Sobrina Rosli
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, April 13, 2008 -DIVERSIFYING the economy, improving government efficiency and developing human resources are some of the key actions needed to reverse the decline in Brunei's per capita income.

"Increasing government efficiency is key to the whole thing; even if we try to attract foreign direct investment, the efficiency depends on human resource development," said Dr Azharaini Mohd Jamil, executive director at local think tank Centre of Strategic and Policy Studies.

The decline in Brunei's per capita income was highlighted during a recent forum organised by the London School of Economics.

A recent World Trade Organisation report puts Brunei's per capita income at $41,000, still high by Asia standards, but in terms of world ranking, Brunei has slipped to 34th place.

Dr Azharaini also blames the decline on the performance of the economy. "The economy is slowing down at a local level; there are not enough economic activities. Money may not have all been spent, probably because of the inefficiencies," he said.

Increasing government efficiency, however, is only one aspect to the decline in the country's GDP, he said.

Initiatives to diversify the economy through the Sungai Liang Industrial Park and the Pulau Muara Besar transshipment port will hopefully help boost the country's economic outlook, said Dr Azharaini.

Brunei has been trying to cut its dependence on oil and gas amid prospects of dwindling reserves.

Developing human resources is a key strategy in Brunei's long-tern economic plan.

An engineering consultant, who declined to be named, is "perplexed" by the failure of the government in trying to diversify the economy over the years, especially since the global recession in 1996.

"At the moment, we are lucky because oil prices have gone up, but in 1996, 1997, it showed the vulnerability of the country with a single source of revenue. It is more critical that Brunei look at itself now, what initiatives have been taken to lessen dependency, what has been achieved and what has not been achieved and why not," he said.

"To me a plan, is only a plan if it is not supported by action. By action, I mean, what are the initiatives, infrastructure and facilities that would enable us to reach our objectives ... It needs dedication to see through all these initiatives and do we have the people to do this?"

Separately, a government officer said Brunei is doing well compared with other countries in the region.

But he stressed the need for a concerted national effort to support government initiatives as well as changing spending patterns. "We need to change our lifestyle, not just individually, but overall. We must be realistic. As a population, we need to be aware, be more stringent; it is not the 1980s anymore."

The declining per capita income, said the government officer, is a problem faced by any developing country. Brunei's population, he said, is increasing, with birth rate at three per cent every year, but per capita income is not increasing alongside the growing population. "We are trying to diversify the economy while there is an increasing population. In a way, it is unavoidable, but it should be a wake-up call for our people. "

The Brunei Times