to become the Main Naval Base (Lantamal), also to anticipate similar risks of disputes erupting in the sea.

"[We should] maintain security and stability in the South China Sea, especially with the recently increasing intensity of threats," Navy chief of staff Adm. Ade Supandi said last week.

Besides allocating more weapons systems to Natuna, the Defence Ministry is starting to inspect the preparedness of weapons systems in all battalions of the Navy, Army and Air Force. The inspection was directly ordered by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to discover the condition of the weapons systems.

"We should know from the soldiers which weapons should be replaced or repaired," Minister Ryamizard said after conducting inspections in three military units: the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), Cavalry Battalion Yonkav 1/1 Kostrad and Infantry Batallion Yudha Jaya in Jakarta.

Ryamizard said that he had also reported the audit of the weaponry systems to President Jokowi and so far the response was quite good.

"The most important thing is to maintain the weapons systems [that we have bought]. Our weapons are brand new and the maintenance should be done seriously," he said.

Indonesia is now working to strengthen its minimum essential force (MEF). It was reported that Indonesia met 38 per cent of the MEF in 2014 and aimed to reach 100 per cent by 2019. The country has allocated Rp 100 trillion (US$7.07 billion or S$110 billion) to meet the MEF.

After a long discussion, including a comparison of five different types of jet fighters, the ministry also decided to procure Russian-made Sukhoi SU-35s to replace the retiring F-5 Tiger jet fighters.

The Sukhoi purchase will be carried out in stages depending on the government's financial capacity.

"We wanted to buy one squadron, but we are aware of the current [financial] situation so maybe [we will buy] around eight [units]. The jets will be all brand new and have complete weapons," Ryamizard said.

The current price of a Sukhoi Su-35 is estimated to be US$65 million (S$93 million).

It was reported that before being selected, the Sukhoi SU-35 had to compete against four other types; the American-made F-16 Block 60, the Swedish-made JAS-39 Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon, a collaboration between Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and the French-made Rafale jet fighter.

Ryamizard said that besides purchasing the Sukhoi Su-35s, Indonesia also planned to procure Boeing aircraft and Chinook helicopters from the US.


Sumber - AsiaOne

Titah Kebawah DYMM sempena sambutan Hari Belia Kebangsaan 2015




Assalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Alhamdulillah Rabbil 'Alameen, Wabihiee Nasta'eenu 'Alaa Umuuriddunya Wadden, Wassalaatu' Wassalaamu 'Ala Asyarafil Mursaleen,Sayyidina Muhammaddin, Wa'alaa Aalihee Wasahbihee Ajma'een, Waba'du.

Alhamdulillah, beta bersyukur ke hadrat Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala kerana dapat berkumpul untuk menyambut Hari Belia Kebangsaan Ke-10 Tahun 2015 yang bertema : 'Belia Berwawasan Menjana Ekonomi'.

Beta terlebih dahulu mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Hari Belia kepada semua para belia di negara ini.

Beta amat teruja dengan bertambahnya bilangan profesional, usahawan, karyawan dan tenaga mahir di kalangan para belia kita.

Kita juga berbangga dapat menyaksikan belia-belia itu sudah mula menceburkan diri di bidang-bidang yang kurang diminati, seperti bidang bertanam padi dan membuat kerja-kerja lasak seperti memandu kenderaan berat dan scaffolding.

Demikian juga, golongan belia telah mula terlibat menerokai bidang-bidang baru, seperti bidang industri kreatif, dan juga tidak ketinggalan untuk menceburi pasaran luar negara.

Kaum belia juga didapati aktif melakukan kerja-kerja amal atau sukarela, dan ini, bukan sahaja dilakukan di dalam negara malahan juga di luar negara. Semua itu, amatlah membanggakan kita.

Kaum belia memang digalakkan untuk melakukan apa jua perkara yang bermanfaat, terutama untuk meneroka bidang-bidang baru atau sanggup membuat kerja-kerja lasak, seperti turun ke sawah di bawah panas matahari dan lain-lain. Ini semua sangatlah berguna kepada belia, selaku ejen masyarakat.

Menyebut belia ejen masyarakat, adalah penting bagi mereka itu, untuk memiliki jati diri dan sikap yang mantap.

Kerana tanpa jati diri dan sikap, seorang belia itu tidak akan dipandang hebat.

Maksud beta dengan jati diri di sini, ialah yang original, yang asli, yang bukan disalin atau ditiru daripada orang lain, lebih-lebih lagi kalau yang ditiru itu bertentangan dengan budaya dan adab sopan kita yang baik.

Salah satu contoh budaya dan jati diri yang baik orang-orang Brunei, ialah suka memakai songkok. Sehingga dalam banyak keadaan, mereka itu dapat dilihat memakainya terutama sekali ketika sembahyang dan membaca Al-Qur'an.

Ia sangat sopan dan cantik dipandang mata, dan bahkan, ia juga menjanjikan pahala kepada kita. Kerana bukankah menutup kepala itu salah satu dari sunnah Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam?

Tetapi agak malang, di era mutakhir ini, orang sembahyang dan membaca Al-Qur'an pun sudah ada yang tidak memakai songkok. Ini bukan budaya dan jati diri kita, tetapi satu budaya baru yang didapat daripada luar, termasuk yang ditiru dari media.

Beta ingin berpesan, kalau hendak meniru pun, biarlah yang baik, bukan meniru perkara yang tidak baik, apatah lagi yang merugikan.

Ini adalah di antara cabaran yang sedang menunggu para belia kita, di mana mereka itu sangat penting untuk mengelakkan diri daripada terjebak atau terperangkap oleh aliran-aliran budaya baru yang tidak menentu.

Sebaliknya para belia, dikehendaki supaya proaktif dalam memupuk dan memelihara budaya warisan, bukannya membiarkan budaya itu hakis atau mati.

Misalnya budaya dan seni mempertahankan diri, yang kita warisi semenjak sekian lama itu, adakah kita sudah berpuas hati dengannya, ataupun kita sedang cemas kerana mendapatinya sedang diancam oleh perubahan atau pembaharuan yang menjejaskannya?

Kita bukanlah anti perubahan atau pembaharuan itu, tetapi biarlah perubahan atau pembaharuan tersebut jangan sampai mengurangkan mutu dan sekali gus melunturkan ketulinan warisan. Kita sepatutnya mempertahankan warisan dan memberinya nafas yang baru, bukan menyebabkan ia layu dan lumpuh. Inilah tugas para belia bangsa.

Sekian Wabillahit Taufeq Walhidayah, Wassalamu 'Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.


Wednesday, September 2, 2015