It was quite amusing to find the news in Brudirect today. The first main news was about the raid in the hotel, the second was about religious school adopting a system of something, the third was about another irresponsible Bruneian and look! the fourth main news was the announcement of the open tender for 2-digit license plate..Wow! LOL
This, to me just shows how 'flashing' the Bruneians are. The shorter and the smaller your car plate numbers, the more 'VIP' you are. So, people (hoping to be VIPs) are willing to pay loads just to get their so called 'favourite or lucky' numbers. Baah!
I'm actually quite sad that this is the lifestyle adopted by a great number of Bruneians. Big (and expensive) flashy cars. The latest mobile phones. The last time they played golf (which would always be the last weekend). The biggest flat screen tvs. The most beads (manik) on the baju kurung (haha). And the list goes on. It is like people seem to think that they are judged by what they use or wear. (Maybe some people do actually judge by those criteria. What a pity!).
To tell you the truth, it is really quite uncomfortable to be around these types of people (who are almost everywhere in Brunei). Especially if your mobile phone is about 2 years old, you wear just a baju kurung, your car is just another Toyota and you don't play golf!. At the same time however it is also very irritating when all they talk about are the latest mobile phones or their handicap (what?! handicap?! are they 'special' or something?) or the latest car they just bought. Wow! The world must be perfect for these people despite the fact that their latest credit card bills would probably be almost reaching the limit, the headmasters of their children's schools are scratching their heads waiting for the school fee payments (which I can tell you LOADS!) and their disposable income is probably less than 30% of their gross income. Worse, there is no saving for their children's future!
And sadly, it is not only me who is pitying our fellow Bruneians, the foreigners too. When we went back to Brunei sometime last year, we (my hubby and I) decided that it was time to replace our ageing mobile phones (the girl gave me a sly smile when I asked if I could use 3G with that phone. Haha THAT old!). So while the Filipino lady was preparing our phones I asked her how many people buy phones each day. And she said 'quite many'. And I asked her, 'paid by cash or using one of those installments offered by the banks i.e. hutang lah?'. And she gave me this smile (that translates 'are you kidding? cash?). And I asked how many? She said 'quite many'. Then she said she didn't understand why people wanted to put themselves into debt just for a mobile phone. I said, don't let your boss hear you saying that..hahaha.
A couple of times, I must admit my husband and I were thinking of buying one of those luxurious cars. Why not? We can afford it, can't we?
Well..after 1 night sleep we scratched off that thought. Why? First, a car is NOT an asset, it is a LIABILITY..the first 2 years of driving..wow..fantastic...but then...after that...I'm sure many of you would love to share the cost of maintaining such cars. Second, we haven't got a house of our own. Until we do..then we say FORGET it!. Finally, there's our children's education funds. If our children are brilliant then, perhaps some scholarships would be granted. But you never know what will happen in the future.
I'm actually quite worried that this kind of 'rich and flashy' lifestyle is adopted not only by the middle-income earners but also the lower-income earners. The desire to have luxurious items is probably the main culprit why many Bruneians have become 'poor'. If you were to measure the level of poverty based on the disposable income, I am sure it will be staggering. How to amend this? A simple answer from an economist would probably through the good old tax. But I'm sure nobody wants that (and I am also risking my neck suggesting it hahaha!). But I think some kind of awareness campaign against debt should be introduced where the message has to be strong and the campaign done rigorously.
Oh well..it's a beautiful Sunday morning here in England and we need to do some grocery shopping. My only hope (more of a wishful thinking) is that Bruneians will change. I'd honestly hate to come back to the same 'flashy' nation.
Salaam.
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8 comments:
Nice post. Been interested in the subject of personal finance for a while as overindebtness is a global problem. Global interest rates have fallen significantly in past years so it's no suprise that consumption is healthy. Problem is that interest rates are a blunt instrument. More specifically to your points, it may not be fair to our children to assume that they'll have the same scholarship opportunities that we did, no matter how clever they are. Oil prices may not always be so high, subsidies may be reduced. Costs of education may also rise, my six years of savings is being decimated this year because of my masters but investment in education brings high long-term returns. For the same amount of money, I'd rather invest in human capital asset rather than buy a fast-depreciating flashy car. I also found that one's spending depends on the company one keeps (it's all relative), I used to hang out with post-graduate students when I was working. I'm sure I would've spent more if my friends were all flashy professionals with big salaries.
I've also read some interesting stuff in past years...
Findings from TAP Survey
http://orwellthatendswell.multiply.com/journal/item/1403/Interesting_Findings_from_TAP_Survey._Brudirect_Brunei_Times
Steven Venti of Dartmouth and David Wise of Harvard studied the issue of income versus wealth for the National Bureau of Economic Research
http://orwellthatendswell.multiply.com/journal/item/481/Secret_to_being_rich
Best personal finance books
http://orwellthatendswell.multiply.com/journal/item/1839/Best_Personal_Finance_Books
haha not trying to offend, but yes bruneians are very flashy, wherever there are. while spending time being stuck in traffic jams, i've had the opportunity to do some philosophical thinking..what difference does it make if I buy a BMW or Mercedes..it still gets dirty..and its not like I'm gonnabe driving it to posh places lol. I have this theory, when people bali kereta mahal its a reflection of their 'empty' life, that they have to spend on material things. Don't even get me started on manik..susah2 saja mencuci. Sometimes all those maniks yang gantung-gantung, makes me think of tabir tia pulang ;) Pastu golf..its like once you start working, alum lagi 'complete' your life if you haven't taken up golf :)
Salaam Kaka.. Hope ure well. Miss the girls screaming Kaka Fifi! :D Haha! Anyway ka, I really appreciate your advice for my dissertation. Insya Allah it will turn out well. Also, this post is brilliant. New Year's resolution for me is to spend a lot less on unnecessary things. Thinking from an Islamic point of view, being flashy is berdosa (sombong)... plus it makes me kapih anyway. Hehehe... Insya Allah.. remind me not to spend so much. Thanks for the post. :D
You are right! I wish there were more blogs like yours locally so more Bruneins will realize that they really don't need those flashy cars and phones (unless they are financially well off) while being in serious debts. And also that there are more worthwhile goals like giving their kids a good role model to look up to by not living in ego, saving for education and a decent retirement(considering current TAP is totally inadequate). The future always seem so far off until it arrives...suddenly! Car breakdown,kids grown up and suddenly age 55 with no money or prospects....hmmm
Tell me about it. I think its andangnya culture org brunei cematu. if you see orang-orang tua, banyak kali ah galang amas durang ah. Kalau tah bulih sampai ke ketiak bah galang amas ah. Baju bekatok baju bekisi; kalau tah bulih seluruh badan atu tah bekisi tu; banar tah.
orang brunei live by the 'biar papa asal bergaya' concept. It's sad to think about it. They realise it is a burden to them, but sanggup cematu just to impress other people. Just to make the impression that durang 'sanggup' and 'mampu'.
hehe! great post! =)
Thanks everyone for your comments. Atleast I know I'm NOT the only one who's thinking Bruneians are too materialistic..hehe..
Great post, i like the concept of having awareness programs on personal finance to the public n i think TAP has done a few of these roadhows to a number of ministries here in Brunei.. True cars r liabilities rather than assets n i juz hope we Bruneians realize that but if u can really afford it den by all mean bali tia, me myself still haven't bought a car of my own YET (been workin for 4 yrs but tunggu cukup budget dulu barutah *hehe*) and my handphone is like 2 taun sudah but since its still working n d functions that i really need from a phone is there then no need to get a new one juz becos its d "latest". I even sold my brand new phone (which i got from a lucky draw) to go for a marathon.
oh hey hi, just wanted to comment about the license plate issue - not that I bother about it. But in economic terms, this makes sense (auction i mean), as this results in economic efficiency until MC = MB. Furthermore, it is an excellent avenue for the Government to maximize its revenue from highly prized plates. I wish LTD would include single digits too for all to bid... after all, it is all about squeezing the most out of available disposable income (for those willing to pay and have the money to pay) and redistributing it back into the economy right... Then and only then will the really rich be the ones with those number plates,... well at least most of them.
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