Tiga puluh satu
One Big Kampong
by Zed Peace
A reality we face is that our country has a small population. According to this site, this is our expected population forecast upto the year 2050:
Hopefully I'll still be around to check and see whether it was right, that even after decades of social and economic growth we'll barely manage to pass that 1 million people mark. Not that it's a bad thing though. On the other hand, Singapore and Malaysia's population will also have doubled so that's around 10 million and 40 million respectively.
In an article published in the Brunei Times titled, 'What is ideal population for Sultanate', which upon glimpse I thought had a slight grammatical error but not really, it gave a figure of 2 million as 'ideal'. The only realistic way this can happen is if we suddenly welcome people from around the world with open arms to apply for citizenship(s). Or we impose the perennial 7 children minimum rule on families. Or cloning. Ah, the wonders of modern science.
In any case, to aim for 2 million is immigrational suicide. We'll either turn into a wonderful melting pot of language, culture and identity where social harmony is achieved through multi-ethnic diversification, or we'll turn into a violent and troubled nation divided over racial politics. But being as we don't have a violent bone in our national body, the former is perhaps not too inconcievable.
Imagine the kampongs being filled with not only the brotherly three (Malays, Chinese and Indian ethnicities), but a sudden influx of Europeans, Argentinians and the occasional Rastafarian. You might find yourself eating Nasi Katok with people from Ex-Yugoslavia. Or stirring up a conversation with a chap from Johannesburg during a wedding.
Multiculturalism is certainly a desirable aspect of any nation, yet it can also be very superficial. Especially within developing nations, it seems that underneath the facade of ethnic embrace there are sinister policies that are about anything but equality. However, one should not give up the strife for human liberty and respect for international law by pursuing things like democratization, human rights and all that jazz.
This post is about population and culture, which has a great impact on and has been impacted greatly by the dynamics of the international system. If you decide one day you wish to marry a foreigner and bring him or her back to Brunei to start a family, ask yourself why. Besides questionable reasons of love and commitment, another person from overseas is one more grain of sand towards that multi-national sea shore countries either dream or dread about.
Allah knows best.
by Zed Peace
A reality we face is that our country has a small population. According to this site, this is our expected population forecast upto the year 2050:
Hopefully I'll still be around to check and see whether it was right, that even after decades of social and economic growth we'll barely manage to pass that 1 million people mark. Not that it's a bad thing though. On the other hand, Singapore and Malaysia's population will also have doubled so that's around 10 million and 40 million respectively.
In an article published in the Brunei Times titled, 'What is ideal population for Sultanate', which upon glimpse I thought had a slight grammatical error but not really, it gave a figure of 2 million as 'ideal'. The only realistic way this can happen is if we suddenly welcome people from around the world with open arms to apply for citizenship(s). Or we impose the perennial 7 children minimum rule on families. Or cloning. Ah, the wonders of modern science.
In any case, to aim for 2 million is immigrational suicide. We'll either turn into a wonderful melting pot of language, culture and identity where social harmony is achieved through multi-ethnic diversification, or we'll turn into a violent and troubled nation divided over racial politics. But being as we don't have a violent bone in our national body, the former is perhaps not too inconcievable.
Imagine the kampongs being filled with not only the brotherly three (Malays, Chinese and Indian ethnicities), but a sudden influx of Europeans, Argentinians and the occasional Rastafarian. You might find yourself eating Nasi Katok with people from Ex-Yugoslavia. Or stirring up a conversation with a chap from Johannesburg during a wedding.
Multiculturalism is certainly a desirable aspect of any nation, yet it can also be very superficial. Especially within developing nations, it seems that underneath the facade of ethnic embrace there are sinister policies that are about anything but equality. However, one should not give up the strife for human liberty and respect for international law by pursuing things like democratization, human rights and all that jazz.
This post is about population and culture, which has a great impact on and has been impacted greatly by the dynamics of the international system. If you decide one day you wish to marry a foreigner and bring him or her back to Brunei to start a family, ask yourself why. Besides questionable reasons of love and commitment, another person from overseas is one more grain of sand towards that multi-national sea shore countries either dream or dread about.
Allah knows best.
posted by Zed Peace
on 18 January 2009
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