Impressions of Asia in 2010 - Brunei

Another summer and that meant another long trip to Asia. This time, I managed to spend considerable time in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. On the way back, I also spent short whiles in the United Kingdom and Paris, France.

Each place told me a different story: some new and, for some, a variation on something we knew from before.

Part 1 Brunei.

Brunei is looking up. The is an energy about the place that has been missing since the bubble burst in 1997 from its extravagant binge of the early 1990s. The country has the feel of finally gaining some confidence and is, once again, willing to do things. In many ways, this new found momentum is the work of the BEDB - whose efforts are now beginning to show results (and among the cynics, stir envy and resentment). I also believe it has to do with the generational renewal in the upper ranks of Government, amongst those in charge of the day-to-day machinery of the country. Mind you, I am not talking about any major shifts in the ultimate decision-making or a change in the operational mentality of the system. But a palpable energy has returned.

Or may be it's the youth. I was struck by the sheer number of bright young things just within my family alone who are graduating with flying colours from top institutions overseas. Going to a family gathering I was greeted by news of one cousin-niece who just graduated from LSE with a First in Law and whose brother has just been accepted into Oxford. Their cousin also got a First in Economics from LSE. And that is everyone from that side of the family even old enough to graduate. I am sure that is not a representative sample.

Overall the place still retains its easy comfort and seductive quality of life (once one has mastered its idiosyncracies). The threshold to a good life is low here. Yes, it is cheap to live well. But not only that, it comes without many of the usual trade-offs in terms of security, social hygiene, convenience, personal freedom etc. Although the population is growing fast and in many ways it is no longer the sleepy over-grown village that it used to be; my impression is that it is still a very forgiving place where human relations and community plays a big role. And underneath it all, people still have a willingness to please and not cause trouble for other people.

Take for example when we had to renew both my children's bio-metric passports. All it took was a painless 15 minutes visit to the Immigration Department where after a short wait, the officer took the photographs and pinger prints, and we were asked to collect the passport the next day. No hassle, no grandstanding, no bribes. Just straight forward service. It did not escape me that dealing with the bureaucracy could actually be more pleasant and personable experience than an average visit to the bank these days.

However what impressed me most about Brunei these days is the state of the relations between the races. Admittedly, in my case, it helps having a mix of religion and races even within my own immediate family for me to appreciate this. But I really heartened to find myself at a pool-side party for my 8 year old niece (who is mixed Chinese/Malay and therefore Muslim), attended by her (mostly Chinese) classmates from the Chung Hwa School (and their parents), her mainly Malay cousins, and mixture of Malay and Chinese relatives; which rather poignantly began with a Do'a or Muslim prayer by the family's regular ustaz or religious teacher. I found it quite amusing but it was also a wonderful sight because no one really felt anything was out of the order.

(to be continued... next is Malaysia)