Bila Agama Tinggal di Bibir, Bukan di Jiwa

  

Bila Agama Tinggal di Bibir, Bukan di Jiwa

Dari Surah As-Sajdah pada Subuh Jumaat kepada Surah Al-Ghasyiyah, dari soal takdir kepada makna “InsyaAllah”, renungan ini membawa kita kepada satu hakikat: agama bukan hanya untuk disebut, tetapi untuk dihidupkan dalam jiwa.

Oleh MHO | KopiTalk Jiwa

Ada waktunya satu bacaan yang panjang dalam solat Subuh Jumaat membuka renungan yang lebih panjang dalam jiwa. Bukan kerana orang mahu mempertikaikan sunnah, jauh sekali mahu meremehkan amalan yang datang daripada Rasulullah SAW, tetapi kerana dari situlah lahir satu pertanyaan yang halus namun besar maknanya: benarkah agama ini sudah meresap ke dalam diri, atau masih banyak yang berhenti pada bentuk, lafaz dan kebiasaan semata-mata?

 

Perbincangan itu bermula daripada satu keadaan yang sangat dekat dengan kehidupan. Seorang imam membaca Surah As-Sajdah dalam solat fardu Subuh hari Jumaat, lalu bacaan menjadi lebih panjang. Bagi yang muda, sihat dan masih kuat berdiri, hal itu mungkin tidak terasa begitu berat. Tetapi bagi jemaah yang sudah lanjut usia, yang lututnya tidak lagi sekuat dulu, yang tubuhnya membawa lelah umur dan ujian kesihatan, keadaan itu boleh menjadi satu beban yang tidak ringan. Dari situlah timbul satu peringatan yang lembut tetapi penting: memimpin ibadah juga menuntut hikmah.

 

Agama tidak datang hanya untuk memberitahu manusia apa yang sah dan apa yang batal pada zahir perbuatan. Agama juga datang membawa rahmah, adab dan timbang rasa. Sesuatu amalan boleh sahaja baik pada asalnya, tetapi cara membawanya, tempat melaksanakannya, dan siapa yang dipimpin dalam perlaksanaannya tetap menuntut kebijaksanaan. Seorang imam bukan sekadar orang yang mampu membaca panjang. Seorang imam juga ialah orang yang tahu menimbang keadaan makmumnya. Di situlah indahnya Islam: tegas pada prinsip, tetapi halus pada budi.

 

Sebab agama ini bukan agama bentuk yang kering daripada jiwa. Ia bukan agama yang hanya meminta manusia melakukan sesuatu tanpa memahami hikmah di sebaliknya. Dan apabila renungan itu dibawa lebih jauh, perbincangan pun sampai kepada satu hakikat yang lebih besar: Al-Qur’an itu bukan hanya untuk dibaca dengan lidah, tetapi untuk dihayati dengan hati, difikirkan dengan akal, dan dirasakan getarnya dalam batin.

 

Ada orang membaca Al-Qur’an seperti membaca helaian biasa. Lafaz keluar dari bibir, bunyi masuk ke telinga, tetapi hati tetap tidak terusik. Ada pula orang yang hanya mendengar satu ayat, lalu dadanya bergetar, fikirannya terbuka, dan hidupnya berubah arah. Mungkin di situlah rahsia yang sering tidak kelihatan oleh mata kasar. Ayat-ayat Allah bergerak dalam diri manusia dengan gerak yang sangat halus. Ia tidak selalu dapat dilihat, tetapi kesannya nyata. Seperti degup jantung yang tidak nampak dari luar, namun hidup manusia bergantung kepadanya, demikianlah juga kalam Allah bergerak dalam ruang jiwa yang mahu mendengar.

 

Apabila perbincangan menyentuh Surah Al-Ghasyiyah, suasananya menjadi lebih mendalam. Surah itu membawa manusia menatap satu hari yang tidak dapat dielakkan, hari ketika wajah-wajah akan menzahirkan hasil sebenar kehidupan mereka. Ada wajah yang tunduk hina, letih, penat, susah, bekerja keras, tetapi akhirnya menuju azab. Ada pula wajah yang berseri-seri, reda dengan usahanya, lalu menerima balasan yang penuh nikmat. Gambaran itu bukan sekadar cerita tentang akhirat yang jauh. Ia ialah cermin yang sudah dihulurkan kepada manusia sejak di dunia lagi.

 

Kerana dalam kehidupan ini, ramai manusia yang penat. Ramai yang letih. Ramai yang memikul beban yang tidak terlihat oleh orang lain. Tetapi persoalannya bukan sekadar penat atau tidak penat. Persoalannya ialah penat itu menuju ke mana. Ada penat yang menjadi ibadah: penat mencari rezeki yang halal, penat menahan marah, penat melawan nafsu, penat menjaga amanah, penat mempertahankan maruah dalam dunia yang penuh godaan. Penat yang seperti itu, jika diniatkan kerana Allah, boleh menjadi cahaya. Tetapi ada juga penat yang lain: penat mengejar dunia tanpa sempadan, penat dalam keangkuhan, penat menyakiti orang, penat dalam maksiat, penat dalam tipu daya. Penat yang seperti itu tidak mendekatkan manusia kepada Tuhannya, malah boleh membawanya semakin jauh.

 

Sebab itulah Al-Qur’an tidak pernah menjadi tua. Lafaznya dibaca berulang kali, tetapi maknanya tetap segar kerana manusia sentiasa berdepan dengan persoalan yang sama. Siapakah diri kita di sisi Allah? Ke manakah hidup ini sedang dibawa? Dan apakah segala usaha, lelah, luka dan pilihan yang kita buat hari ini sedang menyiapkan wajah yang berseri-seri, atau wajah yang tunduk hina pada hari kemudian?

 

Dari situ, perbincangan beralih kepada satu simpul akidah yang sering disalahfahami, iaitu soal qada dan qadar. Ramai yang pandai berkata bahawa segala sesuatu berlaku dengan izin Allah. Itu benar. Ramai juga yang tahu menyebut bahawa segala kuasa datang daripada Allah. Itu juga benar. Tetapi kebenaran yang mulia ini sering menjadi kabur apabila manusia menggunakannya bukan untuk tunduk, tetapi untuk melepaskan diri daripada tanggungjawab.

 

Contohnya mudah. Jika seseorang mencuri, dia tidak boleh bersembunyi di sebalik kata-kata bahawa itu semua sudah takdir Allah semata-mata. Ya, qudrat untuk bergerak, berfikir dan bertindak memang datang daripada Allah. Tetapi manusia tetap diberi pilihan tentang bagaimana qudrat itu digunakan. Tangan yang sama boleh digunakan untuk bersedekah atau mencuri. Lidah yang sama boleh digunakan untuk berzikir atau memfitnah. Akal yang sama boleh digunakan untuk mencari kebenaran atau merancang keburukan. Maka apabila seseorang memilih jalan yang salah, dia tidak boleh menuding kepada takdir untuk membersihkan dosanya sendiri.

 

Di sinilah perlunya keseimbangan antara usaha manusia dan kuasa Allah. Dalam hal sakit, misalnya, manusia disuruh berikhtiar. Ia pergi berubat, makan ubat, menjaga diri, dan mencari jalan untuk sembuh. Tetapi selepas semua itu, dia tetap mengakui bahawa kesembuhan yang sebenar datang daripada Allah. Islam tidak mengajar manusia menggantung seluruh harap pada usahanya seolah-olah hasil itu berada sepenuhnya dalam genggamannya. Tetapi Islam juga tidak mengajar manusia duduk diam lalu berselindung di bawah nama tawakkal. Tawakkal yang benar tidak membunuh ikhtiar. Ikhtiar yang benar pula tidak melahirkan kesombongan.

 

Begitu juga dalam soal dosa dan keburukan. Ada orang sangat cepat berkata, “semua pun dari Allah,” ketika dia mahu mempertahankan kesalahannya. Tetapi orang yang sama sangat cepat memuji dirinya sendiri apabila berjaya dalam sesuatu. Waktu salah, dia menyerahkan semuanya kepada takdir. Waktu berjaya, dia memungut semuanya untuk dirinya. Ini bukan kefahaman akidah yang lurus. Ini lebih dekat kepada muslihat hati yang belum benar-benar jujur di hadapan Tuhannya.

 

Dari sini, perbincangan menyentuh satu lafaz yang sangat akrab dalam kehidupan harian orang Islam: “InsyaAllah”. Betapa mudahnya lafaz itu mengalir di bibir. Ia sudah menjadi sebahagian daripada percakapan seharian. Namun kerana terlalu biasa diucapkan, kadang-kadang maknanya menjadi tipis. Ada yang menggunakannya dengan penuh adab, sebagai pengakuan bahawa segala sesuatu berada dalam kuasa Allah. Tetapi ada juga yang memakainya sebagai tirai halus untuk mengelak kepastian, melindungi ketidaktegasan, atau menyembunyikan niat yang tidak sungguh.

 

Apabila seseorang ditanya sama ada dia akan datang, akan menolong, akan menyiapkan amanah, atau akan memenuhi janji, lalu dia menjawab “InsyaAllah” sedangkan dalam hatinya sendiri dia tidak benar-benar bersungguh-sungguh, maka yang bermasalah bukanlah lafaz itu. Lafaz itu suci. Yang bermasalah ialah jiwa yang meminjam kesucian lafaz untuk menutup kekaburan niat. Nama Allah tidak sepatutnya menjadi tempat manusia berlindung daripada ketidakjujuran dirinya sendiri. Kalimah yang seharusnya mengingatkan manusia kepada kebesaran Allah jangan sampai bertukar menjadi selimut bagi sikap sambil lewa.

 

Mungkin kerana itulah manusia perlu belajar semula untuk jujur, bukan sahaja dalam perbuatan, tetapi juga dalam bahasa. Ada waktunya lebih amanah untuk berkata, “kalau tidak ada halangan, saya cuba hadir,” daripada menyebut “InsyaAllah” dengan nada yang dari awal lagi kosong daripada kesungguhan. Agama bukan semata-mata pada istilah yang betul. Agama juga terletak pada makna yang hidup di belakang istilah itu.

 

Perubahan zaman pula sering menguji manusia pada bezanya antara rupa dan hakikat. Dulu mungkin ada gambaran tertentu tentang mahasiswa Islam, tentang pakaian, tentang cara menampilkan diri. Hari ini zaman sudah berubah. Penampilan lebih pelbagai, gaya lebih santai, dan dunia lebih terbuka. Tetapi perubahan pada wajah luar jangan sampai memudarkan hakikat di dalam. Pakaian boleh berubah menurut masa. Gaya boleh berubah menurut keadaan. Namun amanah terhadap Allah, tanggungjawab terhadap pilihan, dan kesedaran bahawa hidup ini akan dihisab, tidak pernah berubah.

 

Manusia memang hidup dalam ketidaktentuan. Semalam telah berlalu. Hari ini berada di tangan kita sebagai amanah. Esok pula masih terselubung. Tiada siapa benar-benar tahu apa yang menunggu beberapa jam dari sekarang, apatah lagi beberapa tahun akan datang. Namun di sebalik segala misteri itu, ada satu kepastian yang tidak pernah berubah: manusia akan kembali kepada Allah. Dan apabila kembali, bukan rupa yang akan berbicara, bukan kepintaran menyusun alasan, bukan juga manisnya kata-kata di bibir. Yang akan datang bersama manusia ialah amalnya.

 

Sebab itu pengertian amal perlu difahami dengan sebenar-benarnya. Amal bukan hanya perkara besar yang dilihat orang dan dipuji dunia. Amal ialah apa yang dilakukan manusia dengan kemampuan yang diberikan Allah, disertai niat yang tersembunyi di hati, lalu menghasilkan pahala atau dosa. Satu perkataan boleh menjadi amal. Satu diam pun boleh menjadi amal. Satu pilihan kecil yang dibuat ketika tiada siapa memandang pun boleh menjadi amal. Dan kerana itulah manusia tidak boleh terlalu selesa dengan alasan-alasan agama yang dipetik secara salah untuk menenangkan kelemahan dirinya sendiri.

 

Ada orang tidak takut berbuat dosa kerana merasa semuanya sudah tertulis. Ada yang tenang menzalimi orang lain sambil berkata bahawa kalau Allah tidak mengizinkan, perkara itu tentu tidak berlaku. Ada pula yang malas berusaha kerana merasakan apa yang datang nanti sudah pun ditetapkan. Semua ini lahir daripada kefahaman yang tempang. Benar, tidak ada sesuatu pun berlaku di luar ilmu dan izin Allah. Tetapi benar juga bahawa manusia akan ditanya tentang pilihannya. Di situlah amanah seorang hamba. Allah memberi akal, memberi jalan, memberi petunjuk, memberi peringatan, lalu manusia memilih.

 

Barangkali inilah yang paling perlu direnung oleh kita semua. Kadang-kadang masalah kita bukan kerana kita tidak tahu menyebut istilah agama. Kita tahu. Kita tahu menyebut takdir, tawakkal, ikhtiar, amanah, ikhlas dan InsyaAllah. Kita tahu membaca ayat. Kita tahu memetik nasihat. Tetapi mengetahui lafaz belum tentu bererti memahami makna. Menyebut belum tentu bererti menghayati. Dan melakukan sesuatu pada zahirnya belum tentu bererti jiwa sudah benar-benar tunduk kepada Allah.

 

Dari satu bacaan Surah As-Sajdah pada Subuh Jumaat, perbincangan itu akhirnya membawa kepada satu cermin yang jauh lebih besar daripada soal panjang atau pendeknya bacaan. Ia membawa kepada persoalan bagaimana manusia beragama. Adakah dengan hikmah atau dengan keras pada bentuk? Adakah dengan kefahaman atau sekadar kebiasaan? Adakah dengan kejujuran hati, atau dengan lafaz yang indah tetapi maknanya kosong?

 

Pada akhirnya, kita semua akan kembali. Bukan kembali kepada alasan, bukan kembali kepada kebiasaan, bukan kembali kepada kata-kata yang pandai disusun. Kita akan kembali kepada Allah dengan amal yang pernah dibuat, niat yang pernah disimpan, dan pilihan yang pernah diambil. Di situlah agama menunjukkan wajahnya yang sebenar: sama ada ia benar-benar hidup dalam jiwa, atau selama ini hanya singgah di bibir. 

  
Kerana akhirnya, yang menyelamatkan manusia bukan banyaknya istilah yang disebut, tetapi benarnya hati ketika memikul amanah sebagai hamba di hadapan Allah.

 

Connectivity for All — But Are We All Connected Yet?

KOPITALK WITH MHO

Connectivity for All — But Are We All Connected Yet?

MTIC 2030 is Brunei’s most ambitious blueprint yet for transport and digital transformation. Projects are moving. Systems are going live. But the real question is whether ordinary Bruneians are beginning to feel the difference — and whether those entrusted with delivery are asking the right questions.

 

 

Let me take you back to Seria in the 1960s and 70s.

My late father, Haji Malai Othman, was the Postmaster at the Seria Post Office. As a boy, I used to spend time around his office during school holidays — not because I had to, but because it was simply a wonderful place to be. There was a rhythm to that post office, a sense of purpose you could feel the moment you walked through the door.

The festive seasons were the best. During Ramadan, in the weeks building up to Hari Raya, and again towards the end of the year at Christmas, the post office would be bursting with mail, cards and parcels addressed to destinations near and far, waiting to be sorted, stamped and dispatched. My father’s staff would be working flat out, and young me would happily join in, sorting letters with the kind of enthusiasm only a schoolboy on holiday could muster. I will be honest — it was not purely the spirit of service that drove me. I was also quietly hoping for some duit raya from the kindly staff, and perhaps a little something at Christmas too. But it did not feel like work. It felt like an adventure.

The driver of the mail delivery van was not just a post office employee — he also doubled as our family driver. On slow days, he would take us on the Seria-to-Bandar run, back and forth, simply for the fun of it. A road trip with no real destination, in a van that smelled of ink and brown paper. Those were, as they say, the good old days.

I share this not merely out of nostalgia, but because the Seria post office represented something larger: a government service that showed up day after day to connect people. That old chapter has now entered a new era.

Since 1 January 2026, Brunei’s postal services have no longer been run by a government department. They now come under PosBru Sdn Bhd, a fully corporatised entity, wholly owned by Darussalam Assets and regulated by AITI. The stamp, the counter, the registered parcel — all of it now sits within a corporate structure expected to be competitive, customer-centric and financially sustainable.

This is no small shift. For those who have watched Brunei’s public sector move, however gradually, towards reform over the years, the corporatisation of the Postal Services Department is one of the clearest signs yet of a more operational, performance-driven approach to public service delivery.

And it is only one part of a much larger story.

 

The Plan Behind the Plans

On 29 January 2026, the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications officially launched its Strategic Plan 2026–2030, better known as MTIC 2030, during a Muhibah Meeting with Legislative Council members. The minister, Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Shamhary bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mustapha, presented it as a five-year roadmap anchored in a simple but weighty vision: Connectivity for All.

The phrase sounds straightforward. But inside it sits a substantial agenda: 121 projects and initiatives, 21 measurable targets, and four strategic pillars meant to reshape how Brunei moves people, goods and data — by land, sea, air and fibre optic cable.

MTIC 2030 does not stand alone. It sits beneath the broader Wawasan Brunei 2035 umbrella and draws from the Economic Blueprint, the Manpower Blueprint, the Digital Brunei framework, the Road Safety Action Plan, and the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy. In practical terms, it is where large national aspirations meet annual budgets, implementation schedules and measurable targets.

The minister also appeared careful to position this plan differently from the last one. If the previous strategic plan set the broader direction, MTIC 2030 seems intended to be more grounded, more realistic and more responsive to stakeholder feedback, lessons learned and the concerns raised by Honourable Members in LegCo.

That matters. It suggests an effort to move from broad aspiration to sharper execution.

 

What Is Already Moving

This is where the story becomes more interesting. MTIC 2030 is not simply a document launched with ceremony and then left on a shelf. Several of its key initiatives are already underway.

BruneiID, the national digital identity system, opened for public registration on 3 January 2026. Launched jointly by MTIC and the Ministry of Home Affairs, it allows citizens to verify their identity digitally and access government services through a single mobile application. Among the early services linked to it are PSC Recruitment, the Business Reporting portal, TransportBN, BruHealth, E-Undi and the TD123 call centre app.

Think of BruneiID as the digital key to the government’s front door. For now, it opens only some rooms. The wider ambition is for it eventually to open many more.

DriveBN, the $8.74 million digitalisation initiative for the Land Transport Department, is also underway. The objective is striking: to reduce the department’s internal processes from 104 steps to 33, and over time move the full range of driving and vehicle licensing services online. For anyone who has renewed a road tax or booked a driving test the old way, that figure alone goes some way towards explaining why the system has sometimes felt slower than it should.

Muara Port, meanwhile, is being expanded. The new container terminal, a joint venture between Darussalam Assets and China’s Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port Group, is expected to increase annual capacity from roughly 330,000 to 500,000 TEUs when completed in mid-2027. A 3.62-hectare Port Trade Zone is also being developed alongside it.

For those less familiar with port economics, this matters because more capacity can mean more ships, more cargo, more trade, more supporting services and, potentially, more jobs. It is part of Brunei’s effort to strengthen its position in regional maritime logistics.

The Maritime Single Window has also been launched. This is a unified digital platform linking port authorities, customs, immigration, police and the health department within one system. Phase two is already underway, expanding into smart port operations, seafarer IDs, financial transactions and HR functions. The target is fuller automation of maritime logistics and administration by 2030.

The ship-to-ship transfer and lay-up area, which can generate supporting services such as bunkering and offshore support, was also targeted for operational status by the first quarter of 2026.

These are not merely future promises. They are among the initiatives already in motion.

 

The Framework Driving It All

To understand where this is heading, it helps to understand the ministry’s internal architecture for the plan. MTIC 2030 is built around what it calls a 4-4-4 Framework.

There are Four High Priority Enablers: people and infrastructure; policy and regulations; emerging technologies and data; and meaningful partnerships.

There are Four Strategic Pillars: driving digitalisation and innovation; complying with safety and security standards; striving for performance excellence; and advancing sustainable growth and resilient development.

And there are Four Strategic Goals: a Connected and Future-Ready Government; a Connected and Inclusive Society; Connected and Sustainable Businesses; and a Connected and Trusted Ecosystem.

At the centre of this sits a set of values the ministry refers to as MTI³C — Maqasid Syari’ah, Teamwork, Integrity, Inclusivity, Innovation and Collaboration.

The inclusion of Maqasid Syari’ah in a transport and technology plan is notable. At least in principle, it suggests that policy choices are expected to be weighed not only against KPIs and timelines, but also against broader questions of public good, justice and human welfare. That is an ambitious standard to invoke. It also widens the meaning of accountability.

 

The Numbers Worth Watching

Among the 21 strategic targets in MTIC 2030, several deserve close public attention.

One is the target of 80 per cent digitalisation of government services by 2030. If the current baseline is still well below that level, then this is a stretch target — but a meaningful one. Every percentage point of digitalisation should, in principle, mean fewer queues, fewer forms and fewer trips to the counter.

Another is the target of 75 per cent of individuals having at least basic digital skills by 2030. In quiet ways, that target also acknowledges that a substantial part of the population is not yet digitally equipped. The proposed National Digital Literacy Framework and the Nationwide Coding with Smart Devices for Schools programme are meant to help close that gap. Their follow-through will matter.

The target of 99.5 per cent internet reliability by 2030 is equally important. Internet reliability is not an abstract benchmark. It affects remote work, e-commerce, telemedicine, education and the daily functioning of modern life.

Then there are the growth targets: 9 per cent average growth for the ICT sector and 20 per cent growth in the transport sector by 2030. Those are ambitious. If the ICT sector is currently growing at around 3.9 per cent annually, then reaching that higher target will require a stronger lift in private investment, digital enterprise development and talent formation.

And then there is the target of zero major transport accidents by 2030. That is not just an economic metric. It is a human one.

 

The Challenges No Plan Can Paper Over

For all its momentum, MTIC 2030 will still have to contend with structural headwinds no document can resolve on its own.

The talent gap is real. The plan targets 1,800 new jobs in transport and infocommunications by 2030. Spread across five years, that figure also hints at how limited the specialised talent pipeline may still be. The Digital Academy, National Digital Manpower Masterplan, TechInspire, TechXPLORE and PENJANA 2.0 are all intended to strengthen that pipeline. The question is whether they will be funded, scaled and sustained with enough urgency.

Digital inclusion is not only about network coverage. It is also about confidence, affordability and actual use. Expanding last-mile connectivity into rural areas is necessary, but it is not enough. Reaching the elderly, the digitally hesitant, and households with limited device access will require more than cables and coverage maps. It will require patient human support. The Universal Service Provision Fund, meant to subsidise services and devices for underserved groups, could be an important instrument. But, as with all such mechanisms, implementation will matter.

The R&D gap is also significant. Brunei currently spends 0.30 per cent of GDP on research and development, with a target of 0.5 per cent by 2030. Even that target remains modest when set against countries that invest far more heavily in innovation ecosystems. Without stronger investment in knowledge creation and applied innovation, the ambition to build a data economy and an AI-enabled future may struggle to deepen.

Cybersecurity remains another live challenge. The plan refers to a Government Cyber Security Risk Index benchmark, full implementation of the Personal Data Protection Order 2025, and stronger incident-reporting protocols. Those are important building blocks. But cyber resilience is not a one-off milestone. It is a continuing discipline.

Then there is the question of greenhouse gas emissions. The plan commits to reducing emissions in the transport sector by 2030, but the publicly stated target does not appear to specify by how much. For a country that has committed to CORSIA and is developing a Green Port Policy, that missing figure is a gap worth clarifying. It is the kind of detail policymakers, legislators and civil society may reasonably want to see filled in.

 

The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters for Brunei

At the opening of the 21st LegCo session, His Majesty made clear that Brunei’s economy remains heavily reliant on oil and gas. Transformation is therefore not optional.

MTIC 2030 can be read as part of the government’s operational answer to that reality. Transport and infocommunications are not side sectors. They are the arteries and nervous system of a modern economy. Port efficiency affects trade competitiveness. Internet reliability affects whether businesses can function digitally. Digital identity affects whether citizens can access services from home or still have to take a number and wait.

The Brunei Digital Transformation Plan, which will succeed the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025, is reportedly ready and awaiting launch. The National STI Strategy, being developed with CSPS following a May 2025 agreement, is expected to add another layer of support. Separately, Brunei is also studying the feasibility of joining the Trans-Borneo Railway network, a cross-border connectivity proposition that could, if it advances, reshape Brunei’s regional land transport role.

These are not minor moves. They are among the building blocks of any serious post-oil transition.

 

The Accountability Question

MTIC 2030 includes a monitoring mechanism through quarterly and annual reviews against 21 strategic targets. That is useful. But accountability cannot remain an internal exercise alone.

The plan was presented to Legislative Council members during the Muhibah Session. That is a start. But presentation is not the same as accountability. What Brunei needs — and what the public should reasonably expect — is a culture in which progress reports are shared clearly, shortfalls are explained candidly, and elected or appointed national forums are given the information and room to ask difficult but necessary questions.

 

Are bus connectivity routes increasing? Is BruneiID adoption steadily rising? How many of the 1,800 targeted jobs have actually materialised? Is PosBru outperforming the old system in service delivery, and has the transition been fair to those who moved across?

 

These are not hostile questions. They are the kinds of questions that turn a strategic plan from an official document into a national commitment.

 

In Closing

There is a hadith quoted near the front of the MTIC 2030 document, from Ibn Majah: “Whoever makes it easy for someone in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for him in this World and in the Hereafter.”

 

Its inclusion gives the plan a larger frame. Not merely as a technology agenda. Not merely as an economic strategy. But as an act of service.

 

Making it easier for the citizen to renew a licence. Making it simpler for the small business to report digitally. Making it faster for the ship to clear port. Making it possible for the rural household to access the same services as those in Bandar.

 

Connectivity for All. Those three words carry real weight.

 

MTIC 2030 lays out a serious plan. Projects are moving. Some initiatives are already up and running. The machinery of reform is, at least in part, in motion.

 

Now comes the harder test: whether the gains are felt widely, whether delivery remains steady, and whether those responsible for carrying the plan through remain answerable to the nation they serve.

 

Malai Hassan Othman is a media and communications consultant, political analyst and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the National Development Party (NDP). KopiTalk with MHO is published at kopitalkmho.blogspot.com.

WHEN EFFORT ISN'T ENOUGH: MAKE DOA

Long before we spoke about stress and burnout…this doa had already named what we are going through.

By MHO  |  KopiTalk Jiwa

Dari Meja Penasihat: Perpaduan, Ketenangan dan Arah Negara

  

Sebuah renungan Syawal tentang amanah, kejujuran nasional dan arah perjalanan Brunei dalam zaman yang semakin mencabar

 

Oleh Malai Hassan Othman

 

Ada kalanya sebuah majlis yang sederhana meninggalkan renungan yang lebih besar daripada kemeriahan yang mengiringinya.

 

Baru-baru ini, saya telah diberi penghormatan untuk menghadiri Majlis Ramah Mesra Hari Raya Aidilfitri Parti Pembangunan Bangsa sebagai tetamu kehormat. Majlis itu tidaklah besar, tidak juga berlebih-lebihan. Namun dalam suasana yang mesra dan sederhana itulah terserlah satu tema yang saya fikir sangat bertepatan dengan keadaan semasa negara: “Perpaduan Kita, Kekuatan Kita.”

 

Pada satu sisi, tema itu memang serasi dengan semangat Syawal — bulan yang mengajar kita erti kemaafan, merapatkan yang renggang, dan memperbaharui hubungan sesama insan. Tetapi pada sisi yang lain, saya melihat tema itu membawa makna yang jauh lebih luas.

 

Ia bukan hanya sesuai untuk digantung sebagai hiasan pentas atau diulang sebagai ungkapan perayaan. Ia menyentuh satu asas penting dalam kehidupan bernegara: bahawa dalam zaman yang penuh ketidaktentuan, perpaduan bukan lagi sekadar nilai yang elok disebut, tetapi kekuatan yang mesti benar-benar dipelihara.

 

Kita sedang melalui satu zaman yang tidak mudah dibaca. Pergolakan geopolitik, ketidaktentuan ekonomi, gangguan rantaian bekalan, turun naik pasaran tenaga, dan perubahan landskap dunia yang pantas menjadikan suasana antarabangsa kian rapuh. Brunei Darussalam sememangnya bersyukur kerana terus berada dalam aman dan sejahtera. Namun keamanan itu tidak harus membuatkan kita alpa bahawa sebuah negara kecil yang terbuka seperti Brunei tetap terdedah kepada kesan daripada pergolakan yang berlaku di luar batas sempadannya.

 

Tempias itu tidak semestinya hadir dalam bentuk yang dramatik. Lazimnya ia datang secara senyap — melalui tekanan terhadap kos sara hidup, peluang ekonomi, sentimen pasaran, dan keresahan yang mula dirasa oleh rakyat biasa.

Sebab itulah saya melihat tema perpaduan itu sangat tepat pada waktunya.

 

Perpaduan tidak wajar difahami dalam pengertian yang sempit. Ia bukan sekadar duduk semeja, berhimpun sepentas, atau memperlihatkan keserasian pada permukaan. Perpaduan yang sebenar menuntut kematangan untuk meletakkan kepentingan bersama di atas kehendak peribadi. Ia menuntut kebijaksanaan dalam mengurus perbezaan, kesabaran dalam menjaga hubungan, dan kesedaran bahawa dalam waktu-waktu yang mencabar, apa yang menyatukan kita jauh lebih penting daripada apa yang memisahkan kita.

 

Dalam konteks perjuangan, hakikat ini lebih terserlah. Sesebuah gerakan tidak akan menjadi kuat hanya kerana ada nama, lambang, sejarah, atau slogan. Ia hanya akan benar-benar bernilai apabila di dalamnya masih hidup roh amanah, keikhlasan, disiplin, dan kesediaan untuk terus bertahan dalam keadaan yang tidak mudah.

 

Namun renungan tentang perpaduan ini, pada pandangan saya, tidak seharusnya terhenti dalam lingkungan parti semata-mata. Ia wajar dibawa kepada kerangka yang lebih luas, iaitu tentang arah perjalanan negara.

 

Wawasan 2035 dan ukuran kejujuran kita

 

Kita tidak boleh mengelak daripada satu kenyataan yang besar: Wawasan Brunei 2035 kini berbaki hanya sembilan tahun. Tempoh itu bukan lagi panjang. Ia cukup hampir untuk menuntut kita menilai kedudukan semasa dengan lebih jujur, tenang, dan bertanggungjawab.

 

Persoalannya bukan lagi sama ada kita masih menyebut Wawasan 2035, tetapi sama ada gerak langkah kita benar-benar meyakinkan ke arah itu. Di manakah kita sekarang? Adakah rakyat benar-benar merasakan mereka sedang dibawa ke arah masa depan yang lebih baik? Adakah peluang pekerjaan semakin meyakinkan? 

 

Adakah ekonomi rakyat semakin kukuh? Dan adakah anak-anak muda benar-benar melihat harapan masa depan mereka di negara sendiri?

 

Soalan-soalan seperti ini bukanlah untuk menimbulkan kegelisahan yang tidak perlu. Sebaliknya, ia lahir daripada rasa tanggungjawab. Sebuah wawasan negara yang besar memerlukan keberanian untuk bermuhasabah.

 

Kita tidak membantu masa depan negara dengan sekadar mengulang ungkapan yang indah jika pada masa yang sama denyut nadi rakyat menunjukkan keresahan yang belum benar-benar terjawab. Kita juga tidak menguatkan semangat pembangunan jika kita terlalu takut untuk mengakui bahawa masih ada kelemahan yang mesti dibetulkan.

 

Di sinilah sebenarnya perpaduan dan pembangunan bertemu.

 

Sesebuah negara tidak akan sampai ke destinasi yang tinggi hanya dengan niat yang baik, dokumen yang lengkap, atau ucapan yang indah. Ia memerlukan daya laksana, iltizam yang berpanjangan, keberanian untuk membuat pembetulan, dan kesatuan hati dalam menghadapi cabaran.

 

Perpaduan yang matang melahirkan kestabilan. Kestabilan yang sihat menumbuhkan keyakinan. Dan keyakinan itulah antara asas yang penting bagi kemajuan yang berterusan.

 

Amanah, suara yang waras, dan peranan gerakan rakyat

 

Dalam kerangka itu, saya melihat peranan sebuah gerakan rakyat yang bertanggungjawab amat mustahak. Ia tidak seharusnya sekadar menjadi pemerhati, apatah lagi sekadar ruang untuk bernostalgia. Ia perlu hidup sebagai suara yang waras, beradab, berfakta dan bertanggungjawab.

 

Ia tidak perlu keras untuk menjadi berkesan. Ia tidak perlu bising untuk menjadi relevan. Tetapi ia mesti cukup jujur untuk menyuarakan perkara-perkara yang patut direnungkan bersama demi kepentingan rakyat dan negara.

 

Dalam kehidupan bernegara, kita juga wajar sentiasa kembali kepada persoalan amanah. Lazimnya manusia lebih cepat bertanya apa yang boleh diberikan oleh parti, kerajaan, atau keadaan kepadanya. Namun soalan yang lebih besar dan lebih berat ialah: apakah yang sanggup kita sumbangkan kepada masyarakat, kepada rakyat, dan kepada negara?

 

Perjuangan tidak akan bergerak jika semua orang hanya mahu menjadi penumpang. Akan sentiasa diperlukan insan-insan yang sanggup memikul beban, tetap setia dalam kesukaran, dan terus berdiri walaupun suasana tidak sentiasa memudahkan.

 

Syawal, perpaduan dan budaya bersama

 

Semangat Syawal pada hakikatnya membawa kita kembali kepada kelembutan hati, kebersihan niat, dan kekuatan jiwa selepas melalui madrasah Ramadan. Dalam semangat itulah saya melihat persoalan perpaduan perlu direnungkan semula — bukan sebagai slogan bermusim, tetapi sebagai budaya bersama.

 

Perpaduan yang benar lahir apabila kita belajar mengawal hal-hal yang merosakkan hubungan, belajar mendahulukan yang lebih besar daripada diri sendiri, dan belajar menerima bahawa perbezaan pandangan tidak semestinya membawa kepada perpecahan, selagi semuanya masih berpaksikan niat yang baik terhadap rakyat dan negara.

 

Barangkali itulah antara makna paling mendalam yang saya bawa pulang daripada majlis hari raya yang sederhana itu. Bahawa pertemuan yang ringkas kadang-kadang mampu mengingatkan kita kepada tanggungjawab yang besar. Bahawa dalam suasana yang tenang, kita sebenarnya sedang dipanggil untuk berfikir dengan lebih jernih tentang keadaan semasa. Dan bahawa dalam zaman yang penuh ketidaktentuan ini, negara memerlukan lebih daripada sekadar rasa selesa.

 

Negara memerlukan ketenangan, kejujuran, kesediaan untuk berubah, dan perpaduan yang benar-benar hidup dalam jiwa masyarakatnya.

 

Semoga kita semua dapat mengambil makna yang lebih mendalam daripada tema “Perpaduan Kita, Kekuatan Kita.”Bukan hanya sebagai tema sebuah majlis, tetapi sebagai ingatan untuk sebuah perjalanan yang lebih besar — perjalanan menuju masa depan negara yang lebih meyakinkan, lebih kukuh, dan lebih dekat dengan harapan rakyat.

 

Kerana akhirnya, dalam dunia yang semakin mencabar ini, perpaduan bukan sekadar seruan yang enak didengar.

 

Ia adalah syarat untuk kita kekal teguh melangkah sebagai sebuah negara.

 

 

When Good News and Quiet Questions Live in the Same Report

   

A closer look at Brunei’s 2024 Financial Stability Report — and what the reassuring numbers may not fully reveal about savings, debt, household pressure and everyday financial reality.

 

By Malai Hassan Othman

 

Part of the KopiTalk with MHO public-interest opinion series on Brunei’s economy, governance and everyday realities.

 

Brunei’s latest financial stability report contains plenty of good news — and much of it is justified. But beneath the reassuring numbers are quieter questions about savings, debt, household vulnerability and how financial “stability” is actually experienced in everyday life.

 

The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank has released its Financial Stability Report 2024 — the latest and most comprehensive snapshot of where our financial system stands. It captures the numbers up to December 2024. It reflects the realities of the world we are living in now: global trade tensions, rising fraud risks, and the long, unfinished task of building an economy that works not only on paper, but in people’s daily lives.

 

It is a serious document — thick with charts, ratios and technical language. Useful, necessary, and carefully prepared. But it is written mainly for regulators, economists and bankers, not for the ordinary Bruneian sitting at a kopitiam quietly wondering why his salary still never seems to stretch far enough.

 

So I read it for you.

 

And after going through it carefully, one thing becomes clear: behind the reassuring headlines — and yes, there are genuinely reassuring headlines — there are also quieter numbers that deserve a more honest public conversation.

 

Not a hostile one.

Not a fearful one.

Just an honest one.

 

Let us begin with the good news, because there is real good news and it should be said plainly.

 

Brunei’s economy grew 4.2 per cent in 2024. Prices eased slightly, meaning the cost of living came down a little compared with the year before, helped in part by subsidies that are still holding. The banking system remains well-capitalised, liquid and stable. There is no sign of immediate distress in the system, and the Central Bank deserves credit for the care and discipline with which it continues to supervise it.

 

That part matters.

 

But stability and fairness are not the same thing.

 

A system can be financially sound and still raise legitimate questions about who benefits most from that soundness. And it is that quieter question — the fairness question — that deserves closer attention.

 

Because sometimes a system can look healthy in aggregate, while the people living underneath it still feel squeezed in very ordinary ways.

 

Take one of the report’s most striking figures.

 

More than half of the money held by Brunei’s banks — over BND11 billion — is not being used in Brunei at all. It is placed and invested overseas. Singapore accounts for the largest share. Gulf financial centres take up much of the rest.

 

This is not hidden. Nor is it improper. The Central Bank states it openly.

 

Banks do this because, in their assessment, there are not enough suitable local opportunities to absorb all that liquidity domestically.

 

That may be commercially understandable.

 

But it naturally leads to a very simple question:

Where does the banks’ money come from in the first place?

 

Again, the report answers that clearly.

 

The single largest source of funding for Brunei’s banking system is household deposits — the savings of ordinary people. Your salary savings. Your retirement money. Your fixed deposit. The money that families, pensioners, civil servants, private sector workers and small business owners place in the bank month after month for safekeeping.

 

That is the foundation.

 

And what does the ordinary saver receive in return?

 

By regulation, the minimum savings rate remains around 0.33 per cent per year. It edged up slightly in 2024, yes — but let us not over-romanticise that. If you keep BND10,000 in a savings account, you earn roughly BND33 over a year.

 

That is not a typo. That is the arrangement.

 

No accusation is being made here. The banks are operating within the legal and regulatory framework set by the authorities, and the authorities are clearly supervising the system with care.

 

But surely it is fair — and necessary — to ask this out loud:

Is this arrangement working as well for the ordinary saver as it should?

 

Because if ordinary Bruneians provide a very large share of the financial foundation on which the banking system rests, then it is not unreasonable to ask whether they are being rewarded fairly enough for carrying that role.

 

That is not a radical question. It is a healthy one.

 

And healthy societies should not be afraid of healthy questions.

 

“A system can be financially sound and still leave ordinary people quietly squeezed.”

 

Then there is debt.

 

And the debt story in this report is not merely about borrowing. It is really about how we live.

 

The largest category of household borrowing in Brunei is not housing.

 

It is cars.

 

More than a third of all household loans are tied to automobile financing. Total car financing rose again in 2024, reaching around BND1.7 billion.

 

That figure alone says a great deal.

 

Because if cars dominate household debt, then we should ask why.

 

And the answer is not simply lifestyle. Or vanity. Or preference.

 

It is infrastructure.

 

In Brunei, the car is not just a convenience. For many households, it is the only realistic way to function. It gets children to school. It gets adults to work. It gets groceries home. It gets the sick to clinics. It gets families through life.

 

There is no rail system. There is no fully reliable, everyday public transport network that truly serves the rhythm of working families across the country.

 

So when we see BND1.7 billion in car loans, we are not just looking at a consumer habit.

We are looking at the private financial cost of a public transport gap that was never fully solved.

 

Every monthly car instalment, in some measure, is also a quiet bill for a system that was never properly built.

 

And that matters.

 

Because when fuel subsidies eventually come under greater pressure — as fiscal realities suggest they may — the burden does not land on theory. It lands on households.

 

The housing picture is more complicated than it first appears.

 

On the surface, falling property prices sound like relief. And for some families, they may be. 

 

The report shows that the median house price fell to around BND249,000 in 2024.

 

For young couples trying to enter the market, that should sound encouraging.

 

But there is another side to that story.

 

Transactions also fell. Demand softened. Fewer people were buying.

 

And tucked away in the same report is another detail worth paying close attention to: government deposits in the banking system fell by nearly 17 per cent.

 

That is not just an accounting movement. It suggests the government is drawing down more of its own liquidity — which, to anyone watching public finance carefully, is a sign of real fiscal pressure behind the scenes.

 

And when government finances tighten, the consequences rarely stay inside spreadsheets.

 

A government under pressure has less room to sustain everything at the same level — whether subsidies, support schemes, public spending, or the many cushions people have quietly come to rely on over the years.

 

That is not politics.

 

That is arithmetic.

 

And arithmetic, sooner or later, always reaches the household.

 

Then there is insurance — one of the quieter but more important warning lights in the report.

 

Brunei’s insurance penetration rate is 1.7 per cent of GDP.

 

The Southeast Asian average is 3.2 per cent.

 

In other words, we are operating at roughly half the regional norm.

 

That matters because it suggests many Bruneians remain lightly protected against shocks that could seriously affect a family’s finances — illness, accidents, loss of income, or unexpected disruption.

 

To be fair, the report notes that one reason for this is that Bruneians have long depended on the state for support: healthcare, pensions, housing assistance, welfare, and other forms of public protection.

 

That logic makes sense — as long as the state can continue carrying the full load indefinitely.

 

But that is precisely where the question becomes uncomfortable.

 

Because we are no longer living in the era of endlessly comfortable oil assumptions.

 

Revenue pressures are real. Demographic pressures are real. Long-term obligations are real.

 

And the danger with underinsurance is that it does not usually arrive dramatically.

 

It creeps in quietly.

 

A service that takes longer.

A support scheme that covers less.

A family that suddenly has to absorb more on its own.

 

An underinsured society entering a fiscally constrained future is not an ideal combination.

 

And the sooner we talk honestly about that, the better.

 

Finally, fraud.

 

And if there is one part of modern financial life that now feels less like a technical issue and more like a daily social threat, this is it.

 

The Central Bank added 49 names to its Alert List in 2024. That brings the total to 274 names — entities and individuals believed to have misrepresented themselves as licensed or regulated.

 

That is not a small problem.

 

And the worrying part is this: scams are no longer obviously sloppy.

 

They are now polished. Convincing. Professional-looking.

 

Artificial intelligence has made that worse.

 

Today, fraudsters can clone voices, generate faces, imitate institutions, and build fake investment platforms that look more legitimate than some real ones. A message may carry the right logo. A phone call may sound like a real officer. A website may look cleaner than the bank’s own.

 

And in a country where ordinary savings returns remain painfully low, the promise of “better returns” becomes even more seductive.

 

That is where the financial and human story meet.

 

Because scam victims are often not reckless people.

 

They are often people trying to do the right thing with limited means.

 

Retirees trying to stretch savings.

Older parents less fluent with digital systems.

Working people hoping to make a little extra.

Families trying to get ahead.

 

So yes, awareness campaigns matter. Regulation matters. Enforcement matters.

 

But family vigilance matters too.

 

Talk to your parents.

Check before transferring.

Verify before trusting.

And when something sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.

 

To be fair, the Financial Stability Report 2024 does what it is meant to do.

 

It assesses the strength of financial institutions, maps emerging risks, and gives the public a transparent view of the system. On those terms, it does its job well — and the people behind it deserve recognition for that.

 

But financial stability, by itself, is not the whole story.

 

It is the foundation.

 

Not the house.

 

The bigger question is what kind of economic life gets built on top of that foundation.

Can ordinary Bruneians save meaningfully?

Borrow affordably?

Protect themselves adequately?

And genuinely feel they are participating in the prosperity the numbers appear to describe?

 

Those are not hostile questions.

 

They are public-interest questions.

 

And the public has every right to ask them.

 

The data is there.

The numbers are real.

And the kopitiam table, as always, is open.

 

Ending note

 

KopiTalk with MHO is a public-interest opinion column by Malai Hassan Othman, offering reflective, accessible and grounded commentary on Brunei’s economy, governance and everyday realities.