I would like to refer the letter from Disappointed Resident entitled ' Lukewarm Response" published in the Borneo Bulletin, Saturday, 11 June 2005.

In this regard we would like to thank the writer for highlighting the issue and request the writer to contact the undersigned at telephone number 2459500 ext 163/245 in order to enable us to commence our inquiry into the matter.

In connection with that, I would like to advise the members of the public to contact us at the abovementioned number should they encounter similar incidents.

- Ag. Head of Public Relation Unit

- Public Relation Unit, Royal Brunei Police Force

- Police Headquarters, Gadong.

May I use a space in your Opinion Page in saying, to the enforcement unit of BSB Municipal Board for nabbing those irresponsible residents, as the news says in your front page of BB June 13 "work well done" of course followed by "Congratulations."

In less than a month when the department enforced the law, your department caught nine people for littering our beautiful peaceful, clean country.

It is also good to know if, the areas up to the Brunei International Airport are included within this law?

In saying this I must point out that on several occasions I noticed tins, rubbish being scattered along the roads.

The BIA is the main entry point for tourists coming to visit our country and must be kept tidy.

Nonetheless, the 'catch' of the day is the start-up of a law that is already in force and we should be proud of what those in the Municipal Board has done for beautiful Brunei Darussalam.

Lastly I wish to point out that the "Venice of the East" as it used to be called by foreigners before, the Kampong Ayer, especially the areas fronting the 'Bandar' should always be clean.

- Mohd Shariff H. N.

Just a few days after we read in this opinion page about the food poisoning in some of the schools, we have to read again about another set of 54 children being affected by food poisoning.

This is most disturbing as the trend seems to proliferate. Something is certainly wrong down the line somewhere. It is time to stop this before it affects other children.

So far we have not heard of any official reaction to the food poisoning incidents in these schools. Perhaps action must have been taken. But it is always good to keep the public informed as it will go a long way in assuring the parents and guardians about food safety in schools.

Any action against those responsible for their obvious faults and failures should be given publicity as it would be a clear deterrent in avoiding similar incidents.

- Safety Conscious Parent, BSB

I believe that Brunei should open up the tele-communications market to allow foreign investors.

If Brunei allows foreign investors to enter the market, we can see a fairer competition in the telecommunications industry.

When DSTcom has a competition, it will tend to be more efficient and effective in their R&D as well as providing more competitive deal and up to date services.

Let us look at today DSTcom services, there are no MMS, many parts of Brunei especially the "kampong" areas that are outside the town tends to have poorer reception or no reception at all.

This is currently the basic service that a telecommunications service today has to provide to meet today's advanced technology in mobile phones and to connect Brunei with the international communities' trends.

I think if we want to make Brunei, an international focus country for economic progress and trade, we have to ensure that the country is able to cater for basic necessities of a businessman such as telecommunications.

- Economics graduate Bruneian

Evil lurks in the dark

Growing up as a Bruneian, I find a lot of safety issues seem to go unnoticed such as highways, which are deprived of streetlights.

How many of you have noticed that without the headlamps of your car, it is pitch black on the Seria bypass?

But who has taken an initiative to do something about it?

I'm sure many of you have read of the tragic death of the 21-year-old Chinese student. Accidents happen but many can be avoided. Hasn't anyone heard of the saying "Evil lurks in darkness"?

The Seria bypass had been opened to the public for a long time but why was there no initiative to install streetlights along our "newly laid masterpieces"?

Even the most rural areas in many countries have streetlights. Why can't the only stretch of highway in Brunei be well lit with streetlights?

This young man who had a life, a family, hopes and dreams would probably still be recovering in a hospital bed if his friend was able to find him with the help of proper lighting.

The article also mentioned that the site was in an accident-prone area.

Has anyone stopped to think why it is so?

- Tang

I am happy to give my opinion regarding 'Curse of open burning' by SAS, F2 libr and 'Downsize wedding instead of borrowing' by Realistically Speaking.

I have two opinions on those topics.

First, there is a need for education to open people's eyes and mind on the dangers of open burning.

The authorities should introduce talks, roads shows, exhibitions etc to publicise hazards of open burning.

Last but not least, we Bruneians should always look into alternatives on how we should budget wedding expenses as we are always faced with changes of systems like the current loans from banks.

One should look into both the advantages and disadvantages of loans nowadays so as to not end up paying loans for the rest of one's life.

I know that the need of a perfect wedding is not impossible but again one has to think of its consequences as well.

So I do agree on cutting down on expenses for a wedding so that we are assured that all the requirements are adequate for the wedding. Meaning we prioritise things that need more attention.

When everything is ok and extra cash is still available only then can one think of expanding the necessities.

For example, if one has extra cash, one can add more guests and food accordingly.

Above all, we have to be cautious all the time as we, Bruneians, certainly never get away with changes of rules, systems and so on.

- Being alert

There are petty crimes in Bandar Seri Begawan such as ATM robberies, car theft etc.

Quite often the culprits get away.

Closed Circuit Television or usually called CCTV could help nab them. Why don't the police department implement this system. Every view could be monitored in a control room. If CCTV is implemented at city centres and shopping areas, criminals could be easily apprehended.

Although the cost of implementing this system is high, the benefit and outcome of the system will be very satisfying.

This could help solve and minimise criminal rates in Brunei. Even the highway system should be equipped with CCTV.

- C.S.I

The Zebra Crossing, which is located near the Standard Chartered Bank, is getting popular for pedestrians. It is really a safe way for crossing the road especially for children and elderly people.

But why not set up light indicators at both sides and the middle of the road complete with buttons. So wherever pedestrians need to cross the road they just need to press the button and when the light starts blinking they could cross the road.

Drivers could be cautious as early as possible. I'm writing this because most of the times especially during weekends pedestrians seem to be crossing the road non-stop and this could create road congestion.

Hopefully action could be taken in other areas as well, like the button at the airport which tends to not function.

- Congestion Free

Bring back Laguna Beach on MTV on our Kristal decoder.

Astro is still showing it so why isn't it being shown on Kristal?

I'm so sick and tired of missing it every week.

What's wrong with it? We, the subscribers deserve an explanation for the sudden changes.

If I could, then I would change and subscribe to Astro instead. But the fact of the matter is that I'm just a 17-year-old who doesn't have the power to do that.

Please do whatever it takes, please bring back Laguna Beach as soon as possible.

- Safarul of KB

In response to the matter raised by Kamal Mohammed in the Borneo Bulletin pertaining to the 'distant learning' qualification, the Secretariat of the Brunei Darussalam National Accreditation Council, once again wishes to advise members of the public including the writer to refer this matter or matters pertaining to accreditation of qualifications to:

Secretariat of the Council,
Block B/211 the Ministry of Education Building,
Old Airport, Berakas
Tel No: 2381133 ext. 2209 or 221