Revisiting Brunei Darussalam

Dear Editor,

My wife and I worked in Brunei from 1985 to 1991. I worked in Soas College as an education officer. We have fond memories of our time in Brunei. In August we revisited KL and Sabah for a holiday, ending up visiting friends in Brunei for a few days. It was amazing to see the changes which had taken place in the nineteen years we had been away. The new roads were amazing, as was the new Gadong shopping Mall. We lived in a traditional style bungalow on Jalan Temenggong. Sadly this has now gone and the area re-developed. It was good to see that makan still plays a large part in the Brunei lifestyle with new cuisine from the west and Japan adding to the Malay/Indian/Chinese options. One thing which had not changed was the welcoming, smiling and courteous nature of the people.

It was pleasing to see that tourism is growing in Brunei as the country has so much to offer. We saw more tourists around town than there were when we lived there. We took a short river cruise with Hj Besar Enterprise along the Sungai Damuan. We travelled past Kampong Ayer and the Royal Palace. As we reached further along the river we saw Egret and Kingfishers, several Monitor Lizards, Proboscis monkeys and even a small Crocodile, all within a hundred metres or so of Jalan Tutong!

Unfortunately, a large area of Mangrove and Nipah Palm forest had been destroyed along one bank of the river just before the bridge. The river here was muddy and there was a considerable amount of plastic bags etc floating in the water. It was a little disappointing to see after such an interesting cruise.

I understand that there is a need to develop land to provide housing for a growing population and for other uses, but is also important to protect forest areas for future generations and to provide a home for wildlife. Perhaps a sustainability study should precede any large scale development to minimise the impact on the environment. It was great to visit Brunei after such a long time. We will certainly try to return within the next few years.

Phil Caine
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