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Honesty Is Brand Name
By Ignatius Stephen

Bandar Seri Begawan - She will never forget Brunei as long as she lives. How could she?

She; a high-flying international businesswoman, had come to these shores on an important mission and now her task completed she was ready to return to base in Europe.

But that evening while packing her bag at a posh hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan she had suddenly fallen ill. There was no choice but to make a quick trip to the hospital.

There she learn that she had to undergo an emergency surgery. It had to be done the very next day.

"The risk is too much if you wait. I recommend that you don't travel that far now," the doctor had told her. But it did not worry her at all that much. She had undergone such a thing before. A little corrective surgery and all went well and she was fit as a fiddle in the next two days or so.

So, quite unperturbed, she went shopping that evening parking her rented car at a multi-storey building and bought some little things she might need for her brief stay in the hospital. So everything was going quite well, she thought.

But alas, not for long: That was because when she returned to her hotel chalet she found to her great- worry that her brief case was missing.

In her posh missing designer bag was her passport, some money including about US$500 in notes, her hospital card and credit card and much else, in fact, everything important she would need for her survival in Brunei.

"Perhaps I left it at the shop," she thought. So she went there and everywhere. She told the hotel and the police and everybody. But it was of no use,

Thoroughly disappointed she returned to her room. It was indeed terribly frustrating. But she had to make urgent arrangements. She had to make calls. And she had given up all hope in finding her briefcase. Apparently it was lost forever.

And she started phoning everywhere. Moreover, there was the surgery the next day. How was she to manage this life-threatening situation?

Besides even if she managed to get herself admitted it was not a good thing to be wheeled into the surgery with all these anxieties in mind.

Finally, she exhausted all possibilities. She had called every possible person and she had searched every inch of her way and looked at every nook and corner. But nothing worked. Then in utter resignation she heaved a sigh of frustration and slumped on the bed and dark possibilities of all kinds crossed her mind. She truly was getting deeply depressed.

And there she sat with her chin cupped in her hands hopelessly distressed. In the end, she could hardly figure out what to do.

But then there was this knock on the door. She woke up from her sad revere. Was there really someone at the door? At this time of the night?

There was that knock again.

"Who is it, please?" she asked this time, because they were real knocks she realised.

"It's me. I have something for you," a young female voice answered. .

Shall I open the door? Well, all the worse things happened today. Nothing could be far worse now, she thought as curiosity got the better of her.

And as she opened the door there stood a young girl. In her hand was the lost briefcase.

"I believe this is yours," the girl said. "I thought I would rather come over and give it to you. I took the liberty of looking into your bag and saw your name and the hotel room number. I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty. Nothing is missing: everything is still there," she assured the flabbergasted lady.

For a moment the foreign businesswoman stood staring at the girl as if she was spellbound. The girl was simply dressed and ordinary looking. She was a just a regular Brunei lass. Nothing more, nothing less.

It took a little time for the sophisticated woman to grasp the situation. Yet, she looked at the girl in disbelief. How come she came all the way at this time of the night to this hotel in Jerudong just to hand over the missing briefcase untouched? "I find that hard to believe," the lady, kept saying to herself.

"Oh, thank you so much, I do not know how to reward you," said the business lady as the girl turned to leave the room. "But where did you find the bag?" she managed to ask.

"It was in the parking lot. I found it when I went to collect my car. I thought it was important to you. You must have left it there by mistake," replied the girl.

"You do not know how important it is for me. I am to undergo surgery tomorrow," said the lady.

"Yes, I know. I am a trainee nurse at the hospital. I spotted your admission card in the bag. See you there tomorrow, Good night!" with that the young girl left abruptly before the visitor could recover from her surprise and offer her a seat. That is why this lady will never forget Brunei.

I mention this incident to show that basically Bruneians are kind, thoughtful and honest. There have been a number of incidents of this kind.

The ills of the so-called civilised world have yet to visit on us. And I hope we will remain that way for a long time.

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