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He could not contain his disgust. He was a good looking man, tall, well dressed and obviously educated abroad.

London perhaps? And he had a certain amount of poise and polish. He could not have been more than 40. "Historical monument indeed!" he exclaimed again. "How could they even consider it?

I just don't believe it. How could they view it that way?" His frustration and disappointment was quite obvious as he flung himself on the cafe chair and put his briefcase down and ordered a cafe latte. He had other two companions. One was a very young man, a newly graduated engineer, maybe.

The other was much older, simply dressed, listened intently but said nothing. But the young man,, being curious as many youths like him are, asked "-What is upsetting you?" "Well, that monstrous, ugly box of a building on the beautiful Brunei River waterfront is to be preserved as a historical monument! I have never heard of a more ridiculous plan," replied the man, getting angrier.

"Historical monument indeed!" "Tell me more," said the youth, obviously, getting interested. "That Customs building was put up long time ago by the top colonial officers so as to give them the best view. Never mind the others. It was an outrageous monopoly. "They were the topmost administrators then governing Brunei. They enjoyed a certain latitude, Brunei being at that time a British Protectorate. "In the process, so that they could enjoy the scenery, they cut off the breathtaking view of the Brunei River and the Kampong Ayer to boot, from the rest of the population. "It didn't matter then because there were only a couple of rows of shops that constituted the capital," the man said, ordering another coffee, which he gulped down while trying to contain his anger. "But now things have changed. However, some people don't seem to understand.

The old colonials must be having their last laugh in their graves," he added. The man was disappointed because at the misguided suggestion of someone, an original plan to turn the Brunei River waterfront was revised. In the meeting, someone had suggested to let the cheap, ugly block that once was the Resident's Office, the office of the Public Works Department, the head of Customs and so forth, into a museum.

"And in our style of things, all nodded their heads at the meeting to this preposterous proposal," said the angry man. "It is so typical that usually no one puts up an objection unless his personal interests are concerned. "That unsightly block was of nobody's interest. So they all nodded. Like so many nodding..." At this moment, the other man so silent until this moment interjected. "Yes, I remember we had our offices there. The prime view was the spacious office of the Director of Public Works, which was an import post then," he added.

"I agree that we should preserve some of our buildings as historical monuments. But this one cannot one by any stretch of imagination be so considered. It clearly is a major eyesore," agreed the older man. The angry fellow now having found some support for his source of indignation calmed down a bit. He ordered another coffee. "I do not know if it is too late to change things. Perhaps we should take a trip to the architect's office to find out the extent of damage planned." He is not the only one who has been aghast at the proposed plan to preserve that old Customs building.

A tourist, who happened to be a town planner and architect, upon hearing the plan recently, also thought it was not a good idea. Surely there could be ways to get rid of the building so that people in Bandar Seri Begawan could enjoy the wide sweep of the picturesque water village and the Brunei River with its teeming life.

The idea of building a waterfront) attraction is, of course, a good one. But the old Customs building should go. It is an obstruction we could do without, said a local architect. 

This will also create an attraction for us especially our young generations as well as the tourist to enjoy especially during the evenings where the town is now totally dead. I would be interested to see the projection and layout of the proposed project and perhaps it could be published in your paper. I just wonder why everything in Brunei must be in the form of 'Pesambah' or contributions from the public rather then being incorporated in the National Development Plan and duly budgeted for by the government. These contributions by our businessmen will surely have an effect on the cost that has to be borne by our public whether directly or indirectly.

Name: Susan Ong
Email: amoy@aol.com

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There is another "eyesore" that I hope you would write a piece about. It's those beggar kids roaming around at Delima. I was approached twice this year by two scruffy boys asking for a dollar. They don't wait outside but actually beg inside the shops! And there are those kids who walk around selling kuehs. I bet their parents are working them all day since its school holidays now.

What does the future hold for these kids?

Mr Ignatius can't you write about this & get it printed in the paper? Its high time authorities do something about them.

Name: babe Email: babeabdul@yahoo.com

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