During the long break, my friend's family went to KK for a short holiday... on the way back at the Brunei-Limbang boarder, apparently they were stopped by plain-clothes customs/religious officer (?) who ask them, if they bought any meat - ie pork or chicken with them?
See what is wrong with this scenerio?
Why are the enforcement people cared about non-muslims bringing meat that is used for their own comsumption? Had they got nothing better to do? Why don't they catch people who brings in drugs or excessively amount of fruits from Malaysian boarder, and yet keep this stupid antics of stopping non-mulims for getting "non-halal" meat for their own consumption?
CNY is near the corner, and its time to make non-muslims life a bit difficult i guess... according to my friend..
sorry if this is "offensive", but rather than worry about things like this, the customs/religious officers (my friend couldnt tell which dept were they from), our highly paid govt servants should be looking out for more harmful items that crossed our boarder, rather than making people life hell with the long queue that already exist at the boarder...
Religion teaches people to be nice, but ..... sigh....
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Fighting Corruption in Brunei
Everyone knows corruption exists not only in Brunei, but also the whole wide world, not only in developing countries but in developed countries... it is the scale of corruption done that differs from one country to another country... With less FDI into Brunei and not much major private sector economy in the country cept for the oil and gas industry, corruption in Brunei can be seen as "minute" compared to other countries..
Then again, what is wrong, is wrong...
Everyone knows that corruption in Brunei are mostly due to the red tape that exists... and literally its all about red tapes - the opaque procedures that occur around any "procedures".
Take, the tendering process..
Tenders are supposed to be "open" and published by Pelita Brunei and available on the notice board of the departments' concerned. But if you look at Pelita Brunei now (the website anyway, which is not updated), there's barely any projects going around... then again, is this true?
Then once a tender is being publish, then you have to look at the time allowed for contractors to submit the contract. Is it rationale for a contract worth over tens of millions to be estimated, can be completed in just 2 weeks? of coz... the implications are a lot here... probably a particular contract has been selected here.. hehhe...
Then once contractors submit the tender.. then what happens? No one knows until the contract has been awarded and this may take months... 6 months to 1 year perhaps? Why is this so? How difficult is it the tender board to put out the list of the prices of the contractors have bid? why is this against the law? why is not "transparent"? why allow the "wheeling and dealing" behind the scenes?
If the lowest contractor has been the top priority, then obviously, the performance of the said contractor must be assessed. Yet, people knows underperforming contractors are also allowed to take projects even though their other ongoing projects are delayed.
Then consultants... using consultants are good, supposedly having the latest knowldege building and designing a particular project. Being consultants where their fee is based on the tendered project price, obviously they would recomend higher bid contractor. Mind you, you have to check the materials that they have "recomend" to use. Sometimes, it would be unreasonable to have a gold plated door handle that costs say $50 when a silver plated door handle that works perfectly as well, can cost only $20...
Then once a project has been awarded, the contractor who won the project is not announced. It used to be published in the old newspapers on which contractor won a particular project, with the price clearly stated.... not now though... only after everything was done and "groundbreaking" ceremony starts that the price maybe announced...
Then, incase the contractor's job is delayed, yet why is it allowed to be delayed? which organization has the power and authority to make sure they work? and if they dont work, their contact should be cancelled. yet, most contracts are allowed to remain idle for years... why?
While ACB keeps talking about catching the corrupt regardless of creed or breed, it's a wonder why other depts are not involved in supporting ACB's aims... yes, ACB must be careful because Bruneians love to assassinate a character - get it - character assassination lah - heheh... then again, the leaves wouldnt move if there's no wind? it is based on the wise judgement of the people concern to estimate what is jealously and what is real corrupt behaviour... that is easily distinguised one probing is carefully done..
Psssst.... wasnt it staed in the General Orders that assets of public servants must be declared?... is it practiced?
pssst... the new ACB website looks great... BUT the statistics section is useless... why not look at the years of complaints rather than looking a just a few months of a year????
Then again, what is wrong, is wrong...
Everyone knows that corruption in Brunei are mostly due to the red tape that exists... and literally its all about red tapes - the opaque procedures that occur around any "procedures".
Take, the tendering process..
Tenders are supposed to be "open" and published by Pelita Brunei and available on the notice board of the departments' concerned. But if you look at Pelita Brunei now (the website anyway, which is not updated), there's barely any projects going around... then again, is this true?
Then once a tender is being publish, then you have to look at the time allowed for contractors to submit the contract. Is it rationale for a contract worth over tens of millions to be estimated, can be completed in just 2 weeks? of coz... the implications are a lot here... probably a particular contract has been selected here.. hehhe...
Then once contractors submit the tender.. then what happens? No one knows until the contract has been awarded and this may take months... 6 months to 1 year perhaps? Why is this so? How difficult is it the tender board to put out the list of the prices of the contractors have bid? why is this against the law? why is not "transparent"? why allow the "wheeling and dealing" behind the scenes?
If the lowest contractor has been the top priority, then obviously, the performance of the said contractor must be assessed. Yet, people knows underperforming contractors are also allowed to take projects even though their other ongoing projects are delayed.
Then consultants... using consultants are good, supposedly having the latest knowldege building and designing a particular project. Being consultants where their fee is based on the tendered project price, obviously they would recomend higher bid contractor. Mind you, you have to check the materials that they have "recomend" to use. Sometimes, it would be unreasonable to have a gold plated door handle that costs say $50 when a silver plated door handle that works perfectly as well, can cost only $20...
Then once a project has been awarded, the contractor who won the project is not announced. It used to be published in the old newspapers on which contractor won a particular project, with the price clearly stated.... not now though... only after everything was done and "groundbreaking" ceremony starts that the price maybe announced...
Then, incase the contractor's job is delayed, yet why is it allowed to be delayed? which organization has the power and authority to make sure they work? and if they dont work, their contact should be cancelled. yet, most contracts are allowed to remain idle for years... why?
While ACB keeps talking about catching the corrupt regardless of creed or breed, it's a wonder why other depts are not involved in supporting ACB's aims... yes, ACB must be careful because Bruneians love to assassinate a character - get it - character assassination lah - heheh... then again, the leaves wouldnt move if there's no wind? it is based on the wise judgement of the people concern to estimate what is jealously and what is real corrupt behaviour... that is easily distinguised one probing is carefully done..
Psssst.... wasnt it staed in the General Orders that assets of public servants must be declared?... is it practiced?
pssst... the new ACB website looks great... BUT the statistics section is useless... why not look at the years of complaints rather than looking a just a few months of a year????
Friday, October 17, 2008
Houses in Brunei?.... in 15-20 years time
12,000 New Houses In 5 Yrs By Malek Hashim
Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Development has unveiled plans for the construction of more than 12,000 housing units for the national housing needs.
The housing units are under the Rancangan Perumahan Negara (RPN) or National Housing Scheme and Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat Jati (STKRJ) or Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme under the 2007-2012 National Development Plan, as well as residual housing under the previous National Development Plan.
Also in line with national sheltering strategy, the Infill Scheme and issuing of land titles to qualified recipients have been implemented since the 1980s. To date, more than 2,010 land titles have been issued and more will be issued in the future....
further reading (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Oct08/151008/nite01.htm)
-------------------
Is it realistic to assume that this can be done in 5 years?... as someone simply calculated, it would take 5 or 6 houses to be completed in a day for this to be realised... or about 300 houses per month...
Do you know the current rate of house production for the National Housing Scheme (NHS) in Brunei?
Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Development has unveiled plans for the construction of more than 12,000 housing units for the national housing needs.
The housing units are under the Rancangan Perumahan Negara (RPN) or National Housing Scheme and Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat Jati (STKRJ) or Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme under the 2007-2012 National Development Plan, as well as residual housing under the previous National Development Plan.
Also in line with national sheltering strategy, the Infill Scheme and issuing of land titles to qualified recipients have been implemented since the 1980s. To date, more than 2,010 land titles have been issued and more will be issued in the future....
further reading (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Oct08/151008/nite01.htm)
-------------------
Is it realistic to assume that this can be done in 5 years?... as someone simply calculated, it would take 5 or 6 houses to be completed in a day for this to be realised... or about 300 houses per month...
Do you know the current rate of house production for the National Housing Scheme (NHS) in Brunei?
Its about 300 HOUSES PER YEAR!!! A YEAR, A YEAR, A YEAR... NOT A MONTH, A YEAR!!!!
Do you know what they need to do?
1. STOP giving contracts to the CHEAPEST "bumi" contractors who have totally NO experience other than wheel and deal to find the other cheapest incompetent contractor to do (sub to other contractors when they get the contract!!)
2. ENFORCE the rule which says that if they delay their job, they will be FINED up to certain amount of $$$ when projects are delayed
3. Govt also must ensure payment must be made ON TIME when its time to PAY contractors... It's no FUN to be taxed by the BANKS who take INTERESTS from the LOANS need to finance the projects....
Do you know what they need to do?
1. STOP giving contracts to the CHEAPEST "bumi" contractors who have totally NO experience other than wheel and deal to find the other cheapest incompetent contractor to do (sub to other contractors when they get the contract!!)
2. ENFORCE the rule which says that if they delay their job, they will be FINED up to certain amount of $$$ when projects are delayed
3. Govt also must ensure payment must be made ON TIME when its time to PAY contractors... It's no FUN to be taxed by the BANKS who take INTERESTS from the LOANS need to finance the projects....
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Japanese Buffett in Melbourne A$28 per head
pre-order the oyster when you make booking...
Dessert....
Shop's Name: J's Surf and Turf,
133 Were Street, Brighton, Victoria 3186, Melbourne.
If you book from 6.30pm, you have to finish at 8.30pm, and the 8.30pm will finish till whenever you finish, i guess... hee..
Visiting Victoria 3
Possibly the highest bridge in Melbourne, The West Gate Bridge ... 
Go to the left (green board line) if you dont want to get charged by the Citylink Toll... heee
Visiting Victoria 1
An "attempted" trip down to the Great Ocean Road.... took us over 2 hours from Melbourne to reach Geloong/Lorne Road areas... but because it was rainy a bit and the thought of driving another 2 hours just to see the 12 Apostles (now left 7 rocks) wasnt that appealing... decided to turn back after that...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
1st Entrepreneurs Award in Brunei - and Wu Chun gets it??
Well... surprise surprise...
Pehin Lau Ah Kok gets it - is not bad, afterall he's a well known figure in Brunei - the rags to riches story ... he deserved it... it's better late than never :-)
Pehin Lau Ah Kok gets it - is not bad, afterall he's a well known figure in Brunei - the rags to riches story ... he deserved it... it's better late than never :-)
Hope there's a book publish on that - how's that - any aspiring writers out there who wants to write it? they should... I heard stories by uncles and aunties that when they were young, they used to steal from Ah Kok's car (he was like travelling salesman back then) - small items which I'm sure he knows what the kids did but did not take any action... hahah
The guy in the centre is Pehin ("Lord") Lau Ah Kok
The big surprise for me - Wu Chun, gets the "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" award.... how is that possible again?.... If he becomes Brunei's TOURISM representative, thats not bad (he IS that popular among his Taiwanese teenage fans and THE most well known (and the only ???) BRUNEIAN "ENTERTAINER" in East Asia and Southeast Asia) but entrepreneur?... I remembered reading that he wanted to bring the Taiwanese filming crew to Brunei but I guess, there are no nice mansions in Brunei that he used for his dramas... just the Empire Hotel is not enough...
He's an actor la, and ermmm singer.... (ok, i dont actually watch his dramas, cozz.... i dont know, coz i dont think its nice - hahha - no offense, he's a "pretty" boy... after one episode, cant tolerate watching the ending.. sorry... his latest "idol" drama as a supporting cast is Hot Shot, which is currently airing in Taiwan, and you can watch it in Youtube :-) Oh ya, I read that he used to study in RMIT, in Melbourne, so his English should be better than some Taiwanese actors, hahah...
Not that this is relevant to the topic but, but incase anyone wants to watch Taiwanese Dramas, the best ones are Fated to Love You, My Lucky Star and Korean's 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (or just Coffee Prince)... hahha... ehh... out banar...
The newslink to the award ceremony:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/news/2008/08/30/bruneis_noted_entrepreneurs_honoured
Monday, August 04, 2008
Comparative Study...
Melbourne
One of the top cities that international students would love to go to. However, students on tight budgets might consider;
1. No transport concessions for students (unless you’re Australian citizen)
2. Rents are crazy – landlords can change and increase the rent prices every 6 months, hence students who can’t afford the rent has to move to a new place. Shifting houses is no joke because of other costs involved. Calculation of rent is different from Bribane, suffice to say, Brisbane rent calculation is cheaper compared to Melbourne.
3. Movie are not that cheap as those who get student concession in Brisbane
4. Internet download is based on the amount of info you downloaded! (at least still can download compared to Brunei’s e-speed la... heheh... BUT BUT can’t beat Manchester, UK where the download for anything is super SUPER super fast!)
5. Petrol price is around A$1.55 to A$1.70 per litre
6. Buses are not on time, worse during weekend (not that i’ve taken public transport in Brunei much, heheh). No shade on every bus stop!!! (as if it never rain!)
7. Train tickets (where you can use for buses and trams as well) are based on Zones, not on the distance. For example, in Singapore, the charges start from where your journey starts. In Melbourne, it depends on zone. So, if you’re in Zone 1 – city and to go to Zone 2 – which is where Clayton is, you will have to buy Zone 1+2 ticket. Not cost friendly.
8. Parking is expensive. So if you want to complain yayasan or parking bertingkat is expensive, come and try to park in Melbourne. 1 hour can cost up to $10 in the city!!!
9. People ask for money on trains and not even ashamed of it!!
10. Hmmm... why cant they build taller buildings outside the city? And Please... use better materials and workmanship for the construction. Baik lagi rumah yang d buat d Brunei, built by our expatriate workers atu – we haven’t thank them enough for our homes... right people??
One of the top cities that international students would love to go to. However, students on tight budgets might consider;
1. No transport concessions for students (unless you’re Australian citizen)
2. Rents are crazy – landlords can change and increase the rent prices every 6 months, hence students who can’t afford the rent has to move to a new place. Shifting houses is no joke because of other costs involved. Calculation of rent is different from Bribane, suffice to say, Brisbane rent calculation is cheaper compared to Melbourne.
3. Movie are not that cheap as those who get student concession in Brisbane
4. Internet download is based on the amount of info you downloaded! (at least still can download compared to Brunei’s e-speed la... heheh... BUT BUT can’t beat Manchester, UK where the download for anything is super SUPER super fast!)
5. Petrol price is around A$1.55 to A$1.70 per litre
6. Buses are not on time, worse during weekend (not that i’ve taken public transport in Brunei much, heheh). No shade on every bus stop!!! (as if it never rain!)
7. Train tickets (where you can use for buses and trams as well) are based on Zones, not on the distance. For example, in Singapore, the charges start from where your journey starts. In Melbourne, it depends on zone. So, if you’re in Zone 1 – city and to go to Zone 2 – which is where Clayton is, you will have to buy Zone 1+2 ticket. Not cost friendly.
8. Parking is expensive. So if you want to complain yayasan or parking bertingkat is expensive, come and try to park in Melbourne. 1 hour can cost up to $10 in the city!!!
9. People ask for money on trains and not even ashamed of it!!
10. Hmmm... why cant they build taller buildings outside the city? And Please... use better materials and workmanship for the construction. Baik lagi rumah yang d buat d Brunei, built by our expatriate workers atu – we haven’t thank them enough for our homes... right people??
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
The Best and Worst Pie/Pastry in Aussie
The BEST (frozen) pies around are the SARGENTS brand of pies....
The WORST pasties around is the HERBERT ADAMS's pastry (misleading advertisement on TV!!!!) Couldnt even stomach the content!!!!Sunday, June 22, 2008
Victoria Market, Melbourne
So now we appreciate Supasave prices as the prices here are not that cheap either... higher living standard, higher food prices... its a cycle.
Melbourne, Australia
Hotel Windsor in Melbourne
Monash University, Caulfield Campus (next to the Caulfield train station, its in Zone 1)
Ikea at Richmond...
Scenes from Victoria Market 
ps. been to the McDonald restaurant, dont understand why they dont have wash basin to wash hand. Where's the cleanliness and hygiene of a big city?
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Brunei's B$202 Million Subsidy
What Is Foregone For The $202mil Subsidy
By Za'im Zaini
Bandar Seri Begawan - A total of 2,880 units of low-cost housing, 20 health centres, 12 schools, 170km of new roads, 100,000 new computers for schools and 1,400 scholarships for students on a first degrees course overseas.
That is the estimate the government could have spent on instead of the $202 million that the government pays in subsidies for gasoline and diesel (2007 stats). This was among what was revealed in a pamphlet distributed yesterday during the Subsidy Awareness Campaign launched at the Gadong petrol station. Present M guest of honour was Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister's Office.
The event began with a welcoming speech from Hj Zolkiflee Hj Abdul Karim, Acting Director for Petroleum Unit. This was followed by the minister launching the awareness campaign by distribution of pamphlets and an informative poster.
The pamphlet also reveals that the amount $202 million in subsidies for gasoline and diesel is the highest figure paid by the government ever since the introduction of subsidies in 1978.
The subsidies paid for 2007 on premium 97 gasoline per litre is $0.3293, super 92 is $0.3207 per litre, regular $0.4127 and diesel $0.4990.
At the moment according to current market price, subsidies paid on premium 97 gasoline per litre is $0.49, super 92 is $0.48 per litre, regular $0.55 per litre and diesel $0.67 per litre.
Gasoline remains the highest in petroleum products used as in 2007 with over 250 million litres while in 2006 it was more than 300 million litres. Diesel use last year was less than 250 million litres usage and slightly above 200 million litres.
Brunei's price for gasoline is the lowest priced in the region per litre at a rate of $0.53 per litre as well as diesel at $0.31 per litre.
Thus, the public is urged to plan their journeys more wisely, use the bicycle or are encouraged to walk, to slow down, to make sure the car engine is in good condition — to name a few of the tips given.
The campaign is to inform the public on the price difference between subsidy and commercial, amount of government subsidy and also practical tips on how to save on gasoline and diesel usage. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
---------------------
B$16.8 million for one school
B$10 million for one health centre
B$1.1 million per km of road
B$144,000 for an overseas degree
B$70,000 each for a perpindahan house
B$2,020 for a computer
B$1.1 million per km of road
B$144,000 for an overseas degree
B$70,000 each for a perpindahan house
B$2,020 for a computer
One wonders how much does the government spent on rentals to house public servants? It must run into millions of dollars as well. If these are taken into account as well, am sure that the government can save a lot of money.
But while saving money is most important, one do wonder that if the savings are made, will the money actually go to build or pay for the infrastructure? Why then do you hear that contractors are not paid on time? I remembered hearing that the cleaners in govt institutions were not even paid on time, and mind you, how much do these people actually earn? Sigh... so many things to "clean up" before all those saving will really benefit the whole society.
But while saving money is most important, one do wonder that if the savings are made, will the money actually go to build or pay for the infrastructure? Why then do you hear that contractors are not paid on time? I remembered hearing that the cleaners in govt institutions were not even paid on time, and mind you, how much do these people actually earn? Sigh... so many things to "clean up" before all those saving will really benefit the whole society.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Birthday Buffet at SKR... (Seri Kemayan Restaurant)
Dont Forget the Egg...
"I got the most ballons... U cant have it.."
"I got the most ballons... U cant have it.."
The balloon maker..
Longevity noodle...
Lamb...
The fish
The Chicken
The Prawns
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