The Who’s Who?
By command 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, it is hereby announced that His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to change the name of the following Ministries:-
Ministry of Finance has been changed to the Ministry of Finance and Economy; and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been changed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His Majesty has also consented to the appointment of Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin as Deputy Minister of Finance at the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the appointment and transfer of senior officers.
Yang Mulia Pengiran Hajah Zety Sufina binti Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Sani, Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office has been transferred as Permanent Secretary (Performance and Corporate) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy;
Yang Mulia Awang Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance has been appointed as Permanent Secretary (Investment) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy;
Yang Mulia Dr Dayang Hajah May Faezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance has been appointed as Permanent Secretary (Economy) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy;
Yang Mulia Awang Haji Adanan bin Haji Mohd Jaafar, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brunei Darussalam overseas;
Yang Mulia Pengiran Haji Saiful Rizal bin Pengiran Haji Razali, Acting Director of Protocol has been appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary (Administration and Protocol) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin as Deputy Minister of Finance at the Ministry of Finance and Economy
Pengiran Hajah Zety Sufina binti Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Sani as Permanent Secretary (Performance and Corporate) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy
Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid as Permanent Secretary (Investment) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy
Haji Halidi bin Haji Mohd Salleh as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism
Yang Mulia Pengiran Indera Jaya bin Pengiran Haji Shamsu, Acting Director of Administration has been appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary (Security and ICT) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Yang Mulia Hajah Norazlianah binti Haji Ibrahim, Director of ASIA, AFRICA Department has been appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary (International Organisations) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Yang Mulia Pengiran Norhashimah Binti Pengiran Mohd Hassan, Acting Director of Political Department has been appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary (Politics) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Yang Mulia Haji Mohd Yusra bin Haji Mohd Salleh, Deputy Permanent Secretary (International Organisations) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been transferred to Ministry of Religious Affairs as Senior Special Duty Officer;
Yang Mulia Dayang Hajah Mardiana binti Haji Omar, Deputy Permanent Secretary (politics) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been transferred to Ministry of Development as Senior Special Duty Officer;
Yang Mulia Dayang Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari, Deputy Permanent Secretary (trade) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been transferred to Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports as Senior Special Duty Officer.
Yang Mulia Pengiran Kamalrudzaman bin Pengiran Haji Mohd Ishak, Senior Special Duty Officer, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism has been appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism;
Yang Mulia Awang Haji Halidi bin Haji Mohd Salleh, Director of Fisheries has been appointed as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.
The changing of the Ministry’s name and the appointment of Deputy Ministers as well as the appointment and transfer of several senior officers are effective from Thursday, 10th of Muharram, 1440 corresponding to 20th of September, 2018.
Some interesting facts:
1) After gaining independence in 1984, Brunei Darussalam established the Foreign Ministry and it was known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2005, the Brunei government renamed it as The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). By the way, “Trade” used to be under the portfolio of Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. Only recently it has been reverted back to the original – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA?) – Source Wikipedia.
2) The Ministry of Finance. This is an interesting one. When Brunei became a British protectorate, Brunei only had a few ministries and once the 1959 constitution was established, Brunei was given the authority to build an internal self-government. I am not quite sure when the Ministry of Finance was created but it could be during that era. Now the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE?) Source: Brunei Resources