BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The government is in the final stage of drafting legislation to tackle digital security threats, the Minister of Transport and Infocommunications revealed Saturday. In his budget readout at the Legislative Council, Pg Dato Shamhary Pg Dato Hj Mustapha underlined […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The rising cost of medication and treatment, growing number of patients, and prevalence of non-communicable disease will lead to an expanding health budget in the years to come, the health minister said Tuesday.  Speaking at the Legislative Council, Dato Dr Hj Md Isham Hj […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The Housing Development Department has reported arrears of over $64 million due to housing loan and rent defaults, the development minister said on Monday. Speaking during a session of the Legislative Council, Dato Hj Muhd Juanda Hj Abdul Rashid said that 6,098 people had […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The development minister on Monday acknowledged there will be fewer government construction projects in the coming year as the demand for new buildings and infrastructure has decreased. “Government construction projects are typically planned and executed based on specific […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Anxiety disorders, depression, and bipolar disorder are on the rise in Brunei, indicating a growing prevalence of mental health issues, said the health minister on Saturday. Dato Dr Hj Mohd Isham Hj Jaafar said the number of people with anxiety disorders has increased from […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The Ministry of Development (MoD) on Saturday proposed a budget of $334.9 million for the 2023/24 fiscal year, vowing to resolve complaints over public housing. Development projects make up 35% or $119.7 million of MoD’s budget, while $115.1 million has been set aside for […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) has tabled an $84.38 million budget for the 2023/34 fiscal year, with a focus on increasing food production output. The budget represents a 12.2% decrease from the previous year. Speaking at the Legislative Council, […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) is drafting a Tourism Industry Roadmap and compiling a database of tourism products and services nationwide. The Tourism Industry Roadmap, drawn up in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, will outline […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – A guideline to lighten educators’ workload is in place to ensure the quality of education is uncompromised, according to the Minister of Education. Speaking at the Legislative Council on Monday, Datin Hjh Romaizah Hj Md Salleh said that teachers who have been assigned […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – A recent survey carried out by the Education Ministry (MoE) shows that students performed poorly following school closures due to the pandemic, the minister said on Monday. Speaking at the Legislative Council, Education Minister Datin Hjh Romaizah Hj Md Salleh said the […]

Author: Ngeow Chow Bing, University of Malaya The somewhat awkwardly termed Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is an ASEAN sub-regional area launched in 1994. The area — which covers Brunei and parts of Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua), […]

Authors: Jayaprakash Murulitharan, University of Cambridge and Matthew Ashfold, University of Nottingham Malaysia The almost annual haze in southern Southeast Asia originates from both natural and anthropogenic forest fires in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Forests are cleared for small-scale and […]

Author: Swee Kheng Khor, Kuala Lumpur The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to Southeast Asian countries. The region is experiencing accelerated national-level tragedies played out in accelerated speed. Only three Southeast Asian countries have any semblance of control. Brunei […]

Author: Moez Hayat, Georgetown University The year began well enough for Brunei when the sultanate took up its responsibilities as ASEAN chair. Under the theme of ‘We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper’, Brunei’s agenda focused on tackling COVID-19 in Southeast Asia and charting a post-pandemic […]

Authors: Nadia Azierah Hamdan and William Case, University of Nottingham Malaysia In regime studies, Brunei Darussalam is typically cast as an absolute monarchy, in some renditions the most coercive form of rule. But in practice the Sultanate’s politics remains relatively benign. In coping […]