BRUNEI LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - MORE SMALL STEPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000105 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KISL BX SUBJECT: BRUNEI LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - MORE SMALL STEPS FORWARD REF: A. 06 BANDAR 157 ¶B. 05 BANDAR 425 Classified By: DCM Justin Friedman, Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Brunei took another small step forward on the path to more representative government when the State Legislative Council (LegCo) convened for its third session March 6-11. Repeating last year's move toward greater fiscal transparency (ref A),the appointed and indirectly-elected members of the LegCo debated and approved a BDOL 4.6 billion (USD 3.0 billion) budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1. The Sultan emphasized "accountability" in his opening remarks and non-government member Pehin Goh King Chin pushed the envelope of public debate with a call for greater rights and privileges for permanent residents, who include many ethnic Chinese that have deep roots in Brunei but do not enjoy the same status as the primarily ethnic Malay citizenry. While political party leaders criticized the LegCo as mere "window dressing" and pressed for direct elections to the body, this year's session demonstrates that the Sultan is continuing his policy of ever-so-cautiously taking small steps toward a more accountable and transparent form of governance, and that most Bruneians remain satisfied with the deliberate pace of his top-down political reforms. END SUMMARY. -------------- POMP AND LEGISLATE -------------- ¶2. (C) In an opening ceremony replete with full dress pomp and protocol, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah opened the third session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) on March 6. As has been the case since the Sultan revived the LegCo in 2005, none of its 30 current members attained their seats via direct popular vote. LegCo membership consisted of the Sultan and Crown Prince, 12 members of the government cabinet, 5 district representatives elected by their fellow village heads, and 11 members appointed by the Sultan (included in this last group is the Speaker of the LegCo, who not uncoincidentally also happens to be father-in-law to one of the Sultan's daughters.) ¶3. (C) In a signal of the increasing importance of transparency in government finance, the Sultan called on "all government agencies entrusted with the State budget allocation to manage it with full accountability and use it according to plans." Prior to the session, senior officials from the Ministries of Defense, Industry and Primary Resources, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Finance had told us that they were spending extra time on this year's budget preparation in anticipation of sharp questions from the non-government members of the LegCo. Hj Mohammad Rozan Yunus, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and the not-so-anonymous voice behind the Brunei Resources website and blog told us that he and his staff had devoted considerably more time this year than last to prepare briefing materials and backgrounders to be ready for tough questions from LegCo members. ¶4. (SBU) Although there were serious (and not-so-serious) questions and comments about several aspects of the budget draft during the LegCo session, as expected the budget presented by the government was eventually approved without amendment. The LegCo unanimously passed a BDOL 4.6 billion budget (USD 3.0 billion) , with projected revenues of BDOL 5.8 driven (USD 3.8 billion) largely by expected continuing high world oil prices. National defense and security took the largest share with approved spending of BDOL 1.3 billion (USD 850 million),of which the Ministry of Defense will get some BDOL 520 million (USD 341 million). Other major budget priorities are plans to invest BDOL 996 (USD 653 million) in human resource development including schools, the new Islamic University of Brunei, and other training programs; BDOL 785 million (USD 515 million) for infrastructure development; and BDOL 236 million (USD 155 million) to support development of the private sector and non-oil and gas industries. As with previous years, Brunei's big challenge will be to spend all the funds allocated. We have heard estimates that for the current budget year ending March 31, from BDOL 500 million to 1 billion (USD 328-656 million) will be left unspent and uncommitted. -------------- No Big Surprises BANDAR SER 00000105 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶5. (C) In this absolute monarchy that prides itself on being the "abode of peace" and in conducting public debate within tight restraints, it is not surprising that there were few fireworks at this year's session. Pehin Goh King Chin, a leading ethnic Chinese businessman, Brunei citizen and LegCo member, took perhaps the boldest public stance, suggesting that the GoB relax restrictions on foreign citizens ownership of land, homes and commercial property. He also suggested that Brunei introduce medical insurance for permanent residents who are not eligible for the free care afforded citizens. Although Pehin Goh was careful to refer generically to "foreign citizens" and "permanent residents," it was clear to all that he was speaking on behalf of the thousands of ethnic Chinese permanent residents, some of whom come from families that have been in Brunei for generations but have never been granted citizenship and so do not enjoy the same rights and privileges of Bruneian citizens who are overwhelmingly ethnic Malays. Other complaints aired during the session were the petty and parochial issues that often occupy legislatures - not enough spending on roads and infrastructure in certain locations, increasing pensions for widows, and a call for free parking at hospitals. Sessions were open to the public, but few other than media and post's Pol/Mil assistant chose to attend. -------------- Political Parties Critical -------------- ¶6. (C) By law, government officials and LegCo members are barred from membership in political parties. Dr. Mohd Hatta Zainal Abidin, President of the Brunei Solidarity National Party (PPKB) told us that the LegCo was mere "window dressing." He said that until there were elections and cabinet members were drawn from the LegCo (instead of the current practice of Sultan-appointed cabinet members as ex-officio LegCo members) and there was a real opposition, these sessions would not be any more than a rubber stamp on government plans. Mahmood Morshidi Othman, Deputy President of the newer and larger National Development Party (NDP), echoed in more circumspect terms Hatta's criticism of the current LegCo. -------------- When Elections? -------------- ¶7. (C) Neither Morshidi nor Hatta were optimistic that an expected expansion of the LegCo to include directly elected members would happen soon (reftels). During a call by Ambassador and DCM in December, Speaker of the LegCo Pg. Dr. Hj Kemaludin Mohd Yassin was non-responsive to our questions about when elections would be held and what preparatory steps were being taken. Kemaludin repeated several times that Brunei treasured stability, implying that elections would introduce an element of uncertainty that could threaten that stability. However, Dr. Hatta said that he and his party members had observed government officials working at the village level to gather population data and understand natural links among villages in preparation for what Dr. Hatta believed would be the outlining of coherent electoral districts for directly-elected seats on the LegCo. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) Since the recreation of the LegCo in 2004, the Sultan has slowly and cautiously added elements of transparency and accountability to the legislative process. This year's budget debate and non-government member question and answer sessions were a small step further towards a more democratic practice. Public reaction appeared to be generally supportive of this top-down, snail-paced reform, although some politicians like Dr. Hatta would like to see the LegCo take the next step of considering and passing laws, ending Brunei's 34-year dependence on "emergency" orders issued by the Sultan. The Sultan has publicly committed to expanding the LegCo to include directly-elected members, and there remains an expectation that this step will be taken at some point. We can best support this slow process of democratization by quietly encouraging the Sultan, his government, and Brunei's people to continue on this path, albeit at a faster pace. SKODON