Brunei’s Employment Paradox: Time for a Rethink?

🔎 Why are Brunei's youth jobless, while foreign workers fill our vacancies?
A broken system, rising resentment, and a forgotten Islamic solution may hold the answer.

Is it time we rethink everything—from how we educate, to how we value work, to how we revive WAQF?

👉 Read more below.

 By Malai Hassan Othman

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 25 JUNE 2025: A local business owner recently expressed his frustration with his car detailing centre, which closed within a year, not due to a lack of customers, but because local workers were "AWOL, unreliable, or quit after minor inconveniences."

Another seasoned employer shared similar concerns: “Young locals earning decent salaries vanish without notice. Yet, some remain excellent, committed, and battle-ready.” 

These accounts illustrate a stark paradox in Brunei’s economy: rising unemployment and underemployment despite an increasing reliance on foreign workers. 

Locals often lament, “Foreign workers take our jobs.” However, we must pause to consider whether foreigners are truly the problem or if our employment system itself is fundamentally flawed.

One candid observer online remarked, "Locals complain about jobs but disappear during training. Employers lose money repeatedly teaching newcomers who rarely stay." 

According to the latest national labour statistics, Brunei's youth unemployment rate is 14.6% as of 2024, and more than one in five graduates are underemployed, stuck in low-paying jobs that do not match their qualifications. 

Furthermore, Brunei ranks 11th globally in terms of relative poverty, with 43.7% of its population living on or near the edge of economic insecurity. 

Foreign workers, often earning far less and enduring harsher conditions, frequently outperform locals in many sectors. Consequently, companies opt for foreign labour not just for cost savings, but for reliability and productivity.

It is an uncomfortable truth that we must confront. As one online commentator bluntly stated, "Bruneians need a culture shift - pride in punctuality and work ethic." 

Yet, it is unfair to place all the blame on local workers. Structural factors - including stagnant wages, uncertain career growth, and skills mismatches - also contribute to this employment crisis. 

A young Bruneian graduate expressed online, "I spent years working toward my degree, believing it would open doors. Instead, I’m locked out of every opportunity I worked so hard for." Another comment, steeped in sarcasm, noted: “Requirement: degree, 50 years of experience, under 30 years old, salary $400.” This resonates too closely with reality.

For years, Brunei has attempted to address this paradox using conventional, often Western-inspired, economic models, such as labour quotas, vocational retraining, fiscal incentives, and attracting foreign investment. 

However, progress has been slow. The same vacancies continue to resurface, and the same frustrations echo. 

The prevalent economic model treats work as a commodity and workers as mere units of productivity. 

Yet, in Brunei's socio-cultural fabric, employment signifies more than that - it embodies moral duty, dignity, and communal trust.

Despite efforts to tackle these issues, results remain disappointing. The gap between job market needs and educational outcomes continues to widen. 

In his thought-provoking paper, Our Education System: What Went Wrong? Is There Any Hope Through Islamic Microfinance Enterprise? Dr. Saad Al-Harran critiques Brunei’s education-employment mismatch, asserting that our current model prioritises academic theory over vocational skills, resulting in graduates ill-prepared for the job market. 

He calls for a shift toward hands-on training and entrepreneurial development, grounded in Islamic values such as trustworthiness, hard work, and community responsibility. 

This shift involves not just a technical adjustment, but a fundamental rethinking of what we define as "success."

This brings us to an often-overlooked yet deeply rooted Bruneian solution: WAQF. 

Long before foreign aid or modern welfare, WAQF sustained communities across the Muslim world by funding schools, markets, clinics, and livelihoods. 

Today, WAQF provides more than just nostalgia; it presents a framework for economic dignity. 

Countries like Indonesia and Turkey are rediscovering their potential through modern tools like the "Cash WAQF Linked Sukuk." 

For instance, Indonesia’s WAQF Board oversees numerous cash and asset-based initiatives that fund education and employment.

In Brunei, untapped WAQF lands and dormant charitable trusts - if professionally managed - could become launchpads for upskilling hubs, agri-tech startups, or community-run B40 cooperatives. 

For Brunei, WAQF is not just a tool; it is part of our civilizational DNA. It aligns with our national philosophy of Melayu Islam Beraja, establishing itself as a culturally authentic framework for economic development.

Imagine Brunei adopting the concept of "Waqudgeting" - a budgeting system that prioritises expenditures not only for economic return but also for spiritual and social outcomes. 

Under this model, education, healthcare, and infrastructure would be seen as sacred investments in the ummah, rather than mere expenses. 

Transforming idle lands into skill academies, community farms, or entrepreneurial incubators - managed as WAQF assets - could generate long-term benefits for society.

The challenge now lies with policymakers. There is a pressing need for systemic reform that aligns education, finance, and employment policies with Brunei’s ethical and cultural values. 

Initial steps might include establishing a National WAQF Economic Development Board, launching pilot microfinance schemes for youth, and integrating vocational training institutions with WAQF-supported industries such as halal agriculture, Islamic fashion, or sustainable logistics.

To truly honour Wawasan 2035, we must go beyond policy papers and GDP metrics; we need to reconnect with our roots - ethically, spiritually, and economically. 

Wawasan 2035 envisions an educated, skilled, and dynamic population, but this vision cannot be achieved through paperwork alone. 

It requires a return to our soul - to a development model that reconciles economics with ethics, ensures that youth are not abandoned, and guarantees that progress does not come at the expense of purpose.

Let’s initiate this dialogue earnestly. Policymakers, educators, business leaders, and especially our youth - all have a role in reimagining Brunei’s economic future. 

Ultimately, Brunei's future depends not only on oil and gas but also on people, purpose, and values. Perhaps the answer has been here all along, hidden in plain sight, waiting patiently to be rediscovered. (MHO/06/2025)