Retired public sector employees lauded yesterday’s reshuffling of the Ministerial Cabinet, saying the decision is a good move for the country’s development. But they also expressed their hope that many current issues will be resolved as a result of the reshuffling.

“His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has made wise choices in the new appointments of ministers,” said a retired civil servant from the Ministry of Home Affairs. “His Majesty put all these experienced ministers as anchors for the administration, and also appointed new ones as well, so they can improve the nation and move it forward.

“His Majesty also mentioned that hard work and religion play a very important role in administering the various ministries,” he added. “And now there’s a lady in the cabinet who is a deputy minister, so it’s good that everyone is getting involved.”

“It’s a good move,” said another retired civil servant. “There are new faces and also a retention of old faces. So we have a balanced cabinet and hopefully they can face all the challenges that we have, like many outstanding issues.”

He cited as an example, issues related to the nation’s land boundaries, in particular the “isolation and development of the Temburong District, that has long been left untouched”.

“We still see Temburong as isolated from the mainland. This is very unfortunate as it’s a big district, but somehow it is lost,” said the retired senior officer. “Hopefully, with the reshuffling, the district will have a new direction and energy. We need to connect Brunei-Muara and Temburong, otherwise it will be difficult for it to develop. It has such potential in terms of size and resources. I hope that this reshuffling will trigger development of Temburong as it is really a ‘gold mine’.”

“Most government officers spend a lot of time in the cars and if one were to do the auditing, they will find that the officers are only doing a few hours of serious work. The rest of the day they are busy in the car sending their kids to school back and forth,” he said.

Mahmoud Mahdi, 24, a government employee, said “It is a great move up the gender equality ladder now that we have Brunei’s first female deputy minister,” referring to former Director at the Community Development Department Datin Hajah Adina binti Osman who is now Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.

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