Consumer Protection and the Bruneian Sale of Goods Act 1994: With Special Reference to Quality and Fitness of Goods

Abstract

With a rapidly expanding urbanised population, Brunei Darussalam has ever more demanding consumers. Increased affluence in the country has given birth to a more sophisticated consumer, who not only looks for value for money, but is also attracted by quality and fitness of the goods they purchase. Consumer protection is an essential element of a healthy business ecosystem. Today‟s consumers need to be equipped with high consumerism knowledge and skills in order to become more empowered. Empowered consumers will not be created without the government intervening to protect consumers with adequate legislations. This article aims to examine the Bruneian Sale of Goods Act 1994 in its regime of protecting consumers in a contract of sale of goods by focusing mainly on quality and fitness of such goods. The article adopts a legal library-based research methodology focusing mainly on primary and secondary legal sources. Although the aforementioned Bruneian law continue to protect consumers of goods, the article concludes that there are still some loopholes that manufacturers or retailers tend to abuse. The article recommends that there is a need to completely revamp the Sale of Goods Act 1994 and to come up with a Principal Consumer Protection Act.