The Daily Brunei Resources

[The Oxford Business Group reported the following news about Brunei on 27 September 2011.] +++++ Food Security in Brunei Darussalam Brunei Darussalam is ramping up efforts to increase its rice harvest – seen as core to its policy of strengthening food security – turning to newly developed high-yield grains and improved technology to raise production, though it will be some years before the Sultanate comes close to its goal of meeting most of its domestic needs with home-grown crops. Rice is one of the staples of the local cuisine, though it is challenging to supply. Between Brunei Darussalam’s rising population, an increasing number of rural workers seeking employment in urban areas and limited suitable land available for rice growing, the gap between production and demand has been widening. To meet local demand, the Sultanate relies on imports, with well over 95% of rice consumed being shipped in from overseas. In early September, in fact, Thailand’s prime minister, Yinglu...

The Department of Electrical Services (DES) has published a new pamphlet with regard to the new tariffs that will be in place from the beginning of 2012. The tariffs will provide and help the poor and will penalise the heavy user. Hopefully with the new tariff, users will be more careful with their electricity and not waste it. The new electricity tariff structure is: 0001 kWh to 0500 kWh = B$0.01 cents 0501 kWh to 1500 kWh = B$0.10 cents 1501 kWh Above = B$0.15 cents The DES has also prepared comparison monthly charges between current usage with new tariffs: Previously $30 = New $5.00 (500 kWh) Previously $50 = New $40.00 (833 kWh) Previously $100 = New $120.00 (1667 kWh) Previously $150 = New $255.00 (2500 kWh) Previously $200 = New $380.00 (3333 kWh) Previously $250 = New $500.00 (4167 kWh) Previously $300 = New $630.00 (5000 kWh) Some facts: Currently we have the highest energy intensity in ASEAN and is ranked 12th out of 198 countries. The actual cost of ener...

Not many people in Brunei know where this is or what this is. This is the site of the Kargu Dam, the latest reservoir for Brunei Darussalam, before it is totally submerged in water in the next few months leaving just that red canopy and that walkway above water. Everything else up to the treeline will all be under water. It will take between one to two year for the dam to fill up completely depending on how much rainfall over the next year. It is located near Kampung Kargu somewhere on the way to Labi. Sungai Kargu was a relatively unknown stream until one day when it was discovered to have sufficient water flow and the right geography and geology for it to be converted into a dam. Yesterday was the ceremony to plug the final hole to stop water coming out and the dam finally became a dam. This $35 million dam is currently being built by TSL Construction Sdn Bhd and had been undergoing construction since October 2007. Its sole purpose is to secure water available to Belai...

[My article below was published on 19th September 2011 in my regular column, The Golden Legacy on The Brunei Times. This is an update of an earlier article I wrote in 2009 which is currently in my third book 'Our Brunei Heritage' which can be found in Best Eastern bookshops.] +++++ Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka -- Guardian of the Malay Language -- It is not known when the Malay Language was first used in Brunei. In 644 AD, the definition Malay appeared in Chinese writings as ‘Mo-Le-Yeu’ when Chinese history recorded that the Malays had sent a tribute to the Emperor of China. Historians agree that ‘old Malay’ or ancient Malay was used extensively with Sanskrit before the mid-15th century when Malay became more widespread and used to spread Islam. In Brunei, the Malay language was used extensively during the early days of the Sultanate. But it was not until 1906 when Brunei Darussalam started to use Malay officially in the education system. It was 50 years later that the usage...

Dewan Bahasa celebrated its 50th anniversary very recently. His Majesty himself graced the ocassion and noted the role of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka as the guardian of our Malay Language. The Minister of Home Affairs also gave a talk on the sustainability of the Malay language, the language with the fourth largest group in the world. He said that there were more than 30,000 languages but now only around 5,000 had survived and by the end of the century, about half would have disappeared. And according to Pehin, one of the factors which determine longetivity of the language is the number of speakers. That being the case the Malay Language will be able to survive for quite sometime yet. The postal authorities also issued stamps to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Dewan Bahasa. Technical Details about the stamps: Name of Issue The Golden Jubiless of the Establishment of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka Date of Issue 17 September 2011 Stamp Denomination $1.00, 50 cents and 20 cent...

This is an additional photograph of those students at Sekolah Lela Mencanai enjoying their free school lunches. Notice that one or two are not wearing their school uniforms. In the 1950s, Brunei were still recovering from the Second World War and there were still people facing hardships. The main reason why the feeding scheme started was to help feed the Brunei school children. This program continued only in certain areas now. The more interesting question as who are these people in the photos? They must be grandfathers by now. If there is any of their grandchildren reading this, I would love to know how their grandfather fared.

There have been many government policies in the past. However one of the best to me is the school feeding scheme. Today's students may not know it but in the 1950s when the Brunei Government introduced the school feeding scheme, it was a life saver to many poor school children living in the rural areas. In the late 1960s and 1970s when I first went to school, the feeding scheme was much better. We went into the school's hall lining up and getting a plate each filled with rice and other food such as chicken and interesting vegetables. I acquired the taste for cooked bean sprouts and pumpkins during this school lunches. This photograph from Sekolah Lela Mencanai brought memories of my old school in Bangar. A few of us students would go to the kitchen which was in another block and brought the food in metal buckets like the ones in the photographs. We would then pile the food using our own metal plates.