The Daily Brunei Resources

Kibaran Jalur Kuning Putih dan Hitam Sebuah sajak karya Haji Rozan Yunos, 6 Februari 2013   +++++   Wahai anak watan Tengoklah dan saksikanlah Bendera kita berkibar di angkasa Tidakkah kamu gementar Tidakkah kamu merasa bangga Melihat jalur kuning putih dan hitam Berkibar di angkasa   Perjalanan kita amat jauh Lebih satu abad kita dinoda Di bawah perlindungan bangsa asing Pemerintahan dijalankan Menggunakan nama Sultan Tetapi jauh dari realitinya Berkibar di angkasa   Apakah malang nasib pertiwi Tidak berupaya mempertahankan diri Negara diperkosa tanpa bistari Tetapi kita bangun 1959 pemerintahan dalaman 1984 pemerintahan keseluruhan Berkibar di angkasa   Tidak ada titisan darah Hanya keringat di badan Sultan yang keduapuluh lapan Memperbetulkan jalan Dengan perlembagaan diadakan Bertawakal kepada Illahi Berkibar di angkasa   Nasib kita mula berubah Illahi kurniakan sumber galian Menjadi pembe...

Life Is a Gift Today before you say an unkind word Think of someone who can't speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife Think of someone who's crying out to the Al-Mighty for a companion. Today before you complain about life Think of someone who died too early on this earth. Before you complain about your children Think of someone who desires children but they're barren. Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep Think of the people who are living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job. But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another Remember that not one of us is without sin. And when depressing thoug...

I have seen and received thousands of emails trying to solicit something from me. I have seen so many that the moment you read it, you know what it is. These people clearly believe that there is a sucker born every day. This morning I received the following email. How stupid do they think we are? +++++ Hello dear Friend, My name is Juan David, I've been looking at your webpage referred to Brunei culture and heritage and I strongly need a favor from you. I am currently studying International Relations in a Colombian University and one of my assignments is to simulate a curriculum vitae of a Bruneian person. In order to complete this presentation I need a few documents that have been impossible to fin in the web. I wonder if its possible by any means that you could help me to find them. The documents are: College degree Masters degree Birth certificate ID Someway to prove the ability to speak Malayan, Indonesian bahasa and jawe. A permission to work from the Sultan A ...

Every now and then you get lucky. On Sunday, I hit paydirt. During the Regatta on Sunday, there were many stalls operating along the streets lining up the Yayasan building. So together with the Director of Museum, his Deputy Director and a couple of officers from Museum, we went round the stalls. Partly duty to ensure that certain artifacts under the control of the relevant legislations were not sold during this time. We did come across this one stall which specialises in selling Brunei antiques such as pots, pans and other items. I saw the prices on the stickers and I thought to myself, this is expensive. But while having a look around, I overheard our people bargaining and to my surprise, found out that the prices were very much lower than what was written. I quickly went over all the items when a set of 5 pots were offered to me at a very reasonable price. The Deputy whispered to me that I will not get that price anymore outside this stall. So I said yes and took an extra b...

This is probably the first European book on Malay language. This book written by a Dutchman by the name of Houtman who was captured by Sultan Aceh sometime in 1600. He did not waste his time during his capture. He learned Malay and produced this book in 1603. If you look at the right hand column, that is his version of what Malay conversation sounded like 500 years ago. I can decipher the following few sentences: D Assalamulaikum Ibrahim. A Malaikum salam Daud. D Dari mana datang pagi hari? A Beta datang dari pekan. D Apa khabar? Tiada gabar baru dari barang kapal? A Sudah beta dengan bunyi bedal, yang itu alamat dari kapal dagang. D Lagi hamba dengan kata yang satu kapal dari Guiserat sudah datang. A Apa perniaga di bawa dia?

The Reporters Without Borders issued their Press Freedom Index 2013. Among ASEAN Member States, Brunei is ranked 1st for press freedom. Brunei ranked 122nd in the world, ahead of the other 9 ASEAN Member States. In the previous ranking Brunei was ranked 125 which was 3rd in ASEAN. You can read the full report here . 2013 1. Brunei 122 (+3) 2. Thailand 135 (+2) 3. Indonesia 139 (+7) 4. Cambodia 143 (-26) 5. Malaysia 145 (-23) 6. Philippines 147 (-7) 7. Singapore 149 (-14) 8. Burma 151 (+8) 9. Laos 168 (-3) 10. Vietnam 172 (-2) 2011 1. Cambodia 117 2. Malaysia 122 3. Brunei 125 4. Singapore 135 5. Thailand 137 6. Philippines 140 7. Indonesia 146 8. Burma 159 9. Laos 165 10. Vietnam 170

It has been a while since I last posted anything about books published in Brunei Darussalam. There has been quite a number actually. I was forced to read about two plastic bags worth when I had to chair the committee to decide who Brunei's SEA Write Awards nominee and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore MASTERA award. That was a lot of fictions and literary works which I had to go through. However this book which I am recommending is not a literary work and neither is it a work of fiction. It is the latest official statistics yearbook issued by the Economic Planning and Development Department of the Prime Minister's Office. The Department is responsible for the publication of any kind of government statistics. This one is interesting as it is divided into 15 parts:   a. Population and Vital Statistics b. Labour Force c. National Accounts Statistics d. Prices e. International Merchandise Trade Statistics f. Foreign Direct Investment g. Government Finance ...