by Hj Md Said Arshad
The Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, through the Ministry of Health, will continue to give its full support towards achieving the aims of the Asean Cosmetics Directive to ensure that cosmetics products available in the market are of good quality, safe and with substantiated claimed benefits.
Awg Yusof bin Amba, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said this at the official opening ceremony of the 5th Asean Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ), Asean Cosmetics Committee (ACC) Meeting and the 4th Asean Cosmetic Science Body Meeting, at The Empire Hotel and Country Club, yesterday morning.
According to Awg Yusof, Brunei Darussalam imports all its cosmetic products and currently His Majesty's Government is in the process of formulating the control of cosmetic products in line with the Asean Cosmetics Directive (ACD).
In preparation for the implementation of ACD, Brunei has participated in all the capacity-building activities which were jointly organised by the EC-Asean Economic Programme on Standards, Quality and Conformity Assessment, which include regional workshops and training in the European Union, he added.
He also disclosed that a preliminary dialogue was held in July 2005 between the Ministry of Health and some major cosmetics importers in Brunei Darussalam with the aim of providing an insight into the Asean Cosmetics Directive requirements and future legislative control of cosmetic products.
Capping off the speech, Awg Yusof said he believed that with the strong commitment, the Asean member countries can achieve the ACC's objectives with tasks that will be implemented by January 1, 2008.
The three-day meeting is attended by delegates from Asean regulatory bodies, representatives from the Asean Cosmetics Association and also major international players in the cosmetics industry and local cosmetics wholesalers. The meeting hosted by Brunei Darussalam hopes to update the Asean Handbook of Cosmetic ingredients, to prepare further training programmes and projects as well as to discuss the implementation of action plans and work programmes relating to ACD.
- Borneo Bulletin
(8th December 2005)
