Bruneians must wake up to realities of the global economy

WHEN the Minister of Energy suggested the need for fuel pump prices in Brunei to be more realistic in order to curb usage to more sustainable levels, there was an uneasy realisation amongst many of Bruneians that perhaps this may be the beginning of the end of our fairy tale days of enjoying the seemingly unending perks of an oil rich country.

While the rest of the global communities have been fully aware of the pinch of increasing oil prices, many Bruneians, cocooned from global market forces by our country's pro-welfare policies, are oblivious to this fact.

While overseas fuel stations displayed fluctuating fuel prices, Brunei's pump station fuel prices seem to be in perpetual stasis.

So when the idea that the cost of $0.53 per litre for petrol and $0.31 for diesel may one day be increased, many Bruneians on the street balked at the idea put forth by Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar - a price hike of this sort would send our inflation rates up and increase the cost of living for Bruneians, many of whom are already living unsustainable lifestyles borrowed on credit terms.

Amidst all the uneasiness and the criticism of the suggestion of a price hike, Bruneians must realise one fundamental truth: that if Brunei intend to make its mark in the global economy, vying for a piece of the global economic pie, it will one day have to start playing the economic game not by its own set of fairy tale rules, but by international market-driven norms.

Brunei should not expect to have the cake and eat it too by trying to protect its citizens from market-driven forces and paint a seemingly rosy picture for them while knowing full well such a future is not realistically sustainable.

A price hike in Brunei may have visible detrimental effect on Bruneians' livelihood, but perhaps it is one of the many necessary shocks that Brunei must slowly introduce to knock some sense of reality into our welfare fairy tale.

Much as a child needs to grow up and face the harsh realities of the real world, so do Bruneians.

They must be ready to face the challenges that come with growing up to be a part of the global economy. The acting chairman of Brunei Economic Development Board, Dato Timothy Ong, in a speech at the recently concluded Universiti Brunei Darussalam's International Conference on Business and Management said that "the Brunei economy is at a crossroads," and that "our economic model which has worked well in the last 80 years needs to be challenged".

For better or worse, the Minister of Energy's suggestion of a price hike, controversial as it may be, should be welcomed as one of the many numerous global factors that Brunei should encourage to challenge its entrenched economic model and ensure that its citizens are not economically naive to their very own detriment.

Brunei's crossroads is one of realisation and acceptance to play by a different set of rules, one based on market forces and resembles the real demand and challenges of the global economy while committing to His Majesty's stance of maintaining peace and harmony as part and parcel to our economic progress.

The Brunei Times