SPEECH
BY
ABDUL
MUTALIB PEHIN DATO YUSOF
PERMANENT
SECRETARY
MINISTRY
OF COMMUNICATIONS
NEGARA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
ON
TUESDAY,
16 DECEMBER 2014, 09:00
AT
"TELBRU
FIRST GRADUATION DAY"
AT
THE
MAIN
CONFERENCE HALL, ICC
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Alhamdullilahi
Rabbil `Alameen Wasaalatu Wassalaamu `Ala Asyrafil Ambiae Walmursaleen,
Saidina Muhammadin Wa'alaa Aalihiee Wasahbihee Ajama'een
Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Haji Hisham bin Haji Mohd Hanifah,
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Chairman of TelBru
TelBru Board of Directors
Mr David Kay, Chief Executive Officer of TelBru
Program participants, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
Selawat and Salam to our beloved Prophet Muhammad S.A.W, his family and companions (Peace be upon Them).
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, and good morning.
1.
First of all, my heartiest congratulations to the training participants
who will be graduating today. I must laud your determination to enrich
yourselves with current knowledge about FTTH technologies, management
skills and technical apprenticeship.
2.
I was made to understand that over the last six months, you have gone
through your respective courses, namely the Young Talent Development,
the Supervisory, Technical Apprentice and the FTTH Certification. It
must have been a challenging and rewarding experience, so today must be a
significant event in your career progression. I am, indeed, very
honored to be part of it. Congratulations!
3.
At the same time, I also wish to congratulate TelBru on their
initiative to upgrade the skills of its employees. I am confident this
initiative will lead to the development of dedicated and motivated
manpower, who are the most valuable asset to an organization.
4.
I believe, this is among the key priorities of TelBru, as one of the
main ICT service providers in Brunei Darussalam. Under the current
roll-out of high speed broadband services, where about 23,000 homes are
connected so far, this initiative could not have been more timely. With
your enhanced skills and competencies, TelBru will be able to further
assure the public of the quality and support for high speed broadband
services in Brunei Darussalam.
5.
In addition to this initiative, I wish to congratulate TelBru on their
recent collaboration with the Institute of Brunei Technical Education,
in jointly developing a new Telecommunications and IT syllabus for
vocational education in Brunei Darussalam. I was made to understand
TelBru is closely coordinating with Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical
College (MTSSR) on this collaboration. This strategic initiative will
pave the way for more learning and employment opportunities for the
locals. Hence, we look forward to the start of this syllabus program in
2015 and the outcome of this collaboration.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
6.
At this point, I am very pleased to see the alignment of TelBru's
initiatives with the National Vision 2035 (Wawasan 2035). Under this
National Vision, Brunei Darussalam aspires to be known for its highly
skilled and knowledgeable people. Therefore, being competent in the ICT
industry is certainly relevant, considering ICT is the key enabler for
various activities across many sectors of the economy.
7.
Through our vision of a Smart Society by 2017, the Ministry of
Communications ensures our ICT policies and initiatives are fully
supportive of the National Vision 2035. By having a Smart Society, we
foresee a society whose everyday endeavors will be made convenient with
innovation, driven by reliable and accessible technologies. TelBru's
initiative today correlates very well with this vision. High speed
broadband is certainly one of the identified technologies, and having
consistent, fully supported broadband services is crucial to realize a
Smart Society in Brunei Darussalam.
8.
Towards this vision, the availability of capable and competent human
resources is very important. Hence, the Ministry of Communications,
through Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI), is
currently implementing the 'National ICT Manpower Master Plan and
Training for the Development of ICT Industry Competency Framework for
Brunei Darussalam'. This project focuses on the supply and demand of ICT
skilled professionals, making sure that they are in line with the
economic aspirations of Brunei Darussalam.
9.
Under this project, the National ICT Manpower Masterplan will identify
the required strategies, programmes and initiatives to develop the local
ICT talents. This will be complemented by the development of the ICT
Industry Competency Framework to ensure that our pool of ICT talents
supports the demands of the industry. It is the Ministry's aspiration
that our ICT talents will become one of the key supporting pillars
behind the economic diversification activities in Brunei Darussalam.
This project is currently underway and will be completed within the
first quarter of 2015.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
10.
The Government's initiative to develop and enhance ICT capacity
building is very much complemented by our key stakeholders, such as
TelBru amongst others. To have such coordinated efforts is very
important to us.
11.
This was particularly emphasized by The Honourable Minister of
Communications during the launch of the National Broadband Policy on 11th
November 2014. The National Broadband Policy documents the policy
objectives, targets and performance indicators towards a
broadband-oriented development in Brunei Darussalam.
12.
To ensure this policy is formulated in a holistic manner, the National
Broadband Policy has gone through a consultative process since October
2013, with the assistance from the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) and with the involvement of our stakeholders.
13.
The Ministry of Communications wishes to take this consultative process
further. With broadband being an enabler in our daily transactions, it
is important to us that we are able to accommodate the interests of our
stakeholders in the most facilitative ways possible. Following the
launch of the National Broadband Policy on 11th November 2014, we are opening the document for further inputs and suggestions.
14.
The policy document is now available for download from the Ministry's
and AITI's websites. Inputs from key players, such as TelBru, ICT SMEs
and the users are all welcome, which you can email to AITI before the
end of January 2015. The Ministry of Communications and AITI, look
forward to receive your valuable inputs and suggestions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
15.
To conclude my speech, I wish to congratulate all the graduating
participants. This ceremony does not mark the end of your learning
journey. Your workplace, TelBru in particular, and the
telecommunications industry in general, will present you with more
opportunities and challenges, all of which will give you valuable
lessons to learn from.
16.
Your commitment and skills are very much appreciated, and needed, for
the development of Brunei Darussalam. It is with your contribution that
we will be able to make a big difference in the ICT industry of Brunei
Darussalam, Insya Allah. I wish you all the best in your future
undertakings.
17.
Again, I wish to thank TelBru for inviting me today. I am indeed, glad
to be here, to be part of such rewarding journey for our graduates
today. I hope that TelBru's initiatives in acknowledging the value of
capable human resources will be emulated by others. I look forward to
such initiatives again in future.
Thank you. Wabillahi Taufik Walhidayah, Wassalamu Alaikum Warrahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
