BRUNEI DARUSSALAM: COUNTRY PROFILE

3.1.2 POLITICS

Brunei Darussalam practices absolute monarchy who the head of state is the Sultan, he is also assisted and advised by five councils “the religious council, the privy council, the council of cabinet ministers, the legislative council and the council of succession”. It was on the day of independence 1st January 1984 that the sultan of Brunei establishes a national philosophy

Malay Islamic Monarchy (Melayu Islam Beraja, MIB).

“Negara Brunei Darussalam adalah dengan izin serta limpah kurnia Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala akan untuk selama -lamanya kekal menjadi sebuah negara Melayu Islam Beraja yang merdeka, berdaulat dan bedemokratik…”

Ever since the establishment of a national philosophy the country’s direction at development has been accompanied by the core values of MIB, ‘Melayu’ means the essence of values of what it means to be a Malay; loyal to the king, practicing the Malay ‘adat’ . The Malay element however comprises of the 7 ethnic groups that has been immortalized its status under the constitution which are; the Melayu Brunei, Melayu Belait, Melayu Tutong, Melayu Bisaya, Melayu Dusun, Melayu Kedayan and Melayu Murut. Other ethnic groups such as Chinese and Indians are also accepted as citizens.

Islam as the official national religion of Brunei, where recently it has started to practice the Sharia Law, again most of the development is moving towards the approval of either conforming to Islamic values that it practices.

‘Beraja’ means ‘to have a king’; a king who overlooks his people and take cares of their welfare. Brunei does not have a democratic system of elections, the current Sultan holds the position of King, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the supreme commander of the Ministry of Defence and as of 2015 is also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Kuasa memerintah yang tertinggi bagi Neagara Brunei Darussalam adalah terletak di dalam tangan Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan yang Di-

Pertuan”

The above text is taken from the Brunei constitution of 1959 where it states that the power to command and rule the country Brunei Darussalam falls in the hands of the Sultan.

Together as ‘Melayu Islam Beraja’ the state enforces the Malay language as the lingua franca on the daily basis of communication as well any official business relations within the country.

The state has successfully execute its national philosophy by infusing Malay values with Islamic way of life, these two elements profess to abide the king and to be loyal to the country without questioning its legitimacy.

3.1.3 ECONOMY

Brunei’s economy is heavily dependent on the natural resources that it has, that were discovered in 1929 in Seria town. Since then the country’s GDP is contributed with more than half with the exportation of oil and gas. However with the discovery of oil, the country has benefitted and provided its citizens with one of the best living conditions in Asia with “one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia” (Damit, 2014) It is also affected by fluctuating oil prices and competitions from other oil exporting countries and with the current decrease in oil prices the country is moving towards a new national agenda that is aimed at the diversification of the economy through exportation of manufactured goods and services (Country Facts, 2015)

The country has been mobilizing projects and schemes to promote new strategies in diversifying its economy for example the push towards eco-tourism and entrepreneurial skills. It has also concentrated more towards developing its human resources quality according to (Country Facts, 2015) there are shortages in the skilled workforce and that the country has invested in producing more on entrepreneurial, vocational, managerial and The country has been mobilizing projects and schemes to promote new strategies in diversifying its economy for example the push towards eco-tourism and entrepreneurial skills. It has also concentrated more towards developing its human resources quality according to (Country Facts, 2015) there are shortages in the skilled workforce and that the country has invested in producing more on entrepreneurial, vocational, managerial and

global trend towards more organic food” (Hamit, 2015) said the minister of industry and Primary Resources.

3.1.4 CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Brunei is home to approximately 420000 people over a small area of 5,765-sq km. Brunei Darussalam practices the Islamic religion as well as the Malay culture, with Malay being the official medium of communication within the country as well as for official use. Since the enforcement of the national philosophy MIB, the country has advocated the cultural practices and strongly encourage for the people to follow and practice the values of the Malay culture. The term Malay is not exclusive to the Brunei culture only, Malays have a very long history within the Asian region and there are other Malays as well living in other parts of the region, like Singapore and Malaysia. However unlike the Malays in the other countries, Brunei Malay is unique in its expanded definition in the Brunei context. It has been stated before that Brunei consists of seven recognized ethnic groups and of which all are Malays, however this is not true for neighbouring countries like Malaysia where Malays and Bisaya or Murut are of different category and practice different culture. In Brunei context these other ethnic groups have their own cultures but since they are categorized as ‘Malays’ they practice the Malay

culture and values.

The country is also home to other ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Indians and Ibans from neighbouring country Sarawak Malaysia. Although the country emphasises on the Malay culture, globalization with media consumption is unavoidable with variety of popular cultures being adapted by youths. This is also a contributing factor to our main research problem of disappearing ethnic identity.

The Brunei society also emphasises on stratification of people according to statuses as different people are sometimes given ranks by the Sultan while others ranks such as The Brunei society also emphasises on stratification of people according to statuses as different people are sometimes given ranks by the Sultan while others ranks such as