PB1502 UBD Week 6 System of Governme

Rozan Yunos, Adjunct Professor

Centre for Lifelong Learning UBD

The British Residency from 1906-1959

Secretariat Building, 1959-1984

Nurul Iman Palace, 1984 to now

The Prime Minister’s Office 2007-present
(The PMO operates from Istana Nurul Iman prior to 2007)

The Government Structure
The Councils
The Judicial System
The Cabinet
Government Administration
Civil Service
Career Schemes and Personnel Classification
Budgetary Administration and Government

Finance

▪ The central principle or belief of the governing

philosophy is Melayu Islam Beraja (Malay Islamic
Monarchy), in Malay acronym - MIB
▪ MIB blends the monarchal principle of rulership with

the upholding of Islamic values and laws and the
preservation of Malay culture and traditions.
▪ It is the amalgam of these three elements that shapes

both the system of government and the wider
political culture of the country.

▪ The system of government in Brunei is monarchial
▪ Executive power resides in the Sultan
▪ The Sultan is supported by a Council of Ministers or

Cabinet

▪ The Sultan is the Prime Minister (as well as the

Minister of Defense, the Minister of Finance and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
▪ The Sultan has overall responsibility for the affairs of

the state

▪ Day to day executive power and policy making are

exercised by ministers in their respective portfolios
▪ The Sultan is advised by six main councils under the

Brunei Constitution
His Majesty

Privy Council

Islamic
Religious

Council

Adat Istiadat
Council

Council of
Succession

Council of
Ministers
(Cabinet)

Legislative
Council

[Executive
Arm]

[Legislative
Arm]


http://www.russianembassy.org/page/government-of-the-russian-federation

Major Role of the Privy Council
To advise His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan
of Brunei Darusalam on
▪ Any amendment or revocation of the Constitution

and
▪ On the appointment of persons to Malay customary

ranks, titles, honours and dignitaries
▪ To carry out the role of the Pardons Board

▪ (a) grant to any person concerned in, or convicted of, any such

offence a pardon either free or subject to conditions;
▪ (b) grant to any person a respite, either indefinite or for a

specified period, of the execute on of any sentence passed on

that person for such an offence;
▪ (c) substitute a less severe form of punishment for that imposed

by any sentence for such an offence;
▪ (d) remit the whole or any part of any sentence passed for such an

offence or of any sum of money imposed as a penalty or forfeiture,
or otherwise due to Brunei Darussalam, His Majesty the Sultan
and Yang Di-Pertuan or any other person on account of such
offence; or
▪ (e) order the discharge of any person who may be imprisoned

for any offence or for non-payment of any sum of money as
aforesaid

Ex-Officio
Members of the
Privy Council
(Some members
of Cabinet have

been replaced
on 30 Jan 2018)

Appointed
Members of the
Privy Council

Major Role of the Succession Council
▪ To advise His Majesty on matters related to the

succession to the Throne
▪ Although the order of succession is determined by

the Constitution, the Council determines the
succession of the throne in the event of that need
arising

Major Role of the Islamic Religious Council
▪ To advise the Sultan on matters of Islamic religious


practice and observance.
▪ The Constitution lays down that the official religion
of Brunei shall be Islam according to the Shafeite
sect.
▪ The head of the faith is His Majesty.
▪ Religious freedom is safeguarded by the
Constitution.

The Islamic Religious Council has announced that
His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of
Brunei Darussalam has consented to appoint the
following officials to be members of the Islamic
Religious Council under section 13 of the Islamic
Religious Council and Kadhi Courts Act (Chapter
77 of the Brunei Laws) for a period of 3 years
beginning from 1st August 2017 to 31st July 2020
as follows:
▪ 1) Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato

Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang

Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji
Awang Othman, P.S.S.U.B., D.P.M.B., P.H.B.S.,
P.B.L.I., P.J.K., P.K.L., Minister of Religious
Affairs - (Yang Dipertua Majlis Ugama Islam)
▪ 2) Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria

Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul
Aziz bin Pengiran Jaya Negara Pengiran Haji
Abu Bakar, D.K., P.H.B.S., P.B.L.I., P.J.K., P.K.L.,
Yang Dipertua Adat Istiadat Negara - (Member
of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 3) Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri

Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Haji Awang Abu
Bakar bin Haji Apong, P.S.N.B., D.S.L.J., S.M.B.,
P.H.B.S., P.I.K.B., P.K.L., Minister of Home Affairs
- (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 4) Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji


Bahrin bin Abdullah, P.S.N.B., D.P.M.B., P.S.B.,
P.J.K., P.I.K.B., P.K.L., Minister of Development (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 5) Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji

Ali bin Haji Apong, P.S.N.B., D.P.M.B., P.J.K.,
P.I.K.B., P.K.L., Minister of Primary Resources
and Tourism - (Member of Islamic Religious
Council).

▪ 6) Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Mejar

Jeneral (B) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi
bin Haji Mohd. Yussof, D.P.K.T., S.M.B., P.H.B.S.,
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 7) Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang

Haji Zulkarnain bin Haji Hanafi, P.S.N.B.,

D.P.M.B, P.I.K.B., Minister of Health - (Member
of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 8) Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja

Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr.) Ustaz Haji Awang
Abdul Aziz bin Juned, P.S.S.U.B., D.S.L.J.,
P.H.B.S., P.B.L.I., P.K.L., Mufti Kerajaan (Member of Islamic Religious Council)..

▪ 12) Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila

Wijaya Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Haji Awang Abdul
Aziz bin Begawan Pehin Udana Khatib Dato
Seri Paduka Haji Awang Umar, P.S.N.B.,
D.P.M.B., S.L.J., P.J.K., P.K.L., (Member of Islamic
Religious Council).

▪ 9) Yang Berhormat Datin Seri Paduka Hajah

Hayati binti Pehin Orang Kaya Shahbandar

Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohd. Salleh, S.P.M.B.,
P.J.K., P.I.K.B., P.K.L., Peguam Negara - (ExOfficio Member of Islamic Religious Council).
▪ 10) Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka

Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji Awang
Salim bin Haji Besar, P.S.S.U.B., P.H.B.S., P.J.K.,
P.K.L., Ketua Hakim Syarie, - (Member of
Islamic Religious Council).
▪ 11) Yang Amat Arif Dato Seri Paduka Haji

Awang Kifrawi bin Dato Paduka Haji Kifli,
S.P.M.B., S.N.B., P.J.K., P.I.K.B., P.K.L., Ketua
Hakim Negara - (Member of Islamic Religious
Council).

▪ 13) Yang Berhormat Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri

Maharaja Dato Seri Utama (Dr.) Haji Awang
Mohd. Jamil Al-Sufri bin Begawan Pehin Udana
Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang Umar,
D.K., D.S.L.J., D.P.M.B., P.O.A.S., P.H.B.S., P.B.L.I.,
P.J.K., P.K.L., (Member of Islamic Religious
Council).
▪ 14) Yang Berhormat Pehin Jawatan Luar

Pekerma Raja Dato Seri Utama (Dr.) Ustaz Haji
Awang Mohd. Zain bin Haji Serudin, D.K.,
P.S.S.U.B., D.S.L.J., P.H.B.S., P.B.L.I., P.J.K., P.K.L.,
(Member of Islamic Religious Council).
▪ 15) Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Imam Dato

Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul
Hamid bin Bakal, P.S.S.U.B., D.S.N.B., P.H.B.S.,
P.B.L.I., P.K.L., (Member of Islamic Religious
Council).

▪ 16) Yang Berhormat Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato

Paduka Seri Setia Dr. Ustaz Haji Awang Yahya
bin Haji Ibrahim, P.S.S.U.B., P.H.B.S., P.B.L.I.,
P.K.L., (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 17) Yang Mulia Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji

Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar, S.P.M.B.,
S.S.U.B., P.J.K., Deputy Minister of Education (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 18) Yang Mulia Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abdul

Mokti bin Haji Mohd. Daud, S.P.M.B., P.J.K.,
P.K.L., Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 19) Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka

Setia Raja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji Awang
Suhaili bin Haji Mohiddin, P.S.S.U.B., P.H.B.S.,
P.J.K., P.K.L., Judge Syariah Appeals Court (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 20) Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Setia

Raja Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang Mohd. Ali
bin Haji Mohd. Daud, S.P.M.B., S.L.J., P.J.K.,
P.K.L., (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 21) Yang Mulia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji

Metussin bin Haji Baki, D.S.S.U.B., P.J.K., P.K.L.,
(Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 22) Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji

Mohd. Jammy bin Haji Muhd. Shah Al-Islam,
D.P.K.T., P.S.P.N.B., S.M.B., P.S.B., P.J.K., P.I.K.B.,
P.K.L.P., Commissioner of Royal Brunei Police
Force - (Ex-Officio Member of Islamic
Religious Council).

▪ 23) Yang Arif Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Tasim

bin Haji Akim, D.S.S.U.B., S.S.U.B., P.J.K., P.K.L.,
Panel Tetap Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan Syariah
- (Member of Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 24) Yang Mulia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji

Abdul Aziz bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Haji
Mohd. Yusof, D.S.S.U.B., S.N.B., S.M.B., P.J.K.,
P.K.L., Setiausaha Tetap, Kementerian Hal
Ehwal Ugama - (Member of Islamic Religious
Council).

▪ 25) Yang Mulia Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji

Japar bin Haji Mat Dain @ Maidin, D.S.S.U.B.,
P.K.L., Timbalan Mufti Kerajaan - (Member of
Islamic Religious Council).

▪ 26) Yang Mulia Awang Haji Dinnie bin Haji

Abdullah, S.M.B., P.S.B., P.I.K.B., P.K.L., Pegawai
Istinbat Kanan Kumpulan 2 - (Member of
Islamic Religious Council).

Major Role of the Adat Istiadat Council
▪ To advise the Sultan on matters of state royal customs

and traditions (adat istiadat)

▪ Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri

Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda
Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni Kebawah Duli
Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin
Waddaulah – Adviser

▪ Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri

Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja
Permaisuara Pengiran Muda Haji Sufri
Bolkiah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hari Omar
'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien –
Chairman

▪ Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri

Pengiran Digadong Sahibul Mal Pengiran
Muda Haji Jefri Bolkiah ibni Al-Marhum
Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul
Khairi Waddien – Deputy Chairman 1

▪ Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri

Pengiran Muda Haji 'Abdul Azim ibni
Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka
Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah – Deputy
Chairman 2

▪ Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri

Pengiran Muda 'Abdul Malik ibni Kebawah
Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin
Waddaulah – Deputy Chairman 3

▪ Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri

Pengiran Muda 'Abdul Mateen ibni
Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka
Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah – Deputy
Chairman 4

▪ Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria

Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul
Aziz bin Pengiran Jaya Negara Pengiran
Haji Abu Bakar- Assistant Chairman

▪ Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Indera Setia

Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Haji
Idris bin Pengiran Maharaja Lela Pengiran
Muda Abdul Kahar – Member

▪ Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Maharaja Setia

Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak
Haji Abdul Rahim bin Pengiran Indera
Mahkota Pengiran Anak (Dr.) Kemaludin
Al-Haj - Member

▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri

Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Haji Awang Abu
Bakar bin Haji Apong - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila

Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul
Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri

Kolonel (B) Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Awang Haji
Mohd. Yasmin bin Haji Umar - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato

Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang
Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji
Awang Othman - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Mejar

Jeneral (B) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang
Halbi bin Haji Mohd. Yusof - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja

Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Ustaz Haji Awang Aziz
bin Juned - Member

▪ Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Sanggamara

Diraja Mejar Jeneral (B) Pengiran Haji Ibnu
Basit bin Pengiran Datu Penghulu Pengiran
Haji Apong - Member
▪ Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Kerma Raja

Pengiran Haji Kamarulzaman bin Pengiran
Pekerma Setia Diraja Pengiran Haji Ali Member
▪ Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Penggawa Laila

Bentara Istiadat Diraja Dalam Istana
Pengiran Haji Alauddin bin Pengiran
Paduka Tuan Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila

Wijaya Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Haji Awang
Abdul Aziz bin Begawan Pehin Udana
Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang Umar Member

▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri

Maharaja Dato Seri Utama (Dr.) Haji Awang
Mohd. Jamil Al-Sufri bin Begawan Pehin
Udana Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Haji Awang
Umar - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Jawatan Luar

Pekerma Raja Dato Seri Utama Dr. Ustaz
Haji Awang Mohd. Zain bin Haji Serudin Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya

Shahbandar Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang
Mohd. Nawawi bin Pehin Orang Kaya
Shahbandar Haji Mohd. Taha - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Imam Dato

Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul
Hamid bin Bakal - Member
▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato

Paduka Seri Setia Dr. Ustaz Awang Haji
Yahya bin Haji Ibrahim - Member

▪ Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka

Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji
Awang Salim bin Haji Besar - Member
▪ Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya

Maharaja Diraja Dato Seri Paduka Awang
Haji Abdul Wahab bin Haji Mohd. Said, Member
▪ Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Manteri Bini Datin

Paduka Dayang Hajah Aminah binti Haji
Md. Yassin - Member
▪ Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Jawatan Bini Datin

Paduka Dayang Hajah Siti binti Haji Mohd.
Yusof Khan - Member

The Government Members
of the Legislative Council
are Ex-Officio Members of
the Cabinet (Some
members of Cabinet have
been replaced on 30
January 2018)

The Non-Government
Members of the Legislative
Council are appointed
under three categories:
(a) Those who are Titled
(Orang-Orang
Bergelar)
(b) Those who have
achieved excellence
(Mencapai
Kecemerlangan)
(c) Those who are
representatives of the
Districts from the ranks
of Penghulu (Head of
Wards) and Ketua
Kampong (Head of
Villages) – Elections

1

2

• A draft Order is laid on the table at the State
Legislative Council
• The Order is debated and voted on

3

• The State Legislative Council approved the
Order

4

• The approved Order is gazetted and it is now in
force

Other administrative structures:
Councils, Committees and Task Forces
▪ Created permanently or on ad-hoc basis to provide advice to His
Majesty
▪ Chaired by the relevant ministers and deputy ministers
▪ Assisted by permanent secretaries and senior officials
▪ Some examples include:









Supreme Council for Vision 2035
National Committee on National Development Plan
National Security Council
MIB Supreme Council
National Council on Social Issues (Co-chaired 4 Ministers)
National Council for Long Term Development Planning
National Education Council
National Accreditation Council

▪ The system is based on three bodies of law:
▪ statute law (supplemented by and interpreted
through)
▪ English common law and
▪ Islamic or Syariah law
▪ Both statutes and common law are enforced

through a conventional four tier system of
courts.

High
Court

Intermediate
Courts

Magistrates
Courts

Court of
Appeals

▪ Most statutes are supplemented by a considerable

body of subsidiary legislation that comprise
regulations, rules, orders and notifications
▪ Judges are comprised of local judges as well as

retired British judges

▪ The Islamic or Syariah law is applicable to cases

involving family matters (also now criminal matters –
Hudud Law) affecting the Muslim population, such as
divorce and adoption. The Syariah law is also called
on in cases where prescribed forms of behavior
under Islamic teaching have been broken.

▪ The Syariah court structure is similar to the common

law court structure except that it has no
intermediate court. Magistrates and judges in both
types of court are appointed by the government.

Syariah Appeal
Court

Syariah High
Court

Syariah Lower
Court

According to the Constitution of Brunei Darussalam:
▪ His Majesty may appoint from among citizens any number of

Ministers and Deputy Ministers who shall be responsible to
His Majesty for the exercise of executive authority and who
shall assist and advise His Majesty in the discharge of His
Majesty’s Executive Authority
▪ The Cabinet shall consist of the Prime Minister and

Ministers appointed
▪ Every minister shall hold his seat during His Majesty’s

pleasure
▪ In exercise of his powers and performance of his duties, His

Majesty shall consult with the Cabinet but shall not be
obliged to consult the Cabinet in certain cases and is not
bound to act in accordance with the advice

His Majesty has
Appointed a new
Cabinet on 30 Jan
2018.

His Majesty
Prime Minister
Minister of Defence
Minister of Finance
Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Trade
HRH The Crown Prince
Senior Minister at PMO
Special Advisor to His
Majesty and Minister

Minister of
Home Affairs

Minister of
Religious Affairs

Minister of Primary
Resources and Tourism

Minister of
Defence II

Minister of
Health

Minister at
PMO

Minister of
Finance II

Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Trade II

Minister of
Development

Minister of Energy
And Industry

Minister of
Education

Minister of
Communications

Minister of Culture,
Youth and Sports

The Civil Service
▪ The main institution of government administration is the civil

service
▪ It consists of 12 ministries, employing just over 51,089 people

in 2017
▪ Ministries are sub-divided into divisions, and look after

departments and directorates, which number more than 90.
▪ Budgets are allocated to Ministries and to the full pledged

departments under it. Divisions and directorates which are staff
agencies get allocated budgets centrally to the Ministry.
Departments with their own allocated budget do operate
financially from their own ministries. In general, departments
formed before the independence of 1984 tended to be more
financially independent.

▪ The central responsibility of financial management

of the civil service is performed by the Treasury in
the Ministry of Finance.
▪ The central responsibility of human resource

management of the civil service is performed by the
Public Service Department of the Prime Minister’s
Office.

Main organs of public accountability (in the Prime
Minister’s Office):
▪ the Public Service Commission is responsible for

senior appointments, promotion and discipline in the
civil service
▪ the Audit Department performs both compliance

and value for money audits on ministries and
departments, and
▪ the Anti-Corruption Bureau is responsible for the

prevention of corruption through raising awareness
and educational outreach.

▪ Executive responsibility for each ministry is

exercised by a Cabinet Minister, who may be
responsible for more than one ministry.
▪ The administrative head of a ministry is the

Permanent Secretary.
▪ There are currently 23 Permanent Secretaries in total

and in some ministries, there may be more than 1 (in
the case of the Prime Minister’s Office there are 8
Permanent Secretaries, each responsible for a
particular policy sector).

▪ Permanent secretaries are in turn assisted by deputy

permanent secretaries.
▪ The main sub-divisions of a ministry are headed by director-

generals, directors, heads of department or commissioners, the
name varies from one ministry to another
▪ Examples. The Public Works is headed by a Director-General,

The Postal Services Department by the Postmaster-General, the
Audit Department by an Auditor-General, the Treasury by an
Accountant-General, the Survey Department by a SurveyorGeneral, the Attorney General’s Chambers by an AttorneyGeneral and assisted by the Solicitor-General, the Land
Department by the Commissioner of Land etc.

Policy making:
▪ is undertaken at two levels. The Prime Minister’s

Office provides overall policy direction in key areas
such as public finance, economic planning, energy,
social welfare, crime and justice, and security,
undertaken by specialist policy sections designated
for each of these areas.

Policy making:
▪ The fulcrum of government administration is the

Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

▪ It is the central policy making agency of

government.
▪ It provides coordination for multi-sector

programmes.
▪ It directs the human resource management of the

civil service through the Public Service Department.

Policy making:
▪ The policy making and rule drafting is carried out

within the ministries involving permanent
secretaries, their deputies, and major divisional
heads and their senior staff.
▪ Day to day management of operations and

programmes is handled by the middle managers in
the departments, although many operational
decisions come from or are checked by senior
administrators

▪ PMO monitors the performance and enforces the

accountability of ministries and departments
through the institutions mentioned earlier (Treasury,
PSD, MSD, ACB) and initiates reforms of public
management practices

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ The Brunei civil service is divided hierarchically into various

schemes of service:
▪ - the administrative and diplomatic services,

▪ - special duties officers,
▪ - the executive service,

▪ - various professional and specialist services, such as


engineering, accounting, medicine, and education, and a



number of support services.

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ Cross-cutting the schemes of service are vertical

rankings called divisions ranging from Division 1,
the most senior division, to the lowest which is
Division 5.
▪ Division 1 is a small (1.7%) elite of officers at the

senior management and policy making levels.

▪ Appointments and promotions are in part

determined by merit (educational qualifications and
the extent and type of training undergone). The
career scheme prescribes the entry position of an
officer, and also how far he/she may be promoted.

▪ For example: various professional and specialist

services, such as engineering, accounting, medicine,
and education, and a number of support services
(scheme)

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ The oldest Scheme of Service is the Administrative

Service.
▪ It lies at the heart of Brunei’s civil service which is a

distinct and elite scheme of service at the upper
level of Division 1.
▪ Administrative service officers are generalists who

exercise senior management and policy making
responsibilities.

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ Instead of being appointed or attached to a

particular ministry during the course of their career
(unlike their equivalent in Japan), they move from
one ministry to another on a frequent basis.

▪ The interval between promotions ranges from 5

years at the lower level to 3 years for the higher
posts.
▪ Only the most able people are chosen to enter the

so-called Permanent Secretary category comprising
Deputy Permanent Secretary and various levels of
Permanent Secretary.

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ The key determinants of promotion:
▪ - satisfactory job performance,
▪ - the years of service at a particular grade,
▪ - the number of postings in different departments,
▪ - attendance at two executive training courses

(Training organised at ILIA by UBD and Civil Service
Department

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ Administrative service officers usually start their

career in the service on leaving university and move
their way up towards the highest grade of the
administrative service.
▪ However, mid-career entry has been widened to

include the appointment of talented and suitable
officers from other schemes of service as well such
as the engineering and educational services.

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ Another feature of the career of an administrative

service officer is the frequency with which he/she is
moved from one ministry or department to another.
In the first five years officers may be expected to
occupy twelve different posts in different sections
and departments, so acquiring a wide ambit of
experience

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ The administrative service exerts crucial influence

upon the formulation and administration of policy
throughout the different ministries, especially by
those officers who are permanent secretaries and
deputy secretaries.
▪ Administrative service officers below this level, such

as directors, as mentioned above, are also engaged
in policy work, but are as well responsible for
senior level operational matters

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ Administrative service officers are found in all
ministries, working alongside officers of the
professional and departmental services and they are
normally concentrated in the headquarters and in
the policy planning units of the ministries
▪ In light of the nature and diversity of their work and
the frequency with which they are moved from one
post to another, administrative service officers can
be regarded as generalists, often dealing with
matters in which they do not have a trained
specialisation.

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ They may exercise the intellectual abilities of the good
all-round generalist, quickly understanding the essential
issues, exercising analytical and problem solving skills,
and adopting a comprehensive overview of a complex
problem. Their working experience in different postings
allow them to possess a breadth of understanding of the
policy issues and administrative procedures in
government administration.
▪ The generalist character of senior administration in
Brunei is enriched by the wide spectrum of academic
disciplines in which administrative service officers were
educated, which includes humanities, social sciences,
business studies, law, engineering and science

Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ The Brunei government has avoided the tendency

(like in some countries such as Singapore and Japan)
to favor certain disciplines, such as engineering and
law, in making senior appointments.
▪ The administrative service does not monopolize the

senior management and policy making positions in
the civil service. Occasionally, officers outside the
administrative service are appointed to such
positions, being designated as special duties
officers.

▪ Public expenditure in Brunei consists of two major

components, namely:
▪ Development Expenditure
▪ Recurrent Expenditure
▪ Development expenditure is the amount of budget

allocated to the 5-Year Development Plans for the
purpose of meeting the country’s national
development objectives (improvement of transport
and communication network, social services, public
utilities, public buildings, health and education)

▪ Current expenditure is divided into
▪ charged expenditure and
▪ ordinary expenditure or supply expenditure
▪ Charged expenditure is primarily ‘official state

expenditure’ which constitutes obligatory payments
under the law and do not require to be appropriated
annually such as pensions, retiring allowances and
gratuities, and public construction made in
preparation for Brunei’s Independence.

▪ Ordinary or Supply expenditure is the annual

budget/money allocated to various government
departments such as for personal emoluments e.g.
wages/salaries.
▪ (This type of expenditure is governed under the

Supply Act and this includes all charges to the
budgetary appropriations for goods and services,
for transfer payments to statutory funds, and for
development expenditure)

Public/Government revenues are of four (4)
categories.
▪ Class I revenues: from duties, taxes and licences.
▪ Class II revenues: from specified government
services such as fees and charges for water and
electricity services.
▪ Class III revenues: from commercial undertakings of
government departments such as sale or lease of
state assets such as land or state owned enterprises
and
▪ Class IV revenues: from government property such
as investment and dividends and royalties paid by
the oil and gas sector.

Public/Government revenues are spent in the
following ways:
▪ Current expenditure (meeting day to day costs of

public services such as supplies of materials and
manpower costs)
▪ Capital expenditure (meeting the cost of acquiring

resources which will last for more than one
accounting year, e.g. buildings, equipment, roads
and telecommunication systems)

▪ Money left over (excess revenues over expenditures)

is termed Budget Surplus.
▪ Because of budget surpluses, Brunei has no external

borrowings (foreign debt)
▪ the surpluses have been invested build up foreign

reserves and maintain sound public finances
▪ The opposite of a budget surplus is a budget deficit.

This occurs when the government spends more
money than its total revenues.

Budget Management:
▪ The way a government manages its finances through

collection of revenue and through public
expenditure refers to budget management. The
itemised accounting of the payments received by
government (revenue) and the payments made by
government (expenditure) constitutes government
budget.

Budget Management:
▪ Ministries obtain operating annual salaries,

operating and special project budgets from the
Ministry of Finance via comprehensive process of
allocation (Annual Budget). The allocation of budget
is classified as annual budget if the spending is
made within a year, otherwise this project is often
place on a 5-year National Development Plan.

Budget Planning:
▪ Starting from 2004 onwards, fiscal year (budget

year) starts 1st of April and ends on 30th of March.
▪ In March/April of each year the Treasury issues a

circular (which includes, among other things,
outlines budget policy, the procedures for the
preparation of the budget, the deadline for
submission, and the maximum amount of increases
allowed) for the preparation of the expenditure
budget estimates for the following year.

Budget Planning:
▪ Upon receiving the circular the individual

departments/units starts to prepare their respective
budget proposal consisting of money needed to run
the department/unit from salaries to yearly projects
in accordance with the Treasury
guidelines/instructions.
▪ In practice, these budgets are prepared accordingly

to achieve the vision, mission and objectives of each
department.

Budget Planning:
▪ It involves reviewing their current operations,
programme objectives and future plans in relation to
the next year budget.
▪ The process involves producing plan, design, bill of
quantities, consultancy with vendors or contractors
and getting them to provide an estimate of the cost of
each item/projects.
▪ They have to ensure that these programmes/plans
are in line with the current National Development
Plan as well as the aspirations of the Government in
preparing their budget proposals.

Budget Planning:
▪ A budget proposal is normally prepared by the head
of division, branches, sections and units for
discussion and approved by Department Heads.
▪ All departments head then submit their proposed
budgets to their respective ministry for compilation.
The respective ministries are required to examine
and analyse budget proposal and hold preliminary
hearings with their respective departments/units.
▪ Each ministry has a secretariat to compile and
document the departmental budget submissions and
it is chaired by the permanent secretary of each
Ministry.

Budget Planning:
▪ The secretariat will prepare the schedule of

preliminary hearings for department heads to
present their project proposals for budget allocation.
▪ After the ministries have conducted their budget
hearings, and are satisfied with the proposed
expenditure budget prepared by each department,
they will send their overall approved budget to the
budget unit of the Treasury which serves as the
secretariat for the National Budget Committee. The
deadline for submission of budget is normally stated
in the Treasury circular.

Budget Planning:
▪ At the National Budget Committee level,

presentations by representatives from various
ministries are scheduled to argue and justify their
budget proposals before allocation of funds is made.
The allocation meetings are chaired by the Finance
Minister II
▪ The Budget Committee will then make
recommendations as to the amount of funds to be
allocated to ministries/departments for the coming
year to the State Legislative Council for final
approval.

Budget Planning:
▪ After the annual budget revenue and expenditure

has been approved by the Legislative Council,
usually in the month of Mac/April, the Accountant
General issues the Treasury Warrant in April,
authorising expenditure to the extent approved in
the budget.

▪ The flow of revenue from the oil and gas sector has

enabled the government of Brunei to earn large budget
surpluses.
▪ Taxes comprise 60% of total revenue, mainly derived
from the profits made in the oil and gas sector. A special
corporate tax rate of 55% applies to this sector; the tax
rate on other corporate businesses is 18.5%.
▪ Only a fraction of tax revenue is drawn from other taxes
such as customs and excise duties, vehicle taxes, levies
on goods ad services, and stamp duty, with no tax levied
on personal incomes.
▪ The significant section of the revenue base comprising
non-tax revenue consist of dividends earned by the
government from its ownership stake in the oil and gas
sector, and royalties levied on oil and gas exploitation.

▪ Learning Outcome: The students should be able to (a) describe

briefly the current Administrative Structure of the Brunei
Government and (b) explain the features of the current
Administrative Structure which are different from that of other
countries.
▪ Tutorial Question: Please describe briefly the current

Administrative Structure of the Brunei Government and explain
the features of the current Administrative Structure which are
different from that of other countries.
▪ Note 1: Tutorial will be in Week 7; TUESDAY 20/02/2018; Time:

11:10 am – 12:00 noon; Room: APB G.21A

▪ Note 2: Presenter: MR MOHAMED SHAMEER;