Brunei

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Brunei Darussalam

 Negara Brunei Darussalam (Malay)

 ‫نݢارا بروني دارالسالم‬ (Jawi script)

Flag

Emblem

Motto: 

 ‫الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى‬

 Ad-dāʾimūna al-muḥsinūna bi-l-hudā

 ("Sentiasa membuat kebajikan dengan

petunjuk Allah")

 "Always in service with God's guidance"

Anthem: 

 Allah Peliharakan Sultan

 ‫ﷲ ڤليهاراکن سلطان‬
  "God Bless the Sultan"

1:05

Show globe Show map of Southeast Asia

Show all

Location of Brunei (green)

in the ASEAN (dark grey)  –  [Legend]

Capital Bandar Seri Begawan

4°53.417′N 114°56.533′E
and largest city

Official language Malay[1]

and national
language

Other languages  Brunei Malay

and local dialects[3][4]
 Tutong

 Kedayan

 Belait

 Chinese (Hokkien, Hakk
a Chinese, Standard
Chinese and Cantonese
)

 Indigenous languages
  Murut

 Dusun

 Brunei Bisaya

Official scripts  Malay alphabet

 Jawi alphabet[2]

Ethnic groups   70% Malays

(2021)[5]  9.6% Chinese

 20.4% others

Religion   80.9% Sunni
Islam (official)
(2016)[5]
 7.1% Christianity

 7% Buddhist

 5% other (includes
indigenous beliefs)

Demonym(s) Bruneian

Government Unitary Islamic absolute
monarchy

• Sultan and Prime Hassanal Bolkiah

Minister

• Crown Prince and Al-Muhtadee Billah

Senior Minister

Legislature none[a]

Formation

• Creation of the c. 1368

Sultanate

• Old Brunei 15th–19th century

• British protected 17 September 1888

state

• Japanese 1941–1945
occupation

• Independence fro 1 January 1984

m
the United Kingdom

• ASEAN Declaration 7 January 1984

Area

• Total 5,765 km2 (2,226 sq mi) (164th)

• Water (%) 8.6

Population

• 2020 estimate 460,345[9] (175th)

• 2016 census 417,256

• Density 72.11/km2 (186.8/sq mi)
(134th)

GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate

• Total  $33.389 billion[10] (125th)

• Per capita  $74,952[10] (5th)

GDP (nominal) 2022 estimate

• Total  $35.555 billion[10] (124th)

• Per capita  $79,816[10] (29th)

HDI (2019)  0.838[11]
very high · 47th

Currency Brunei dollar (BND)

Time zone UTC+8 (Brunei Darussalam

Time)
 Driving side left

Calling code +673[c]

ISO 3166 code BN

Internet TLD .bn[12]

a. ^ Also 080 from East Malaysia.

Brunei (/bruːˈnaɪ/ ( listen) broo-NY, Malay: [brunaɪ] ( listen)), formally Brunei

Darussalam[b] (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: ‫نݢارا بروني دارالسالم‬, lit. 'Nation of Brunei,
the Abode of Peace'[15]), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is
separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely
on Borneo; the remainder of the island is divided between Malaysia and Indonesia. As of 2020, its
population was 460,345,[9] of whom about 100,000 live in the capital and largest city, Bandar Seri
Begawan. The government is an absolute monarchy ruled by its Sultan, entitled the Yang di-Pertuan, and
implements a combination of English common law and sharia law, as well as general Islamic practices.

At the peak of the Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485–1528) is claimed to have had control
over most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu
Archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. Claims also
state that they had control over Seludong (or the Kingdom of Maynila, where the modern-day Philippine
capital Manila now stands) but Southeast Asian scholars believe this refers to a settlement Mount
Selurong in Indonesia.[16] The maritime state of Brunei was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in
1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castilian War.

During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak (Kuching)
to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo
Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British
resident as colonial manager in 1906. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new
constitution was written. In 1962, a small armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the
help of the British.

Brunei has been led by the Sultanate of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah since 1967, and had gained its
independence as a British protectorate on 1 January 1984. The country is an autocratic absolute
monarchy. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to
2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from extensive
petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among
the Southeast Asian nations, after Singapore, and is classified as a developed country. According to
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per
capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated in 2011 that Brunei was one of two countries (the
other being Libya) with a public debt at 0% of the national GDP. [17]
Contents

 1Etymology

 2History

o 2.1Early history

o 2.2War with Spain and decline

o 2.3British intervention

o 2.4Discovery of oil

o 2.5Japanese occupation

o 2.6Post-World War II

o 2.7Writing of the Constitution

o 2.8National development plans

o 2.9Independence

o 2.1021st century

 3Geography

 4Politics and government

o 4.1Foreign relations

o 4.2Defence

o 4.3Administrative divisions

 5Legal system

o 5.1Women and children

o 5.2LGBT rights

o 5.3Religious rights

o 5.4Animal rights

 6Economy

 7Infrastructure

o 7.1Banking

 8Demographics
 o 8.1Religion

o 8.2Languages

 9Culture

o 9.1Media

o 9.2Sport

 10See also

 11Notes

 12References

 13External links

Etymology

According to local historiography, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar, later to be Sultan
Muhammad Shah, reigning around AD 1400. He moved from Garang in the Temburong District[18] to
the Brunei River estuary, discovering Brunei. According to legend, upon landing he exclaimed, Baru
nah (loosely translated as "that's it!" or "there"), from which the name "Brunei" was derived. [19] He was
the first Muslim ruler of Brunei.[20] Before the rise of the Bruneian Empire under the Muslim Bolkiah
Dynasty, Brunei is believed to have been under Buddhist rulers. [21]

It was renamed "Barunai" in the 14th century, possibly influenced by the Sanskrit word "varuṇ" (वरुण),
meaning "seafarers".[22] The word "Borneo" is of the same origin. In the country's full name, Negara
Brunei Darussalam, darussalam (Arabic: ‫ )دار السالم‬means "abode of peace", while negara means
"country" in Malay. A shortened version of the Malay official name, "Brunei Darussalam", has also
entered common usage, particularly in official contexts, and is present in the United Nations Group of
Experts on Geographical Names geographical database,[23] as well as the official ASEAN[24] and
Commonwealth[25] listings.

The earliest recorded documentation by the West about Brunei is by an Italian known as Ludovico di
Varthema. On his documentation back to 1550;

We arrived at the island of Bornei  (Brunei or Borneo),  which is distant from the Maluch about two
hundred miles [three hundred kilometres], and we found that it was somewhat larger than the aforesaid
and much lower. The people are pagans and are men of goodwill. Their colour is whiter than that of the
other sort ... in this island justice is well administered ...[26]

History

Main article:  History of Brunei

Early history
The tomb of a ruler of Boni in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

The settlement known as Vijayapura was a vassal-state to the Buddhist Srivijaya empire and was thought
to be located in Borneo's Northwest which flourished in the 7th Century. [27] This alternate Srivijaya
referring to Brunei, was known to Arabic sources as "Sribuza". [28] The Arabic author Al Ya'akubi writing in
800 recorded that the kingdom of Musa (Muja, which is old Brunei) was in alliance with the kingdom of
Mayd (Either Ma-i or Madja-as in the Philippines), against the Chinese Empire which they waged war
against.[29] In the aftermath of the Indian Chola invasion of Srivijaya, Datu Puti lead some dissident datus
from Sumatra and Borneo in a rebellion against Rajah Makatunao who was a Chola appointed local
Rajah or the descendant of Seri Maharajah (In Chinese records). The dissidents and their retinue tried to
revive Srivijaya in a new country called Madja-as in the Visayas (an island archipelago named after
Srivijaya) in the Philippines. After the 10 Datus established many towns in Panay and Southern Luzon,
according to Augustinian Friar Rev. Fr. Santaren recording in the Spanish era of this Pre-Spanish
legendary history, that Datu Macatunao or Rajah Makatunao who was the "sultan of the Moros," and a
relative of Datu Puti who seized the properties and riches of the ten datus was eventually killed by the
warriors named Labaodungon and Paybare, after learning of this injustice from their father-in-law
Paiburong, sailed to Odtojan in Borneo where Makatunaw ruled. The warriors sacked the city, killed
Makatunaw and his family, retrieved the stolen properties of the 10 datus, enslaved the remaining
population of Odtojan, and sailed back to Panay. Labaw Donggon and his wife, Ojaytanayon, later settled
in a place called Moroboro.[30] One of the earliest Chinese records of an independent kingdom in Borneo
is the 977 AD letter to the Chinese emperor from the ruler of Boni, which some scholars believe to refer
to Borneo.[31] The Bruneians regained their independence from Srivijaya due to the onset of a Javanese-
Sumatran war.[32] In 1225, the Chinese official Zhao Rukuo reported that Boni had 100 warships to
protect its trade, and that there was great wealth in the kingdom. [33] Marco Polo suggested in his
memoirs that the Great Khan or the ruler of the Mongol Empire, attempted and failed many times in
invading "Great Java" which was the European name for Bruneian controlled Borneo. [34][additional citation(s)
needed]
 In the 1300s the Chinese annals, Nanhai zhi, reported that Brunei invaded or
administered Sarawak and Sabah as well as the Philippine kingdoms of Butuan, Sulu, Ma-i (Mindoro),
Malilu 麻裏蘆 (present-day Manila), Shahuchong 沙胡重 (present-day Siocon), Yachen 啞陳 (Oton), and
文杜陵 Wenduling (present-day Mindanao),[35] which would regain their independence at a later date. [36]

In the 14th century, the Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama, written by Prapanca in 1365,

mentioned Barune as the constituent state of Hindu Majapahit,[37] which had to make an
annual tribute of 40 katis of camphor. In 1369, Sulu which was also formerly part of Majapahit, had
successfully rebelled and then attacked Boni, and had invaded the Northeast Coast of Borneo [38] and
afterwards had looted the capital of its treasure and gold including sacking two sacred pearls. A fleet
from Majapahit succeeded in driving away the Sulus, but Boni was left weaker after the attack. [39] A
Chinese report from 1371 described Boni as poor and totally controlled by Majapahit. [40]

During the 15th century, Boni had seceded from Majapahit and then converted to Islam. Thus
transforming into the independent Sultanate of Brunei. Brunei became a Hashemite state when she
allowed the Arab Emir of Mecca, Sharif Ali, to become her third sultan. Scholars claim that the power of
the Sultanate of Brunei was at its peak between the 15th and 17th centuries, with its power extending
from northern Borneo to the southern Philippines (Sulu) and even in the northern Philippines (Manila)
which Brunei incorporated via territorial acquisition accomplished through royal marriages. [41] For
political reasons, the historical rulers of Maynila maintained close cognatic ties through intermarriage
with the ruling houses of the Sultanate of Brunei, but Brunei's political influence over Maynila is not
considered to have extended to military or political rule. [42] Intermarriage was a common strategy for
large thalassocratic states (maritime states) such as Brunei to extend their influence, and for local rulers
such as those of Maynila to help strengthen their family claims to nobility. [43] Sultan Bolkiah had
extended Brunei's power to its greatest extent when it conquered Manila and Sulu as he even
attempted but failed to conquer the Visayas islands even though Sultan Bolkiah was half-Visayan himself
being descended from a Visayan mother and he was famously known as Sultan Ragam "The Singing
Captain", his powerful musical voice was a trait he inherited from his Visayan lineage since Visayans
were culturally obsessed with singing, with the best Visayan singers often also being members of their
warrior castes too.[44] However, Islamic Brunei's power was not uncontested in Borneo since it had a
Hindu rival in a state founded by Indians called Kutai in the south which they overpowered but didn't
destroy. Brunei's dominance in the Philippines was also challenged by two Indianized kingdoms, the
Rajahanates of Cebu and Butuan which were also coincidentally allied with Kutai and were also at war
with Brunei's dependencies; Sulu and Manila as well as their mutual ally, the Sultanate of Maguindanao.
The Kedatuans of Madja-as and Dapitan were also belligerent against Brunei due to them being the
targets of constant Muslim attacks organized from Maguindanao and Ternate, a Papuan speaking state
in the vicinity of Oceania that grew wealthy by monopolizing spice production. Nevertheless, by the 16th
century, Islam was firmly rooted in Brunei, and the country had built one of its biggest mosques. In
1578, Alonso Beltrán, a Spanish traveller, described it as being five stories tall and built on the water. [45]

War with Spain and decline

Brunei territorial losses from 1400 to 1890

Brunei briefly rose to prominence in Southeast Asia when the Portuguese occupied Malacca and thereby
forced the wealthy and powerful but displaced Muslim refugees there to relocate to nearby Sultanates
such as Aceh and Brunei. The Bruneian Sultan then intervened in a territorial conflict between Hindu
Tondo and Muslim Manila in the Philippines by appointing the Bruneian descended Rajah Ache of
Manila as admiral of the Bruneian navy in a rivalry against Tondo and as the enforcer of Bruneian
interests in the Philippines. He subsequently encountered the Magellan expedition [46] wherein Antonio
Pigafetta noted that under orders from his grandfather the Sultan of Brunei, Ache had previously sacked
the Buddhist city of Loue in Southwest Borneo for being faithful to the old religion and rebelling against
the authority of Sultanate.[47] However, European influence gradually brought an end to Brunei's regional
power, as Brunei entered a period of decline compounded by internal strife over royal succession. In the
face of these invasions by European Christian powers, the Ottoman Caliphate aided the beleaguered
Southeast Asian Sultanates by making Aceh a protectorate and sending expeditions to reinforce, train
and equip the local mujahideen.[48] Turks were routinely migrating to Brunei as evidenced by the
complaints of Manila Oidor Melchor Davalos who in his 1585 report, say that Turks were coming to
Sumatra, Borneo and Ternate every year, including defeated veterans from the Battle of Lepanto.[49] The
presence of Turks assisting Brunei against Habsburg Spain, makes the subsequent Castille War a part of
the Ottoman–Habsburg wars.

Spain declared war in 1578, planning to attack and capture Kota Batu, Brunei's capital at the time. This
was based in part on the assistance of two Bruneian noblemen, Pengiran Seri Lela and Pengiran Seri
Ratna. The former had travelled to Manila, then the centre of the Spanish colony. Manila itself was
captured from Brunei, Christianised and made a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain which was
centered in Mexico City. Pengiran Seri Lela came to offer Brunei as a tributary to Spain for help to
recover the throne usurped by his brother, Saiful Rijal. [50] The Spanish agreed that if they succeeded in
conquering Brunei, Pengiran Seri Lela would be appointed as the sultan, while Pengiran Seri Ratna
would be the new Bendahara.

Boundaries of Brunei (green) since 1890

In March 1578, a fresh Spanish fleet had arrived from Mexico and settled at the Philippines, they were
led by De Sande, acting as Capitán-General, he organised an expedition from Manila for Brunei. The
expedition consisted of 400 Spaniards and Mexicans, 1,500 Filipino natives and 300 Borneans.[51] The
campaign was one of many, which also included action in Mindanao and Sulu.[52][53] The racial make-up of
the Christian side was diverse since it were usually made up of Mestizos, Mulattoes and Amerindians
(Aztecs, Mayans and Incans) who were gathered and sent from Mexico and were led by Spanish officers
who had worked together with native Filipinos in military campaigns across the Southeast Asia. [54] The
Muslim side though was also equally racially diverse. In addition to the native Malay warriors, the
Ottomans had repeatedly sent military expeditions to nearby Aceh. The expeditions were composed
mainly of Turks, Egyptians, Swahilis, Somalis, Sindhis, Gujaratis and Malabars.[55] These expeditionary
forces had also spread to other nearby Sultanates such as Brunei and had taught new fighting tactics and
techniques on how to forge cannons.[56]

Eventually, the Spanish invaded the capital on 16 April 1578, with the help of Pengiran Seri Lela and
Pengiran Seri Ratna, burning towns and raping populations. The Sultan Saiful Rijal and Paduka Seri
Begawan Sultan Abdul Kahar were forced to flee to Meragang then to Jerudong. In Jerudong, they made
plans to chase the conquering army away from Brunei. Suffering high fatalities due to
a cholera or dysentery outbreak,[57][58] the Spanish decided to abandon Brunei and returned to Manila on
26 June 1578, after 72 days. Before doing so, they burned the mosque, a high structure with a five-tier
roof.[59]

Pengiran Seri Lela died in August or September 1578, probably from the same illness suffered by his
Spanish allies.[citation needed] There was suspicion that the legitimist sultan could have been poisoned by the
ruling sultan.[citation needed] Seri Lela's daughter, a Bruneian princess, "Putri", had left with the Spanish, she
abandoned her claim to the crown and then she married a Christian Tagalog, named Agustín de Legazpi
de Tondo.[60] Agustin de Legaspi along with his family and associates were soon implicated in
the Conspiracy of the Maharlikas, an attempt by Filipinos to link up with the Brunei Sultanate and
Japanese Shogunate to expel the Spaniards from the Philippines. [61] However, upon the Spanish
suppression of the conspiracy, the Bruneian descended aristocracy of precolonial Manila were exiled
to Guerrero, Mexico which consequently later became a center of the Mexican war of independence
against Spain.[62][63]

The local Brunei accounts[64] of the Castilian War differ greatly from the generally accepted view of
events. What was called the Castilian War was seen as a heroic episode, with the Spaniards being driven
out by Bendahara Sakam, purportedly a brother of the ruling sultan, and a thousand native warriors.
Most historians consider this to be a folk-hero account, which probably developed decades or centuries
after.[65]

Brunei eventually descended into anarchy. The country suffered a civil war from 1660 to 1673.