The Prime Minister’s Office 2007-present
The Government Structure
The Councils
The Judicial System The Cabinet
Government Administration
Civil Service
▪ 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
▪ 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
▪ 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
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
▪ (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
Ex-Officio
Appointed
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
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
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 1stAugust 2017 to 31stJuly 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).
▪ 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)..
▪ 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 - (Ex-Officio 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).
▪ 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).
▪ 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).
▪ 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).
Major Role of the Adat Istiadat Council
▪ To advise the Sultan on matters of state royal customs
▪ 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 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
▪ 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
▪ 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
The Government Members of the Legislative Council are Ex-Officio Members of the Cabinet (Some
members of Cabinet have been replaced on 30
The Non-Government
Members of the Legislative Council are appointed
under three categories: (a) Those who are Titled
(Orang-Orang
1
• A draft Order is laid on the table at the State Legislative Council
2 • The Order is debated and voted on
3
• The State Legislative Council approved the Order
4
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
▪
The system is based on three bodies of law:
▪ statute law (supplemented by and interpreted through)
▪ English common law and
▪ Islamic or Syariah law
Court of
Appeals
High
Court
Magistrates
Courts
▪ 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
▪ 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
Syariah Appeal 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
His Majesty Prime Minister Minister of Defence
Minister of Finance Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Trade HRH The Crown Prince Senior Minister at PMO
Minister of Home Affairs Special Advisor to His
Majesty and Minister Affairs and Trade II
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
▪ 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
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
▪ 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 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
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,
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
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
▪ 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
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
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
▪ Appointments and promotions are in part
determined by merit (educational qualifications and the extent and type of training undergone). The
▪ For example: various professional and specialist
services, such as engineering, accounting, medicine, and education, and a number of support services
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
Career schemes and personnel classification
▪ Instead of being appointed or attached to a
▪ 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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
▪ 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
▪ 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
▪ 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
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
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
▪ 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.
Budget Management:
▪ The way a government manages its finances through
collection of revenue and through public
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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,
▪ 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.
▪ 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
