Borneo Bulletin Opinions

Borneo Bulletin Opinion

Positive winds of liberalism

Brunei for very good reasons became the cynosure of the world eyes once again last week following the surprise Cabinet reshuffle.

Plaudits and praise were the order of the day for His Majesty's decision to induct new faces with high merits to the cabinet.

While the people in general responded positively to the changes, with great expectations on their minds, the world media, as your newspaper too reported, made very positive reports on the winds of liberalism blowing across the Sultanate.

As a Bruneian I am proud to share these sentiments. We can certainly be hopeful of a better tomorrow especially with the current leadership.

What the reshuffle has done is to enhance our hopes that the nation is moving in the right direction.

The decision by our Ruler that the new ministers will be in office for five years also gives credence to the transparency and accountability required of the new Cabinet.

This is most significant.

The recognition of the importance of the private sector and its relevance to good governance by including a couple of its leading stars to the cabinet is most praiseworthy and appropriate.

As a casual observer on political developments in the country, one could also see the days preceding to the reshuffle especially the liberal changes in the constitution and the establishment of the legislative council as a bold step in taking this nation to a more liberal arena.

The greater visionary aspects of our Ruler are most apparent. And we must be thankful.

- An Observer, Bandar Seri Begawan

Respect for the law is most paramount

Most Australians are pleased that the Indonesian government is pursuing drug dealers and traffickers. The Australian Government is also active in chasing these people who cause so much pain and suffering.

Many of us are embarrassed at the poor behaviour of some Australians and Australian journalists during the trial of Ms. Corby.

Of course we do not want to see any person suffering in Court or in jail but we must respect the Indonesian legal system.

It appears to me that the Judges have acted with great calmness considering the pressure piled upon them.

We are sorry that an Australian has been found guilty of drug possession. We are always sorry to see a fellow countryman in distress.

However, I firmly believe that the law of Indonesia must be observed and respect given to the Judges and judicial system.

I am writing this letter to you so that you know the feelings of many of us.

- Brian Harvey,
- Tasmania, Australia

Help fix the phone

I have been having problems with my home phones since last week. I've made several complaints to the Telekom and they did look into the matter by calling us back to test if the phones were okay or not.

The problem is (I don't know how many times I have explained to them) the telephone problems lie at the connector (could be water seeping in during heavy rainfall and lightning last week) at our house, not their side. All I got was them testing by calling us early in the morning and saying "Your phone okay, no problem". After I clearly explained the situation to them, "Okay, I come over and check". That was three days ago and now my phone line is dead and guess what, I'm restricted to calling 111.

Wouldn't it be much easier if there is a place to make our complaints? First jot down our problem, second if it can't be fixed at the Telekom, make an appointment with the resident and inform when and what time the technician will drop by and third serve the customers with politeness.

Hopefully the authorities who are in charge could look into this matter seriously. I pay the bill monthly to send fax, to communicate with clear sound not for such low-quality/bad service.

- Dead Phone

Squabble over a bottle

I'm writing here to express my point of view on what happened to me earlier on. This happened at a department store in Kuala Belait. I was with my mum browsing through the Barbie dolls' merchandises when I accidentally bumped against one of the plastic bottles which eventually fell to the floor.

There were two female employees present, but the nearest to me was a foreign one. The bottle landed right under her feet. She saw it and to my dismay, just ignored it and didn't bother to pick it up.

I picked up the bottle myself.

When we were leaving, she came chasing after us, saying that we have to pay for the bottle as it was cracked. I didn't mind paying a mere $7.90 but why didn't she approach us in the first place?

She said, she didn't see the bottle fall down at her feet. If she didn't, then how would she know that it was me who dropped the bottle?

What I cannot tolerate is her attitude. Please will the relevant authorities train your employees and teach them the right way to treat customers.

- Offended

Teach young to be more responsible

Referring to the article on May 21, 2005 titled 'Three little siblings earn their living' is a very good example of a true Brunei family. These children are taught that money doesn't grow on trees at a young age and made to realise one has to work hard to earn an honest living.

Sadly there are also families who use children to do some unlawful things like stealing or picking pockets as an easy way out. This is so unethical and sinful. I know this happens because I was a victim of such a theft.

What irritates me is that the culprit dared to use my ATM cards and hand phone even though they know there are surveillance cameras and a record of number dialed by them can be easily traced!

No doubt illegal activities like house burglary and thefts are on the rise in Brunei. I really hope the police will investigate and act promptly to reduce the statistic. Don't let the culprit get away so easily!

- Shattered Peace

Recognise qualifications of ‘distant learning'

With the surge in innovation in technology and increasingly sophisticated business practices, life-long learning is an integral part of any professional individual.

In a small country such as Brunei, with its limited workforce, continuous upgrading of skills is even more critical. The provision of training is even more pronounced in Brunei as one is often required to undertake duties which are not necessarily related to an officer's formal qualifications.

Why are qualifications obtained through distance learning not recognised?

Some of the top universities around the world offer prestigious qualifications which carry world wide reputations. The programmes offered through this scheme have been developed with extensive rigour and have met the approval of the host country's stringent accreditation requirements.

In addition most programmes offered through distance learning are exact parallel of those offered on campus, and the university ensures that the student studying through the distance learning mode has the same support and is not marginalised - with the use of CD-ROMs, video conferencing, individual e-mail support, remote white boards, electronic libraries, the student does not have to feel isolated at all.

Once a person has reached a certain level of seniority and has other commitments, it is virtually impossible for him or her to go overseas for an extended period of time to pursue further studies. With quality programmes now available by distance education and upgrading of skills should not be an issue.

- Kamal Muhammed

Nurses too have feelings

Recently I had to take care of my very sick aunt in SSBH. While I was sitting and chatting with one of the nurses, their senior came and made routine rounds. Just because of a small matter, the nurses were scolded in front of the patient and relatives.

I saw one of the nurses' face turn red. Please have mercy on them, and not pull them up in front of patients.

Anyway the nurses there are very kind and have done a very good job in my case. No matter how busy they are, they will always have the spare time to attend to the necessities of their patients. Once again I would like to congratulate all the nurses and doctors in the Medical Unit for doing a very Superb and wonderful job.

- Concerned Citizen of Kbee

Jangsak roads need to be mended

I would like to make a complaint about the roads at Spg. 845 of Kg. Jangsak, Jln. Gadong.

A few years ago, there had been continuous construction works going on around that area and trucks and lorries were constantly moving in and out which destroyed the road horribly.

There were some attempts at road repairs but the road always went back to being bumpy and full of potholes because of the ongoing construction activities. However, the last construction activity ended about one year ago, but nothing has been done to repair the damage done to the roads.

Everyday, we residents have to swerve from side to side to avoid the deep potholes and bumps just to reach the main road. It gets worse when it rains, as we are unable to tell where the holes are. Can the relevant authorities please fix our roads once and for all?

- 845 Resident

Espeed is not speedy enough

I have been using espeed2 since March 2004. For the first 8 months of using espeed2, I was satisfied with espeed2 as the average download speed was about 192 kb/s which I consider very fast. And I was very happy with the money spent on espeed2.

But since December 2004, I have become very disappointed with espeed2 as the average download speed dropped to a massive 80% from 192 kb/s to 32 kb/s.

Now I think e-speed2 is very slow and too expensive! I just don't understand. We are offered a very fast download speed at first and then downgraded the speed later. It took almost 4 years for JTB to upgrade the connection speed for espeed without extra costs and I hoped that it won't take another 4 years or so for the next upgrade!

- Expensive-speed2 user