Azlan Othman
The Ministry of Home Affairs has been allocated a budget of BND136,503,951, according to Minister of Home Affairs Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ahmaddin bin Haji Abdul Rahman during yesterday’s 19th Legislative Council (LegCo) session.
The minister said that salary and recurring expenditures amounted to BND131,813,060, while BND4,690,981 is needed to finance seven development projects.
The minister said the ministry will focus on three aspirations for the financial year 2023-2024: safety and well-being; transformation of urban and district development and empowering community development; and good governance and quality service delivery.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ahmaddin said the ministry plans on strengthening safety and well-being by consolidating the ability to implement and enforce laws through policy strengthening, infrastructure improvements and expanding the use of technology. The ministry will also ensure assets are in a state of readiness, with active involvement of grassroots and community leaders.
He said that the ministry will emphasise sustainable and resilient urban and district development, in collaboration with the community in ensuring the availability of infrastructure, expanding the use of technology and emphasising environmental cleanliness.
The minister said that they will also aim to ensure good governance and delivery of services by providing transparency and accountability through policy reforms, technology and increasing capacity while also applying the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approaches.
ONGOING INITIATIVES
The minister also said several initiatives are being implemented to further strengthen the security of the country.
Among them is the gradual launch of applications in the Immigration and National Registration System (INRS) such as the Border Management System and the Identification Card Registration System.
Other applications that will be launched in the near future are visas and passes; births and deaths; and citizenships.
The minister said the Border Management System used at the Brunei International Airport on March 14, 2022 has been extended at all control posts to replace the old system.
On February 9, the E-Arrival Card application was introduced to replace embarkation and disembarkation cards, said the minister.
“The implementation of the Border Management System and E-Arrival Card will assist the Immigration and National Registration Department in the collection of information and data and enable the sharing of up-to-date information with relevant agencies for use in analysis, planning and policy formulation,” said the minister.
The minister said the National Labour Management System will be fully implemented on April 1, and will change the procedure for services to be more transparent and efficient, including applications for Foreign Worker Licence and Domestic Helpers Licence.
