Brunei Gripped By Go-Slow Attitude
By Ignatius Stephen

Bandar Seri Begawan - "It is mostly fear, of course. And also, as a result, red tape, mountains of it, prevails. Add to that, a good measure of the old go-slow spirit is much in evidence. It is that sort of outlook that compounds it all.

"Money is not the problem. It is the mindset that is doing the damage."

The man was trying to explain why this disastrous slump in business in Brunei and the general economic malaise are gripping the country, which has become a persistent phenomenon. It is, sadly, a depressing situation generally, despite all that money from the oil price.

"Go-slow spirit?" The young woman asked who had been listening to him intently for some time. "Are they on strike or something?"

The man was much older. He studied her for a moment. She was probably just out of college overseas and was enthusiastic about everything about her country she missed so much all these years.

"Oh, no. No one is on strike," he replied. "What I mean is sloth. In other words, just plain lazy, at least a lot of them. And they have got their priorities all wrong."

The young woman's curiosity was greatly aroused.

"What do you mean?" she inquired in surprise.

The man ordered his second coffee. This was going to take some time. The young thing had really started up something. And why not? Besides, it was a subject close to his heart.

"I mean fear and anxiety are the overriding factors afflicting many a civil servant. They fear that they would make a mistake along the way if they tried to do something worthwhile. Something extraordinary.

"And if that happens and something goes wrong, their job will be on the line. They may get demoted or much worse. And of course there is the jealousy factor. Someone will try his best soon to pull him down because he dared.

"So it is safer to do nothing. You get your salary and your pension. So you are OK. But should you put your foot wrong, for sure, everything will disappear.

"Therefore, it appears, in their minds, a sort of competition that exists among them to do the least and get away with it, if you can," he added.

The girl looked at him in disbelief. "Oh, I had never looked at it that way. Could that be true?"

The man was not surprised. Not many people had given it much of a thought.

"Yes, unfortunately, that is a fact." And he waited for a response.

He did not have to wait long, for the young lady eagerly asked: "Please explain."

The man took another sip. "Look at the yearly budget allocation, for example. More often than not there is a lot of money left unspent at the end of the financial year.

"Why? Because, mainly of sheer laziness. Fear of work, fear of making a mistake if they embark on a large project. So why look for trouble? You only have probably one year or two to retire to enjoy the pension. So play safe. Do nothing. The problem will go away. Next year it is someone else's headache."

By this time the man was getting a little worked up. He had been worrying about Brunei's current state of things for some time. He was also concerned about the long-term effect on the country. This kind of attitude seemed permeating the bureaucracy increasingly.

"The situation is made worse because when he returns the unspent money he gets a pat on the back. They'll say this man has saved money for the country, But, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

"In many progressive countries he would have to answer some very awkward questions. Why the budget was left unspent? The probe will be deep and arduous. He would face the music. But not in Brunei.

"But here it seems that there is very little accountability, so little urgency. The resultant damage to the economy and country is turning out to be disastrous. We have such a situation here unfortunately and it is getting worse," the man claimed.

"We have the money but we have no way of knowing, many a time, how to spend it effectively and promptly to benefit the people and the country," he added. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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