Brunei frets about youths as govt aims for diverse economy<\/p>\n
By Bill Tarrant<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Reuter): Some young people in
\nBrunei are lazy and too choosy about jobs, Moslem clerics have
\ndeclared in recent Friday sermons around the tiny oil sultanate.<\/p>\n
\"The unemployment trend in the country is worrying,\" one said
\nin a February 28 sermon, a message also heard in other mosques
\naround the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan.<\/p>\n
\"This worrying trend is partly due to the lazy attitude of
\nsome of our youths. Some are very choosy about the jobs.\"<\/p>\n
That there is any unemployment at all is odd in Brunei, where
\nhalf the labor force is foreign, working in the oilfields,
\ndriving taxis, staffing clinics, doing menial jobs.<\/p>\n
More than 60 percent of the country's 296,000 people are under
\nthe age of 30. They grew up at a time when high oil prices gave
\nBrunei one of the highest standards of living in the developing
\nworld.<\/p>\n
The rainforest kingdom on the South China Sea is sometimes
\ncalled \"the Shellfare state\" because the oil, Brunei's main
\nasset, is managed by a 50-50 partnership between the government
\nand the Royal Dutch Shell group.<\/p>\n
Bruneians pay no taxes. Many enjoy interest-free loans for
\nhouses, cars and consumer items. Medical care and most of their
\nschooling is free. Even the grandiose, 90-acre (36 ha) Jerudong
\namusement park outside the capital has no admission charge.<\/p>\n
But the oil is running dry, and as it does, the monarchy is
\nopening up Brunei and its cocooned population to the world.<\/p>\n
As a birthday present to the nation in 1995, Sultan Hasanal
\nBolkiah decreed an \"open skies\" policy, allowing almost
\nunfettered access to satellite television broadcasts.<\/p>\n
Satellite dishes can be seen everywhere, from the stilt houses
\nin Kampong Air (water village) to new condominiums sprouting up
\nin the capital.<\/p>\n
Several firms are supplying dishes, which can give access to
\nup to 50 television channels, for as little as $300 to $700
\nindustry officials said.<\/p>\n
The sultan, who rules with absolute powers, has been more
\ncautious about opening up the political process.<\/p>\n
Hassanal, who lives in the world's biggest palace, has a fleet
\nof Rolls Royces and maintains a private polo team.<\/p>\n
He is by some reckoning the world's richest man. But diplomats
\nhere say that is true only if the $40 to $60 billion in the
\nBrunei Investment Agency is included as part of his personal
\nwealth.<\/p>\n
He is prime minister, defense minister and finance minister.
\nMost of the other cabinet positions are held by members of the
\nroyal family.<\/p>\n
No polls<\/p>\n
The country has not had polls since 1962, when the leftist
\nBruneian People's Party swept to power in a surprise result.
\nHassanal's father, then the king, annulled the elections and
\ncrushed a subsequent short-lived rebellion.<\/p>\n
Party leader Zaini Ahmad, who was among about 2,000 people
\narrested at the time, was released from jail last July along with
\nthe last remaining political prisoners.<\/p>\n
The Brunei Solidarity Party, the only political group still
\nallowed to operate, has all but disbanded due to public apathy,
\nsaid former acting president Salleh Abdul Samat.<\/p>\n
\"The young people don't want to be committed because they
\ndon't think it is a suitable time,\" he told Reuters.<\/p>\n
With no elections in the offing, people don't see the point,
\ndiplomats here said.<\/p>\n
But Brunei is aiming for a more open and diverse economy as it
\nweans itself off petroleum.<\/p>\n
The 1996-2000 five-year development plan, published this
\nmonth, says Brunei aims to be a hub for tourism and trade in
\nBorneo, which is rich in minerals, timber and wildlife.<\/p>\n
Brunei is the only independent country on Borneo, the world's
\nthird largest island, which is also shared by Malaysia and
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Tourist attraction<\/p>\n
Tourism department chief Sheik Jamaluddin Sheik Mohamed said
\nthe government can bring its considerable resources to developing
\nBrunei as a tourist attraction and gateway for trade and services
\non the island.<\/p>\n
Developing the country's human resources is crucial to the
\ntask, \"particularly as the nation is embarking towards
\nregionalization and globalisation\", the plan document says.<\/p>\n
Diplomats said one factor in Brunei's recent negotiations with
\nBritish Aerospace to buy a dozen advanced Hawk fighters and its
\ncommitment to buy three corvette-sized naval vessels with
\nadvanced weapon systems from GEC Plc was to acquire technology.<\/p>\n
\"Training and transfer of technology will have a knock-on
\neffect on the education system,\" a Western diplomat said.<\/p>\n
The new armaments would be a quantum leap for such a small
\ncountry, whose airforce consists of 13 helicopters and a navy
\nthat has several 15-metre patrol boats.<\/p>\n
\"It's also partly to be able to sit down at various tables,
\nput down their cards, and show they have the kind of projection
\ntheir financial resources commands,\" the diplomat said.<\/p>",
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