Legislative Council (LegCo) member Yang Berhormat Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan highlighted at the 21st LegCo session on Wednesday that the performance of Brunei Darussalam’s higher education institutions received global recognition, based on statistics.

The recognition opens up many opportunities for foreign students to choose the Sultanate to further their studies.

Yang Berhormat Abdul Aziz expressed hope that one day the country will become the best regional education centre by providing more higher education institutions not only among government institutions but also operated by the private sector.

“This is important to provide many opportunities for local children to choose whether to further their education within their own country,” he said.

He believed that the national education policy should be updated according to current needs, including the conditions for applying for existing aid schemes or educational loans, recognition of qualifications from private institutions to any job. This requires expanding cooperation between the government and private institutions through specific programmes more suitable to meet the needs of all groups.

The involvement and participation of local students in regional and international competitions and educational or innovation skills should be intensified to identify the level of achievement of local children at global level.

In discussing the issue of dynamic and visionary human capital development, he welcomed the government’s efforts in introducing the Civil Service Apprenticeship Scheme (SkiPPA) where 794 pioneers are undergoing programmes in government ministries and departments.

Through this scheme, he hoped that it can produce officers in the civil service who are trained, authoritative, with integrity and have high discretion, especially in making any decisions and when facing the public. This is important to maintain the good name, reputation and credibility of the government.

He hoped that the same scheme can be expanded by creating a grassroots leadership scheme that provides exposure to the duties and responsibilities of district heads and village heads as an effort towards producing skills and experienced leaders among graduates consisting of youth.

He also noted on the breakdown of the non-oil and gas sector revenue which amounted to BND102.2 million of the national financial income.

Among those contributing were from the rental and commercial income from the sales of goods and services which contributed BND99.4 million.

He spoke regarding government buildings rented for public use with rental rates that are too low. This includes government halls rented for weddings.

“Given the high demand, it is good that these buildings are upgraded according to current changes by being equipped with new, sophisticated equipment and comparable to other halls in the market. This includes other infrastructure such as sports fields, stalls and business sites,” said Yang Berhormat Abdul Aziz.

“With this, the government can update rental rates that are more suitable towards contributing to increasing government revenue.”

Regarding projects under the 12th National Development Plan, he welcomed the government’s efforts and initiatives towards the sustainability of nature by implementing the Green Building concept with a plan price of BND51,600,000 million, including the Solar Panel Installation Project on 38 government building roofs.

He sees this as an initiative that needs to be continued and expanded in scope by creating a National Go Green transformation plan that is implemented in stages, which includes upgrading the use of conventional energy to solar energy in public places such as public toilets and bus stops.

With the total allocation of BND6,350,000 provided for the national budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, he hoped that it can be utilised in line with the country’s goals and objectives.​

(News & pic source: Borneo Bulletin)