April

19th April - Confab concludes with hope for brighter economy

The Business community meeting concluded yesterday afternoon with a glimmer of hope that both the government and private agencies would be more cooperative and tolerable to boost confidence in the nation's economy. The conference, held at the right time, stimulates participants to think, discuss, analyse and to come up with new ideas and to decide for themselves what should be done to help the ailing economy. There have been hints from the highest level of government authority that Brunei needs to be more 'business friendly'. "This is what entrepreneurs have hoped for, a more open government," said a businessman who wished to be anonymous.

In the first session, Timothy Ong, Chaiman of Asia-Inc gave examples of a few small countries where they do really prosper in global economy. He explained how they achieved this, and how Brunei could learn from it. Small in size does not suggest being handicapped. Small economy can indeed be successful, he said. Also in the agenda was the 8th National Development Plan. Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Haji Abdul Wahab bin Juned spoke about the development plan's priorities and where the money would be spent. Speaking on the economic diversification process, he said: "The private sector as the engine of growth must be strong and dynamic in order to survive and flourish in the currently volatile world economy." Other key issues such as regional outlook, globalisation, human resources development , and digital future such as e-government and e-commerce were also discussed in the nine-hour non-stop session.

One of the top issues discussed in the forum was unemployment. Dato Paduka Hj Abd Rahman bin Hj Mohiddin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said 'job seekers' are not necessarily unemployed. The problem Brunei faces is about the educated who are unemployed. This worries the government. Graduates believe that private sector salaries are in par with the government sector salaries. Salaries are based on economic demand and graduates should not think that the private sector too pays the same. This should change. This will lead to the reduction in unemployment among graduates, he said. Dato Hj Abd Rahman also called on the graduates not to be choosy.