The paper was introduced at a soft launch on 1 July 2006; 18 years ago (2006-07-01), at The Mall, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam, and carried the motto 'Fresh Ideas, New Option, Global Vision'.
The new daily, which was available online, aimed to give residents with an extra source of information, and to play a beneficial part in the nation-building process, according to Ahmad Morshidi (Managing Director).
[3] Other investigative sources claim the closure was rooted by complaints from the Saudi embassy to the Sultan of Brunei upon a news report regarding a hike in visa fees for Bruneian pilgrims to Mecca.
The official reasons given by the newspaper were "business issues", "challenges from the alternative media", and problems with "reporting and journalistic standards that should meet the mark set".
[5] The Brunei Times focused on news analysis, features, commentaries, and op-ed articles on local and foreign happenings.