Brunei-muara District

[Carmel Useted]

DistrictsMalay: daerah) are the principal administrative divisions of Brunei. The country is divided into four districts, namely Brunei-Muara, Belait, Tutong and Temburong. Temburong is an exclave; it is physically separated from the three other districts by the Brunei Bay and Malaysian state of Sarawak. Each district has a town as its administrative and main economic centre, with the exception of Brunei-Muara, where the principal centre is Bandar Seri Begawan, a city and the country's capital.

The country previously had six districts, namely Brunei, Muara, Limau Manis (also known as Ulu Brunei), Tutong, Belait and Temburong.[1] In 1908 Brunei and Limau Manis were merged, and in 1938 the districts were restructured to form the present-day four districts.[1]

Each district is administered by a District Office (Jabatan Daerah), where District Offices are government departments under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The head of each department is a District Officer (Pegawai Daerah) and appointed by the government.[2]

There are several in-bay and coastal islands in the Brunei Bay belonging to the Brunei-Muara district. These islands include Pulau Muara Besar, Pulau Salar, Pulau Simangga Besar, Pulau Bedukang, Pulau Kaingaran, Pulau Chermin, Pulau Pepatan, Pulau Baru-Baru, Pulau Berbunut, Pulau Sibungor, Pulau Ranggu and Pulau Berambang. There is one man-made "island" off the coast of Mukim Serasa that is actually a spit turned into an "island" called Tanjong Pelumpong (Pelumpong Spit). There are two off-shore islands off the coast of the Brunei-Muara district in the South China Sea, Pulau Pungit, off the coast of Sengkurong and Pulau Pelong-Pelongan, off the coast of Mukim Serasa.

The municipal area of Bandar Seri Begawan encompasses the entirety of the mukims of Burong Pingai Ayer, Gadong "B", Kianggeh, Peramu, Saba, Sungai Kebun, Sungai Kedayan and Tamoi, as well as parts of Berakas "A", Berakas "B", Kilanas and Kota Batu.[citation needed] Kampong Ayer, the riverine stilted settlement in the capital, encompasses the mukims of Burong Pingai Ayer, Peramu, Saba, Sungai Kebun, Sungai Kedayan and Tamoi.[citation needed]

According to the Constitution, the district is to be represented in the Legislative Council, the state legislature, by up to 7 members.[4] As of 2017, five members have been appointed to represent the district in the legislature.[5]

The district is home to all four of the country's universities: Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Institut Teknologi Brunei, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali and Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan.

Today the district is the largest commercial district within Brunei, with the busy commercial centers of Gadong and Kiulap within the city centre. Brunei's largest shopping mall, The Mall is located in Gadong, along with a number of hotels, such as the Sheraton Utama Hotel, Rizqun International Hotel and Empire Hotel and Country Club. Tourism is also one of the largest contributors to the district's GDP, since the district contains the most number of tourist attractions in the country.

All of the government ministry headquarters are located in this district, such as the Ministry of Finance Brunei. Some of the international corporations' local headquarters are located in the nation's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, namely Royal Brunei Airlines, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam and many other corporations and businesses.

Brunei-Muara District is the central hub for transport, with the Brunei International Airport and the Muara Port located in the district. The district has the Pan Borneo Highway passing through it, and is served by a network of public buses and taxis.

The well known places in the district are Kampong Ayer (Water Villages) which have been in existence for centuries. According to the 1997 population estimates, about 30,000 people live in Kampong Ayer which is really made up of small villages linked together by more than 29,140 metres of foot-bridges. In order to preserve Kampong Ayer as Brunei Darussalam's most valuable heritage, the Government through the District Office has provided it with numerous facilities including food-bridges, concrete jetties, piped water, electricity supplies telephones, schools, mosques, clinics, police station and a marine fire station. All of the six water village mukims are collectively known as the water village (Kampong Ayer) but are identified as separate mukims for administrative purposes.

This paper examines the financial challenges of single mothers in Brunei, illustrating how single parenting affects their lifestyle choices and the coping mechanisms these mothers employ to grapple with their financial hardships.

Results revealed participants described operating with a single income, covering bills alone, the high cost of living in Brunei and the absence of alimony contributed to their financial challenges. Financial stress caused them to change their spending habits, switch to cheaper alternatives, make sacrifices and struggle to meet the needs of their children. Coping mechanisms adopted by single mothers utilized social support, generating side income, and the unique roles of children played a significant role in cushioning the impact of their financial difficulties.

Single mothers are on the rise in Brunei. There is an acute lack of studies emphasizing the financial hardships experienced by single mothers in Brunei. This study attempts to narrow the missing gap and seek avenues of justice for single mothers in a progressive, equitable society.

In the current world, single parenthood has become widely prevalent, especially single mothers. Dowd (1997) associates single parenthood with upholding the responsibility of parenting children without a partner due to death of a spouse, divorce, adoption and unwanted pregnancy. The gendered nature of single parenthood is evident, single mothers carry the bulk of the burden of nurturing their children alone and make up the highest percentage of single-parent households by 85% (Maldonado & Nieuwenhuis, 2015a). With most single mothers shouldering the responsibility of raising their children alone, the consequences have a significant impact on their finances, social lives and mental health (Stack & Meredith, 2017).

Financial challenges of single mothers are argued to be the most significant stressor among this vulnerable group, which amplifies the other psychosocial challenges they experience. Single mothers are tasked with domestic work, childcare and becoming the sole breadwinner to ensure economic security for their families (Hamid & Salleh, 2013). Furthermore, single mothers are more vulnerable to financial pressures than single fathers (Kramer & Picklesimer, 2015), as the stress of raising a single child until they reach adulthood in Singapore would cost more than half a million dollars (Singlife, 2019).

According to Islamic Law, child custody of a divorced couple is generally given to the mother after marriage dissolution and provided with alimony (Nafkah) by their former husbands as compensation (The Brunei Darussalam, 2012). With divorces rising, this translates to more divorced mothers in Brunei having to play dual parental roles. While no statistics are available to identify the number of widowed mothers, it cannot be denied the struggles apply similarly to divorced mothers, only to be further heightened by a more significant financial burden because of the absence of Nafkah.

With single mothers rising yearly in Brunei, they carry additional pressure and responsibilities to ensure the survival and happiness of their families. Despite being a welfare state, single mothers in Brunei are plagued by relative poverty, unemployment and increased living costs (Saunders, 2003; Abdullah, 2010). The challenges of single mothers in Brunei are overlooked. Evidence has shown limited literature highlighting the plight of single motherhood in Brunei. Hence, this study attempts to narrow the missing gap and seek avenues of justice for single mothers. The social welfare of single mothers and their children is essential to ensuring a prosperous, skilled nation in Brunei Darussalam. Therefore, this study aims to understand how single mothers experience financial challenges and how they cope with their financial burdens in Brunei. The specific objectives are as follows:To explore the financial challenges of single mothers in the Brunei-Muara district.

Operating on a single income means being unable to return to their previous living standards. When working with a single income, lone mothers would opt for cheaper alternatives and carefully utilize their budgets. Boyle (1989) studied spending patterns between married couples and single-parent families. Findings showed a significant difference in how their budgets were utilized. Single parents spent less on trivial matters like entertainment, social outings and the number of cars. They also consumed less vital resources such as fuel, food and other utilities. Single-parent households need to maximize their savings due to operating on a single income, which binds them with low purchasing power.

Kalil and Ryan (2010) documented that single mothers experience a greater risk of poverty. Poverty is a vicious cycle, and its effects are far more severe for those with lower educational attainment. Debates on the root of poverty among single mothers stem from the perpetuation of the triple bind: inadequacy of resources, unemployment and poor policies (Nieuwenhuis & Maldonado, 2018). To cope with poverty and high living standards, mothers work harder to gain more income, and find other opportunities to earn additional revenue, translating to more working hours to sustain their families. However, Maldanado and Nieuwenhuis (2015a) also argue that single mothers with better wages would still be burdened with financial hardships. In their case, single mothers have sufficient resources to lower their risk of experiencing poverty.

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