Our Story

My mother passed away when I was 16. I was lost but I grew up then and there. I have 2 younger sisters, at that time they were 14 and 10. I didn't know what I should do. While my friends my age were playing beauty and experiencing teenagehood, I experienced life. We were never spolit. After my mother passed away, my father was the sole bread-winner. We made do with what we had but never asked for more. And that has always been my principle in life.I never regret any of those things. Infact, I'm thankful because it taught me one great thing in life. To be Independent.

People said I was lucky because I had 'the brain'. I always came top in my class, from my kindergarten year until I graduated. Was it luck? No, it was hard work. When my mother passed away, I studied extra hard. I promised myself, one day I would provide my children what my parents could not provide us. That was my motivation.

I met my husband in the UK. He's not from a wealthy family. When we graduated in 1998, Brunei economy was badly hit by the Amedeo collapse. Employment was scarce. Again people said I was lucky because I found a job even before I graduated. I don't think it was luck. I worked for it. Having a First Class Honours certainly had the advantage. Offer of jobs came knocking on my door. To this day, I'm thankful.

But my husband, along with a thousand other graduates, were stuck. There was no employment. My huband managed to find employment in one of a private firm. But after a few months, the firm went down and had to cut its cost. One of the redundants was my husband. He waited for new jobs openings. An offer for a teacher's post in one of a government institution came. But he turned it down. Not because he was choosy. But because he was not trained to be a teacher and he said he did not deserve it.

Then one day, he said God gave me a well-functioned brain and 2 arms. Why should I wait for a job, when I CAN do a job. He decided he wanted to do a free-lance service. At that time, no body supported him. People thought it a better idea for him to just wait for a job. So, he asked for my help. I lent him some money to buy a computer and a printer.

Alhamdulillah, a family of a family heard he was doing some free lance work for a small fee. He asked my husband to give him some proposals for a house project. He loved it and my husband got his first client. Others heard. And a few came knocking on my husband's door.

After about a year in my new job, I was asked to further my study. We wanted to get married but we didn't have the finance. My husband obviously could not take up any personal loan. I went to do my Masters, my husband's business took off. After 3 months leaving Brunei, my husband called me and told me the good news. He made a tidy sum of money for us to get married when I finished my study. We got engaged while I was in the UK (i.e. I was not present when his family came). I worked hard on my Masters. First, I wanted to finish as early as I could and at the same time I was also preparing for my wedding. I had no one to depend on to. My sisters were still young and I didn't want to burden my father. So, in between studies, I planned my wedding.

I came back, earlier then the date my course actually end. We got married 4 weeks later. A year and a half later, we had our first girl. It was joy! When she was four months old, I was promoted. Luck? No. I worked hard in what I did. While many of my colleagues turned down some of the 'difficult' assignments, I came forward. I never see it that way though, I always say it was 'rezki Allah Taala'. A gift to my baby.

A year and a half later, our second girl arrived. Another gift from God. When she was 6 months old, I was offered to further my study. I wanted to turn down. I didn't want it. I wanted to spend time with my babies. But it also made me realized that probably 'the further study' actually came along with the promotion that I received so early in life. So, that became my responsibility.

I couldn't afford to bring my family along. My husband tried to get a scholarship to further his study. But NO. He was too old for it. I went mad thinking of leaving my 2babies. But my husband was my strength. He was very supportive. Never once he said No or asked me to think about it. He told me Fi Sabilillah. God has given me 'the brain' it would be selfish of me not to make use of it and in time will help to develop the country. Don't worry about OUR children, he will take care of them. And this is why I declare him the MOST UNDERSTANDING HUSBAND in the whole wide world :)

I came to England. Alone. It was crazy. A young mother being apart from 2 young adorable babies. The guilt I felt consumed me. I couldn't work properly. I broke down several times. I broke down in front of my supervisor when he said 'family is the most important thing in life' and asked me to be stong. I was thankful for his kind understanding. He didn't pressure me during my first year and helped me in whatever he could.

But life was shit for me. I asked one of my bosses as to the consequences of me quitting my study. He told me it would give a bad impression on me and on the department. To console myself, I prayed for God's strength. I prayed for His help. And thought if God brings you to it, surely God brings you through it.

My prayer was answered. My husband's business took off really well. He expanded. And managed to save quite a sum of money. The intention was for him to come to the UK and further his qualification. At the same time, there was an opportunity to buy a piece of land. Again the dilemma. In the end, we bought the land from the saving and there was some left for his study. However, it was not enough to finance a 2 year course in the UK. I came back and went to the bank. I took up a loan to partly finance my husband's study. We agreed that the loan was for a 'life investment'.

Then God even answered my prayer, the Government reviewed the terms for the In Service Traning Scheme. It was such relief! I thank whoever it was doing the review. With the extra money, I could provide a nice home for my children and could even futher helped my husband. (I thank the government for providing me and indirectly, my husband to further our education - the new scheme really managed to kill 2 birds with 1 stone). Had I known the scheme would be reviewed, I wouldn't take the loan. But we didn't have the time to retun the money back. It has now become our 'emergency fund'.

We sold our cars. We sold some of our furniture (we didn't have many anyway, our landlord was SUPERB). We returned the amah. I talked about this in my previous post. Our decision not to bring an amah. Well, because we couldn't afford it. Bringing 1 would mean we would need an extra room. The rent here in the UK is crazy. Besides, the house here is not that big. It's manageable. And the children go to school and are only home in the evenings. I can cook (edible lah hehe) and my husband and I share the housework.

Before coming to England, financially we're OK. Besides the loan I took for the financing, we are debt-free. Not even a credit card loan. We have a few credit cards which we used solely for travelling. We ALWAYS pay what we owe once we're back (And to this day, I don't understand why my bank raises my limit every year! I hardly use it hehe). My husband's companies are also DEBT-FREE. A good Chinese friend told him 'If You Can, Avoid Hutang. Never Hutang'. In fact, MANY companies and individuals owe my husband.

I save 30% (besides TAP) of my salary for the rainy days, for the children's education and for our retirements. I still think it is not enough. I hyperventillate thinking about our future. We share our daily expenses; the bills, the grocery etc. We always live within our means. That's our principle. At times, of course we wanted to treat ourselves. But only if we have the extra money. If not, it's not the end of the world. We don't have a Mercedes or a BMW not even a Tag Heuer let alone a Rolex. Our priority in our shared life has always been the children's education. We know for the fact that we cannot depend on anyone but ourselves to provide good education. We never know what the future will bring us. If our children are bleesed with intelligence and good brains, Insya allah maybe some financial help would come. But until then we will never know and have to prepare ourselves.

Our next priority is to build a house. I know we will need some financial help on this one. But my husband says, "If We can, we don't have to". Insya Allah, I believe him. Niat, Usaha and Tawakkal. But even if we have to, we know our limit.

The reason I'm writing this and telling you our boring life story is because I want to share our principles in life. NEVER live beyond your means. NEVER depend on Others. And there is NO such thing as LUCK. A little help along the way are God's blessings but NEVER Expect More.

I don't mean to say that these principles are the best and for you to follow. I don't even think we are a very good example. I would LOVE to hear more advise on how to have a better life and a secure a better future.

Salaam.

ASEANPreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange

I thought I'd post this now. Got an email from the University of Singapore this morning asking to help publicise their event which is opened to ALL University Undergrads of ASEAN Nationality.

So dear UBDians/ITBians, this is a very good opportunity for you to show the world what we are made of ! :) and of course for you to network, to make new friends etc.
I used to participate in events like this when I was at UBD (that was AGES ago! when I spent about 2 months living and studying at the NUS, participating in a student exchange programme) and yes, I made many friends, learnt new things, exchanged a lot of ideas and enjoyed every minute of it!
So, now is your turn...Enjoy!
The deadline is actually on 2nd March 2008 but applications can still be accepted until 28th March. Good Luck!

(To Janaki, thanks for visiting my blogsite and many thanks for the invite! But I don't think I'm qualified hehe :) All the best and good luck!)

Anyway, here's some info:

We're from National University of Singapore and would like to call for applications for the inaugural ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange 2008. This will be held in Singapore from 15-20 May 2008.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) Entrepreneurship Society (NES) has founded an online student network called ASEANpreneurs to promote entrepreneurship in the ASEAN region. Below is a synopsis of who they are and the flagship programme that they will be organizing, the ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange 2008.

ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders NetworkThe ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Network (AYLN) is a student organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in the ASEAN region. It serves as a platform for budding student entrepreneurs from ASEAN countries to network, share ideas and knowledge, and to collaborate and learn from each other. Some of the network's activities include organizing the flagship Leaders Exchange and the upcoming Conference, dissemination of entrepreneurship information, news and initiatives in the form of quarterly newsletters. Membership is open to university undergrads of ASEAN nationality.

ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange 2008The ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange (AYLE) is a week-long exchange programme organized by ASEANpreneurs, bringing together student leaders and entrepreneurs from all ASEAN countries. Hosted in each country on a rotating basis, this event provides an opportunity for delegates to visit ASEAN countries to learn about their economic development and localized entrepreneurial culture. Some of the programme components include student paper presentations, panel discussions with prominent regional entrepreneurs, workshops, visits to successful local startups and dialogue with distinguished local leaders. Application is open to university undergrads of ASEAN nationality.To apply for this programme, please visit www.aseanpreneurs.org


So yea, hope you can do a blog post on this and encourage many Bruneians to apply and participate in the Exchange. Of course, you're invited to do so as well =)

Thank you!

Regards,
Janaki
PR Director
ASEANpreneurs

Spoilt and Shameless

My blood boils when I read Mr BR's post on What Would Superman Do?. Not because I am angry at him but because I deeply share his sentiment. I still cannot fathom why our people can be so irresponsible, shameless and so selfish. It makes me so sad to think that after 24 years of independence, we are still unable to stand on our own 2 feet and still need the government to do basically everything for us! I call it the Third World Mentality. You know why? In the developed countries, people are so independent. Their self dignity and pride are strong. They don't ask for help easily because they take pride in what they do. Often you see people in wheel-chairs and people who are pysically less fortunate are doing what normal people do and as efficient. We have a lady - an undergraduate students' secretary- in our department who has lost 1 leg. One day, I was looking for a printer cartridge and it was in the last drawer of a file cabinet. Instead of telling me where it was, she went to the cabinet, with her crutches, and bended down to get the cartridge. I was surprise! I quickly went to her and obviously offered my help and you know what she said with her smiling face, "It's OK...Thank you...". Gosh!

Now, look at our people! God has given each one of us a brain, 2 arms and 2 legs, and WHY oh WHY are we acting like some helpless creatures in this world? Where is our self dignity ? Before I read Mr BR's post (I suggest you read it too!) I was discussing with my husband regarding the irresponsibility of our people. Someone we know who has been fortunate enough to get one of the houses in the Rimba Housing, apparently has not been paying the government. Both husband and wife are working with only 1 child to support. Furthermore, they have a rental house somewhere in Brunei which is being rented. I mean WHAT are they thinking?! What is worse, because of their irresponsibility and their selfish act (please see my previous post on this), the person who acts as their guarantor is now being burdened. The last we heard, the poor guarantor had received a few warning letters. AND these sad (good-for-nothing) couple just duh! I believe this is NOT an isolated case because a couple of years back, during a dinner at the Istana, I was fortunate or rather unfortunate to hear the gruesome tales of our people not paying their debt, have mountains of debt and on and on from officers from various government departments.

And we are not only talking about housing payments (which is a major issue) but also on things as mundane as paying the rent for wedding clothes (baju pengantin). Just a few days ago, my sister who is about to have her baby shower (Mandi Berlawat) told me that she was shocked that her i.c was being asked by the shop from which she is renting her baju. Simply because the shop assistant told her that there have been MANY cases where people just don't bother to pay and obviously never return the attires. GOD!

What is WRONG with us, people? I am really-really sad. For a Muslim and a wealthy country and not to mention a caring government, what MORE do we want? Honestly, I have a headache thinking about this..and I think I better stop here before I develop a migraine.

Mr BR was nice (presumably subtle) to title his post as 'What Would Superman Do' because I don't think we need a superman, as it will make matters even worse, what we need and deserve is for someone to give us a hard KICK in the b*tt.

Salaam.

So You Think You Can be like Dubai?

"My Grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel"

Sheikh Rashid, the previous ruler of Dubai.

Well, a couple of years back (actually for all I know, we still think we can be like Dubai) there were talks about following Dubai's model to development. Nothing wrong with that - as long as we talk, the talk and walk, the walk. Anyway, I found this interesting Harvard paper 'Dubai Strategy: Past, Present and Future' which to me gives a good crash course on Dubai's development. Have a read, it's only about 9 pages long (minus the graphs) but really it tells the goods and the bads, which can be very interesting lessons.

Salaam.

P.S. Thank you all for your comments/views on my previous posts. I will get back to them once I've handed my chapter to my supervisor.

Which Bank? - Reply to Anonymous

I received this comment/question in my previous post. At first I just wanted to reply in the comment box but as I was typing, my reply got longer haha! So, I've decided to put this as today's post. The person has also gathered some information about banks in Brunei which I feel could be useful to those who are in the same situation as hers/his.

Which bank do you feel offers the best service here in Brunei? I just
started working and have been using the bank (TAIB) that my parents have
allocated - which is basically the normal you get the card - passbook, withdraw
your money but non-interest being accredited if I'm not mistaken.I realised, the
non-abundance of ATM machines available for TAIB which annoyed me to some extent especially when the nearest TAIB ATM machine has been out of cash. So I started to think about the competition, and did some research of my own by getting the tariff of charges, services offered through each banks' website. I found out that HSBC and Baiduri Bank have the most ATM machines here in Brunei. But then again when I check the tariffs/service charges for HSBC, it is shockingly steep!
Just having an ATM card is BND 20 per year, and if your balance falls below the
minimum thats another charge. Standard Chartered offers considerably less, with
BND 12 per year for the ATM card. Baiduri Bank however did not disclose their
tariffs/service charges - sometimes it makes me wonder if that is why they have
been cited as the "Bank of the Year" by the Banker's magazine. "Bank of the
Year" in this context is which Bank gets the most profits in the country -
typically from ATM charges, services charges and foreign exchanges transactions
- possibly from Investments, I'm not quite sure. Should I just stick to TAIB
Bank, no-frills account with the free ATM card, no penalties whatsoever for
having only the minimum balance? I would be happy to know your views - it could be insightful to read.

Hello Anonymous,
Thanks for regularly visiting this blog.With regard to your banking question, Gosh I don't know what to say really. I'm no expert to say one bank is better than the other (unless they pay me to hahaha) because each bank has its own services, charges etc.

Anyway, I think you have done your homework (i.e. comparing bank charges etc) and now what you need to think about is what services of a bank that you are looking for. Is it just for an everyday banking (where you can deposit/withdraw money at any time of the day) or is it for a long-term saving (such as time or fixed deposit)as dif banks have dif products.

Personally, I put my money in a few banks in Brunei. NOT because I'm rich (hehehe who knows one day?) but because of the different services. For instance, my gaji and my everyday banking is in 1 local bank (which has many ATM machines located in convenient places). For my regular saving I use another local bank which offers a better return than the first bank and also gives me freedom to withdraw the money whenever I want (unlike some local banks which require you to write a letter etc). For our time/fixed deposit we (my husband and I) use another bank which obviously offers the most competitive rate and islamic. And lastly, because I travel a few times in a year, it gives me a peace of mind to have a bank that I can access to wherever in the world. So I use 1 international bank which gives me this service (of course with a cost/fee). So, there you go!. 4 banks in all and I'm not even remotely close to being a millionaire hehehe.

With regard to my opinion of the banking service in Brunei, well I've had my shares of good/bad experiences and let's say generally I concur with the general opinion that banks= money leechers HAHAHA. But I tell you, with wit and proper research, you can beat these banks at their own game! The Rule of the Thumb however is to try NOT to borrow money from them. Or even if you have to (eg. credit card) you MUST always pay what you owe ON TIME.

I must say you all are very lucky that you don't get to be tangled up in a big-bad borrowing situation. Thanks to the government's directive on personal loan capping introduced a few years back. I tell you, it WAS madness! People were borrowing beyond their means the moment they were employed (in the government sector of course). And those borrowed money were spent mostly on some unnecessary items such as big, expensive cars and large and lavish weddings. (If there are people out there who borrowed for some worthy cause, then I respect.) They were even some idiots (sorry but I HAVE to use that word) who borrowed at 9% interest rate and put those money back in the bank in a form of fixed deposit which only had about 3-5% return. I mean HOW did these people think, is still beyond my comprehension!

Anyway, good luck with your new job and finding a good bank. And thanks again for reading this blog. My hope is that something good would come out of it. I never intend to belittle anyone. I just hope we Bruneians get to think before we do something that sometimes can be life-altering. Haha look I've become emotional!

Salaam.

P.S Anyone working in the banks are WELCOMED to sell their services *wink*

What Others Think of Us

I found this article from the Wall Street Journal dated some time in 2005 (click HERE). Honestly, I have a lump in my throat reading it but I guess it's reality and reality often bites. It may not be entirely true but to me it just shows how others think of us *sigh*.

So, WHAT shall we do to prove them wrong?

Salaam.

The End of Cheap Driving

When I read today’s Brunei Times, 2 things came to my mind. One, suddenly Bruneians are creative in their policy-makings and two, could this be the end of cheap car driving in Brunei?

First, it was the reduction in the fuel subsidy and now it’s the (possible) introduction of some sort of congestion charge. Although the 2 policies will affect the usage of cars, the way I see it however, they are not related to one another (which again show the lack of coordination among ministries). The objective of the first is more or less to reduce government expenditure while the second is simply to reduce congestion. While I agree with the former policy, I am quite unsure about the latter.

Well, firstly I think the timing is not quite right. I wouldn’t be surprised if people in Brunei would react negatively if the 2 policies were to be implemented at the same time. Secondly, I question whether congestion fee really is the most effective way to alleviate the congestion problem. Why? Well for one thing the traffic is only worse at certain time of the day, which is when schools end. So, why not introduce an effective school transportation? A subsidised privatised service if you will. It will not only help reduce congestion during the peak hours but also help increase employment and will surely push up the transportation industry.

By levying some congestion fee, to me does more harm than good. First, the fee doesn’t care who you are and what you do in the area. This may have negative effects not only on the business activities in the area, the local environment but also on the income distributional factor (i.e. whether you are rich or poor, you will be charged equally!). Secondly, I think the implementation and the enforcement of the system will be quite costly and complex and that leads to the question, is it worth it to devote our limited resources into checking cars which do not pay the congestion fee just because the drivers (parents) are collecting the children from school?

Now, because Brunei is quite unique (read ‘rich’) where the ratio of car to people is 2:1 then why not simply introduce some sort of progressive tax. For example, you tax each additional car a person buys (the first car would be tax free of course). This I believe, would also have a distributional effect. Richer people (who buy lots of cars) will be taxed more. The revenue can then be used to improve the roads and the road system.

Oh well, I don’t know. What I can say for now is that I am not keen with the proposed congestion charge. I personally think, it is not the right time. I also implore, please… let there be some sort of coordination among the ministries and departments. Get the same objectives with more synchronised policies.

Salaam.

How Poor is Poor?

A few weeks ago, my officemate and I had an interesting conversation. He comes from Guyana, a country in South America. We were discussing about our economies. And he asked me whether Brunei has any economic problems. Well of course I told him that we have had the problem of trying to diversify our economy and being a 'richly' oil-dependent country we also have our own unique set of problems which include unemployment and to a certain extent, poverty.

So he asked me how is 'poverty' in Brunei? Poverty in Guyana according to him means you are so poor that you probably can't even buy the basic food for the day. And about 40% of the population is poor.

Well to tell you the truth it is quite a difficult question to answer. Firstly, we don't have or rather we don't publish (if there is one, that is!) our poverty line. Poverty line is the minimum level of income that is required in order to achieve an adequate standard of living. Of course, different countries have different levels of poverty line. Richer countries would have higher rates. So I guess, if Brunei were to have its poverty line, ours would be higher than the Guyana's. It would also be VERY interesting to know what percentage of people falls below the poverty line (perhaps a post on this topic soon, ya?) Anyway, I told him, I have not yet seen or heard of extreme poverty in Brunei probably because we are quite blessed with a caring and a giving society. The moment we hear someone is in need, we quickly rush to give some help.

Anyway, our conversation continued. Guyana, being a poor agricultural country, imposes about 30% income tax and on top of that about 20% value added tax (i.e. tax on goods and services). I then asked him whether he was thinking of migrating to the US or even the UK. And interestingly he told me NO. Despite the fact that the economy and the politics are in sh*tty conditions, he said he would still want to go back and DO something for the country. He said, people accept their lives. High taxes and so on. As long as they are happy, then they are not complaining. They are grateful with what they have and with their beautiful country.

At that time I was thinking to myself, there we were debating whether or not Brunei should stop giving the fuel subsidy, when these people from poor countries are so content with their lives! How pathetic can we be? Who are poorer? They may be poor in monetary terms but their spirits and strengths are definitely richer than us. In that sense also, we are poorer in terms of our inability to become less dependent from the help of the government. I actually wonder how many people or graduates have actually thought that they want to work for the government to help build the nation rather than thinking of getting all those perks?

What I'm trying to say is that we should be grateful with what Allah s.w.t has blessed us with and to a large extent, our caring government. We have no political havoc to deal with and apart from the road tax, we have never had to pay any other taxes. Perhaps, for a great many of us, don't even know what 'tax' is?

Anyway, in light of our coming 24th National Day, let us all together be strong in spirit and strength, independent in minds and together help build our nation.

Salaam.

A Pleasant Surprise

I've been busy the past week that I didn't even get to visit my own blog until this evening when my good childhood friend emailed me asking whether the 'rogue economist' was me. Well, thanks N for visiting! Would love to hear your comments.

Anyhoo, I was quite surprised to see the number of visitors had dramatically risen. When I checked the stats, most of them came from Brunei's own Mr Brunei Resources! Thanks Mr. BR for recommending this blog to your readers :)

However, at the moment I'm quite tight with lots of ENDLESS stuff to do. Besides trying to ensure my children read their books, becoming their referee (to their constant bickering), cooking and doing the laundry (credit to the hubby who is doing the house cleaning), I am also trying to finish my PhD thesis (which is actually still FAR from the finishing stage!) and in the past week I've also been involved in a project here in England. Hehehe how I wish there were 30 hours instead of 24 each day...

Anyway, to all new visitors, welcome to my blog. Please feel free to read all of the posts and make comments on any one of them. I'd love to hear your views. To my existing readers, thanks for your continuous interest. I will try to post something new by the end of the week.

Salaam