BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The Ministry of Home Affairs has earmarked funds to upgrade land checkpoints, its minister told the Legislative Council on Saturday.
Delivering his budget speech for the 2024/25 financial year, Dato Hj Ahmaddin Hj Abd Rahman said land border crossings will receive a facelift as part of the 12th National Development Plan, which is expected to be launched later this year.
The Department of Immigration and National Registration has begun talks with the Ministry of Development to revamp border control posts at Brunei-Muara’s Kuala Lurah, Sungai Tujuh in Belait, as well as Labu and the Ujung Jalan Control and Inspection Complex in Temburong.
The project will include refurbishing existing buildings and repairing damaged facilities to deliver better services to the public and provide a more comfortable environment for border control workers, the minister said.
Land checkpoints with Malaysia have experienced heavy congestion and long delays, with four-hour long queues reported over the past year as travellers from Brunei took advantage of the weak ringgit to shop across the border.
The budget for the upgrade of land border crossings was not disclosed.
Slight cut to MoHA budget
Dato Hj Ahmaddin said his ministry has been allocated $133.95 million for the FY 2024/25, a 1.8 percent decrease from the previous fiscal year.
A vast majority (97%) of the budget will be spent on emoluments and recurring expenses, while the remaining $3.76 million will be used to finance nine projects under the National Development Plan.
One of the development projects include the purchase of light fire attack vehicles to improve the response time of fire emergencies in difficult to access areas.
“The issue of forest fires is of particular concern with the hot and dry weather conditions starting last February and expected to continue until March.
“As a preventive measure, some planning and studies have been and are being made on the feasibility of creating a buffer zone in locations often affected by forest fires,” the minister added.
He said the buffer zone, or also known as a firebreak, works as a barrier to slow down or stop wildfires from spreading to residential areas, schools and other buildings.
With temperatures projected to rise due to climate change, Brunei is facing the risk of more wildfires and floods.
Some 700 fire hydrants would also be repaired and replaced over a two-year period. The fire hydrants will be equipped with tracking devices integrated with the new One MoHA system, which aims to digitalize the ministry’s services and operations.
Maraburong Prison to get two new blocks
Funds have also been set aside for the construction of a new prison block for women and another building for vocational training at Tutong’s Maraburong prison.
The minister said the new prison facility for women will centralize the control, administration and operations of the Prisons Department.
There are two prisons in Brunei — Jerudong and Maraburong, while incarcerated women are held at a separate facility within the Jerudong Prison grounds.
However, the prisons had reported overcrowding issues in the past as the number of convicts continued to grow.
Another new Maraburong prison block will host vocational training programmes for inmates as part the ministry’s initiative to strengthen the prison’s incare and rehabilitation programme.
The home affairs ministry is also exploring joint programmes with government and non-government agencies to brush up prisoners’ business and technical skills, and the possibility of jobs once they have been released.