Seeing Brunei in a crystal ball

This is more a letter of suggestions rather than complaints directed to the powers. But there again, the shortcomings like the infrequent bus service, et cetera, have lead to some proposals I am making.

To overcome the problem of transportation for locals, some lowly paid foreign workers and tourists, wouldn't Brunei be wonderful if there are tram cars, not unlike the quaint ones in San Francisco or parts of Europe. The tram service could also be incorporated in other towns like Kuala Belait and Tutong.

Adding to that, a railway line linking all the districts of Tutong, Temburong, Kuala Belait and Brunei-Muara would alleviate problems for those in the rural and suburbs. The train - ultimately linked to Miri, Limbang and perhaps the long-envisioned Borneo/Kalimantan railway line - will also do freight cargo, a special coach could act as a moving grocery store for the masses, drawing out smallholding agricultural produce like vegetables, flowers, etc from the kampongs to Bandar Seri Begawan.

Another proposal is to set up a usable network of properly-dredged rivulets and canals, extended from the Brunei River from Kg Ayer inwards and fanning out to the Gadong hinterland.

Farmers and fishermen can use sampans or perahus to sell their ware, like the floating market(s) of Bangkok. And nightfall will see 'gondolas' and barges ferrying people, shoppers - park the car in Yayasan and take a boat ferry to Gadong for instance - tourists dining on board small yachts. In short, combine the riverine essence of Bangkok and Venice.

Because Bandar Seri Begawan has not been transformed into an urban 'trap' of car fumes and pollution like Shanghai or Hong Kong, the town planners need not follow the deadwood development of other cities of the world that we see.

Nature, the quaint trams and trains, should be protected and not lost in the blind imitation of cities like Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere, to look like New York and Bangkok city and end up with traffic jams, flash floods and no aesthetics.

My dream, as most travelled and well-read expats may agree, is to see a quaint BSB and suburbs into Brunei at large, nourished with well-planned infrastructure to suit a certain way of life, with modern infrastructure, amenities and technology, but with traditions and the 'green way of life' protected, encapsulated in an efficient environment and services.

Picture this: Bangkok and Venice waterways, Singapore's first-class public amenities and waste disposal, San Francisco tramlines, and so on Brunei will thus have a touch of many classic parts of the world, all nestled in the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures.

- Visionary expat