Stirring Discontent Shakes Brunei's Second Export Earner
By Ignatius Stephen

Bandar Seri Begawan – The tremor that shook Brunei’s second largest export earner this week is bound to send strong negative signals to potential overseas investors and the authorities have been urged to take regulatory measures to prevent a reoccurrence.

Brunei’s garment industry employs an estimated 20,000 people, almost all from overseas.

There are about 15 factories located in various parts of the country but majority are around the capital.

The industry is Brunei’s second largest export earner next to oil and gas and brings in more than $100 million a year. Most of the manufactured items go to US and Europe.

Brunei is included in the special gesture US extends to developing countries to boost their export earnings. Overseas investors have been establishing garment-manufacturing centers for some years to use up the allotted US export quota.

While Brunei’s garment manufacturing industry have been trouble free recently serious complaints have been heard from various factory workers of ill treatment and poor pay.

An investigation by the Weekend showed that workers paid exorbitant sums as fees to Bangladeshi agents.

Further inquiries revealed that a good portion of these large payments trickled down to the local agents in Brunei who had contacts with the garment industry to supply labour.

They in turn shared part of the huge commissions paid with some officials in the garment industry in charge of recruiting.

“That is the big tragedy. The impoverished job seekers who sold their land and houses and borrowed money, were the victims of greed and corruption,” said an embassy official.  Their monthly salary is cut to pay the commissions and at the end of the month they get hardly anything. That is the crux of the problem,” an official said.

Meanwhile Seri Pertamas Garment Manufacturer Sdn Bhd, where workers went on a rampage said that the strike by the workers was the culmination of the commission collected by the labour agent in Bangladesh.

Three hundred disgruntled Bangladeshi workers vented their anger on the management when they broke pots and smashed windows and the riot police had to be called to put down the disturbance.

The company statement said that there are 1200 workers in the factory and half are of other nationalities than Bangladeshi. There are the workers from Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia.

They are all provided with the same quality of food and the Bangladeshis are given their own cooks and complaints about insect-infested rice could be the result of the cooks’ negligence, the company said.

Garment factories in Brunei comply with buyers’ compliance, which includes the conditions on board and lodging and the welfare of the workers, the statement added.

“All these have been observed satisfactorily, without which we will lose our orders,” the company statement said.

“We have complied with the wishes of the Bangladeshi Ambassador especially on the lodging condition, but the action of the workers themselves to return and cram themselves into a room is of their own choice,” the statement said.

Hajah Zainon Dato Hj Alias is a minor shareholder and the Executive Director of the company and Mr Tung Chiew Onn is the General Manager, the statement added.

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