| Syazwani Hj Rosli |
GOVERNMENT agencies and social organisations play a vital role in providing services and assistance to troubled families.
This was highlighted by the Minister of Religious Affairs, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman during his speech at the official launch of the Fiqh al-Usrah International Seminar 2017 yesterday.
It was held at the Tarbiyyah Hall of the Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB).
According to the minister, in addition to the court and family members, the family social service agencies are also close to troubled families, to the extent that they are even approached by families seeking counselling and advices, or even protection.
“This does not mean there is a need to increase the number of civil servants. Instead, we should give serious attention to the practical aspects where family counselling services can be provided by social volunteers,” the minister said.
He urged relevant parties to pay greater attention towards increasing the number of volunteers who are equipped with the knowledge and skills.
In relation to this, the minister highlighted the relevance of KUPU SB in expanding its scope of knowledge and skills to one which is more systematic to meet such requirements, referring to the theoretical and practical knowledge such as the Fiqh al-Usrah in family affairs.
“Postgraduates or graduates of religious teaching colleges in Brunei, especially those enrolled with KUPU SB, should undergo in-service training and be willing to provide additional services such as social services for families. This will provide them with the opportunities to establish their own association,” the minister added.
Minister of Religious Affairs, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, speaking at the seminar
Some of the participants at the seminar. – PHOTOS: SYAZWANI HJ ROSLI
The minister went on to reveal the statistics on social ills provided by the Religious Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which showed a total of 405 complaints recorded in 2016, comprising 265 cases of general offences and 140 cases of offences falling under Islamic Family Law.
Meanwhile, he added, records provided by the Community Development Department (JAPEM) showed that there were 12 cases of incestuous relationships within a five-year period from 2011 to 2015.
During this period, the minister said that the number of divorces that have occurred within less than a year of marriage amounted to 50 cases, and divorces that happened within five years of marriage numbers 164 cases.
The overall number of divorce cases have also reached 747 over the past five years.
The minister also highlighted that a total of 3,890 orphans have been recorded between 2011 and March 2017. These orphans have been registered as recipients of aid schemes from the Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Fund for Orphans (DANA), which runs under the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
According to him, from this 3,890, a total of 1,480 individuals are orphaned due to the death of their fathers, while the remaining 2,410 are abandoned children (usually born out of wedlock) who are classified as orphans.
“We need to look at the reality so that we can find a way to improve the situation if it cannot be prevented,” the minister said.
He stated further that this issue of abandoned babies or children can be traced to factors such as the efficiency of religious education, lifestyle changes, culture shock, poverty due to unemployment, or even education.
The minister hoped that the seminar will be able to produce or generate practical ideas that can be adopted in social community programmes aimed towards curing such social ills which lead to troubled families.
Ustazah Hajah Radhiah binti Haji Gani, Director of Fiqh al-Usrah Research Centre, meanwhile, said the seminar is conducted for the first time as part of an effort to support the research centre’s objective of delivering services and academic contributions towards the developing families that are “Sakinah, Mawaddah Warahmah”.
The seminar’s closing ceremony will take place today at 2pm.
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