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Urban Service Delivery and Access: The Special Case of Brunei Darussalam

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New Urban Agenda in Asia-Pacific

Part of the book series: Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements ((ACHS))

Abstract

Brunei Darussalam is the smallest country in Southeast Asia. Wealth derived from its hydrocarbon resources has enabled the state to provide its citizens a high quality of life. A small population also helps to lessen environmental degradation associated with competition for urban space common in fast-urbanizing parts of the Asia-Pacific region. As a hereditary monarchy with embedded Islamic values, the sultanate’s social and political processes are distinct from its neighbours; yet, in many ways, the state’s priority is similar to other governments’, i.e. to provide essential services for building a stable and developed society. Selected examples of service delivery in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam’s largest urban centre, provide clearer understanding of the related issues.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The common name, Brunei, is used interchangeably with the official name, Brunei Darussalam, which means Brunei, Abode of Peace.

  2. 2.

    For more information, see www.adb.org/themes/urban-development/main.

  3. 3.

    See: www.clc.gov.sg.

  4. 4.

    For details on Brunei’s Vision 2035, see JPKE (2007).

  5. 5.

    Only a brief historical account is provided here. For further information on Brunei’s history, see the concise account in, Jamil Al-Sufri (2000) and Brown (1969).

  6. 6.

    At present, there are 13 ministries: the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the ministries of Communications, Defence, Development, Education, Finance and Trade, Foreign Affairs, Health, Home Affairs, Primary Resources and Tourism, Religious Affairs and Culture, Youth and Sports. The Department of Energy and Industry, which used to be under the PMO, was elevated to a Ministry on April 18th 2018 (PMO 2018). In September 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was renamed Ministry of Foreign Affairs while the Ministry of Finance was renamed Ministry of Finance and Economy.

  7. 7.

    Green Brunei’s founder, Ms. Khairunnisa Ashari, became the first Bruneian to be awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in London in 2015, and she has also been appointed as an NGO representative to the Brunei Legislative Council for the 2017–2022 Session.

  8. 8.

    In 2016, Beach Bunch was approved as an Independent Award Centre (IAC) to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (for youth achievement) (Yap 2016).

  9. 9.

    Borneo Bulletin (2018b).

  10. 10.

    The newly introduced Islamic legal system is explained in Abdul Aziz (2013).

  11. 11.

    For a detailed understanding of the Prime Minister’s Office see: www.pmo.gov.bn.

  12. 12.

    For a current political and economic overview of the Sultanate, see Roberts and Cook (2016).

  13. 13.

    Singapore was the best Asian performer, taking the 6th spot.

  14. 14.

    Othman (2018a).

  15. 15.

    About 20,790 people were living in poverty in 2012 (Azlan 2014; Rabiatul 2014). In 2017 there were over 8,000 citizens who received zakat (tithe) contribution from the Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) (Azlan 2017).

  16. 16.

    DEPD (JPKE) (2017).

  17. 17.

    DEPD (JPKE) (2012).

  18. 18.

    Hong (2006).

  19. 19.

    Fitri (2013).

  20. 20.

    The consultancy was undertaken by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabum (HOK) International Asia Pacific.

  21. 21.

    Fitri (2010).

  22. 22.

    Fitri (2014).

  23. 23.

    Hayat (2017).

  24. 24.

    A South Korean firm, Daelin Industries, won the tender to build this structure, which is the world’s second longest 300 m 1 pylon cable-styled bridge.

  25. 25.

    Oxford Business Group (2013).

  26. 26.

    See Laws of Brunei, Chapter 57 Municipal Boards at www.agc.gov.bn.

  27. 27.

    Khairuddin and Waquiddin (2016).

  28. 28.

    The Brunei Times (2016a).

  29. 29.

    Hayat (2018a).

  30. 30.

    Ubaidillah (2013).

  31. 31.

    Roslan (2018).

  32. 32.

    Hong *(2016a).

  33. 33.

    Koo (2016).

  34. 34.

    Abdul Hakim (2017).

  35. 35.

    Abu Bakar (2018).

  36. 36.

    The study was undertaken by the local think-tank, Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) together with consultants from SQW China Limited and Atkins International.

  37. 37.

    Nadzri (2014).

  38. 38.

    Quratul-Ain (2010a).

  39. 39.

    Quratul-Ain, (2010b).

  40. 40.

    Rashidah (2015).

  41. 41.

    “Anak Brunei” (2010).

  42. 42.

    Norjidi (2018).

  43. 43.

    The special status was decided at the 12th ASEAN Senior Ministers Meeting on Culture and Arts at the Empire Hotel and Country Club in August 2016.

  44. 44.

    Othman (2017).

  45. 45.

    Othman (2018b).

  46. 46.

    Kon (2017).

  47. 47.

    Hong (2016b).

  48. 48.

    JPKE (2017).

  49. 49.

    Ibid.

  50. 50.

    Rabiatul (2016).

  51. 51.

    Hayat (2018b).

  52. 52.

    Mahmud (2018).

  53. 53.

    Azaraimy (2018); Bandial (2016).

  54. 54.

    Azman and Huda (2014).

  55. 55.

    The Brunei Times (2011).

  56. 56.

    The system works like the pre-paid mobile phone system. The consumer purchases a certain amount for his usage. If he uses up more than his estimate for a certain period, he needs to ‘top up’. The consumer can thus monitor the rate of electricity consumed, and limit usage if it registers excess consumption.

  57. 57.

    Khai et al. (2016).

  58. 58.

    Othman (2018c).

  59. 59.

    Sally (2015a, b).

  60. 60.

    See Constitution of Brunei Darussalam (Order under Article 83-3), Disaster Management Order, 2006. Negara Brunei Darussalam, Supplement to Government Gazette, Part II, 2 March, 2006. Under this Order, the National Disaster Council was established to develop policy framework for disaster management. The National Disaster Management Centre would be responsible for coordinating operations before, during and after disasters.

  61. 61.

    Brunei was the Chair of ASEAN for 2013. The disaster related exercises were part of its yearlong ASEAN related activities. Information on HADR is available from https://admm.asean.org.

  62. 62.

    Unemployment in the country is a major issue. The government has instituted several measures to provide better training and other job related opportunities to make youths more employable in the private sector. The latest figures indicate that there are 11.000 registered unemployed Bruneian jobseekers. See Danial (2016).

  63. 63.

    Borneo Bulletin (2018a).

  64. 64.

    Waqiuddin (2015).

  65. 65.

    World Bank (2018).

  66. 66.

    World Economic Forum (2017).

  67. 67.

    Azlan (2015).

  68. 68.

    Ministry of Finance (2016).

  69. 69.

    The Brunei Times (2016b).

  70. 70.

    Kon (2017).

  71. 71.

    An experienced local entrepreneur, Mr. Soon Loo, was appointed as the managing director and chief executive officer of the agency in March 2016. In March 2017, Soon Loo was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB). See Sarmiento (2016).

  72. 72.

    Quratul-Ain (2010c).

  73. 73.

    Jalil (2016).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, Singapore

    Pushpa Thambipillai

  2. UBD School of Business and Economics, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

    Li Li Pang

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  1. Pushpa Thambipillai
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Correspondence to Li Li Pang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Bharat Dahiya

  2. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA

    Ashok Das

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Thambipillai, P., Pang, L.L. (2020). Urban Service Delivery and Access: The Special Case of Brunei Darussalam. In: Dahiya, B., Das, A. (eds) New Urban Agenda in Asia-Pacific. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6709-0_9

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