Answer for Oral Question PL166

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Dr. Awang Haji Mahali bin Haji Momin

YANG BERHORMAT DR. AWANG HAJI MAHALI BIN HAJI MOMIN asked the MENTERI DI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI to state how the Government is transitioning from reactive approaches such as stockpiling to proactive scenario planning and risk assessment in order to strengthen the country's resilience in facing increasingly complex geopolitical, economic and environmental shocks, as well as disruptions to global supply chains.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri

In addressing the concerns raised by Your Honourable Members, the administrative approach has been strengthened by placing greater emphasis on more proactive measures. The Komiti Kebangsaan Menangani Kesan Konflik Timur Tengah dan Perkembangan Semasa (KK-MKTTPS) was established as a strategic coordinating platform for a whole-of-government approach towards the intended proactive action, in order to strengthen the country's preparedness in facing global uncertainties, including geopolitical conflicts, pandemics, climate change and supply chain disruptions.

It was established to coordinate risk and impact assessments on the people, particularly to:

First – assess the risks to the supply of energy, food, medicines, construction materials and other basic necessities, including the economic and social impacts on low- and middle-income people;

Second – formulate cost-of-living mitigation measures, including immediate, short-, medium- and long-term interventions; and

Third – ensure fiscal sustainability through an integrated approach.

Strategies to achieve the objectives shared include:

a. Managing the level of the country's strategic reserve stocks of food, fuel and medicines;

b. Diversifying sources and supply chains, managing demand and preparing contingency plans; and

c. Regional and international cooperation to reduce import costs and the risk of supply disruptions.

This approach enables the Government to protect vulnerable groups without compromising the country's fiscal position. The Committee also provides a National Risk Monitoring Dashboard to monitor oil prices, stock levels and the status of supply chains, as well as issuing press releases and conducting public briefings to ensure that the people remain informed about the measures taken by the Government.

These efforts are further strengthened through scenario planning; regular risk assessments; monitoring of early warning indicators; and improving policies based on data and performance. This is important in establishing trigger indicators or trigger points, enabling the Government to act more quickly and accurately before a disruption develops into a larger crisis.

Among the risks identified are those from the perspective of energy security and security of supply for the country.

The energy sector contributes directly to the people's cost of living through fuel prices and electricity tariffs, and indirectly through transport and production costs. Therefore, the Government's measures for the energy sector to ensure affordability and fiscal sustainability focus on three pillars:

i. The first pillar – ensuring that domestic energy prices remain stable and affordable. The Government continues to maintain stable domestic prices for fuel, namely petroleum products and LPG, as well as electricity tariffs, even though crude oil and natural gas prices in the global market continue to fluctuate. As a result, the people and residents continue to enjoy reasonable energy supply prices and remain protected from fluctuations in the market prices of oil and natural gas.

ii. The second pillar – ensuring that energy consumption is carried out prudently. In line with the titah of Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam in conjunction with His Majesty's 80th Birthday, for all parties to use energy resources prudently, the Government will continue its efforts to ensure that energy is used more wisely and responsibly, so that subsidy support continues to provide genuine benefits to the people and residents without encouraging wastage.

As shared during the First Session of the Twenty-Second Legislative Session of the Majlis Mesyuarat Negara in 2026 at the beginning of this year, the country's electricity tariff structure is being refined from a regressive structure to a progressive one. This means that consumers will continue to enjoy reasonable rates based on their actual consumption patterns, while also encouraging more efficient energy use.

This approach was implemented for the residential sector in 2012 and will be extended to the commercial sector through the implementation of new tariffs in 2028. These efforts are also supported through various energy efficiency and conservation initiatives (Energy Efficiency and Conservation) for the public and industry, including awareness programmes, energy audits and energy-efficiency labelling for appliances.

iii. As for the third pillar, namely strengthening the sustainability of the country's energy and financial systems over the long term, the Government continues to monitor global energy price developments on an ongoing basis for more prudent fiscal planning, while diversifying the country's energy sources, including solar energy, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. This measure also strengthens the country's energy security through a more diversified and resilient supply system.

God willing, through a balanced approach that protects the people's well-being, ensures prudent energy use and promotes prudent management of the country's finances, the country's energy sector will continue to act as a catalyst for economic development and stability in the people's cost of living, while supporting the sustainable, resilient and competitive development of Negara Brunei Darussalam.

The Government recognises that geopolitical tensions and disruptions to international supply chains can increase food costs through rising prices for fuel, transport, fertiliser, seeds and animal feed.

Alongside efforts to ensure that energy security and security of supply remain protected, the Government is also giving equally important attention to food security as another key pillar of the people's well-being and national resilience.

Through an integrated Whole-of-Government approach, these efforts are implemented through continuous monitoring of prices and supplies, the transparent dissemination of price information via the PenggunaBijak platform, as well as price controls for selected essential goods. Close cooperation between Government agencies and industry players has also been strengthened to identify market pressures, formulate appropriate interventions and encourage the diversification of import sources, so that the supply of essential goods remains readily available at stable and reasonable prices, particularly for vulnerable groups.

In strengthening the country's food security, the Government's efforts cover the entire food value chain, from the provision of production requirements and agricultural, fisheries and livestock activities, to processing, distribution, marketing and exports. This includes regular monitoring of:

a. the availability of supplies and production costs;
b. increasing local production capacity;
c. maintaining strategic stocks of fertiliser and animal feed;
d. strengthening the supply of fish and prawn fry; and
e. promoting local fish-feed production to reduce exposure to rising import and logistics costs.

At the same time, the expansion of export markets continues to be supported to increase the scale, viability and sustainability of the industry, without compromising the priority of ensuring that domestic food requirements remain sufficient and secure at all times.

God willing, the Government, through the Komiti Kebangsaan, will continue to adopt a proactive, integrated and targeted approach to protect the people's well-being and ensure that the country remains prepared to face an increasingly complex and uncertain world. All these efforts will continue to be strengthened to ensure the country's resilience, stability and security.