DAY 4 AFTERNOON
7TH MARCH 2023-AFTERNOON
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(The meeting resumed at 2.30 pm)
Your Honorable Speaker
Honorable Members of Parliament, the National Assembly Meeting is still discussing the proposed bill titled "An Act to provide for the appropriation of a sum from the Consolidated Fund for the service of the financial year 2023/2024 and to allocate that sum for certain purposes", which has been suggested by the Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Minister of Finance and Economy II.
At the meeting held this morning, several specially appointed Honorable Members of Parliament made statements and gave explanations on this matter.
Therefore, to enable us to examine the topics contained in the (2023) Appropriation Bill 2023/2024, I adjourn this National Assembly Meeting and we will convene at the Committee Stage.
Deputy Clerk
The assembly is convened as a Committee.
(Meeting convened as a Committee)
بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيمHonorable Members, this assembly is now convened as a Committee to consider the proposed 2023 Bill, Supply 2023/2024, item by item, as proposed by the Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Second Minister of Finance and Economy. We will examine them one by one.
Deputy Clerk
Chapter 2, Divorce (1) and (2).
Your Honorable Chairman
Honorable Members. We are now discussing Chapter 2, Divorce (1) and (2). Are there any Honorable Members who wish to discuss it? If there are no Honorable Members who wish to discuss Chapter 2, Divorce (1) and (2), then I will put this matter to a vote. Honorable Members who agree with Chapter 2, Divorce (1) and (2), please raise your hands.
All Members raise their hands in agreement.
As there is no objection, Chapter 2, Divorce (1) and (2), is included in the Schedule to this Bill.
Deputy Clerk
Chapter 2, Divorces (1) and (2) are included as part of the Schedule.
Your Honorable Speaker
Honorable Members. Before we discuss the topics in the next Schedule, I would like to draw the attention of all Honorable Members to examine the topics contained in this Schedule, namely for any ministry that has many departments under it, then to facilitate our discussion and be more effective, it will be divided into two or three parts to be examined and discussed.
The next Schedule is the Prime Minister's Department. As the Prime Minister's Department has 20 departments under it, the discussion on this topic will be divided into three parts.
Deputy Clerk
Topics SA01A to SA07A - Prime Minister's Department.
Your Honorable Speaker
Honorable Members. We are now discussing the topics of the Prime Minister's Department and its subordinate departments.
Before I open these topics for discussion, I would like to draw the attention of Your Honorable Members appointed that there are five departments under the Prime Minister's Department which are categorized as closed departments, namely the Narcotics Control Bureau, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Department of Internal Security, Royal Brunei Police and Brunei Investigation Department.
As these departments are directly related to strategic national security affairs, the issues to be discussed may be quite sensitive and not suitable for open discussion, so we do not need to discuss these topics in this chamber.
However, before I open the floor to Your Honorable Members to discuss the topics under the Prime Minister's Department, I would like to give the opportunity to the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Second Minister of Defense to make a statement on the preparation of the budget and the direction of the Prime Minister's Department for the Financial Year 2023/2024.
I call upon Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense to make a statement on the provision of the Budget and the direction of the Prime Minister's Department for the Financial Year 2023/2024.
I now invite Your Honorable Minister.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Good afternoon and greetings,
Your Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members, may Allah bless us all. I respectfully address you.
First and foremost, allow me to express my utmost gratitude to Your Honorable Speaker for the opportunity to deliver an opening speech on the focus of the Prime Minister's Department's budget for the Financial Year 2023/2024 in this august house during the month of Syaaban, a month full of blessings and special significance.
At the outset of this opportunity, I, on behalf of the Prime Minister's Department and its subordinate departments, respectfully and reverently present our highest appreciation to His Majesty the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, for the allocation of $573,189,035.
If present, I would like to clarify that "kaola" is a Malay word used by the speaker to refer to themselves, which can be translated to "I".
Your Honorable Speaker, we express our gratitude to the Almighty هللا سبحانه وتعالى for His blessings that have allowed us to convene in this esteemed chamber in an atmosphere conducive to the exchange of ideas and face-to-face discussions.
Over the past 3 years, we have together faced and overcome various challenges and uncertainties during the pandemic in our country.
Undoubtedly, the success of the daily life recovery enjoyed would not have been achieved without the grace and mercy of هللا سبحانه وتعالى and the blessings of the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, who emphasizes the importance of the whole-of-government approach and the whole-of-nation approach.
In this regard, the Prime Minister's Office is always ready and continuously fulfilling its role as the main agency of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in delivering His Majesty's pure intentions to maintain the security and enhance the prosperity of the country in an integrated manner with government and non-government agencies as well as every layer of society.
Your Honorable Speaker, it is with pleasure to inform that the estimated expenditure of the Prime Minister's Department and its subordinate departments is formulated with emphasis on the goals and priorities that support the theme of the national budget for the Financial Year 2023/2024, which is "Unitedly Building a More Prosperous Future".
The Prime Minister's Department, as the main agency in leading and coordinating the implementation of the functions of the Government under the reign of His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, fully upholds His Majesty's desire to continuously improve the level of public service delivery that will drive the country's resilient economic development and safeguard the interests, security, and harmony of the country, including its people and residents, in line with the strategic plan of the Prime Minister's Department, which is excellent leadership and governance, as well as the goals of Vision Brunei 2035.
In this regard, the Prime Minister's Department and its subordinate departments will target the implementation of expenditure estimates based on efforts that support the three priorities of the national budget that have been set. The first priority is to maintain public welfare. The Prime Minister's Department and its subordinate departments will continue to develop strategies to maintain political stability, defend the sovereignty of the country, connect defense capabilities and diplomatic capabilities, and also prepare the country to address security threats. National security agencies will continue to collaborate through a whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, which is by working with the public in jointly safeguarding the welfare, security, and safety of Brunei Darussalam. The Prime Minister's Department will continue to improve the quality of public services to maintain and enhance public safety and compliance with the rule of law. One of the initiatives to ensure smoother operations and increased presence of these agencies throughout the country is through the vehicle and motorcycle rental initiative under the Royal Brunei Police Force asset acquisition planning project for the Royal Brunei Police Force, Narcotics Control Bureau, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Prime Minister's Department will also be implementing the National Coastal Surveillance System (NCSS) monitoring system this year, which will further strengthen the capabilities of security and enforcement agencies in Brunei Darussalam to suppress criminal activities in the country's maritime and coastal areas.
In terms of legislation, the courts have taken the initiative through the Department of Justice to use technological methods to ensure that case processing continues to run smoothly as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The courts will also continue to take initiatives to use technology to expedite and enhance the effectiveness of case resolution.
The Attorney General's Office is also not lagging behind in funding technological methods to ensure public access to justice. In addition, the well-being of the public continues to be maintained through the delivery of available services monitored by the Department of Management Services.
Among the initiatives undertaken to improve the quality of services is through the Prime Innovation Award Program (AIP), which is a recognition to government departments that have successfully implemented new approaches and innovations in delivering services to the public by improving and streamlining workflows to be more relevant and efficient. At the same time, the Prime Minister's Department, through Radio Television Brunei and the Information Department, plays a role as the official government media agency in providing fast, accurate and reliable information to support the country's policies and strategies in providing understanding to the public and contributing to the development and dignity of the country's laws.
The Radio Television Program as well as the Community Program and the Legal Guidance Program from the Royal Mufti Department will continue to be intensified to disseminate information to the public. Efforts towards achieving the goal of improving and strengthening the welfare of the public, as outlined in the second goal of Wawasan Brunei 2035, which is high quality of life, are also being actively implemented through the implementation of the Social Blueprint.
It is led by the Prime Minister's Department and the National Council on Social Issues chaired by Your Honorable Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports and receives cooperation and inputs from relevant parties and will serve as a reference to integrate planning and actions across various sectors in addressing issues faced by the public. This blueprint will also complement the Manpower and Economic Blueprint so that any actions taken through these three blueprints will always aim to realize Brunei Vision 2035, which is only about 12 years away.
In sha Allah, this social blueprint will be disseminated effectively after it is approved so that every layer of society will be able to understand their roles and the impact of their actions in supporting the government's efforts to achieve the blueprint's objectives. The second priority is to support an inclusive and resilient national recovery. Alhamdulillah, we thank Allah SWT for the blessings bestowed upon Brunei Darussalam, despite being one of the smallest countries in the world and having produced oil and gas since 1929, almost 100 years ago. We are still able to sustain the production of oil and gas, which has contributed to the well-being of the people and residents of this country.
In addition to the accompanying prayer of gratitude, we continue to strive diligently to manage the production of oil and gas resources so that they can be sustainable in helping to build the country's economy.
Overall, the energy sector continues to play an important role in boosting the country's economy, where the energy sector has contributed approximately 60% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and has provided about 22,000 jobs.
In the upstream oil and gas sector, the Energy Department in the Prime Minister's Department has developed a strategic plan with the main goal of maintaining oil and gas production at the current level, which is equivalent to about 300,000 barrels per day in the medium term and will increase to about 350,000 barrels per day in the long term. This increase not only requires the development of resources in deep waters but also requires an increase in exploration activities.
In the short term, efforts to recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are being vigorously pursued.
As understood, COVID-19 which has hit the world since the beginning of 2020 has had a negative impact on the level of oil and gas production in all countries, especially in this region, including our country, Brunei Darussalam.
To achieve this goal, the upstream oil and gas sector is expected to spend almost $20 billion in the next 5 years to finance development and operations programs.
This is an increase of approximately 15% compared to the past 5 years. In addition to our efforts to maximize the results from oil and gas resources, we are also collaborating with OPEC+ countries to stabilize the oil market, which will certainly benefit producers and users in the long term.
Praise be to Allah, the efforts of OPEC+ have been able to restore oil prices to a reasonable level to help ensure continuous investment to guarantee future oil supplies. Stable oil prices at a reasonable level also have a more significant impact on national income.
All praise be to Allah. The net income of the country from the upstream oil and gas sector last year was the highest since 2014.
In the downstream oil and gas sector, the Energy Department at the Prime Minister's Office will collaborate with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) to support the growth of the downstream sector by maximizing and strengthening the value chain of the downstream sector through the development of downstream derivative projects that utilize petrochemical products as feedstock.
Downstream activities on Pulau Muara Besar, which are more based on oil-based downstream industries, will grow rapidly when the second phase of Pulau Muara Besar, which is currently in the planning stage, requires an investment of approximately USD$9 billion and is expected to start operating in 2027/2028. Dredging and reclamation work to increase the area on Pulau Muara Besar is being carried out intensively and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The Government of Brunei Darussalam will continue to strengthen efforts to improve the efficiency and quality of services provided to customers.
Alignment in the use of information and communication technology and improvements in systems and procedures related to customer service are among the efforts being enhanced.
Source: Prime Minister's Department
The second phase of the Pulau Muara Besar project will shift its focus from fuel transportation products to high-value market products. The first phase produced 7 types of products, while the second phase is expected to produce at least 10 new petrochemical and chemical products, which will increase opportunities for new product production and at the same time generate job opportunities for job seekers among local children.
Meanwhile, in the Sungai Liang Industrial Park, which is more based on downstream gas-based industries, there are currently the Brunei Methanol Company and Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI). Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI) has high potential for downstream activities where 5 product plants have been identified and several potential investors have expressed interest in exploring investment opportunities for this opportunity.
In the sector of electricity supply and transportation fuel, the priority is to meet the country's needs to maintain the well-being of the people and the population, and to further drive the growth of the country's economic activities, which is expected to develop rapidly. The country has achieved an electrification rate of around 99.9%. The Department of Electrical Services will continue its efforts to achieve 100% coverage of the country's electricity supply by focusing on the rural areas in the Belait and Tutong Districts. The Temburong District is expected to be connected to the national network in the first quarter of next year.
To ensure that the country's energy supply is sustainable and low-carbon, the Energy Department in the Prime Minister's Department continues to focus on energy transition efforts, including the large-scale use of solar energy in the country by increasing the installation of solar energy by 200 megawatts by 2025 through the implementation strategies of Suria 200 with the involvement of the public-private and energy-intensive industries.
In the long term, we will also explore the production of other renewable energy sources such as hydrogen and carbon capture technologies like Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).
The establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change (ACCC) this year signifies Brunei Darussalam's commitment to climate change in line with the country's development goals and resilient economy. The establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change (ACCC) will enable the country to become a regional hub for climate change research and knowledge.
The third priority is the development of a dynamic, proactive and innovative human capital model. The Prime Minister's Office and its departments will continue to implement capacity-building programs.
This includes a new job placement program known as the Public Service Development Program to the Republic of Singapore, which aims to provide opportunities for outstanding civil servants to be placed in government agencies or related agencies in the Republic of Singapore for a certain period of time in fields that are relevant to the needs and strategies of ministries, departments and government agencies in Brunei Darussalam.
The Public Service Development Program for government officials of Brunei Darussalam is the result of the decision made during the 8th Young Leader's Programme (YLP) held on 3rd to 5th August 2022 in the Republic of Singapore. It was further strengthened through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Singapore on 24th August 2022 in the Republic of Singapore.
This collaboration is expected to bring benefits in terms of exchanging ideas, experiential learning, best practices, knowledge enhancement, building networks, and of course, strengthening the good relationship between Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Singapore that has been established for so long.
It is hoped that the participants involved will be able to contribute to the improvement of the quality of public service delivery through the enhancement of work processes within the public service organization upon returning to their home country.
At this time, the Prime Minister's Department is also updating the Public Service Framework which will continue to focus on strengthening the public service in terms of capacity development, organizational excellence, and pro-business environment. Among the capacity development programs that have been proposed are the Civil Service Leadership Pipeline (CSLP) and leadership development programs such as the Executive Development Program for Senior Government Officers (EDPGSO), the Executive Development Program for Mid-Level Officers (EDPMMO), and the Young Executive Program (YEP).
These programs not only increase the talent pool, but also aim to prepare public service officers to hold leadership positions.
Towards strengthening effectiveness and productivity improvement, the development of public service competencies is also given priority through the Public Civil Service Capability Development Framework (PSCDF) which is being prepared by the Public Service Institute.
This framework aims to serve as a guide outlining the core competencies for each level of the public service role to measure their capabilities or abilities.
The Public Service Institute will continuously provide human capital development for officers and public servants to support and implement the strategies, initiatives, and programs of ministries and departments to produce excellent service delivery.
In addition, upskilling and reskilling courses for job seekers under the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) and JobCentre Brunei (JCB) will continue to be implemented in collaboration with educational institutions in the country to provide marketable workforce for the first job market in private companies. All of this is done to support Dynamic, Proactive, and Innovative Human Capital Development.
Continuous initiatives are also being implemented to further expand employment opportunities for locals, especially in major oil and gas operating companies through the enforcement of the Bruneianisation Directive.
In addition, the Local Business Development Directive for the Oil and Gas Industry will continue to play a vital role in providing a competitive ecosystem for local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) such as through the i-Entrepreneur program.
Regarding the development of human capital, the promotion of the Islamic Heritage at the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Islamic Treasury (BKISHHB) is also being pursued. This treasury, أ ْلحَمْدُ ِلله, was reopened on December 12th of last year, to achieve the pure intention of His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to be made into a superior knowledge hub through the storytelling of artifacts related to the history of Islamic civilization as a learning opportunity for the public.
The BKISHHB will also continue to enhance research on the collections found in the treasury, such as manuscripts, to produce high-quality narratives for each collection so that they will be attractive to researchers, whether from within or outside the country, to obtain specific information and value as pure scientific knowledge or for further research purposes.
Your Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members. It is my pleasure to inform that the efforts for the Financial Year 2023/2024 are aimed at supporting the Fiscal Consolidation Program to ensure prudent and high-priority spending by emphasizing value for money and ensuring sufficient internal controls over the financial management of each department to achieve the desired outcomes of such spending and thereby assist in the efforts to recover the economy of the country from the COVID-19 Endemic Phase. In conclusion, with the permission of Allah and the blessings of the wise leadership of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Prime Minister's Office and its departments will continue to actively pursue the goals of Wawasan Brunei 2035 through a whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, guided by the strategies outlined.
Your Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members. The Prime Minister's Office will continue to manage spending prudently and ensure that every expenditure continuously produces a positive and significant impact on the people, residents, and the country through the implementation of the priorities of the Prime Minister's Office.
Based on that, the Prime Minister's Department and its departments for the Financial Year 2023/2024 have been supported to provide an allocation for Employee Salaries and Recurring Expenditure amounting to $573,189,035 million. That is all I can explain about the proposed budget for the Prime Minister's Department and its departments for the Financial Year 2023/2024.
Your Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members. I also thank Your Honorable Speaker for informing that 5 departments under the Prime Minister's Department are closed departments, namely the Narcotics Control Bureau, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Department of Internal Security, Royal Brunei Police Force, and Brunei Investigation Department.
Because these departments are directly related to strategic national security matters, the issues to be discussed may be sensitive and not suitable for open discussion. Therefore, Honorable Members and others are advised to take note of this.
Your Honorable/I conclude this preamble by inviting everyone in this honorable Parliament to pray for blessings from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, as well as the royal family, to continue to be blessed with good health, long life, and the ability to govern Brunei Darussalam. Ameen.
That is all I have to say. May Allah guide us and grant us success and peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings of Allah. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Chairman
Thank you, Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense, for the explanation and direction in preparing the budget for the Prime Minister's Department and its departments.
Honorable Members. Under Title SA01A to Title SA07A, I now open the floor for discussion. I have a list of Honorable Members who would like to participate in discussing these topics. I will begin by inviting Your Honorable Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan.
Your Honorable Awang Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. I would like to touch on the matter under Topic SA01A, which has become an issue, namely the 'flying letter' issue.
Regarding the 'flying letter' in Brunei Darussalam, is this 'flying letter' categorized as a valid report that needs attention from the relevant parties, even though it does not clearly state the details of the responsible parties' names and addresses? If this 'flying letter' is only motivated by negativity or has malicious intent, what actions should the authorities take to prevent it from spreading further among our society? Thank you.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Defense
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker, and I would like to thank the honorable member for the question regarding the 'flying letter'. I, myself, am reluctant to answer the Speaker's question.
However, this 'open letter' can also be considered as one of the types of official complaints that will be taken seriously and appropriate action will be taken by certain agencies in the Prime Minister's Department. If there is any incitement regarding the delivery of services under the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, it will be handled by the Service Management Department in the Prime Minister's Department.
The department will investigate the contents of the 'open letter' together with relevant agencies. This matter will be taken seriously by the Prime Minister's Department for the improvement and smooth operation of the government machinery. In other words, perhaps this person has exhausted all other approaches, hence resorting to making a complaint through an 'open letter'. However, this also requires investigation, Your Honorable Speaker. I also acknowledge that this issue is one of the sources of information for enforcement agencies such as the Royal Brunei Police Force, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Narcotics Control Bureau and Anti-Corruption Bureau for hotspots such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with reports received from certain sources regarding smuggling activities and misuse of drugs as well as breach of trust.
However, the Prime Minister's Department emphasizes the importance of the information and accountability of the informant and the content of the letter. It should not be received suddenly but through investigation processes from various agencies.
If the "anonymous letter" is deemed negative, malicious, or defamatory towards someone, it can be reported to the Royal Brunei Police Force based on several provisions in the law, including Chapter 24 of the Sedition Act, Chapter 25 of the Undesirable Publication Act, Chapter 180 of the Broadcasting Act, and Chapter 192 of the Defamation Act.
I, myself (if the speaker is using "kaola"), would like to emphasize that spreading "fake news" such as the "anonymous letter" can lead to defamation and sow discord, causing destruction of property and loss of life. Such irresponsible actions must be avoided, and if found guilty, the perpetrator will be prosecuted or punished accordingly.
That is among the answers regarding the 'letter kite' issue. I hope it will not be turned into a negative culture and should stop as soon as possible. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
I now invite Your Honorable Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim.
Your Honorable Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim and salutations. Your Honorable Speaker, and Honorable Members. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker for the opportunity given to me to express my views and participate in the discussion of the Prime Minister's Department Budget and its departments.
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Second Minister of Defense for the introduction on the focus of the Prime Minister's Department. I also take note of several initiatives that have been presented in the introduction such as the Civil Service Pipeline and the placement of officers in the Republic of Singapore and so on, and congratulations are in order.
However, Your Honorable would like to seek clarification on some of the programs implemented by the Prime Minister's Department.
One of the core programs that the Prime Minister's Department is focusing on is under Account Code 002/000 - Government Policy Management, where the department will implement a more progressive Public Service renewal through Digital Transformation and strengthen government administration.
For Kaola, this program is important because a progressive Public Service with strong and transparent governance will have a significant impact on improving productivity and integrity of the Public Service and will avoid inconsistencies in decision-making.
It is also hoped that it will accelerate the process of providing services to the public and create a pro-business and conducive environment that will help to build a more sustainable, resilient, and competitive economy.
Praise be to Allah, Kaola highly praises this initiative, but Kaola is pleased to receive further clarification on this program as follows: -
Can you share what renewal programs have been and are being implemented under this framework, especially in transforming the Public Service comprehensively? What is its effectiveness so far?;
How does the Prime Minister's Department monitor and measure the effectiveness of these programs, not only their impact on Public Service personnel but also on the public as a whole? Have specific KPIs been identified, especially those related to providing services to the public?;
Has Third Party Assessment been conducted to obtain feedback and effectiveness of the implemented program, especially its impact on the ground?
Will this program also strengthen Human Resource Development, Succession Planning, Talent Identification, and precise skills handling as presented by Your Honorable during the Usul Menjunjung Kasih last Saturday?
Another issue that I would like to highlight is related to productivity, especially in the government organization. This productivity issue is closely related to the delivery system as the Lead and Coordinating Agency for the entire administration and public management. I believe that the Prime Minister's Department must have certain programs to address productivity issues in public service.
The process of providing transparent, fast, and reliable services is one of the facilities to make this country Pro-Business and create a conducive environment for development and progress, especially in the government's efforts to achieve Wawasan Brunei 2035.
All of this depends heavily on the human nature of the work force and their willingness to adapt and overcome current and future challenges. If the work force is efficient, productive, pro-changes, and has integrity, it will help the country move forward and become more resilient and competitive.
Therefore, I would like to know what are the latest programs implemented by the Prime Minister's Department to improve the productivity of the civil service and what are their effectiveness so far? Can I continue with Your Honorable Speaker about the MPC, which also relates to the Prime Minister's Department as a whole. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate the MPEC Secretariat for their efforts in addressing the issue of unemployment, especially in exceeding the target for recruitment, particularly in 2022. Kaola would like some clarification on a few issues, such as:
In the information presented by MPEC, the recruitment in the non-oil and gas sector has shown a decline since 2020, while the oil and gas sector has increased. Has the cause of this been studied, considering that we have seen some improvements in the non-oil and gas sector? Overall, Kaola is concerned that the number of unemployed may be higher than the number registered if it includes workers categorized as underemployed. It is one of the terms used for workers who are forced to take jobs below their qualifications or skills, with significantly lower wages.
I appreciate the initiatives of MPEC in organizing Up Skilling Training Programs, Skill Plus, TVET, schemes implemented in addition to developing Competency Framework and Salary Guidelines for the private sector. However, I would like to know if there is any follow-up that can track and monitor whether the workers hired by the private sector can sustain their jobs in the long run?
Meanwhile, I also want to know about the aspect of Technical and Vocational Education. What is the strategy to provide a workforce that can replace the need for foreign workers in this country? For example, in the sub-sector of building, repair and renovation, carpentry, concrete technology, plumbing, the automotive sector such as body repair mechanics, electronic repair, the electrical and telecommunications sector such as pulling and planting electrical or telecom cables, and so on, are currently mostly filled by foreign workers.
The largest group of job seekers appears to be from the secondary school level, followed by the HND and equivalent Bachelor's degree level, with approximately 2,500 people. Most of these graduates, Alhamdulillah, have participated in the i-Ready program, which is currently being updated in terms of regulations and placement duration. According to the information, a large majority, 86%, of these graduates have secured permanent employment.
The question is: What happened to the 14% who were not employed? With the number of graduates from higher education institutions in the country at around 1,500-2,000 per year, not including graduates from foreign universities, this number will certainly increase every year.
Kaola wants to know what the country's strategy is to address this issue, especially in opening up and creating more job opportunities. On the same subject of i-Ready, Kaola also suggests that the placement period, especially for start-up companies, be reviewed to provide longer opportunities for these start-ups to grow and establish themselves. These companies usually only become self-sufficient after more than 2 to 3 years in business.
Finally, I would like to know about the receptiveness of companies involved in welcoming the benefits of these programs. For example, in providing reasonable additional allowances, training, and welfare for local workers.
Have these graduates been provided with facilities that are reasonable and comparable to those offered to foreign workers?
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. Kaola also extends many thanks to Your Honorable.
Indeed, this question is quite extensive, especially in the context of public services, and there are several questions (perhaps 4) including how monitoring is done and so on.
Secondly, for MPEC, there is also a connection that can be answered by Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Finance and Economy.
At the beginning of this stage, Kaola accepts that this question is extensive and requires clearer explanations.
Kaola requests for a deferment to answer and obtain further information to satisfy Your Honorable and other Honorable Members.
It appears that even the previous discussion session with JPM was not sufficient for an explanation of all this.
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
Yes, please proceed.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Finance and Economy would like to make his statement.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Finance and Economy
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Thank you to Your Honorable for the question regarding MPEC.
There are several questions regarding the employment of workers in the non-oil and gas sector.
It seems to be increasing compared to the oil and gas sector.
Indeed, for MPEC, it does not matter whether the job is in the oil and gas sector or not.
We encourage any opportunities available in the market, and our workers are encouraged to seize those job opportunities. If it is not in the non-oil and gas sector, the challenges are different from the oil and gas sector.
The oil and gas sector is indeed an established sector, so if it's not oil and gas, one sector that has always lacked our people working in these sectors.
There are several issues, not only security or low salaries and so on. Various reasons among them are often heard, salaries are not commensurate with the oil and gas sector. To address this issue, MPEC collaborated with several industry players to review and conduct a survey in terms of salaries in the private sector. These salary guidelines were recently launched as a guideline for employers in the private sector.
This is a starting step, we have not yet fully enforced it, this is just a guideline subject to employers. This is a guide for them to set salaries for their employees in several sectors at this time.
Hopefully, with these salary guidelines, we can establish a level where these workers may last longer in their jobs, not like what we often hear, after working for a few weeks or months, they immediately ask for a change or quit, switch jobs to other employers, and so on. We at MPEC will always monitor.
For graduates who are still unemployed, they can attend courses such as upskilling, reskilling, and others while waiting for suitable job opportunities. This is not a waste of their time while waiting. This is an effort by MPEC to provide opportunities for our local youth.
There were many questions from Your Honorable, but I will try to capture the main points. One major issue that we often hear about is i-Ready. The purpose of i-Ready is to provide training to our graduates. Before i-Ready was launched, we often heard from employers that they would not hire our graduates because they lacked experience. i-Ready, which is funded by the government, provides opportunities for our graduates to gain exposure and work experience in the private sector.
After completing i-Ready, it is up to both the employer and the employee whether they will continue working together or if the employee will work elsewhere.
What is important is that they gain experience and that is the goal of i-Ready. One requirement to ensure that they will hire employees who have undergone training is that their matching i-Ready allowance must be at least $800. This means that if the allowance is $800, their starting salary must be $800 or more. As for whether they will be given additional allowances or not, it is subject to the employer's ability and other factors, and that is why Kaola cannot force the employer because the employer must also consider their own business performance and capabilities.
The proposal to extend the i-Ready period, especially for start-ups, requires further research on how to classify start-up and non-start-up companies, which can be studied first.
It is hoped that if i-Ready is taken by employers as permanent employees, the employer should consider whether the training should be continued if there is a need or not, subject to the employer's decision.
Your Honorable, our responsibility is indeed encouraging and promoting the development of our human resources, but we also need to consider the performance and needs of the companies in various fields. That is the only answer I have to the question from Your Honorable Pehin. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
We now invite Your Honorable Dayang Hajah Rosmawatty binti Haji Abdul Mumin.
Your Honorable Dayang Hajah Rosmawatty binti Haji Abdul Mumin
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Your Honorable Speaker, I have two questions. Firstly, regarding manpower planning and secondly, regarding oil and gas. I would like to refer to the matter of Recurrent Expenditure for Human Resource Services, with an allocation of $20,200,000.00. As a response to the objectives of the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) program, which is to support the vision and mission of MPEC in ensuring effective human resource programs in line with the employability of local citizens and job creation. Alhamdulillah, the establishment of the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) has successfully reduced the unemployment rate in Brunei Darussalam. I understand that the Country Blueprint for Manpower Planning and Employment Council is being developed. This is a significant establishment, both for the country and its impact, InshaAllah. Therefore, to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of the Blueprint, there needs to be a regular change management process. My suggestion is:
i. Kaola proposes that the Change Management Programme be co-created with representatives from stakeholders such as the government sector, private sector, youth and academia. This is to facilitate the acceptance of proposals by all stakeholders and ensure smooth implementation, in sha Allah.
ii. It is understood that there are self-funded students who have obtained jobs outside the country. Therefore, Kaola also suggests that jobs be given outside the country to qualified Bruneians, especially those who have been awarded scholarships by the government. Their services should also be recognized and accepted at a professional level. However, they should be required to return home after serving for 2 to 3 years abroad with the aim of contributing and sharing the knowledge and experience they have gained to serve their own country.
iii. Kaola proposes the creation of job opportunities for local children to work in Brunei's embassies. This opens up job opportunities for everyone instead of being known only to a few citizens. As a start, Kaola suggests that this be implemented in Brunei's embassy in ASEAN countries. The job requirements will be handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Question two regarding oil and gas. Your Honorable, it is understood that the current oil and gas production is at a low level and affecting the reduction of the country's revenue. It is also understood that the reasons for the decline are due to unscheduled deferment and long response times to handle recovery.
Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) has spent hundreds of millions of Brunei Dollars on integrity recovery projects since 5 to 8 years ago. It is very sad that these efforts have not yet shown results in terms of production reliability. Your Honorable, it is also understood that at this time, technical leadership in BSP is led by foreigners or expatriates. They should contribute value-added expertise in terms of innovation and technology.
One of the reasons why the targets mentioned in the Energy White Paper cannot be achieved is the disappointing deep water results. However, there is still a hydrocarbon portfolio that can be developed with low-cost development. This requires advanced innovation and technology.
Kaola suggests that the Department of Energy should emphasize to BSP and TOTAL the sense of urgency to increase oil and gas production by sweating their assets without compromising safety. The second suggestion is for BSP to reinvigorate their succession planning to ensure that key technical leadership positions in BSP are held by locals from Brunei.
This should also be extended to other government-linked companies. Kaola also suggests that unexplored accretion should be reopened to other low-cost oil and gas developers.
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable at the Department of Prime Minister and Finance and Economy II
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker and thank you, Your Honorable Dayang Hajah Rosmawatty binti Haji Abdul Mumin for the questions raised.
Firstly, regarding MPEC, it is suggested that this change management program is very important for the country, but it is not under the responsibility of MPEC.
As in any other state, to continue and advance this change management, it will happen. All stakeholders understand that we will use change management to attract more foreign direct investors into the country. This is also a form of change management and is not the responsibility of MPEC. Perhaps there is a colleague who is suitable to answer this question.
Secondly, regarding self-funded students being allowed to work abroad, we cannot prohibit them from taking opportunities abroad if they are self-funded. It is also good for them to gain experience abroad, but Brunei is our country, and it is time for them to return home to continue contributing to the country if there are opportunities. If job opportunities are not yet available, we encourage them to gain experience abroad instead of waiting here.
Regarding the proposal about the embassy hiring foreign workers, it is uncertain whether other states have regulations for hiring foreign workers. The Minister of Foreign Affairs can answer this question.
Question in the oil and gas category, actually this issue did not just happen in recent years. For more than a decade, we have heard issues such as asset integrity and so on.
In the oil and gas industry, if we do not address the issue on time, it will affect production in the continuous years to come. So this issue is not a one-time issue, for example, efforts this year will change next year, it will take a long time. So we always make sure that those who work in the oil and gas industry must have sufficient technical expertise.
This is not just about foreigners coming, but also our own people. We must also ensure that those who work in the oil and gas industry have the skills and experience to carry out their daily tasks. This is indeed an issue that we have no sense of urgency about.
Under the Petroleum Authority and the representative of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, there are always discussions with Shell Management regarding this issue, because during COVID-19, most engineers or workers were unable to enter in 2020-2021. So many turnarounds or maintenance could not be carried out, so some were deferred.
Your Honorable, this is also one of the consequences of the delay that affects production kits at this time, but we must also understand that we have our own wells and so on. We have been extracting oil and gas for many years. So, the challenges are different from before, and because our wells are more matured, our technical expertise is becoming more sophisticated. These are some things that we must take into consideration.
To invigorate BSP, this matter is always being considered not only by BSP but also by all BSJV. Whether we bring in a low-cost operator, that is indeed an opportunity if the wells that cannot be developed by BSP, we can think of other operators, but that is an issue that we cannot decide easily, and we must conduct purpose studies.
"In sha Allah", that is all that I, myself, can answer the questions from Your Honorable. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
Thank you. I now invite Your Honorable Awang Mohammad bin Abdullah @ Lim Swee Ann.
Your Honorable Awang Mohammad bin Abdullah @ Lim Swee Ann
Assalamualaikum and greetings, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. I would like to seek clarification, I am pleased to refer to the motion of Love and Care Proposal made on Saturday, 4th March 2023 in this honorable House regarding the special allocation for the progress and welfare of the people under the capacity of the Honorable Members to finance projects and special activities, especially for urgent needs that require attention and urgent action. I would like to know if this matter can be considered reasonably. That is all I have to say, thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
The Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
To answer the question of the Honorable Mr. Mohammad bin Abdullah @ Lim Swee Ann, it is related to the Department of Councils and how to ensure the welfare of the Honorable Members. There is no exact answer here, but any allocation requested may be requested by the department and then discussed in certain meetings. Perhaps there is no exact answer here, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
Your Honorable, I think it would be better if the Honorable Member asks specifically what is meant so that the colleague next to me can answer accurately.
Let's move on to Your Honorable Dr. Awang Haji Mahali bin Haji Momin.
Your Honorable Dr. Awang Haji Mahali bin Haji Momin
السالم عليكم ورحمة هللا وبركاته,بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم
Greetings. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members. Thank you to the Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Defence for providing the explanation and enlightenment on the Prime Minister's Department. I, referring to 002/003 Management of the Wawasan Brunei 2035 Affairs. Regarding Wawasan Brunei 2035, I observe that the country's economic growth projection is between 2-3%.
If this does not increase, there is a possibility that in the next 12 years, we will not achieve the Gross National Income as we desire. In my opinion, at least a cumulative economic growth of 10% per year is needed to achieve the target of becoming a developed country by 2035. So, I suggest that when reviewing the National Vision 2035, this matter should be taken into consideration and given due consideration.
Your Honorable Speaker
Honorable Members, I would like to state that we are currently discussing the Prime Minister's Department under Title SA01A to Title SA07A.
Therefore, if Your Honorable Members have any questions regarding the matters that we have prepared, please do ask.
Your Honorable Speaker
Are there any Members who would like to answer the question from Your Honorable Dr. Awang Haji Mahali bin Haji Momin?
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Finance and Economy
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. I am not quite sure what the question is about, but it seems to be related to the Vision of Brunei. The question may be about economic development, whether the budget for economic development needs to be increased or whether economic development needs to be continued in order to achieve the desired GDP.
So, whether it means that the allocation needs to be increased so that we can continue to develop our economy or otherwise. Before answering, I would like to seek clarification.
Your Honorable Dr. Awang Haji Mahali bin Haji Momin
Your Honorable Speaker. If the economic growth is only 2%-3% per year, we may not achieve it. And that is why, if it is at least 10% cumulatively, I suggest because it falls under the Management of the Wawasan Brunei 2035 Affairs.
So when reviewing later, this matter should be taken into consideration and included in the Key Performance Indicators of the Prime Minister's Department, which is not currently being done. That is the only suggestion from me, Your Honorable Speaker, thank you.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy
For us to achieve the Vision, several efforts must be made. Regarding economic growth, it falls under the Third Goal. To advance the economy, we do not necessarily rely on 100% allocation from the government. As I shared in the Supply Bill Presentation Paper, some funds to advance the economy are not all 100% from the government but GLCs and FDIs also play a role, not necessarily relying on government allocation. So if we look at the allocation under Social and Education and so on, Health is higher compared to what is allocated for the economy because GLC or FDI spending is not from government allocation. That is the only answer from me, Your Honorable Speaker. Thank you.
Your Honorable Speaker
Thank you. Now we turn to Your Honorable Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Suyoi bin Haji Osman.
Your Honorable Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Suyoi bin Haji Osman
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. Thank you also to Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense for the presentation earlier. َّIn the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings. I would like to touch on the public service which I feel needs to be examined so that the ongoing transformation can achieve its goals.
I am very supportive of the public service as a whole because it is the government machinery that helps the government play its role for the welfare and well-being of the people and residents in general. However, any government plan and action plan will not succeed without strong support from all layers of public servants.
Therefore, I believe that any weaknesses, shortcomings, and obstacles must be detected quickly before weakening the government's administration and management system. Also, I would like to note that "Kaola" refers to himself in this speech.
Your Honorable Speaker
Honorable Members, we have not reached there yet. Matters related to the Public Service Department SA10A will be divided into three parts. Part One from SA01A to SA07A. Part two from SA08A to SA16A and so on to part three.
So we will get there later, God willing. I will give the opportunity to Your Honorable to give your views or ask for clarification from the relevant parties.
Your Honorable Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Suyoi bin Haji Osman
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
I invite Your Honorable Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin.
Your Honorable Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Your Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members whom I respectfully address. Previously, thanks were expressed to Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Second Minister of Defense for the explanation and clarification regarding the development and achievements of the Prime Minister's Department.
Kaola has 3 topics, namely Wawasan Brunei 2035, MPEC, and energy. I understand that they are included in SA01A, Insha'Allah.
Regarding the topic of SA01A, Code 002-000 in Wawasan Brunei 2035, the percentage of KPI recorded and reported to the Wawasan Brunei 2035 Supreme Council, with a target and estimate of 100%, is further for the years 2021/2022 to 2025/2026. This target is very impressive and congratulations are extended to Your Honorable Minister for monitoring and observing the achievement of 100% KPI.
I just want to touch on the development of Wawasan Brunei 2035, that the people have full hope that the issues they are facing now will be resolved and perfected when the plan and strategy in Wawasan Brunei 2035 are achieved. That is the full hope of the people, that when Wawasan Brunei 2035 is achieved, the problems of the people will be resolved. The people will live in peace and achieve Wawasan Brunei 2035.
Your Honorable Speaker
Perhaps it is idealistic for Your Honorable to state that when the problems of Wawasan Brunei 2035 and the problems of the people are resolved, then we will no longer exist in this world.
Your Honorable Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin
The problem is, Your Honorable Speaker, may Allah make it easy. Therefore, the people are very grateful for the attention of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
We are now more than halfway towards achieving our goal, but only 12 years left. I would like to explain that half of the KPIs in the ministry are enablers that help, and certain KPIs are the results.
The people ask why they still face difficulties even though there are 12 years left to achieve the Wawasan Brunei 2035 KPI. Perhaps the people forget that they have enjoyed the achievements of Wawasan Brunei 2035, and they only remember the bitterness they feel.
Therefore, the people need to be reminded that the pleasures and luxuries we have achieved are part of our journey towards achieving 2035 so that we do not forget. I suggest that when we discuss KPIs, we also celebrate the success, luxury, and pleasure that we have achieved due to the incentives of Wawasan Brunei 2035.
Secondly, I am disappointed during the discussion when it was mentioned that due to economic weakness and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the efforts towards achieving the goals of Wawasan Brunei 2035, although good, may not necessarily be able to realize Wawasan Brunei 2035 and it is unlikely to achieve its targets. We should strive for the best, but if we cannot achieve it, what can we do?
Is this changing the goalpost? If we are changing the goalpost, please admit it. If not, what are the efforts and strategies in the remaining 12 years to realign the aspirations of Wawasan Brunei 2035? Therefore, I suggest that if Wawasan Brunei 2035 remains the initial aspiration target, an independent verification process should be implemented on the reported KPIs so that the successful KPIs of one agency, which are enablers, do not have a negative impact on the KPIs of other agencies. Your Honorable, please take note.
The sums of the overall KPIs are necessary to achieve the target of Wawasan Brunei 2035. That was a question about KPIs in Wawasan Brunei 2035. I will continue with MPEC.
Your Honorable Speaker
Your Honorable Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin requires an answer to the question raised.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. I request to answer this question first. It seems that there are many more follow-up questions.
Firstly, I would like to clarify that during the discussion, it was never shared that Wawasan Brunei 2035 will not be achieved, it will definitely be achieved, and the target or vision of changing the goalpost was never shared. Wawasan Brunei 2035 is an important national agenda, not like changing the goalpost in football, such as the recent Liverpool and Manchester match.
I would like to explain that there are three goals under Wawasan Brunei 2035, and the main measurements are indeed maintained.
Objective:
Educated, highly skilled and successful citizens. We will continue to use the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
High quality of life for the citizens, for which we use the Human Development Index (HDI) and for the economy we use Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, all of which are still maintained. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that we have set before must be reviewed from time to time to see their relevance in achieving the Brunei Vision 2035.
Currently, there are 32 KPIs, but the Brunei Vision Office is reviewing them and may add up to 56 KPIs for the next 12 years. The reason for changing or adding these KPIs is to assess our current position. Some KPIs need to be changed, for example, the one related to non-oil and gas production. It seems that in our efforts in recent years, this number has increased. Therefore, we may change the target again to make it more relevant for the next 12 years.
One more index to measure our diversification strategy, which is currently not included in our KPIs. To use a more relevant KPI that we will introduce, it is called the HH index, which is short for HHI since it is difficult to pronounce, Your Honorable Speaker. This is one way to measure whether our economy has enough diversification or not. Several plans have been made under other goals. That is why we are changing our KPIs, but we are not moving our goalpost.
That's all I have to share. Whether we are confident or not in achieving Wawasan Brunei 2035 depends on all parties in our society, whether it is the government or the private sector. We must work together, so to achieve Wawasan Brunei 2035 together, we must also involve the private sector, which plays a very important role.
The Wawasan Brunei Office also constantly shares the status of achieving Wawasan Brunei 2035 with the public. Since 2016 until now, it has involved approximately 16,500 participants. This effort will continue so that the public can follow the achievements and so on through the Wawasan website. The Wawasan Brunei Office also shares it on RTB and so on.
This effort will be continued to be shared to the public so that it is clearer to them and they can better understand their respective roles in working together to achieve Brunei Vision 2035. Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Defense
Your Honorable Speaker, in addition to what Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy just mentioned, in a recent meeting of the Brunei Vision Council chaired by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, it was decided that a book covering the period from 2015 to 2020 will be published. The purpose of this book is to provide information to the public and there will be opportunities for it to be distributed, not only to the general public but also to school students. These are some of the additional points, Your Honorable Speaker.
Your Honorable Speaker
Please Your Honorable Mr. Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin
Your Honorable Mr. Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin
Thank you, Your Honorable Minister, for the explanation. I apologize if there was any misinterpretation. Thank you for the explanation as we are currently searching for relevant KPIs to measure whether we have achieved the goals of the Vision that we aspired to 12 years ago.
May I suggest that we may need to incorporate independent verification into the KPIs to give more assurance. The KPIs are still relevant and provide confidence that we have independent verification.
I would like to refer to the second question on MPEC. Congratulations to the MPEC entrepreneurs and the Manpower Planning Employment Council who have implemented programs to enrich the skills of our local children.
To address the effectiveness of manpower planning in the country, it should be supported by all members of society, not only by the government but also by the private sector and individuals. Focusing on addressing unemployment issues is important, and we should not overlook the issue of manpower for future job demands.
Now we are too focused on looking back to find opportunities and vacancies to place the unemployed. Therefore, I suggest that MPEC also looks into forward planning to find new jobs to provide for our children who will graduate every year.
The participation in MPEC, which consists of Ministers, needs to be expanded as Kaola mentioned in the opening remarks by including captains of industries so that they can provide their views, important individuals from the business community to co-create and establish a whole-of-nation approach.
Now, the sincere whole-of-nation approach also requires attention to filling the gap in employment opportunities, an overall picture related to employment issues in both the private and government sectors. We need to look not only at job vacancies and government job applications. We must have a complete picture showing all jobs in the government and private sectors. For example, maybe my math is wrong, but in the government sector, there are 100,000 or 70,000 employees, and there are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 vacancies reported every year. Every 1,000 to 2,000 government employees will retire, and there are 60,000 work permit holders, 10,000 registered unemployed, and perhaps more than that who are underemployed, as stated by Your Honorable Pehin Rahman. However, if we follow his calculations and political will, we can fit all those 11,000 people into the 60,000 plus 4,000 job vacancies. Perhaps one challenge is how we can force-feed the 11,000 unemployed people for a while.
I understand that there is a plan to impose a levy on work permit holders. Perhaps this is an initiative because the reason we use work permits in this country is that there are no qualified locals who have the experience to work in the private sector or no locals who want to work for the salary offered by the private sector. Therefore, the private sector applies for work permits to work with them.
The business sector knows how to advance their business. They know what they need to advance their business and we outsiders will not know what strategies a company has to advance their business.
If they succeed, in sha Allah the economy will grow and there will be more job opportunities for locals. If the company is registered with the government, in sha Allah it will benefit the government. If it is not registered with the government, its wealth is for itself.
"If a company has, for example, 100 work permits, we will provide them with 100, but on the condition that they use the work permits because they cannot find any local workers or because no local workers want to work with them.
If each work permit is subject to the expected levy and the levy is put into a skills development fund that will train local workers to fill those job vacancies, then, God willing, the company will have no excuse not to hire local workers.
That is all I want to say about MPEC, and perhaps later when we discuss MPEC, which also trains local workers, we can provide a workload forecast for the future so that the Ministry of Education can prepare skilled and globally mobile future workers.
Before I move on to another topic about i-ready, praise be to God, the i-ready initiative is noble and must be commended for providing intelligence and exposure to graduates to gain work experience."
Note: "Your Honorable" is not present in this transcript.
Your Honorable Speaker,
We need to monitor that the i-ready program is not being abused. Local workers who work in i-ready should be monitored and exposed within the company to provide them with work in the company and not to do administrative work and be deemed unqualified.
I understand that there are some companies that do not comply with the salary scale standards after the pioneer period, and it is also sad that there are government agencies that take i-ready and abuse it by not providing top-up after 11 months and even sadder, not providing employment contracts after 18 months.
This is not in line with the intent of the i-ready program. If government representatives do not comply with policies made by the government itself, how can the private sector be forced to comply with policies provided by the government?
I apologize if my remarks are inappropriate. Should I stop to give a chance for a response or should I continue with the Department of Labor?
Your Honorable Speaker
Your Honorable, please continue. It's already quite late and perhaps some of us will be going to the mosque to observe Nisfu Syaaban. So, I hope that Your Honorable will be able to resolve the issue that will be presented as soon as possible. Please proceed.
Your Honorable Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin
In sha Allah, I have some concerns regarding the Department of Energy. There are several targets in the Energy Strategy Planning or white paper, one of which was to increase production to 850,000 barrels per day.
I would like to know the status of the energy action plan and if it is still relevant, what initiatives are being taken to achieve the targets in the energy strategic plan. I am concerned to know that during the discussion, it was mentioned that the current production has significantly decreased and the volume is not worth mentioning. Therefore, we must ensure that the action plan to increase the security of energy for the future is in place.
This includes the energy mix from renewables and introducing energy efficiency initiatives in the industry and also in the ministry. I believe that the main focus should be continuously given to ensure that the oil and gas industry is not neglected due to the misconception that it is a mature industry that can run on its own because it appears to be easy.
It is not as easy as it seems and it appears easy because competent people are running the business. Therefore, let us not overlook and lose our capabilities.
Secondly, strategic stock. With the closure of the refinery in Seria and the shift of all production of refinery products to Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, the country's usage depends on Hengyi Industries Sdn. Bhd, which is a commercial entity that focuses on profit.
How do we ensure that the amount of third-party production has our rights of first refusal to protect domestic demand and also if we need to increase and establish strategic stock production, Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd cannot deny us access? This is a strategic consideration since we are now fully dependent on a third party that may not have aligned interests with us.
Furthermore, in the Deliberation of the National Assembly 2021, Your Honorable Minister in the Ministry of Energy reported more than $1.6 billion for the Oil and Gas Industry that will create 45 thousand jobs by 2024 next year. Perhaps the question is, how is the progress and where can local children apply for the jobs that will be provided next year?
Finally, Your Honorable Speaker, many facilities have reached their economic useful life and need to be decommissioned and restored to become a safe area. It is understood that there are projects in the BSP and BSJV portfolios for decommissioning. I suggest monitoring these works. This initiative is opened up so that more local practices have the opportunity to not only develop skills in commissioning and restoration projects but also to bring this expertise abroad and create more job opportunities in the country. Thank you.
Your Honorable Speaker
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Minister of Finance and Economy II.
Your Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Minister of Finance and Economy II
Thank you, Your Honorable Speaker. There are several questions regarding MPEC, and I will try to answer them briefly.
The involvement of Captain Industry Individuals and others in MPEC, as I shared in the Supply Bill presentation paper. I have already shared that under the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC), we have established the Manpower Industry Steering Committee (MISC), and working groups have involved at least 71 private sector companies to jointly promote efforts under MPEC.
At present, there are approximately 67,000 foreign workers inside and outside the country, and compared to the unemployment rate of around 11,000, we can see that not all of these jobs or positions can be filled by local children at this time. With our efforts to organize programs such as upskilling, reskilling, spin, and so on, hopefully, we can further enhance the skills of our local children and take over their respective positions in one day.
However, there are also some jobs that we may not encourage local children to take over, such as low-level labor shops. What we want is for our local children to hopefully advance to hold more sophisticated high-level positions.
- Future job demand. This is a topic that is often discussed not only domestically but also abroad. What are the future jobs? Do we know what the future jobs are? So, to prepare our local children for future jobs, perhaps we do not even know what these future jobs are yet. What is important in preparation is that we need to make sure we provide training for these local children so that they are more adaptable, more flexible. This is an issue faced by many countries today. How do you prepare your workers for these future jobs? What is important is that we concentrate on the important subjects that currently exist, such as the Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) program in the US and so on. This is the foundation for preparing their future work force so that they are more adaptable in the future.
We always make sure that our workforce is prepared for the long term, but in the immediate future, to provide jobs for the local youth, we at MPEC are collaborating with several departments, including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, to determine the potential FDI that may come to our state. This way, we can plan education programs and other initiatives to prepare our workforce in case the FDI comes, instead of waiting for them to arrive and then scrambling to provide courses and training. We always discuss and plan ahead together.
- I-Ready after 11 months, the employer does not provide top-up or other benefits, the Honorable Member can report this to MPEC. When we contract with employers, they must provide top-up and proper coaching, and if there are any issues, we will remove them from our list of employers. If the Honorable Member hears of any such issues, they can play a role in helping MPEC.
Regarding the Brunei Vision 2035, Your Honorable has proposed that the Brunei Vision Office review its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure they are more in line with our vision. The United Nations Development Program, an entity that assists countries in advancing their development programs, has already been consulted on this matter. If necessary, we will continue to work with them in the future, God willing.
Your Honorable Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Pertahanan II
As for the issue of energy, I, as the Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Defense, would like to thank Your Honorable for the question. While I have only been in this position for 9 months, we are currently conducting research on the energy sector and its production in the country. However, I would like to provide some insight on the focus of developing the Oil and Gas Downstream Sector, which indirectly includes the Energy White Paper that has been reviewed by the Energy Department at the Prime Minister's Office.
The Energy White Paper published in 2013 was based on scenario planning using certain assumptions in the Energy Sector, including the Upstream and Downstream Oil and Gas Sector, as well as the Electricity Generation Sector, transport fuels, and renewable energy. For example, the future production targets for oil and gas depend on the success of new discoveries, especially in new areas in deep waters.
Based on developments over the past 10 years and the latest information shared during the introduction by Your Honorable earlier, the Energy Department in the Prime Minister's Office has developed a strategic plan with the main goal of maintaining current levels of oil and gas production, which is approximately 300,000 barrels per day in the medium term and will increase to around 350,000 barrels per day in the long term.
Meanwhile, in the Downstream Oil and Gas Sector, the Energy White Paper also outlines a strategic plan to develop the downstream sector with a target revenue of $5 billion per year by 2035, and since the operation of the Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Plant of Hengyi Industries Sendirian Berhad in 2019 and the Urea Plant of Brunei Fertilizers Industries last year, the revenue target for the downstream sector has been achieved earlier than planned.
Next, regarding questions related to Energy security, the proposal to integrate renewable energy into the national energy system and encourage energy savings to enhance energy security has indeed become a strategic plan in the Energy Department of the Prime Minister's Department.
Towards this effort, the Energy Department of the Prime Minister's Department has targeted an increase in the use of renewable energy to at least 200 Megawatts by 2025 and 300 Megawatts by 2035. Priority is also given to the use of more efficient energy among the public through efficiency and savings initiatives.
Among the energy-saving initiatives is the implementation of the Energy Efficiency (standard and labeling) act, which will be launched shortly to control the importation of air conditioning equipment that is only energy-efficient. In the long term, other efforts such as reviewing the potential production of other renewable energy sources such as hydrogen are being studied.
Your Honorable, with regards to the stock strategy, which is the second question, with existing policies and continuous monitoring, as well as strong cooperation from all parties, the country has always been successful in meeting the supply of fuel at all times.
With the implementation of the Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Project in Pulau Muara Besar, which began operating in November 2019, the country's ability to be self-sufficient in supplying domestic fuel needs, including petroleum products, has increased instead of decreasing.
The government's main policy is to ensure a minimum level of transportation fuel stock at all times and to have contingency plans, including imports if necessary.
In addition, the government has the full right to ensure that priority is always given to local supply. This is also reflected in the agreement between the government and Hengyi Industries Sendirian Berhad.
Insha'Allah, the implementation of these policies will always be monitored to ensure that the supply of fuel to meet the needs of the public is guaranteed and represents a strong energy security for the country of Brunei Darussalam.
Regarding the management plan for infrastructure or assets in the extended sector that have reached their lifespan, it is one of the priorities of the Department of Energy. One of the government's preparations in this matter is to establish the Decommissioning and Restoration Fund (DNR). This fund is a contribution from existing operators. The purpose of this fund is to ensure that the necessary DNR commitments in the future can be effectively handled with sufficient financial resources without relying on government allocations.
The side output of DNR activities can also be maximized domestically and can provide services in this region in the future, considering that neighboring countries will also have the same needs.
That concludes the explanation of some of the issues raised by Your Honorable Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin earlier. Thank you.
Your Honorable Chairman
Honorable Members, I think it would be best to adjourn this Committee Meeting and reconvene at the National Assembly Council Meeting.
Your Honorable Speaker
Honorable Members of Parliament. We are now reconvening at the National Parliament Assembly. I suggest that we adjourn our meeting today and reconvene tomorrow as usual starting at 9.30 am, Wednesday, 8th March 2023.
Thank you. Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings. May God grant us success and guidance.
ADJOURNED
(The Parliament Assembly is adjourned)
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