Business School to launch another 'incubator' programme

Business School to launch another 'incubator' programme

HADTHIAH PD HAZAIR
BRUNEI-MUARA

Thursday, January 24, 2008

GRADUATES of vocational-technical education will have a chance to turn their skills into business ventures with the business coaching programme to be launched on Feb 4.

The Business School in Gadong is opening up its doors wider to its graduates who are interested in joining its business incubator programme.

"We've 'incubated' two enterprises so far ... The programme will help them to market this and become entrepreneurs," said the programme's training officer, Pg Hjh Norashikkin Pg Dr Hj Amir. The objective of the three-phase programme, she said, is not just to reduce unemployment, but more importantly, accelerate private sector growth in the country.

The two-week phase, which involves visits to the Registrar of Companies Department, the Municipal Board and a LiveWIRE workshop, will train participants on the basic skills in managing a business.

"We'll also invite young successful entrepreneurs ... to share their experience with the participants," Pg Hjh Noorashikkin said.

To give participants a hands-on experience on how it feels to run a business, the programme has scheduled "business for a day". The session will allow them to operate a retail stall to offer and market their goods and services.

Those who go on to the second and final phases will be given full support in running their business.

"We guide our students when they start up their own businesses and also regularly monitor their progress."

Graduates involved in the second phase of the programme will have the opportunity to learn how to draft a business plan. They may also be sent for commercial exposure to ready themselves before they embark on running their own businesses.

"We 'incubate' our graduate entrepreneurs for an average of two years. In which time, they will receive full support from us. We also help them source for financing through the micro-credit scheme so they are able to expand," the training officer said.

The Brunei Times

SABAH Development Corridor (SDC)

Sabah development plan to be launched this month

KOTA KINABALU

Sunday, January 20, 2008

SABAH Development Corridor (SDC), set to be launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi later this month, is seen as a symbolic new year gift for more than three million people in the state.

The initiative, a brainchild of Abdullah, is holistic in manner, covering all sectors of the economy, including infrastructure development and benefiting all segments of the community.

Soon after launching the new Kota Kinabalu International Airport's Terminal II building on February 14 last year, Abdullah indicated that development in Sabah needed to be accelerated.

In what is seen as a panacea to fast track development in Sabah, dubbed the 'Land Below The Wind', he said that there was a need for a blueprint called the Sabah Development Corridor or SDC to achieve the desired result.

Showing his seriousness in the matter, Abdullah then asked the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Musa Aman to finalise the details as soon as possible, hoping for Sabah to become one of the most developed states in the country.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to launch the SDC, which will be spearheaded by the state's government-linked Yayasan Sabah, at the Sabah Container Port in Menggatal on January 29.

At a media briefing on the SDC here recently, Musa said: "We want a balanced development between urban and rural areas. This development corridor will cover the whole state and not just be confined to pockets."

"Sabah is a big state and if we were to develop only the eastern part, that is Lahad Datu, Tawau and Sandakan, the people in other areas, especially in the interior, might be left behind in terms of development," he said.

That's why we need to develop the whole of Sabah, so that everybody will share the cake of development, he added.

Musa said he believed that the SDC would benefit many people and enhance the quality of life of people in Sabah.

"This SDC is good for everybody and the people of Sabah can expect a better life and hence, we must work together to make it a reality," he said.

Musa said the SDC would create more job opportunities for Sabahans , thus helping to uplift the standard of life as well as reducing unemployement in the state.

The people of Sabah will take the lead, he added.Bernama

S'pore prices have 'little effect' on Brunei

S'pore prices have 'little effect' on Brunei

HADTHIAH PD HAZAIR
BRUNEI-MUARA

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

SINGAPORE'S concerns over soaring prices of goods and services do not present any possible significant impact on the Brunei economy for now, according to analysts interviewed by The Brunei Times. They did not, however, rule out the probability of the global currency markets volatility affecting both the Brunei and Singapore currencies.

The recent hike in Singapore's inflation rate has neither good nor bad consequences for the Brunei economy. The Brunei dollar is pegged to the Singapore dollar on an equal exchange rate.

Singapore's inflation rate, which recently hit a 25-year high, has little effect on the Brunei economy.

"The (Singapore dollar-US dollar) exchange rate has moved from around 1.56 to about 1.45... It's not good or bad news," said Tareq Muhmood, CEO of HSBC Brunei. "For some things, it's cheaper now for example, the export for certain industries is cheaper because of the weakening US dollar."

On inflation, or the level of price increases, Brunei has little to worry about Singapore's 4.2 per cent rate recorded in November last year. Vincent Cheong, CEO of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), said the government's subsidy on most items in Brunei equates to a more controlled inflation rate for Brunei.

"Your (Brunei's) basket of inflation is generally for food and household items... which is subsidised by the government. Brunei would probably be affected, but the impact would not be strong," Cheong said, adding inflation would probably only hit non-subsidised items, such as cars and computers.

In October 2006, the island-state's de facto central bank tightened monetary policy, allowing the Singapore dollar to rise, but faced the task of balancing the strong climb in inflation with the effects of any economic slump in the US.

HSBC's Muhmood told The Brunei Times yesterday that this year there would be an expected volatility across the foreign exchange market due to the lingering effects of US mortgage market woes. This, he said, might affect the Brunei and Singapore currencies as well. The Brunei Times

Tourism can help curb rural poverty: Minister

Tourism can help curb rural poverty: Minister


Positive: Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah Hj Abd Wahab feels tourism can create more jobs. Picture: BT file photo
SHAREEN HAN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, December 9, 2007



Brunei can be a unique tourist destination because of Heart of Borneo, says Dato Hamdillah

THE Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources yesterday urged for the promotion of Brunei's tourism sector adding it will be the key to reduce poverty in rural areas by creating employment opportunities for the residents.

Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah Hj Abd Wahab said residents in rural areas could be self-reliant and would no longer need to come into the city to seek work, if the country's tourism sector would continue to improve.

"Tourism is about giving equitable distribution of wealth and giving people meaningful jobs," he said in a telephone interview with The Brunei Times.

He noted the tourism industry generates the highest employment rate and highest contribution to the economy in the world.

Brunei may not be a well-established tourist destination yet, but "the improvements are visible there," he said.

He added that Brunei's tourism sector has just only started to work in a "more concerted and coherent manner".

He said the country can be a different and unique tourist destination because it is involved in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) conservation initiative, which is the only one available in the world.

"The HoB project is distinctively different from other countries in the region because we have the global support," he said, adding that this comes at a time when the world is tackling issues in climate change.

Brunei has a competitive edge because it has a rich diversity of rainforests and biodiversity is getting more attention than before, said the deputy minister, who is also the chairman of Brunei Tourism Board.

"Brunei is ahead of the game (in the HoB project) compared to Malaysia and Indonesia, even though we are a smaller country," he said.

He explained that Brunei already has a clear direction and clear timelines from His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei, as evident through his titah on the country's commitment to the HoB initiative.

"We are now facing the challenge of addressing the implementation process, such as the structural issues because we need an integrated approach to land utilisation," the deputy minister said.

As part of the HoB initiative, Brunei is also planning to build a canopy walk, similar to Temburong, in Andulau, he said.

Dato Hamdillah said Brunei could also capitalise on the surge of tourists to Singapore next year, when the Formula 1 Grand Prix starts in the country, and tourists can "hop over" to Brunei and enjoy its peace and tranquillity.

The Brunei Times

Brunei To Implement Asean Single Window By 2008 To Facilitate Trade

Brunei To Implement Asean Single Window By 2008 To Facilitate Trade

Bandar Seri Begawan - Asean is creating a Single Asean Window to facilitate trade which is discussed in the annual Asean Summit.
This is where the clearance of shipments and the release of goods by customs authority in the Asean region will be speed up with the establishment of the Asean Single Window in 2012.

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will implement the Asean Single Window by 2008 and Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam by 2012.

Through synchorinising the interventions of the government agencies, traders, shippers, forwarders, transport operators and other parties, custom authorities aimed to clear containerized shipments within 30 minutes, target set in the Strategic Plan of Customs Development. Currently, clearance can take up to five days.

Businesses will benefit from the cut in transaction costs and, time, and greater predictability in administrative customs procedures.
Consumers will enjoy more secure and timely delivery of goods at a lower cost.
For the Asean Single Window to come into effect, all Asean countries would first need to set up National Single Windows which is a clearance system that enables a single submission information and date, single and simultaneous processing of the date, and a single point of decision-making through close collaboration among the ministries and other parties involved in the customs clearance process.

Instead of submitting different forms and information to multiple agencies such as customs, ports, health and so on to get a shipment of goods cleared, a trader would only need to submit all information to one agency.

The Asean Single Window will be in operation when all the 10 National Single Windows are operating in an integrated manner.

For instance, if a container of goods destined for Malaysia first enters Asean through Thailand, a trader only has to submit the required data once to a centralised hub and the information would then be automatically shared and processed among the relevant agencies.

Asean has been working closely with various ICT developers, service providers and consultants in developing the technical architecture, prototype and detailed functional model of the Asean Single Window.

The joint efforts of businesses, industries and governments will be crucial in developing and operating an Asean Single Window that meets the needs of businesses and consumers.


Courtesy Borneo Bulletin

Brief history of Brunei's health services

Brief history of Brunei's health services


Then and now: Brunei's first hospital in 1925 (above) and today's Ripas hospital (bottom).Rozan Yunos
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


Sunday, November 4, 2007


AT THE turn of the 20th century, Brunei suffered two major epidemics. The first was cholera, which took many lives. Peter Blundell in his book, City of Many Waters, described it as "a dreadful time for Brunei, and most of the huts had to mourn the loss of one or two of their inhabitants".

The next epidemic was smallpox and, like cholera, "the disease spread with great rapidity". The death toll was said to be as great as during the cholera epidemic. In the palace itself, those who died included Sultan Hashim's two elder sons, his grandson and the Bendahara's daughter. During both epidemics, Brunei had no doctors and had to rely on medical services from Labuan.

By the time the British Residency was established in Brunei in 1906, there were still no medical institutions established in the country. There was also little in the way of sanitary measures in the country.

Peter Blundell decried the main inhabited area of Brunei, Kampong Ayer, for the "cramped conditions under which the inhabitants lived. The damp, the lack of exercise, and the germs in the filth and mud under the huts could not but affect unfavourably the health of all the inhabitants. The infant mortality was great, the constitutions of many of the adults extremely weak."

As a result, one of the earliest policies indicated under the British Residency was to advocate a move from Kampong Ayer towards Brunei Town on dry land.

But by the first decade of the 20th century, medical and health services in Brunei were still rudimentary. Any required medical aid was provided in Labuan by the Colonial Surgeon. The British Assistant Resident, among other duties, also provided simple medical care and treated minor ailments.

The British Assistant Resident kept a stock of simple medicaments. Blundell also described his role as providing medical and health care.

It was in 1911 that a government dresser was appointed. Leong Ah Ng, the Government Dresser, was also the Government Postmaster running the postal services. Part of the postal office was even used as a health centre.

Two problems faced Brunei then. One was the cost of upkeeping a medical service and the other was to convince Bruneians of the need for a modern medical service. The former was almost unimaginable in today's country of free medical and health care services. Back then, Brunei's government had too little funding to even provide for a medical doctor.

The government met with some success in the latter endeavour. In 1914, another smallpox epidemic broke out but it was contained with the existence of that health centre. Vaccination was also widely accepted by then.

In 1918, a second dresser was appointed to provide services to the outlying areas. It was then a vaccination program started in Brunei with satisfactory results. A doctor from Labuan was also assigned to visit Brunei from time to time.

In 1921, a Sanitary Board (the forerunner to the Municipal Council) was formed for Brunei Town. Despite those efforts, in 1922, a cholera epidemic hit Brunei and a number of children died.

The first Brunei hospital was built in 1925 by the British Malayan Petroleum Company (BMPC), the company that was prospecting for oil in the Belait District. That hospital was built in Kuala Belait. It was a very small hospital but, at the time, it was considered the best in Brunei.

It was not until 1929 that Brunei Town had its own hospital. It too was a small hospital with an 18-bed ward, an operating room, a laboratory and a pharmacy. Brunei's first medical doctor with the grand title of Residential Medical Officer was also appointed in February of that year.

In 1932, the Government and BMPC collaborated to build a second hospital with better facilities in Kuala Belait. BMPC also embarked on an anti-malaria spraying campaign throughout Kuala Belait.

Infant mortality rate in Brunei was still high. By June 1933, a government bidan (midwife) was also appointed. A Maternity and Children's Clinic was also started to help lower the mortality rate.

Hospitals in Tutong and Temburong were built in 1933 and 1934. The rubber estates in Brunei then also provided medical services in their estates. In 1934, the Gadong Estate had its own dispensary and the Labu Estate in Temburong also had a small hospital. By 1937, the Brunei Town Hospital was also enlarged with the addition of several second class wards.

By the outbreak of the Second World War, Brunei's medical and health conditions had improved tremendously compared to the 40 years prior to that. All the districts had hospitals, mobile clinics operated throughout the country, the large rubber estates had their own medical services and on top of that regular anti-malaria sprayings were done in all the major towns in Brunei.

All that, however, was undone during the Japanese occupation. On top of it, massive Allied Forces bombings, all the hospitals in all the districts were destroyed. Of particular concern was the one at Kuala Belait which, before the war, was equipped with an X-Ray machine.

Immediately after the war, medical services were provided by the Australian Army through a temporary hospital. The government report at that time indicated that in 1946 it was a struggle to provide basic medical services, with shortages of almost all medical supplies.

The 1950s was a revival period. A new hospital said to be the best in Borneo was built in 1952 with 150 beds. Several clinics in Kampong Ayer and the outlying areas were also built. Local nurses were trained by a World Health Organisation nurse brought in to help.

By 1954, there were as many as five doctors in the country and 18 operational clinics. An anti-tuberculosis vaccination program was also introduced.

One major policy was the introduction of the feeding scheme. This scheme, organised by the Health Department together with the Education Department, provided food to about 11 schools, feeding around 800 students by 1953. The feeding scheme introduced better and healthier eating habits to Bruneians.

The first school to provide midwifery and nursing education was opened in 1957. At the same time, many were also sent abroad for training. However, it was 1958 before the first Brunei Malay was appointed as a nurse and midwife.

Since then, Brunei has not looked back. Its medical and health services are probably among the best of the region today. Through the National Health Care Plan 2000-2010, launched in June 2000, the directions, vision, mission and priorities in the strategic and instrumental goals were made more transparent and clear.

The Health Ministry is now able to implement well-coordinated programmes and projects appropriately to achieve a common goal that is to enhance and improve the quality of health and well-being in Brunei Darussalam.

With a current annual health budget of half a billion dollars a year for a population of less than 400,000 people, no expense has been spared by the Government in providing the country with a medical and health service that is second to none. Currently there are around 400 doctors and 1,800 nurses in the country with about 1,200 hospital beds. It is indeed a far cry from just 100 years ago when Brunei had no doctor and no hospital.

The writer runs a website on Brunei at bruneiresources.com

The Brunei Times

Why Brunei can easily be food-sufficient

Why Brunei can easily be food-sufficient

MICHAEL A BENGWAYAN
MANILA

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

THERE are moves for Brunei to engage China's assistance for its food production drive. But if agricultural experts have been hesitant in saying Brunei can be self-sufficient in food, economists have been more blunt.

Brunei and countries with similar geography can easily be self-sufficient in food. That is what prominent economic expert Ricardo Hausmann, director of International Development Center for International Development at Harvard University says. He avers that only tropical, landlocked nations may never enjoy access to the markets and new technologies they need to flourish in the global economy in his book Prisoners of Geography.

Brunei is not landlocked, it has excellent access to sea and land travel — but why is most of its food being imported?

Brunei imports some 80 per cent of its food needs and the government is attempting to increase agricultural production.

While Brunei is nearly self-sufficient in vegetables, it still imports 100 vegetables such as baby kailan/tunas, tomato, young corn, tomato, chilli, rebong, daun selasih, pucuk batat, peria, kuchai, kailan, sawi bunga and timun manis from Sabah and Sarawak, the Agricultural Ministry said.

Brunei produces only over one per cent of rice locally and imports 60 to 70 per cent of tropical fruits as well as cattle and poultry.

Last year alone, 3,185 metric tonnes of agricultural commodities worth US$2.2 million ($3.2 million) were imported.

According to statistics from the Agricultural Department, the total consumption of vegetables last year was 16,098 metric tonnes with an estimated retail value of US$36.7 million. Of the total, 9,518.1 metric tonnes with an estimated retail value of US$21.6 million, was locally produced.

How then does Brunei's geography help the country leap-frog to food self-sufficency?

Hausmann implies that with Brunei's location, it can easily access research, information and technology for the development of its agriculture by spending more of its oil and gas earnings on agricultural research and development.

He said the divergence in agricultural productivity between the developed and developing world is grounded in dramatically different research and development capabilities.

Governments in advanced economies spend up to five times more on agriculture-related research and development than their counterparts in developing countries.

Rich nations also benefit from the expenditures of private agricultural producers — a source of funding that is virtually nonexistent in developing nations. Geography aggravates this disparity. The agricultural sector of tropical countries should then be more dynamic than in temperate zones.

Since unproductive agricultural workers can produce little more than what they require for personal subsistence (and therefore cannot support large urban populations), rural areas remain sparsely populated, have small, poor markets, and suffer from high transportation costs — all of which hamper economic growth, he added..

Brunei, then, has to spend more on agricultural research, farmer training and extension and make farming not only a way of living but more so of an enterprise to attract more Bruneians to engage in agricultural activities.

The agricultural ministry intends to generate strategic and innovative technologies in relevant areas of agrotechnology to promote sustainable development of the agriculture and agri-food industries. But to concretise this, there is an urgent need that a strong research focus be initiated and sustained backed by a vibrant group of agriculturists.

While land, finance, and irrigation facilities are available, agricultural activities lack manpower resources. The gap between wages in farming and the public sector is large, and most Bruneians have little interest in agricultural production.

In 1996, out of an economically active population of 127,000, only 2,000 — less than 2 per cent — were engaged in the agriculture.

The picture should change.

At present, just less than fifteen per cent of the land is cultivated, resulting in low agricultural output and continued dependence on the importation of food from abroad.

For example, the government maintains a cattle ranch in Australia to ensure a steady supply of beef. This ranch, located at Willeroo in the Northern Territory, is actually larger than the entire country of Brunei.

Thailand continues to be a source for a large percentage of Brunei's staple food, rice.

According to Brunei's agricultural ministry, the government has numerous incentives to encourage people to work in the agricultural sector, including free pesticides, low-cost fertilisers, training programs, model farms, and other support from the Agriculture Department. Despite this governmental assistance, during the 1990's less than five per cent of the workforce was employed in agriculture (many of whom were only involved in subsistence farming).

The government has also tried to encourage the production of mushrooms and specialty fruit for the export market, but to date there has been only modest progress in these areas.

It is also upporting the development of local agriculture and agri-food industries by providing advisory, consultancy, technical services and technology transfer in relevant areas of agrotechnology to the industries.

Yet, there is a need to strengthen the link between technology generated, verified and applicable technologies with those of technology end-users.

A leading agriculturist from the University of the Philippine College of Agriculture at Los Banos where some of Asia's best agriculturists have studied, Dr Lucy Villanuena, said Brunei should grow globally competitive and high value crops to attract its young population to engage in agricultural enterprise.

Dr Lucio Victor, a former agriculture university president and who helped Malaysia in the early 80s in the country's agricultural boom as a consultant, said there was a need to develop outstanding crop of agricultural scientists to propel agriculture to competitive level.

There should also be an upswing in promoting agriculture as a college course for the young Bruneian population besides urging them to be more responsive to economically productive endeavours.

The writer is a Filipino writer on environment and community development issues.

The Brunei Times