City Status For Bandar Seri Begawan In 2010
By Khairunnisa Ibrahim

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Board is seeking to raise the national capital to a city status by the year 2010 under the board's Strategic Action Plan.

This objective was highlighted in a special publication by the board to mark the 100th anniversary of town development on land, which also details the requirements to elevate the status of Bandar Seri Begawan.

These involve the review and implementation of the BSB Master Plan, which has been developed and revised by the Town and Country Planning, and the establishment of a city hall. In addition, the organisational structure of the municipal board is necessary, as is a review of national acts and regulations.

According to the commemorative issue, the move from capital to city rank will only be complete if there is widespread use of ICT within the defined area, a sufficient and workable budget and skilful and high-calibre cooperation, among other things. If these are met, then the capital can be declared a city.

The board's intention to raise the profile and status of BSB was already made known in 2004. On December 12, according to an Asian Analysis piece by the Asean Focus Group, the then chairman of BSB Municipal Board, Haji Saji Mudin, announced that the national capital of Bandar Seri Begawan was seeking to gain city status by 2010.

Previously called Bandar Brunei or Brunei Town, as it was known by Western travellers such as Antonio Pigafetta, Brunei's capital was formerly located over water in what is now known as Kampong Ayer.

When Brunei came under British administration, the first British Resident to the sultanate, MHS McArthur was responsible for relocating the administrative government to land due to various political, economic, social and health factors.

The Municipal Board publication said the residents, had encountered many difficulties in the early days of the move to land, such as shortage of administrative manpower, finances, building materials and skilled labourers.

It was during the late Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien III's reign that the most rapid and dynamic development took place, earning him the honorific title Architect of Modem Brunei'.

In honour of the late ruler, who is the father of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Bandar Town was renamed as Bandar Seri Begawan in October 4, 1970.

Bandar Seri Begawan had previously gained international recognition as among one of the best towns in the Asia Pacific region.

It had been ranked as the sixth and seventh best capital in the region in 1999 and 2000, and had also won the award for the second cleanest town in Asia in 1999. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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