Ali bin Apong

Ali bin Haji Apong (born 19 October 1958) is a Bruneian politician who serves as the Deputy Minister of Development and for the Prime Minister's Office from 2010 until 2015. He later became the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) from 2015 until 2022.

Early life and education Ali Apong is born on 18 August 1958, in Kampong Kuala Abang, Tutong. He graduated from University of Reading with honours degree in Economics and later earned both his postgraduate diploma in Management and Master of Business Administration from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.

Early career He first began his career as an Investment Officer in the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) in 1983, followed by a later appointment to an Assistant Managing Director on 1 September 1997. and later transferred to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with the same position on 24 September 2009.

Ministerial career Ali and Aminuddin Ihsan in the Embassy of Indonesia during the 2022 Eid Al-Fitr celebration. Ali was appointed deputy minister of development in the 2010 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle on 29 May. Later that year, on 18 November, he was reappointed deputy minister in the PMO, until another cabinet reshuffle on 22 October 2015, where it was then announced that he had been reappointed as the first minister for the newly established Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.

Ali Apong had previously stated that sophisticated aquaculture technology employed by international businesses might increase output and encourage self-sufficiency earlier in March 2019. In the previous six years, the aquaculture industry in Brunei has reported a 440 percent rise in output, going from ($3 million) in 2011 to 1,632 tonnes ($17 million) in 2017.

Ali retained his position in the 2018 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle, which replaced six ministers.

By maximising the 1,000 hectares that are currently being actively farmed in Brunei, self-sufficiency can rise to 10% in 2020, according to him. Nine rice fields in Brunei-Muara are supplied with water by the Imang Dam, which has been upgraded and expanded in capacity.

Officials in Bandar Seri Begawan began by halting the coronavirus's spread to the sultanate during the COVID-19 outbreak in Brunei. In January 2020, the ministers of education and health of Brunei, Hamzah Sulaiman, Isham Jaafar, and Ali Apong, minister of primary resources and tourism, held a news conference to announce travel restrictions from China, namely the epicenter of Hubei Province.

In order to better understand the natural ecosystem of Brunei's forests, Ali Apong has urged for ongoing scientific study. The Brunei Darussalam Conference On Forest: Forests And Biodiversity: Unveiling Its Economic Potential, held in connection with the Brunei Mid-Year Conference and Exhibition (MYCE) 2021, included him as the keynote speaker yesterday. He said:

The cabinet reshuffled again on 7 June 2022, his position as the Minister was succeeded by Abdul Manaf Metussin.

Honours Ali has earned the following honours: