The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) yesterday announced the introduction of new corruption laws to address abuse of power and misconduct in public office.

The new laws will allow legal action to be taken against civil servants who fail to carry out their duties to a “high ethical standard”, said the AGC in a statement issued yesterday.

Following extensive discussions between the AGC and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, several amendments have been made to the Prevention of Corruption Act.

New offences have been included in the legislation, criminalising the use of public funds for private purposes; giving undue preferential treatment; misuse of information acquired during the course of duty; and allowing private interests to come into conflict with public duties.

The legislation also states that any public officer who seeks to interfere or influence the “appointment, promotion, suspension, demotion or dismissal” of any other public official, can be prosecuted under the new laws.

Similarly, any civil servant who demonstrates “willful misconduct or neglect of duty” to a degree which amounts to abuse of public trust, is considered guilty of an offence.

The punishment for all the new corruption offences is seven years’ jail and a $30,000 fine.

The AGC added that offences can be committed without the receipt of gratification or monetary benefit.

The legal definition of “public body” has also been changed in the legislation, to include government-linked companies and statutory bodies, such as the Brunei Economic Development Board, Brunei Shell Joint Ventures, Royal Brunei airlines, among others.

The new laws came after His Majesty, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, lambasted police for corrupt practices last March.

“The main purpose of the amendment is to address the concern of His Majesty… during a working visit (paid to the) Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) Headquarters… in respect of corruption in the form of abuse of powers for personal interest,” said the AGC.
During the visit, His Majesty cited several cases of police corruption, including the case of a high-ranking police officer accused of accepting a luxury car from a convicted criminal in exchange for helping him cross the border illegally.

In a fiery address to police officers, the monarch accused RBPF personnel of “elements of lawlessness” such as involvement in gambling, drinking and smuggling banned goods, as well taking bribes to “look the other way”. Text courtesy of Quratul-Ain Bandial of The Brunei Times.

 

Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar with senior management of Brunei Shell Joint Venture and the 42 feted BSJV scholars

Late post: Three weeks ago, the Brunei Shell Joint Venture (BSJV) Companies officially awarded scholarships to 42 students, marking the occasion with a signing ceremony at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club.

The guest of honour was the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office, Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar. Also present was the Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd (BSP), Andrew Faulkner.

The 42 scholarship students will be embarking on their undergraduate courses, with disciplines ranging from engineering to science. In addition, two BSJV scholars will be continuing their studies and undertaking post graduate programmers in their respective vocations.

Some of the students will be enrolling at Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB), while the rest will be enrolling in courses in Australia and the United Kingdom.

As a BSJV statement reads, “The students have undergone a rigorous assessment process to ensure they meet the company’s criteria and subsequently identified as best in class amongst their peers.”

The event also saw recognition given to 10 BSJV scholars who successfully completed their degree programme with First Class Honours.

In a speech yesterday, the Deputy Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd, Haji Kamaludin bin Haji Bungsu said the BSJV scholarship programme started decades ago, highlighting that the programme is an important and big investment for the company.

“By investing in youths, we hope to answer the call 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 to bolster the economy and give locals the opportunity to become workers and leaders,” he said.

Good luck to all the scholars and I believe they all have started their journey as BSP scholars by now. Text courtesy of Danial Norjidi of Borneo Bulletin.

 

The Peugeot 2008 with the sales team from Peugeot Brunei and members of the press

Recently we had a sneak preview of the latest edition of Peugeot that will enter the Brunei market pretty soon. It was a concept car back in 2009 in one of the the motor show and now it has become a reality. The media was able to get a sneak peak of the Peugeot’s new urban 2008 crossover at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Gadong.

What I love about the Peugeot 2008 is the exterior design and it has both a characteristic of a hatchback and an SUV. The interior is pretty impressive as well. I won’t spare much details as yet but you will be able to ask more information at Peugeot office at Kiarong. I believe this car will be a hit. I’m not quite sure of the price just yet as they are pretty tight lipped about it but I won’t be surprised if it will be affordable.

I will update once the Peugeot 2008 crossover will be available in Brunei market. You can follow their Facebook Page for updates too.

We caught a few videos on what the Peugeot 2008 is capable of and the Peugeot 2008 DKR won a one-two finish at the China Silk Road Rally

The beautifully crafted Peugeot 2008

The interior of the 2008

 

Recently we had the chance to taste Markus Dybwad’s cooking on Snofood products (food items that are supplied to Excapade). For your info, Markus Dybwad is a popular culinary consultant and he is Norwegian. So he prepared some great dishes for the invited guests and a big thank you to the Snofood management for the invitation. I was quite impressed with the food presented. Just to let you know that the food you dine at Excapade is mostly from Snofood.

Michael Chong, owner of Snofood (2nd from left) with his invited guests at the standing cocktail session hosted by Snofood management

Markus Dybwad from Norway show his cooking skills and tasted pretty good too