BBYB 2021

Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2021

FOREWORD

In the past year, the world economy faced an

unprecedented shock, propelling a paradigm

shift, reconstructing most of what we know

about our global economy and placing many

uncertainties on the long-term remnants of the

COVID-19 pandemic. Our country and our people

were not spared of its effects. But Alhamdulillah,

with the steadfast leadership of His Majesty

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin

Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar

‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan

and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam,

and through the unwavering, hard work of our

health workers and front-liners and their spirited

efforts, to which every Bruneian owes a great

debt of gratitude, many of us are able to continue

our way of living as close to normal as possible.

This level of economic and social disruption

is historic. In the Asia-Paci c region, the

International Labour Organization has reported

around 81 million job losses in 2020 due

to the pandemic. According to the United

Nations Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD), 2020 data for global merchandise

trade is expected to fall by 5.6 per cent and

services trade is expected to fall by 15.4 per

cent. On global productivity, the International

Monetary Fund reported a total of USD28 trillion

loss in output last year.

Despite these unexpected challenges, the

cooperation, compassion and togetherness

shown by the people of Brunei Darussalam

are qualities to be held in high esteem and to

proudly carry into the future. In the collective

effort to mitigate the impact of COVID-19,

the involvement of the public such as through

volunteer work, especially amongst the youth

under the Youth Volunteer Ad-Hoc Committee,

has come a long way to help the country. The

nancial contribution by the public under the

COVID-19 Relief Fund was very positive and

the acceptance of the BruHealth app goes to

show that people are willing to unite and work

together for the betterment of the community.

Under the attentive guidance of His Majesty

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin

Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of

Brunei Darussalam, various initiatives were

taken to mitigate the impact of the global

pandemic on Brunei Darussalam, which can be

broadly categorised into three focus areas: 1)

to maintain the well-being of the public; 2) to

protect jobs and provide support for individuals;

and 3) to support and assist businesses. These

focus areas may have been given the spotlight

during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are at

the core of many initiatives by the Government in

the past, and will remain so in the future.

Amongst the measures taken to maintain the

wellbeing of the public, the construction of the

National Isolation Centre in Tutong and other

monitoring centres are to ensure suf cient

healthcare facilities are available if needed and

to manage the potential spread of the virus,

daily press conferences were held to ensure

steady access to information and in the month of

As we kick off 2021, Brunei Darussalam has the opportunity to further

foster cooperation and unity around the region as the country takes over

the ASEAN chairmanship. It comes during a time when a coordinated

approach and joint action are key to ensure the wellbeing of all in

the region, after the limits of global disaster preparedness have been

tested. So it is in this spirit that, the theme under Brunei Darussalam’s

chairmanship this year is ‘We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper’.