The previous post was supposed to be light hearted break from the discussion. It was meant to be amusing to the few that knows who we are. Sort of an inside joke. Though we should have taken a break after a more relevant post.
I personally am going through a dry spell on topics to discuss. I asked a few people for advice and have been reading news online, but the inspiration it just not there.
The thing is Brunei has many issues to talk about. But not to paint a grim view of our nation, Brunei does have a lot of other qualities that makes it a great nation. The country is full of talented, educated, beautiful, kind hearted people. There are people who will go out of their way to help others and some who don’t give a damn. Coming back to Brunei during the semester breaks, if I spot a tourist that seems to be lost or having a difficult time finding their way around, I would offer them a ride and take them to where they intended to go. If they don’t know where to go I would suggest to them where depending on their interest (I know it’s the messiah complex in me, the need to help people).
After doing this for quite a few times now, I come to realize that Brunei is not really geared up for tourism. The transport infrastructure is just not there or not up to par to western nations. I have to admit I have never taken a taxi or a bus ride in Brunei (does the school bus count?)
I’ve seen a few bus stand here and there, but they are few a far between. Taxi stands are even fewer. I know we are trying to make the tourism industry one of the driving forces of the economy but is it sustainable? I mean is it sustainable in the context of Brunei? With close proximity to places like Singapore, KL, KK, Thailand, Jakarta, Bali and others which are tourist magnets, how are we suppose to compete with them in order to boost our economy? With their years of service industries experience, Brunei still has a lot to catch up. The Bruneian currently working in this industry is still having the same mentality as government servant, that the employers owe them certain privileges and benefits. Then there are those who look down at people who work in the field. It’s an honest day work even though the pay might not be the same to what the government is offering, the work itself should be considered as important.
I think the country is improving at quite a good rate in relation to the population. Maybe we just lack the expertise in ratio to our development needs. But as more people are getting educated and the population increases, we should see further development especially when we reach a 1 million people. Hopefully by then, people would still have good buying power so the economy will pick up and gets bigger.
I’ll leave you with this video I stumble upon on youtube. It’s actually quite good; music, perform and produce by Bruneians.
“1 Million People? That’s a lot of cars on the road” Yea I know, it’s a great excuse to finally use my Green Lantern ring to fly to the office.
No comments:
Post a Comment