Bahrin bin Abdullah (born 16 July 1961) is a Bruneian politician and businessperson who formerly served as the sixth
Minister of Development from 2015 to 2018, and the
Deputy Minister of Finance from 2010 to 2015. Additionally, he was also the director of
Royal Brunei Airlines
Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) ( ms, Penerbangan DiRaja Brunei, Jawi: ) is the national flag carrier airline of Brunei Darussalam, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei Da ...
(RBA) from 2 September 2010 until his resignation on 8 June 2018, the
Chairman of Takaful Brunei Board of Directors, and the Chairman of
Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI).
Biography
Education
Bahrin was born on 16 July 1961 in
Kampong Bukit Udal,
Tutong District
Tutong District (; Jawi: دائيره توتوڠ) or simply Tutong is one of the four districts of Brunei. It has an area of ; the population was 48,313 in 2016. The administrative town is Pekan Tutong. It is home to Tasek Merimbun, the count ...
. He attended
Sufri Bolkiah English School for his
'O' level and Tun Seri Lanang High School, Singapore for his
'A' level. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
(
Hons
Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...
)
in economics from
Queenstown Secondary Technical School and a
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
(MBA) in
strategic management from
Wolverhampton Polytechnic
The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mech ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Lastly, an
academic major
An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...
in
financial management
Financial management is the business function concerned with profitability, expenses, cash and credit, so that the "organization may have the means to carry out its objective as satisfactorily as possible;"
the latter often defined as maximizin ...
from
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
.
Early career
Bahrin began his career in June 1983, as an education officer for the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
(
Anthony Abell College
Anthony Abell College (, ') is a government secondary school in Seria, a town in Belait District, Brunei. It was one of the earliest secondary schools to be established in the country. The school provides five years of general secondary educatio ...
); an investment officer in the Research Unit of the Investment Department
Brunei Investment Agency
The Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) is a government-owned corporation that reports to the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Brunei. Established in 1983, its offices are located in Bandar Seri Begawan at the Ministry of Finance HQ. Data o ...
(BIA) in November 1983; an investment officer with the Investment Department BIA's
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
Office in August 1988; a senior investment officer with the Investment Department BIA in July 1994; a senior investment officer with the Investment Department BIA, as well as Senior Manager and Corporate Secretary, Audley Insurance Company in September 1996; a Deputy
Director General of Venture Capital and Strategic Investment Department (VSI) BIA in January 2003; an Assistant Managing Director/General Manager with the (Research and Trade Development (RBD), and Venture Capital and Strategic Investment Agency Department in May 2003; a Senior Assistant Managing Director of the Portfolio Asset Management (External Fund Management (EFM), Internal Fund Management Department (IFM) and Venture Capital and Strategic Investment Department (VCSI) BIA in April 2005; a Deputy Permanent Secretary with the Ministry of Finance in June 2006; a
permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance in January 2008; appointed as Deputy Minister of Finance on 29 May 2010.
Ministerial career
The
Sultan of Brunei,
Hassanal Bolkiah consented to the appointment of the new
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
on 22 October 2015, coincided with the announcement of Dato Bahrin as the new Minister of Development and Dato Suhaimi as the Deputy Minister of Development effective 23 October 2015. In addition to receiving courtesy calls from several foreign ministers and ambassadors such as
Masagos Zulkifli
Masagos Zulkifli bin Masagos Mohamad ( Jawi: ماسڬوس ذوالكفل; born 1963) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health since 2020, Minister-in-charge ...
, Vladlen Semivolos and Amphay Kindavong.
On 22 March 2016, he responded to a number of problems and ideas brought up in the adjournment speeches of a number of appointed
Legislative Council (LegCo) members. He believes that the collaboration and contribution of the members' serious views will continue and be improved in the future in order to improve the policies, plans, and execution needed to defend the interests of the nation. He then clarified that the issue at this point in the bid process and its scope unquestionably involves the improvement of
Tutong River
The Tutong River ( ms, Sungai Tutong) is a river in Tutong District, Brunei. It is the second longest of the four main rivers in the country.
Sites
Tutong (town), Tutong Town is one of the largest human settlements in the district in which t ...
's status as required and suitable while responding to queries about the catchment
pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...
s and
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
s of Tutong River for the purpose of
flood prevention
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: #Further reading, Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or ...
.
Dato Bahrin praised Brunei's ongoing dedication to working with international organizations on
land surveying and
geomatics
Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it ...
in his keynote address as the guest of honor at the opening ceremony of the 14th Southeast Asia Survey Congress 2017 on 15 August. On a local level, the minister said that the Survey Department of the Ministry of Development has also developed its own Survey Geoportal, giving users
internet access to Brunei's
geospatial data
Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position).
It is also ca ...
.
The shake-up, which comes barely two years after the previous one in October 2015, was revealed by the Sultan of Brunei, in a live broadcast on 30 January 2018. Deputy Minister Dato Suhaimi has been elevated to succeed him.
Personal life
Dato Bahrin is married to Pengiran Datin Hajah Noorsiah binti Pengiran Hamdan.
Honours
Bahrin has earned the following honours;
*
Order of Setia Negara Brunei
The Most Blessed Order of Setia Negara Brunei ( ms, Darjah Setia Negara Brunei Yang Amat Bahagia), also translated as The Most Blessed Order of Loyalty to the State of Brunei, is an order of Brunei. It was established on 29 November 1959 by Sultan ...
First Class (PSNB) – Dato Seri Setia (15 July 2016)
*
Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei
The Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei ( ms, Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Yang Amat Mulia), also translated as The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Brunei, is an order of Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei D ...
Second Class (DPMB) – Dato Paduka (15 July 2011)
*
Meritorious Service Medal (PJK)
*
Excellent Service Medal (PIKB)
*
Long Service Medal (PKL)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Bahrin
Living people
Government ministers of Brunei
1961 births
Bruneian businesspeople
Bruneian Muslims
Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton
Alumni of the University of Strathclyde