Borneo Bulletin Opinion
| Wider network of SMS
to US While thanking the DST for its prompt response to my letter in your Opinion page, I do not think it solves the problem faced by many who wish to use SMS services with contacts in USA. Perhaps in a limited way some may be able to communicate with people in areas mentioned by DST and with those who carry that particular Motorola i2000 phone via Nextel or T-Mobile in the east coast. The issue I raised in my letter deals with the difficulty a DST customer in Brunei in having easy access to anyone in USA via SMS. Not merely with a handful who may be Nextel customers. How about those who carry phones from Cingular, Verizon, Sprint and various other service providers? And what about subscribers who are not in the limited areas mentioned? We must be proud of what DST is doing in having global coverage in 70 countries. But having USA being an important global entity, we should not lag behind. Apparently DST is doing its best to improve its services. But regarding the SMS links to USA, its best seems not good enough to reach a wider network. Lets hope for the best in the not too distant future. - SMS User |
| School says safety
of students its priority The headmistress of Sekolah Rendah Delima Satu, Brunei II would like to express gratitude particularly to the 'Concerned driver' who wrote "Give a thought to the school children on the road" on opinion column of Borneo Bulletin, Saturday, May 14, 2005. Regarding this matter, we would like to inform the public that the school has constantly taken safety measures to safeguard our pupils' welfare particularly on road safety namely: Collaboration with particular government authorities to assist in the road safety programme of the school, issued circulars to parents/guardians on related issues, teachers also take pupils across the road after school hours, the school has ongoing talk programme on road safety which will help the pupils and also the parents to be aware of their safety. We would like to share our own past experience of nearly costing our own lives and was almost run over by a speeding motorist upon ensuring our pupil were safely across the road. In this matter, who then is responsible for our, the teachers' safety? However parents and pedestrians should play an important role in this situation. What is always seen on the road is motorists using the u-turn to make short cuts and enter through the school's exit to come into the school from an illegal direction. This act poses danger both to pedestrians and exiting vehicles from the school vicinity. In addition, some parents shouldn't park near the roadside or opposite the road to wait for their children to come to them. This further adds to the danger of children's safety. We would like to say thank you once again to 'Concerned Driver', for sharing your opinion on children's safety on the road. Your concern is very much appreciated and we'll try to do our best to ensure the children's safety on the road. - Concerned Staff, - Sekolah Rendah Delima Satu, Brunei II |
| Call for a faster
moving queue system at airport May I respectfully suggest that if Brunei wishes to create a positive impression on visitors entering the country, the immigration authority may wish to re-consider the organisation of incoming passport control. The current system requires visitors to queue in line with individual immigration officers. It soon becomes apparent that some queues move much much quickly than others due to visitors having incorrect paperwork or the pace of which some officers may prefer to work. This can lead to considerable frustration for those visitors committed to the 'slow' queue. May I suggest that the authorities may wish to adopt the system employed in some banks and other government offices where there is one continuous 'snake' queue allowing people access to the next available officer. In this way the queue moves forward at the same pace for everyone, allowing individual officers to pay more attention to particular cases without having to penalise others whose paperwork is in order. - Frustrated Traveller Who Always Chooses The Wrong Queue |
| Why pay for incoming
calls and unwanted TV channels? Readers who have been using DST's services such as mobile phones, satellite TVs, etc. may agree with me that the current services given by the provider has not been very realistic or user friendly. Unfortunately though, we just don't have any other choice, and we are stuck and are forced to accept with no power of choosing. The mobile phone charges, for instance, is quite unrealistic and there has been no consideration to reduce the charges inspite of many requests. The charges for incoming calls are something very odd. How come we are charged for answering other people's calls? Worse still we have to pay for calls that were not even meant for us. By right, if we do not make the calls we should not be charged. Moreover, we are already paying the $25 annual fee (I am talking about the EASI line here). The other thing that needs to be addressed is Kristal-Astro, especially the Astro charges. Again since we do not have an option, we are stuck with DST. The package introduced by Kristal-Astro is too restricted and inflexible. Like it or not, we have to take channels that are in languages we do not even understand and pay for them too. DST ought to review those packages and introduce something customer-friendly. So DST, please make a smarter move now before you lose more customers. - BSG, Gadong |
| Let's not take
everything we get for granted Thank you for allowing me to share with you some of my concerns corresponding to the letter "Discriminating against foreigners isn't a healthy solution" published on the 18th May 2005 of the Borneo Bulletin. I am a Brunei citizen, born and bred in this cultured and peaceful country, Brunei Darussalam, which has also provided me opportunities to gain personal and professional development in other parts of the world. To have respect toward one another is one of the important values I have grown up with. As a government servant, I once attended a meeting to discuss on the working procedures of a project. It was also attended by a few senior officers, directors and skilled professionals including expatriates. During the meeting, a local senior member abruptly snapped a generalised discriminating comment on foreign workers. My heart sank as that comment contributed no beneficial but detrimental effect to the work atmosphere of the project. We live in a cultured society; it is rather unfortunate to hear such a remark. No matter how motivated an employee is, his or her performance is going to suffer if there isn't a supportive work environment. People are unlikely to look up to or follow the manager they perceived as discriminating or unjust. I have met many able men and women during my overseas training; they educated me and added to my understanding of the world. We still maintain contact and exchange ideas and knowledge. No one is an island, we learn from interaction with others. Our country benefitted from the lessons others paid for. We must learn and be part of the knowledge based world. I am happy to see my country moving forward. I hope my parents, grandparents and future children will continue to enjoy many things people have taken for granted in Brunei Darussalam, the Abode of Peace. - Forward Thinking Bruneian |
|
Improve the road to our school |
| We need more
sensible staff than pretty faces on board What a ridiculous opinion it was about airline crew - I can only assume it was written with tongue in cheek attitude. Surely the most important attribute that an airline steward/ess can have is a cool calm air of confidence. I am not interested in the face. What I want to know is whether in an emergency they can help me to safety. I have been on a flight which was involved in a difficult landing. The only person to scream was one of the cabin crew - is this what we want? I suggest that we look at some more sensible people on board. - Safety Is Paramount |
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