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Bandar Seri Begawan – London, Singapore, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and perhaps New York and beyond.

And so they will all be soon flying off to the four corners of the earth in quest of degrees as there are letters in the alphabet.

Watching them gather for a last drink in Brunei, their home, in a café down town you cannot feel but proud seeing these smart young people, Brunei’s treasure trove taking in the night air seemingly without a care in the world.

There is laughter in the table beyond and others elsewhere are in deep conversation. Yet for some their laptops keep them happy.

But there is also a tinge of sadness.

Their summer holidays are coming to an end and you will not see them around for a while.

How long you ask one of them, a Brunei student in Perth. “Eleven months,” she says. But I hope to came back now and then,” After all Perth is not that far away.

But others, studying in Britain and Canada it will be a while.

The “kids” are going first. Perhaps next week, says a senior student. They will miss the Ramadan. Their term starts earlier.

“I will be off mid October. I am glad that I will be with my family to break the fast at least for three weeks or so,” he says.

And how rapidly children grow, you cannot help thinking. They were only so little just a while ago. And now look at them: Fine young men and lovely girls, so self possessed, sophisticated and classy.

But before you could reaslise it they will be back finally some of them, full of dreams to change the world and, of course, like all young people idealistically delightful, fresh in their innocence.

Only later will they find that that there is little chance to transform the universe to their liking and align things in their way now, today or even tomorrow. That will take a while, if ever.

Nevertheless they are Brunei’s real assets. No one can rob the nation of them, said a thoughtful young man sitting at the next table.

The Amedeo crisis spirited away Brunei’s billions in a short few years. The nation was left in the lurch and at a loss what to do.

But we had other assets, added the young man. Brunei had fortunately sunk in many billions in education. And now there is continued benefit for all.

“There must be hundreds of Brunei students in London and elsewhere. And most are coming back to work here,” said a senior student who is in his final year.

Brunei had the sense to invest its surplus funds in educating its young and sending them overseas to some of the best institutions.

But then again when will we reach saturation point? Where are the jobs? Could we lose them all one by one? How far could we hold on to the comfortable though that no one would rob us of them?

Don’t be that sure.

Because the writing is already on the wall. Brunei pilots are already working in Singapore Airlines and other Bruneians are flying the Emirates national carrier.

British qualified Brunei doctors are employed in foreign hospitals because they think there are no opportunities here to further themselves so are Brunei scientists and mathematicians.

And if this trend continues will Brunei, in the not too distant future, so to speak face a massive brain drain?

For sure one cannot put them all in a box and keep them here, one observer pointed out.

The world has become a global village and people are increasingly moving in and out.

However the nation should try to keep some of them, preferably the cream, said the man at the nearby table.

How are we to do this? Simple. Job creation.

And who is going to create jobs? The irony of it is the immigrants.

Brunei should liberalise its immigration policies to create jobs. Surprised? They should bring in more outsiders, the man said.

How come they will come and take away our jobs if we open our gates too wide, someone said in surprise.

But local entrepreneurs could use the immigrants to build up businesses which in turn will create jobs and some locals could possibly be employed together with the outsiders, another man pointed out.

The government currently snaps up the best and the brightest. The rest, most probably will join Brunei Shell and such like.

What is left is not sufficient to drive local economy. There is insufficient number of local entrepreneurs to involve in the vital job creation effort.

That is one reason Brunei is in the doldrums, the man said. The economy is running down. Shopkeepers and others are not happy. More than 80 percent of the shops along Jalan Sultan are running at a loss.

“They are not even making enough money to pay the rent,” a local businessman who was listening in commented.

So let us open the gate a little wider. Let them come in. We need the numbers. We need their energy and their brain power, he added.

Let them rent our homes, our shops and our cars. Let us do business with them, and let our economy grow, he said.

That way too we will keep our young in Brunei. 

Viable businesses create jobs not individual immigrants, that is unless they are 'offshore' companies setting up in Brunei.  

I was a former Ulfert/Amedeo employee and it is sad to see that eight years on, the corporation is still being blamed for the country's employment woes. I can't answer for the 'billions' spirited away it certainly wasn't in my pay packet, but at the time many, many Bruneians and their businesses benefited from Amedeo's existence. New businesses were formed, houses were built and rented, shops and restaurants opened to cater for the wave of 'immigrant' workers either employed by Amedeo or the business enterprises that sprung up around it. 

Amedeo was all encompassing and its projects helped to raise the standards and with it people’s expectations. Much money was made by these enterprises and this helped parents to support their children studying abroad, build and furnish new homes, buy new cars, entertainment systems, get bigger boats and experience the world...  

I have followed Brunei's progress on and off since leaving in '98, and I have not seen the rise of another let alone two  entities or companies, with the acumen or the will to continue the ground work laid by the Amedeo behemoth. 

Recent world oil and gas pricing has made Brunei far richer than it was in '98, Amedeo had the will but it was flawed and it's time to move on. There are some great business modules out there to follow, find the right ones for the Brunei market and do it.

Name: Sooomo
Email: pio@piombini.co.uk

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Brunei is seriously in need of a good planner- one who can foresee the future of our generations to come. We are more of a charitable organisation. Educating other people's children, providing employment for other countries' citizens. In fact Brunei can be self sufficient if she needs to be!

While we the citizens are living in a bubble. We do not know what hard work is. Life is too good here. This is the only country where bottled water in more expensive than petrol! Everyone wants to drive to the office desk in an air-conditioned room. We must wake up to reality!

Brunei has got the expertise… there are Bruneians Cambridge Phd. Lectures lecturing in Singapore University, Oxford University, Accountants in Malaysia, Heart Surgeons practicing in London, Medical Doctors working in England. Some of these specialists were Brunei scholars who left Brunei shores after completing their bonds with the Brunei Government.

So you must ask where are the expertise? Why is Brunei not doing anything to keep them????

Name: muara
Email: muara@brudirect.com

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First of all, you have to find out, Where are the companies? You need employers to create employment. For a potential employer to set up business in Brunei, he will have to do a market research to see if it is a viable business. Most are aware of the limited population of Brunei and the lowered disposable income of the majority of Bruneians. Everyone who has set up any kind of business in Brunei knows that it is nightmarish to get an operating license. By the time you go through all the relevant departments, you would have spent an additional $15,000.  

This is prior to even opening your doors for business. How many potential employers do you think would have pockets as deep as that to wait for these relevant departments to approve their business license? This in itself would discourage most bona fide business. With the reduction in new businesses reflects on the chances of new jobs being created. Should a potential employer bear all these obstacles, he may want to think thrice prior to hiring locals, who on the whole are just using NGOs as a stepping stone to lucrative government employment.  

It is not easy nor is it cheap to hire a person, train him and also get him accustomed to the way your business is handled. On top of that, their work habits leave a lot to be desired. Every so often I hear tales of woe from businessmen regarding their local employees. One would say that his employee would just take off without giving any sort of notice.  

Another would say his employee has gone missing for days, also without asking for leave. All too common nowadays, they would use the excuse of attending to the ill health of a family member or being on MC themselves. Most potential employers would prefer to hire foreigners albeit higher cost just for peace of mind that their employee will be at work most days.

Name: Grey Owl
Email: scar882002@yahoo.com

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I quote you, "But then again when will we reach saturation point? Where are the jobs? Could we lose them all one by one? How far could we hold on to the comfortable thought that no one would rob us of them?"

Ignatius, in this article, u proved that u are "full of dreams to change the world and, of course, like all young people idealistically delightful, fresh in their innocence."

Name: Puggy

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Fourthly is the introduction of the 'yellow school bus' to provide transportation for the children so that their parents do not have to come and collect them, thus saving precious official working hours. Of course moms who are not working can still collect their children.

Lastly we really need a mass transport system (MRT) as in Hong Kong or Singapore to cover between BSB, Kiulap, Gadong, the Airport and eventually to cover Sengkurong, Jerudong and right up to Muara. This will reduce the number of cars on our roads as it is a nessity to have a car in Brunei otherwise you cannot move around. It will also reduce financial burden on our citizens with low income. Perhaps at least we can introduce the 'Tuck-Tuck' triwheeler taxi service to cover between BSB, Kiulap and Centre Point Gadong.

I am sad to see that even the bus service between BSB and Seria/KB is not operating at regular hours. It is in an appalling state with no air-conditioning which gives tourists and backpackers an impression that Brunei is still a Third World country even though the Sultan is known to be one of the richest man in the world.

Name: Salih bin Abdullah
Email: Astana@hotmail.com

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Nice article Mr Stephen. I was just discussing this with my teacher at my college. We were going over what career prospects would be most suitable. He said I can be anything, just as long as I search for a job outside Brunei. I retorted and said I want to find a job in Brunei. He said my chances were slim.

Obviously, I got depressed. My original plans were to get a job and maybe be one of those lucky few who are able to make a great in the future. My teacher went on about how Brunei id missing its chance for industry and development in the commercial sector and how we are slowly imploding on ourselves. I got to admit that what the guy's saying is sort of true.

Look at all the jobless graduates in Brunei. I still believe Brunei has a chance to redeem itself though. I heard about this massive industrial revolutionary project in the country to attract foreign investors and to create many jobs in the future. Will that be successful? What do you think? Or have we missed our chance for investors to come to Brunei?

Name: d440
Email: joey440@hotmail.com

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