Brunei urged to relax tour bus permit rule

MIRI - The Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry here has appealed to the Brunei government to remove or relax a restriction which prevents the free flow of tour buses from Sarawak into and across Brunei, The Star reported. Senior officials from the chamber forwarded the appeal to the Brunei authorities through the Kuala Belait District Officer during a recent dialogue.

"The present regulation imposed by Brunei requires any tour bus from Sarawak that wants to enter Brunei to apply for a permit before it can cross the Brunei checkpoint," said chamber president Sim Hock Guan.

He said securing a permit from the Brunei authorities could take up to two weeks and the application was considered on a case-by-case basis.

"Even if a permit is granted, it is valid for only one entry.

"In order for the tourism potential in Sarawak and Brunei to develop fast for mutual benefit, this restriction should be relaxed or removed altogether," he said.

Sim said the chamber had also notified the Sarawak government about the appeal.

He said the chamber proposed that if the Brunei government could not remove the restriction totally, then the validity of the entry permit should be extended to at least three or six months instead of just one trip.

He stressed that it was a great burden for tour bus companies to keep applying for new permits every time its coaches want to enter Brunei or cross the country to get to Limbang and Sabah.

Sim said a free flow of tour buses from Sarawak to Brunei to Sabah would greatly enhance the development of tourism for the whole of northern Borneo.

The chamber has also appealed to the Brunei government to open a consulate in Miri as soon as possible to facilitate speedy issuance of visas to tourists there who wanted to enter Brunei.

Sim said many foreigners wanting to visit Brunei from here faced problems obtaining visas because they had to apply to the Brunei consulate in Kuching or Kota Kinabalu.

"This takes up time and most tourists do not have the luxury," he said.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin