We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
from POLITICAL OUTLOOK
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
Brunei Darussalam
Brunei Darussalam's name — the Abode of Peace — is an apt one, for compared to some other Southeast Asian countries, it represents a model of stability.
The monarchical system is well entrenched, and will continue for the foreseeable future. Neither the current ruler, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan in the lineage, nor the Crown Prince and Deputy Sultan, Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, is in any hurry to change the national political order. The 62-year-old Sultan is relatively young in comparison with other monarchs around the world, and will likely to continue in his position; this is also the desire of his subjects who consider him the peoples' monarch. The father-son team will continue as Prime Minister and Senior Minister, and another member of the royal family, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, is also likely to continue as Foreign Minister.
That there will be some generational change in the political system sometime in the next decade is evinced by the fact that the Crown Prince has assumed a more active and prominent role. For instance, Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah addressed the new session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2008, a task usually undertaken by the Sultan himself or the Foreign Minister. The visit also exposed him to other high-level diplomatic activity including the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, the special Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and dinners hosted by President George W. Bush and the Speaker of the UNGA. Those occasions did not fail to impress television viewers back home, who could see their young prince taking on important tasks of statecraft to equip himself for weighty responsibilities in the future.
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Land Area: 5,770 sq. km.
Population: 381,371
Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
Type of Government: Monarchy
Head of State and Government: Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah
Currency Used: Brunei dollar
US$ exchange rate on 18 November 2008: US$1 = B$1.50
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
