Think Global And Go For It, Bruneians Urged
By Hadi DP Mahmud

Bandar Seri Begawan - Bruneians need to start thinking globally and not work with geographical constraints", a Mideast business expert said on Wednesday.

"You do not need to say, `I work with a geographical constraint'. In today's world its unnecessary," said Sami Sindi, the founding partner of Crescent Point and founder of Harvard Law School's Centre for Islamic Studies.

Speaking to The Brunei Times on the sidelines of an Asia Inc Forum open dialogue session on "Reducing dependence on oil wealth: What the Gulf Cooperation Council, (GCC) economies are doing" at the Sheraton Utama Hotel in the capital, he said it would be beneficial for Brunei to have a "dynamic" portion of the population that works in multinational corporations (MNCs) and generate revenue for the sultanate.

"Position that with a very strong. sovereign wealth fund (SWF) which could actually acquire stakes from these MNCs," he said, "and by having your human resources working there, you're effectively working for Brunei in many ways. And you're increasing returns back into the country."

He added: "Singapore is sustainable not only because it has natural resources, but also because they have a highly developed human resource. Singaporeans work around the world. They work in MNCs. Another example is the United States. They're everywhere," said Sindi, who left for New York after growing up in Saudi Arabia and later building his businesses in Asia and the US, Developing Brunei's human resource and education is key for the country to start producing working professionals who can operate anywhere in the world, he asserted.

And this is what you want to build. You want to try and build a generation that is capable of operating on a global level. Brunei can be the base of the operations, provided you don't have an isolationist and nationalistic view," he said during the discussion with Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, the acting chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) as well as the chairman of Asia Inc Forum.

"You shouldn't be scared of brain drain. Bruneians will always want to come back. We should be more confident of our country and our people than to be worried about brain drain. I may work in Asia and the US, but my home will always be my country. I'll always come back for my family there," he said.

"Imagine a whole generation of Bruneians building and developing on a global scale. The minute they see an opportunity they will go for it." -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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