Buckle up, it just started for Brunei... bumpy ride

International Bank Account Number (IBAN). As far as I know BIBD doesn’t offer these, the sender needs to key in the SWIFT/BIC code (for bibd that is BIBDBNBBXXX) and then your regular bank account number.

Not sure about Baiduri and such.

You know it...next president will be Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho.

Let’s not make this a witch-hunt...shall we

I have just placed my pitchfork into the storage.

Selling Internet services has been a cash-cow for DA and its owners, they are going to milk that cow dry. An argument like - customers numbers are low and infrastructure is expensive so price per customer is high - is pure BS. Brunei is in parts densely populated as other nations, and still doesn’t even offer unlimited data services (except you are willing to pay $$$).

Progresif, imagine, dst all just a smoke screen for people to think it’s not a monopoly and they have a choice..

Thanks for the positive feedback and happy you enjoyed the discussions.

Just to touch up on a few things you mentioned:

The pro-west camp seems to want to hear a condemnation against China, an acknowledgement of the bad they are doing.

Although I wouldn’t call myself pro-west, I would like for people to point out the bad things that happen in the world, without comparative justification and regardless of origin.

Now what? Now let us not view China in a vacuum and put them in context, historically and geopolitically - how do they measure up? What is the true intention of arguing?

Adding to my top paragraph, my intention is to create vigilance and caution within readers. Doesn’t matter if China, Russia, France or the US. If someone is doing a crime, there is no reason for him to be allowed to do so because others have done similarly in the past. I am sure we agree that information, particularly false one is used in a warfare like manner.

And on your last paragraph: I agree with you the west has done countless crimes against humanity, no denying that. And yes they also have an agenda of their own and certain media outlets will push a different mindset. Also journalists are people like anyone of us potentially biased, reporting differently. Closing back on the reason of arguing, is to exactly reveal these things and call out what has been done wrong, but in a non comparative way. Only then, imho will we be able to change things one at a time.

Great points, thanks. Been checking online regarding dept trap and it certainly is not disproved. sec5s comments claiming otherwise reveals massive ignorance.

I disagree with you, this has not been a trap...maybe an eye opener for some though.

Reddit can be a discussion site for many things: Issues, views (which I consider the topic of this thread), behaviours (why only ones caught on camera, ones from users are equally relevant), experience and many other things.

A few things that we can agree on amongst all this:

People have a right to call others out on issues. I don't consider that bashing.

Agreed

If people are commenting on the thread on an issue that's biased, and not often well known where the public is poorly informed on - that's a win for me.

Agreed, i think it’s a win for us all as long as both sides stay true to facts without spreading false information.

People should criticize and argue for/against each other's ideas. Not each other.

Agreed again.

Now, if you could just stop your condescending and all knowing statements behind these universal accepted ones you would actually start to show some integrity. But no:

Deep down I already know what I know, know what most people would say.

The problem starts when we think we know all

I'm genuinely interested in reading and seeing what others have to say, and to engage with them. Seeing what the perspective is, and seeing if I am able to change and improve that perspective.

Fine, but not everyone is wrong in their views and needs improvment, so how abut revisiting your own perspectives, maybe learn a few things and change yours accordingly?

Writting at my stage is a hobby for me. It's a skill in Brunei that's almost non-existent , underappreciated , undeveloped and just out right unavailable. In a modern country, people actually write and think and comment alot on society and life, and at a high level. In Brunei we don't because we have no Brunei magazines, Brunei shows, Brunei documentaries etc. It's all toeing the party line.

I won’t even go into this judgmental and full of prejudice part: but everything you evidently see others doing wrong, you just did yourself in those few lines.

Cliche guy, fitting

The responses from ces5 and sec5 are displaying a clear pattern. I feel sorry for them tbh as there mind seem to be closed and no reasoning will make them see otherwise. Ces5 blaming you to undergoing psychosis just shows the amount of trolling they fall back to.. Thank you for taking the time to make some good comments though, others appreciate your effort!

Please read properly and understand my comment first before busting out unintelligible comments. I do not blame any ethnic group in racism, I am stating that some ethnic groups receive a lot of hatred and have to face racism in Brunei, especially ones from India or Africa. This it will take longer for those minorities to be free of these problems. (How you make that into me blaming them for something they are not faulty of is beyond my understanding)

I agree with you! One should take multiple views and sources into account, and critically evaluate them. Staying respectful is the basis for a good discussion and I hope I was maintaining a proper tone, not sure I managed throughout but at least I did not go down ces5’s route here calling me brain damaged. Just shows the level people resort to when desperate.

Thank you for pointing it out! I am happy people see through the strategies being employed by them.

Dept trap, Very good point

I appreciate your contribution, it is clear however, you employ a similar line of argumentation as sec5.

Let’s deconstruct shall we:

• You start by making false claims regarding my ability to argue on this topic in an effort to run down arguments I’ve made, rather than disproving them or hitting the point I am trying to make.

• mentioning my ease of consumption by any media without questioning it, and my emotionally driven arguments, interesting, where did you get that from?

Identifying your initial intend to delegitimise my ability to argue, let’s move on to the topics you bring forward:

1. Treatment of Muslims across the world.

Yes Muslims have been treated badly in different parts of the world, same as other minorities like blacks, Jews or people identifying as LGBTQ. Now, why does that make Chinese actions against minorities alright? You state that Uyghurs are being put in re-education camps, this statement in itself is a downplayment of the issue. I do not think you realise what has been happening there, and I accuse you of non-critical consumption of Chinese propaganda, even promoting their propaganda here. The counter argument you make is, China doesn’t bomb Muslims like others did so they are doing it right. The CCP pursued policies leading to more than one million Muslims (the majority of them Uyghurs) being held in internment camps without any legal process.

Chinese government statistics show that from 2015 to 2018, birth rates in the mostly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60%. In the same period, the birth rate of the whole country decreased by 9.69%, from 12.07 to 10.9 per 1,000 people. Chinese authorities acknowledged that birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018 in Xinjiang, but denied reports of forced sterilization and genocide. Birth rates in Xinjiang fell a further 24% in 2019 (compared to a nationwide decrease of 4.2%).

Now this is has been described as forced assimilation of Xinjiang, as well as an ethnocide or cultural genocide. Thousands of mosques have been destroyed or damaged, and hundreds of thousands of children have been forcibly separated from their parents and sent to boarding schools. Why try to distract from these or downplay these as if it’s just some boarding school people are sent to? Have you informed yourself about these thing or are you just siding with China because you are from the same ethnicity?

1. Covid origins Again you start with whataboutism, “if you look at the last 12 months you can see how fauci was fucked by trump”. What does that have to do with China not informing the world public about an outbreak within the first two months? What does that have to do that doctors in Wuhan were the first to make it public? What does that have to do with China not allowing the reentry of WHO scientific team to investigate the origin? I’ll answer for you, nothing.

2. Sublime promotion of views and ideologies ..is exactly what you and alike, such as sec5 are doing. Dragging the argument through mud and pointing fingers at others how they did worse.

3. Business partner I’ve not stated that China is a good or bad business partner. But you try to make them look as great partners with no flaws, no agenda and pure business out of love to neighbours. Be critical. Yes they did more investment in this country, which is great. (What that has to do with westerners not doing so is beyond me (but as I mentioned earlier, our neighbours are more likely to engage with us than countries half way around the world)).

At this point I’d like to hint out another of your sublime efforts to undermine my integrity: “confusing because 1 min you wanted to help locals but next min you seem to hope for the worst will happen to them”. Who is not capable of having an argument without employing authoritarian strategies here?

You as well show a fanboy-like-attitude towards anything China does. I am all for pointing out good things in this world, but let us also point out the bad ones wherever they happen. If I throw the trash into my yard, I have to be critical enough to see that as a mistake and not continue to do so because my neighbour does the same.

PS: if I recall correctly, HengYi was not eager to employ locals but rather main land Chinese up until the Brunei government had to push due to the public becoming upset why no locals are being employed.

I think we do have an issue of racism here, usually people are not openly saying it but you can tell when your cousin is dating a foreigner. But I feel that the younger generation is starting to be different, more open-minded. Unfortunately, some ethnicities will have a longer road ahead to shake off judgment against themselves (like people from India or Africa, they do receive more hatred from us here).

I appreciate your contribution, it is clear however, you employ a similar line of argumentation as sec5.

Let’s deconstruct shall we:

• You start by making false claims regarding my ability to argue on this topic in an effort to run down arguments I’ve made, rather than disproving them or hitting the point I am trying to make.

• mentioning my ease of consumption by any media without questioning it, and my emotionally driven arguments, interesting, where did you get that from?

Identifying your initial intend to delegitimise my ability to argue, let’s move on to the topics you bring forward:

1. Treatment of Muslims across the world.

Yes Muslims have been treated badly in different parts of the world, same as other minorities like blacks, Jews or people identifying as LGBTQ. Now, why does that make Chinese actions against minorities alright? You state that Uyghurs are being put in re-education camps, this statement in itself is a downplayment of the issue. I do not think you realise what has been happening there, and I accuse you of non-critical consumption of Chinese propaganda, even promoting their propaganda here. The counter argument you make is, China doesn’t bomb Muslims like others did so they are doing it right. The CCP pursued policies leading to more than one million Muslims (the majority of them Uyghurs) being held in internment camps without any legal process.

Chinese government statistics show that from 2015 to 2018, birth rates in the mostly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60%. In the same period, the birth rate of the whole country decreased by 9.69%, from 12.07 to 10.9 per 1,000 people. Chinese authorities acknowledged that birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018 in Xinjiang, but denied reports of forced sterilization and genocide. Birth rates in Xinjiang fell a further 24% in 2019 (compared to a nationwide decrease of 4.2%).

Now this is has been described as forced assimilation of Xinjiang, as well as an ethnocide or cultural genocide. Thousands of mosques have been destroyed or damaged, and hundreds of thousands of children have been forcibly separated from their parents and sent to boarding schools. Why try to distract from these or downplay these as if it’s just some boarding school people are sent to? Have you informed yourself about these thing or are you just siding with China because you are from the same ethnicity?

1. Covid origins Again you start with whataboutism, “if you look at the last 12 months you can see how fauci was fucked by trump”. What does that have to do with China not informing the world public about an outbreak within the first two months? What does that have to do that doctors in Wuhan were the first to make it public? What does that have to do with China not allowing the reentry of WHO scientific team to investigate the origin? I’ll answer for you, nothing.

2. Sublime promotion of views and ideologies ..is exactly what you and alike, such as sec5 are doing. Dragging the argument through mud and pointing fingers at others how they did worse.

3. Business partner I’ve not stated that China is a good or bad business partner. But you try to make them look as great partners with no flaws, no agenda and pure business out of love to neighbours. Be critical. Yes they did more investment in this country, which is great. (What that has to do with westerners not doing so is beyond me (but as I mentioned earlier, our neighbours are more likely to engage with us than countries half way around the world)).

At this point I’d like to hint out another of your sublime efforts to undermine my integrity: “confusing because 1 min you wanted to help locals but next min you seem to hope for the worst will happen to them”. Who is not capable of having an argument without employing authoritarian strategies here?

You as well show a fanboy-like-attitude towards anything China does. I am all for pointing out good things in this world, but let us also point out the bad ones wherever they happen. If I throw the trash into my yard, I have to be critical enough to see that as a mistake and not continue to do so because my neighbour does the same.

His answer will be the same as to other comments, downplay the issue, make it seem like it’s an exception and bring up other countries (most likely the US) to distract and point out mistakes others have made.

I agree that there is no point in continuing the argument amongst us two. You have provided enough material for people to make up their own minds on your stance and views as well as the agenda you follow.

I’ll keep pointing this out under your comments. US does bad > good point it out. China does bad > also point it out. Why keep quiet on China (you think they don’t strangle low income countries with their trade agreements in Africa). Don’t justify ones mistakes by the mistakes others have made.

It’s like: I can blow CO2 into the atmosphere all I want because the west has done it over the past decades, now is my turn.

I’ll repeat myself for you: Whataboutism, defamation of media and trolling, three pillars of your argumentation does not make China a mistake free country.

Since you also feel personally attacked, let me advise you to go through your own comments again making accusations about me.

See a pattern here?

And as you think that I only argue emotionally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_China

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_China

Here go read, as you seem to be drawn to my emotions. /s

u/Irsan1996 has done a terrific job in describing you; not being able to reflect and anything the Chinese government does seems gold to you. Who is blindly following whom here.

Being able to see one’s mistakes is a sign of maturity. Acting like criticism is hatred and bashery on China, while demonising the west yourself just shows your true face.

For me you just became one heck of a troll.

It’s not about who is a better business partner or who has made substantial investments (both btw not surprising to be taken up by our neighbours rather than countries half way around the globe).

If you point with one finger at someone, don’t forget that at least three are pointing at yourself. Argue on mistakes made in Brunei all you want, but don’t pretend that China is free of crimes. (not saying you do, but others seem to)