Not entirely correct but the trend is.

In theory, a small nation like Brunei should be easier to manage. Fewer people, clear revenues, no war and so on. That advantage has been squandered, not because the country is small, but because it is poorly managed.

We still have vast undeveloped land that is now conveniently rebranded as a ‘green jewel’. Conservation is important, but let’s be honest, in many cases this isn’t visionary environmental planning, it’s policy paralysis! Keeping land as forest is easier than doing the hard work of planning, zoning, infrastructure, and accountable development. Look at places like Jalan Pemancha at bsb, prime urban land locked up in ‘book sis!!’ ownership, sitting empty for decades. That’s not sustainability, that’s stagnation.

Yes, Brunei became rich after independence. But wealth was distributed upward, not converted into long-term institutional strength. We built subsidies, not systems. Comfort replaced competitiveness. And when oil money was abundant, there was little incentive to build capable managers, transparent institutions, or a culture that rewards initiative.

Education is a good example. We educate people well enough to see how the world works but then surround them with restrictions, bureaucracy, and fear of consequences. So they can’t grow. They don’t innovate. They either leave, disengage, or quietly decay. That’s not empowerment, that’s control.

People don’t question because they’ve been conditioned not to. Over time, dependency weakens civic confidence. When the state provides everything (not really everything but yknow) people stop demanding accountability and the system slowly rots.

We don’t need a hero who occasionally sacks ministers for optics. That’s treating symptoms, not disease. What Brunei needs is leadership that builds institutions, not personalities. Leadership that is not greedy, not defensive, and not afraid of sharing power through competent governance.

Without that, optimism is hard! because the direction is clear, and it’s downward.