This was said by Minister' of Communications Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abu Bakar in his keynote address at CSPSUBD Policy Forum 2007.
"In order to survive the future, we have to be on par with other developing and developed countries in the technological advancement spurring globalisation. "We should build an egalitarian information society, a society where everyone is able to access, gain, share and exploit knowledge and information in order to maximise their potential and improve their quality of life," the minister added.
He called for a development of strategies built upon partnership and cooperation between all multi-stakeholders, government, private sector, NGOs and the civil society, in constructing an information society.
"The e-Government initiative should not be limited to delivering just electronic services. It should be extended to the wider concept of `e-governance' that incorporates information flow among the society, political and administrative system," he said. "Whatever model used in development planning or policies is irrelevant if we fail to develop effective and strategic implementation programmes," the minister added. Pehin Dato Haji Awang Abu Bakar said Brunei has arguably been categorised as a developed nation adding that while this is true from a GDP perspective alone, it may be more appropriate to consider the country as a developing nation when looking at other aspects of development.
"We have already attained satisfactory levels of millennium development goals. We have to move on by providing significantly higher financial allocations for education, transportation, power, telecommunications and information technology sectors befitting our status as a developing nation," he said, adding that finding economic niches, is a continuous effort.
The minister also stressed the importance of research and development in economic diversification, for which in the 2007/2008 budget, $10 million has been allocated. He added that national competitiveness can be enhanced by accelerating, private sector participation to hone competitiveness and prepare for a free trade environment.
The minister concluded by emphasising that all development in the country is "people centric" calling for the people to "work together in sustaining the development of our country".
Autor(en)/Author(s): Za'im Zaini
Quelle/Source: Brunei Direct, 15.03.2007
