| Hakim Hayat |
BRUNEI Darussalam has the potential to become a fully “Smart Nation” rapidly despite its small size as it has the advantage of being more “agile” due to its access to a vast pool of talent and resources, a senior telco official said.
The ambitious goal to emulate neighbouring countries like Singapore, in creating a future of better living for all through integration of tech-enabled solutions in different aspects of life, is realisable, said Buharie Amath, Senior Manager for Technology and Operations at Telekom Brunei Berhad (TelBru), on the sidelines of the TelBru ICT Forum and launch of the Smart Nation Online Community at The Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong yesterday.
As a senior manager at TelBru, he said he has seen throughout the years a lot of things that have been done which will enable Brunei to get to the goal much faster. “And being a smaller nation makes us a little bit more agile in terms of what we want to do, but I think if we all put all our efforts together we can do it fairly quickly,” he added.
Although factors such as our economies of scale and the size of the country might hinder this ambition, but by being wise with what we want and coming together, it is possible to reach the goal in a short time, he said. “For instance in Malaysia, if you just drop something it can be popular, but it might not be the case here but the advantage for us is that we can be agile… we can be smart about things,” he added.
He also mentioned that opportunities abound for Bruneian ICT and App developers who have wide access to the international market that will further help flourish the ICT industry here. “Whatever that is being developed here can be sold overseas as well, so it is not just for our use but it also provides an industry for Brunei, and it provides some financial justification or incentive to actually invest in that stream.. That is the definite advantage for us… I believe that there are a lot of talented people in Brunei who can actually develop those applications and contribute to the industry,” he added.
Buharie Amath sharing more about the Smart Nation Online Community during the TelBru ICT Forum. – HAKIM HAYAT
Elaborating more on the Smart Nation Online Community launched and developed by TelBru, he said, is hoped to encourage more in-depth discussions on Brunei’s journey towards becoming a Smart Nation. “The whole objective of the community (Smart Nation Online Community) is to continue the discussion of the ICT Forum and take Brunei towards becoming a Smart Nation… so we want to keep the conversation going,” he said.
Different sections in the community such as a blog, forum and challenges page allow people from different levels and backgrounds to contribute their ideas so they can mould the direction of the Smart Nation that the country is trying to create and head in the direction of. “If we want to do a smart nation it is not up to TelBru, but it is up to the nation to do it… that’s why we encourage these ideas and views coming from everybody… we want the ideas come from the people,” he added.
He said that this will allow other telecom operators and relevant agencies here to have a better understanding on the scope of what Brunei needs in its Smart Nation endeavour, in a Bruneian way. “We want our own thing… we want our people to be the voice and mould it the way they want to see it,” he added.
Giving examples, he said the online community may help identify the core focus of Brunei’s Smart Nation vision. “Maybe we want to focus more on living instead of working… or maybe we want to focus more on health… we want to find that focus and mould the way the operators and agencies do this… this is going to be on their watch,” he added, while highlighting that only by voicing these ideas out it will eventuate into something productive and feasible for the nation.
The online platform which can be accessed through www.smartnation.com.bn is the brainchild of TelBru, and is part of a management project steered by its senior managers with the help of their young and talented management trainees.
Users are able to sign up and log in and create themselves an identity in order to use the platform’s tools.
The post Being small makes Brunei agile appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.