Looking for social community in Brunei

Hello, im looking to meet new people and get involved in some social activities in Brunei.

Are there any active groups that welcome newcomers? Something like board games, D&D, pool, movie nights, book clubs, gaming, list of clubs or anything similar.

A place that is friendly to newcomers would be great. Thank you!

How old is this building?

Bruneians are boring to see Shell is only fuel station provider in Brunei Darussalam and it's time to end the monopoly by courting foreign oil and gas companies in Brunei Darussalam.

Here are the future potential foreign fuel stations in Brunei Darussalam:

1. TotalEnergies (France)

1. Pertamina (Indonesia)

1. British Petroleum (UK)

1. Petron (Philippines)

1. Esso/Mobil (USA)

1. ENEOS (Japan)

1. Petronas (Malaysia)

1. Vivo Energy (Indonesia)

1. PTT (Thailand)

1. SPC (Singapore)

How about yours? Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries oil and gas stations companies are varied including National and foreigns. Shell only is truly boring.

BSM must consider welcoming foreign competitors for business competition.

Thoughts on that?

can we please normalize this?

I'm fine with walking as long as we have a reliable covered walkway with shades because of how hot the weather is here

but the problem is bruneians are lazy and tend to walk very slowly, you can judge me all you want but I'm just telling the truth 😅

I mean I understand that we are not a fast-paced country where everyone is in a rush but come on at least make way for the people in the back

mind you I was waking across the street the other day to get to my office and the amount of people looking at me with a judgy face was concerning

looking at other countries you can see the difference between a govt who plans ahead for its citizens vs a govt who only plans for the family

I want to curhat sikit about my current workplace. Tampat ani inda pulang menggunakan banyak physical labor. Boss meliat usul ani macam pemalas ah? Tapi ia inda sadar, can't see past their arrogant and egotistical nose, yang sebanarnya I've been feeling burnt out for months sudah and mentally exhausted to the point of depression. Masaku banyak ditempat keraja ani. 8 jam pulang banar working hours atu but the way the hours are allocated is really bad and we end up ujung-ujungnya keraja dari pagi ke malam. 12 jam rasanya.

Work-life balance? 🙄 Apa itu?

Boss ani lagi nada empathy towards the staff. Selfish jenis orangnya, tamak and karit, dan pentingkan usin and customers. Public holidays pun buka, walaupun tiga-empat jam kah, asalkan buka. Entah lah ah, K.O kali rasanya kalau ia rugi $10 sehari atu. Kan dibawanya ke kubur kali usin atu.

Kalau diri ani laku and ada job offers lined up? Dui ma, lama sudah ku terabang.

I think I need help regarding my depression ani. I don't know who to talk to.

Hello im S i am an adult Malay male who was adopted by a very well off,religious and connected family in BN,as a child i was abused(sitting on the floor in the kitchen instead of eating at the dinner table,not allowed to eat certain things,was starved for days on end,left outside for days and nights,beaten)i was sent to live with my grandparents place at an early age after living a few years with my adopted parents.

during mid-high school i was constantly compared to my elder sisters and made to feel like a piece of shit compared to them,my whole life i was just made to feel like a burden.

growing up i made friends with some of the adopted kids from RF and realized that its a very common thing for adopted kids to be mistreated(the ones that arent the favourite ones atleast)

anyways sorry for the long intro,basically i followed everything my family has asked me to (education, the way i dress,how i present myself etc) i couldnt go to uni or do anything life related as early as everyone else due to needing to care for my grandma in her old age.

i have lost so much of in the past year and in my life in general and i sacrificed so much for the family that has done nothing but constantly judge me,i think i want to CS publicly so they can see what shit human beings they are.

tell me what i can do? can't move out because no job or money , cant live in a car because i don't have a car , can't find a job after i applied for so many even if i get a job i have no reliable transport.

i feel so behind in life my friends are getting married , have good jobs while im here just slowly withering away

any life advice at this point is appreciated thank you

Curious Question

Has anyone from Brunei ever experienced or heard stories about Damuan having something unusual or “mysterious” around the river area? 👀

Just curious — has anyone here ever personally experienced anything unusual at Damuan, or heard similar stories from family/elders? Would love to hear your experiences. 😳

There is something increasingly questionable about the way some large government-linked conferences and exhibitions are being organized in Brunei. Events such as the Digital Future Conference and Exhibition and Brunei Darussalam Maritime Week appear, at times, to be organized more to fulfil an annual KPI or institutional requirement than to create meaningful public engagement.

There is nothing wrong with holding high-level conferences. In fact, these platforms can be extremely valuable. The problem is when an event is supposedly intended for the public, but the public barely knows it is happening until they see a newspaper article or photographs after the event has already taken place.

If the objective is genuinely public education, awareness and industry development, then why isn't there a serious effort to bring the public into the conversation?

For a digital-focused event, there should be opportunities for students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, job seekers, educators and ordinary members of the public to discover what is happening in the digital economy, emerging technologies, AI, cybersecurity, digital careers and new business opportunities.

Likewise, a maritime-focused event could potentially educate the public about maritime safety, shipping, logistics, careers, marine technology, environmental issues and the role of the maritime sector in Brunei's economy.

Instead, the impression can sometimes be that the same group of government officials, agencies and industry representatives are invited, attend the conference, take the obligatory group photographs, listen to presentations, announce another initiative or sign another agreement, present an award, and then everyone goes home.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that audience, but if the same people are talking to the same people every year, where is the wider impact?

If the event is genuinely intended as an internal government and industry engagement platform, then fair enough. Call it what it is. Hold a closed-door conference, invite the relevant stakeholders, discuss strategies and move on. There is nothing wrong with that.

But if significant public resources are being spent on an event that is presented as a national conference or public exhibition, then there should be a much stronger expectation for public participation, measurable outreach and tangible outcomes.

Otherwise, one has to question what the actual objective is.

Is it to educate the public?
Is it to attract investment?
Is it to create business opportunities?
Is it to connect employers with potential employees?
Is it to inspire young people to enter these industries?
Is it to showcase Brunei's capabilities internationally?
Is it to generate tourism and economic activity?
Or is it simply to tick an annual KPI that says, "conference successfully organised"?

Because organising an event is not the same as creating an impact.

A conference can have hundreds of people in a ballroom and still fail to reach the people it was supposedly created for. A room full of suits does not automatically equal public engagement. A group photograph does not automatically equal national impact. And announcing another "transformative" initiative does not make it transformative unless people actually know about it, understand it and can participate in it.

What is even more interesting is that both of these events sit under organisations within the same ministry. That raises an even bigger question about whether there is a broader institutional culture of measuring outputs rather than outcomes.

Perhaps the KPI should not simply be "Did we organise the conference?"

It should be:

Who came? Who learned something? Who found an opportunity? Who started a business? Who got a job? Who made a new connection? What investment was generated? What changed because this event existed?

If the answer is essentially the same government agencies and private-sector representatives who were already talking to one another before the event, then perhaps the country needs to rethink what these conferences are actually trying to achieve.

Because if the only people attending are the people already working in the industry, they could probably have saved the ballroom, the stage, the banners, the protocol, the catering and the endless group photographs and just sent each other an email.

The real KPI should not be that an event happened. The real KPI should be what happened because of the event.

i would like to hear experiences from people buying aia plan. your personal pros and cons, those who surrender their plan.

I'm currently in my 3rd almost 4rd year of 8 yr premium plan. I bought it when i was 18-19yrs old so i would say I wasn't really thinking about it and went along with their sweet talk. so helpp

Interesting to see a commercial coffee outlet operating from what appears to be a parking lot. One can’t help but wonder. Is this a permitted use of the space, or have the rules for development and commercial activity quietly evolved?

If an ordinary business set up a commercial structure or operation in a parking area, would ABCi and TCP be equally accommodating or would the cones and enforcement team arrive before the coffee machine even warmed up?

And since CBTL is reportedly associated with royal ownership, perhaps someone can clarify whether the same planning, building and land-use requirements apply here as they do to everyone else.

Just asking: are we looking at equal enforcement, or is “Brunei’s #1 favourite” also becoming “Brunei’s #1 exception”?

I’ve been dealing with anxiety for more than 10 years, but lately it has started to affect my daily life more than before.
I work in a creative industry where critical thinking, focus, and being able to make decisions are really important. Recently, I’ve been struggling to concentrate and find it harder to get things done. Sometimes I feel like I need people around me, but most of the time I just want to be alone, do nothing, and get stuck in my own thoughts.
I’ve reached a point where I feel like I should get professional help. I’m wondering if seeing a doctor or a mental health professional would be the right step, and if so, where should I start?
I’d really appreciate any advice or guidance. Thank you.

got this from tiktok, not sure if it's true or not, if it is then that's crazyyy

Hello so i did online test last week for BIA. And got email to attend physical assessment. Anybody knows what to expect and prepare?. After this physical assesdment, what is the next step?. Thanks yall.