Kopi Talk with MHO

  

KOPITALK WITH MHO

Column by Malai Hassan Othman

 

Whose Festival Is It, Anyway?

Every year, foreign traders arrive for Brunei's festive season, make their money, and leave. Local businesses are still here — and still struggling.

Bandar Seri Begawan  |  March 2026

 

Every Hari Raya, the halls are full.
The crowds come. The money flows.

But when it’s over, many local traders are left asking a simple question:

Was this season ever really theirs?

This week’s KopiTalk looks at a growing concern —
foreign vendors come, sell, and leave,
while local businesses struggle to stay afloat in their own market.

The numbers are telling.
The sentiment is real.
And the question is becoming harder to ignore.

 

Picture this. It is a few weeks before Hari Raya. Government workers have just received their Kurnia Peribadi. Annual bonuses are in the bank. People are in the mood to spend. The halls at Bridex and the International Conference Centre are packed, shoppers weaving between hundreds of stalls. The atmosphere is festive. The tills are ringing.

 

But ask a local trader how business is, and the answer may surprise you. For many, what should be the best season of the year is becoming one of the most demoralising.

 

The reason is not hard to find. Walk through those consumer fairs and count how many stalls belong to local businesses. Then count the rest. A growing number of Brunei traders and permanent residents — who have spent years building their businesses here, paying rent, licences, wages, and taxes — feel they are being crowded out of their own festive season by vendors who carry none of those long-term costs.

 

This column has received messages on exactly this issue. One veteran businessman put it simply: foreign traders come, sell, and leave with the money. They do not maintain shops. They do not employ locally. They do not reinvest here. And yet they are present at the most commercially valuable moment of the year, often at prices local businesses struggle to match.

 

It is a fair grievance. And the numbers behind it make it harder to dismiss with each passing year.

 

The Numbers Tell the Story

 

The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics publishes a Retail Sales Index every quarter. It is not light reading. But buried inside it is a pattern policymakers should not ignore.

 

In Q2 2021, when borders were closed, retail sales reached BND488.2 million — the highest in recent years. Bruneians could not shop across the border. Foreign vendors could not enter. So spending stayed local. And local businesses thrived.

 

Then the borders reopened. The trend reversed.

 

By Q2 2023, retail sales had fallen to BND446.1 million. In Q2 2024, to BND420.6 million. The latest figure, Q2 2025, stands at BND394.7 million — the lowest in at least eight years, even below pre-pandemic levels.

 

That is not a fluctuation. That is direction.

 

The relationship between open borders, foreign participation, and declining local retail may not be perfectly linear. But taken together, the trajectory is difficult to ignore — especially at a time when costs are rising and local businesses are under increasing strain.

 

Three Pressures, One Reality

 

Consumer fairs are only part of the story. Local traders are facing pressure on three fronts — simultaneously.

 

The first is cross-border spending. A 2024 Universiti Brunei Darussalam study estimated that Bruneians spend around BND1 billion annually in Limbang, Miri, and Sabah. That is almost the size of Brunei's entire retail sector, valued at roughly BND1.2 billion.

 

Why? The answer is simple: value.

 

"Spending BND100 [you get a] half cart here, or spending RM300 [you get a] full cart in Miri — people know how to calculate."

 

Part of that difference lies in the cost of doing business locally. Import delays, processing inefficiencies, and storage costs quietly accumulate — and are ultimately passed on to consumers.

 

"Imagine importing products and getting stuck in the container hub for weeks… you still have to pay for the space… you end up having to jack up prices."

 

The second front is online retail. Platforms like Shopee, Lazada, and Temu allow consumers to bypass local markets entirely — often at prices local businesses cannot match.

 

The third is seasonal consumer fairs themselves — events that can feature hundreds of booths, many operated by short-term vendors. They arrive, trade, and depart — taking their earnings with them.

 

The Kurnia Peribadi alone distributes over BND17 million just before Hari Raya. When a significant portion of that spending flows out just as quickly, it is reasonable to ask whether the intended economic impact is being achieved.

 

A Necessary Balance

 

To be fair, consumer fairs are not without value. They bring variety, competitive pricing, and a festive buzz that many Bruneians enjoy. For consumers, they offer access and choice. For organisers, they drive traffic and commercial activity.

 

The issue is not their existence. It is the balance of participation — and whether the current structure disproportionately disadvantages those who are rooted in the local economy year-round.

 

What People Are Actually Saying

 

This concern is not isolated. It is visible across public discussions — consistent in tone, and increasingly difficult to dismiss.

 

People are not opposed to foreign vendors. What they question is a system that appears to make it easier for outsiders to benefit than for those who have invested locally over decades.

 

"When people have less money, they try to maximise their buying power… one option is to cross the border… The government knows what they need to do… but they are not doing any of those."

 

Others point to the cumulative burden of regulation and inefficiency:

 

"Starting a business is not easy… regulations, inefficiencies, red tape… even when people have money, they go where there are more options."

 

And the long-term implication is clear:

 

"Businesses couldn't sustain… more Bruneians will join the unemployed pool."

 

Youth unemployment already stands at around 18 percent — among the highest in the region. When local businesses weaken, employment opportunities shrink with them.

 

A Question of Fairness

 

A Malay proverb comes to mind: menepuk air di dulang, terpercik muka sendiri — when you strike the water, it splashes back.

 

When policies unintentionally disadvantage local players, the consequences return to the economy itself.

 

Local traders are not asking for protection. They are asking for fairness — for the ability to compete on reasonable terms.

 

Another proverb says it more starkly: kera di hutan disusui, anak di rumah mati kelaparan.

 

It is a harsh image. But when the system consistently favours those without long-term commitments over those who sustain the economy daily, the question becomes unavoidable.

 

What Needs to Change

 

None of this is beyond correction.

 

Consumer fairs can remain vibrant — but the structure must evolve.

 

First, timing and access. During peak spending periods, local businesses should have priority access to stalls at major venues, at rates they can realistically afford.

 

Second, commitment. Participation should reflect contribution. Vendors who wish to benefit from Brunei's market should demonstrate a meaningful economic presence — whether through employment, longer-term engagement, or reinvestment.

 

Third, promotion. A serious Beli Brunei effort, tied to festive seasons and backed by real incentives, could shift behaviour meaningfully.

 

Fourth, measurement. AMBD and DEPS should quantify the extent of economic leakage linked to these activities. Policy should be driven by evidence, not reaction.

 

The Festive Season Should Work for Bruneians

 

Every year, the halls fill, the crowds gather, and the money flows. For a moment, it feels like prosperity.

 

But when the tents come down, too many local traders are left asking a quiet question: did the season truly belong to them?

 

The people who wrote to this column are not complainers. They are business owners who have stayed, invested, and contributed. They are asking for something simple — a fair chance during the one season that should matter most.

 

If Wawasan 2035 is about resilience and sustainability, then this is not a side issue. It is foundational.

 

Because in the end, a festive season is not just about celebration.

It is about who it sustains — and who it leaves behind.

 

 

KopiTalk with MHO is a public interest column by Malai Hassan Othman.

Readers may write to the column with issues of public concern.

 

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