“Harga makin naik.” Prices keep going up. You hear it everywhere these days, at the office, at the kopitiam, in the family chat. Usually said with a sigh, and then we move on to the next topic. For me it’s butter (pasal selalu membali masa dulu utk org rumah membuat…
Category: Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam
Perhaps the Strawberries Are Doing Just Fine
Yesterday I wrote about raising strawberries. Not the ones at the supermarket, but the ones we have apparently been growing at home. Children so shielded from life’s knocks that they struggle when things do not go their way. Then I shared the post with my own children, and what came…
Brunei Darussalam
Raising Strawberries
We have all heard the label by now. The strawberry generation: bright, polished, beautiful to look at, and bruised the moment anyone presses too hard. At family gatherings and in the office, the verdict is usually the same. They cannot take criticism, they quit too quickly, and they fall apart…
Brunei Darussalam
Are you OK?
Today is World Mental Health Day, and I have been thinking about how we check on each other. Where I grew up, care shows up as food, a seat at the table, a quick “Sudah makan?” It is a good habit and I would not change it. But how rarely…
Brunei & Governance
My thoughts on elderly care in Brunei
Just read Malai Hassan Othman’s (MHO) latest piece, “When Mum Can No Longer Be Left Alone,” and it hits close to home. I see the real struggles families here are going through with this, and it has made me think hard about how unprepared most of us are for this…
Brunei Darussalam
AB Rewind: Catching Up With Ihsan, 16 Years Later
Back in 2010, I interviewed a young Bruneian PhD student studying Genetics in the UK. At the time, Ihsan spoke about her passion for science, cancer research, scientific literacy and her hopes of contributing to Brunei’s development one day. She was curious, driven and excited about the future. A lot…