Legislative Council (LegCo) member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim expressed support for the government’s proposed national budget while calling for stronger fiscal management, enhanced investment’s strategies and greater private sector participation to accelerate economic transformation in Brunei Darussalam.
Speaking at the fourth day of the First Meeting of the 22nd Legislative Council yesterday, the LegCo member congratulated the Ministry of Finance and Economy and Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah for presenting what he described as a comprehensive and forward-looking Financial Year 2026/2027 budget.
He noted that the budget outlines key achievement, future direction and strategic priorities aimed at generating sustainable, dynamic and inclusive economic growth while improving the well-being of the people as safeguarding national stability in line with Brunei Vision 2035.
The LegCo member commended the government for maintaining positive growth in gross domestic product and trade in 2025, as well as introducing initiatives such as the development of a maritime ecosystem to support transshipment, the establishment of artificial intelligence-based data centres and the expansion of eco-tourism, which are expected to stimulate economic activity and create more employment opportunities.
However, he also raised concerns over the youth unemployment rate, which rose to 18.3 per cent in 2024 compare to 16.8 per cent to the previous year, despite overall unemployment remaining relatively controlled at around five per cent.
He voiced strong support for the theme of the 2026/2027 budget, ‘Together Achieving Wawasan Brunei 2035”, which emphasizes strengthening fiscal stability and financial governance, empowering the economy through transformation and innovation, and ensuring social sustainability and future development.
According to the LegCo member, the proposed BND$6.3 billion national budget and BND480 million allocation under the 12th National Development Plan (RKN-12) should serve as catalysts for long-term structural transformation of the country’s economy through a “whole-of-nation” approach involving government agencies, government-linked companies and financial institutions. He highlighted the importance of financial institutions in providing better access to capital, nurturing entrepreneurial talent and strengthening the business ecosystem.
While acknowledging the government’s effort to maintain fiscal discipline through a growth-friendly fiscal consolidation policy, he noted that the country is still expected to face a budget deficit due to projected revenue declining to about BND2.3 billion.
The LegCo member also stressed the need to improve revenue collection, particularly outstanding arrears amounting to hundreds or millions of dollars, and welcomed initiative to strengthen public-private partnerships (PPP), revies fiscal rules and enhance programme and performance-based budgeting.
He called for continuous review of strategies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to ensure they remain competitive amid changing global economics conditions.
He added that the information on need investments should be widely shared so that local companies, especially micro, small and medium enterprise, can benefit through collaboration with foreign investors. At the same time, he pointed out that Brunei’s financial institutions sector remains strong with high capitalization and liquidity, but domestic savings have yet to be fully utilised to support investment in the real sector.
The LegCo member also emphasized the importance of strengthening institutional governance, policy coordination and transparency, alongside the implementation of the government’s digital transformation agenda, to create a more responsive, business-friendly and innovative public service. He expressed hope that these initiatives would help stimulate domestic economic activity, increase national income and generate more quality employment opportunities for Bruneians while improving overall purchasing power and narrowing the income gap between the public and private sectors.
(news source: Borneo Bulletin; pic source: Info Foto, Jabatan Penerangan)
