Sri Lankan Diaspora in Brunei Darussalam
PART IV
ASIA
Brunei Darussalam
Ceylon Rifle Regiment Soldiers
who did garrison duty in
Labuan from 1869–71 and
had connections with Brunei
while touring as members of a
recruiting party in 1846 under
Captain Tranchell.
Private Soldier in
c. 1850.
Introduction
The number of Sri Lankans currently domiciled in
Brunei Darussalam is miniscule when compared to that
of other South Asians from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Nepal. Like their South Asian counterparts, the Sri
Lankans are a transient population in Brunei with little
prospect of becoming permanent residents or citizens
due to the strict immigration laws of Brunei. In 2011,
approximately 150 to 200 Sri Lankan families live and
work throughout the Sultanate. The largest number is
based in and around Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital
city of Brunei, while others live in the Seria-Belait
area, home to the oil industry. Many Sri Lankans are
employed as expatriate officers in the Government
sector, but their number has dwindled when compared
to the 1970s and 1980s. Others are engaged in private
sector work in the construction industry as engineers,
quantity surveyors, or are engaged in minor clerical
work. However, unlike the Indians and Pakistanis
who abound in ubiquitous retail shops, tailoring and
hair dressing occupations etc., not many Sri Lankans
are engaged in unskilled jobs. Unlike in the Middle
East, Sri Lankans are not recruited as housemaids and
domestic helpers due to the Brunei quota system which
favours the import of workers recruited mainly from
other ASEAN countries.
The first sri lankans
There are no special historical links between Brunei
and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) which might have
facilitated migration even on a small-scale during premodern times. The earliest recorded contact between
Sri Lankans and Bruneians occurred in 1856, when
a recruiting party of Sri Lankan Malay soldiers led
by Captain R. Tranchell visited Brunei and Sultan
Omar Ali Saifuddin II helped to enlist prospective
Brunei Malay soldiers to serve in the Ceylon Rifle
Regiment (1798–1873). For two years from 1869 to
1871 a detachment of Sri Lankan Malay soldiers was
stationed in Labuan from where they interacted with
the Brunei Malays from whom they obtained Malay
manuscripts. The earliest reference to a Sri Lankan
actually living in Brunei occurs in a colonial British
report by a former British Consul, M. S. H. McArthur
in 1904 to a Sinhalese who served as a private secretary
to the then Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam (r. 1885–1906),
the twenty-fifth Brunei Sultan. Similarly Sultan Ahmad
Tajuddin (reigned 1929–50) was served by a Burgher
Map 4.XX
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Muara
SABAH
MALAYSIA
Pulau Muara
Besar
South China Sea
Bandar Seri
Begawan
SARAWAK
INDONESIA
Te
i
Sung
Su
n
g
Sung a
Kuala Belait
nd a
ai Pa
elait
ai B
BRUNEI
mbu
r o ng
Bel
ait
rgan
96
ng
ai
SARAWAK
Su
Sri Lankan Malay man with
a child. In a book entitled
Lost cousins: The Malays
of Sri Lanka (1987), B. A.
Hussainmiya writes about the
historical connection between
the Malay archipelago and
Sri Lanka.
0
0
25 kilometres
25 miles
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
EMINENT SRI LANKANS IN BRUNEI
A Sri Lankan medical doctor, S. Sinnathamby, rose to become
the Medical Director General and a nurse, Mrs. S Thurairajah,
who became the head of the nursing services, were both
conferred the ‘Dato’ title, a high state honour awarded by the
Sultan. A Sri Lankan geographer, Dr. K. U. Sri Nanda became the
founding Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences when
the University of Brunei Darussalam was established in late
1985. A Sri Lankan journalist of fame, Mr. Rex de Silva continues
to serve the chief editor of the country’s oldest English medium
daily newspaper, The Borneo Bulletin since 1990. Another Sri
Lankan, B. A. Hussainmiya, wrote several pioneering books
on the history of Brunei Darussalam, including a political
biography of the present Sultan’s father titled “Sultan Omar
Ali Saifuddin III and Britain: The Making of Brunei Darussalam”
published by the Oxford University Press in 1995.
from Sri Lanka named Mr. Miranda. Following the
migration of Sri Lankan Burghers to Australia, the Sri
Lankan Malays too tried to migrate to Brunei in the
1960s, but the proposal did not find favour with the
British officials who were largely controlling the Brunei
Government administration at the time.
Developments From The 1950s
Workers of Sri Lankan origin began to trickle into the
Sultanate in the 1950s and during the following decade,
the number of Sri Lankan professionals steadily grew
especially in the education, health, telecommunications
sectors and the public works department. Their
number saw a steady increase since early 1960s when
Malaysian expatriates left Brunei following political
tensions between the two countries after Brunei
refused to join the Malaysian Federation in 1963.
Sri Lankans made a good a name for themselves in
their respective occupations and some rose to higher
positions in their respective professions. The services
of teachers like Tuan Bahar, K. C. Thangarajah, Tuan
‘Tuna’ Saldin and others are still fondly remembered
Portrait picture of Mr Rex
de Silva.
Sri Lankan Scholar Associate Professor B. A. Hussainmiya is awarded a high State honour of 4 Star
(PSB) medal for his contributions to Brunei historiography by the Brunei Sultan HM Haji Hassanal
Bolkiah during his 61st Birthday celebrations in 2007 at his palace, Istana Nurul Iman.
by their students who have now come to occupy higher
echelons of Brunei bureaucracy. Sri Lankan engineers
were particularly conspicuous in the Public Works
Department and in the telecommunications and health
sector. Lately there are about 10 Sri Lankan academics
serving in the University of Brunei Darussalam, some
of whom hold senior administrative positions.
The Sri Lankan Association Of Brunei
Darussalam
In 1968 Sri Lankans in Brunei formed their first
association which is known as the Sri Lankan
Association of Brunei Darussalam (SLABD). In 2011,
the organisation, led by Ahmed Mackie, a surgeon
attached to the main Brunei hospital, had more than
100 members. The Association is a focus point of Sri
Lankan national activities and recreation in Brunei
Darussalam. They hold periodical cultural shows and
welfare activities and interact closely with other similar
ethnic or national associations functioning in Brunei
Darussalam.
Sri Lankan Association of
Brunei.
B. A. Hussainmiya
Newspaper article featured
in the Borneo Bulletin on
26 September 2011. Members
of the Sri Lankan Association
in Brunei took part in a beach
cleanup and the campaign
hoped to forge closer relations
between all members of the
Sri Lankan community
residing in Belait district and
Brunei-Muara district.
97
ASIA
Brunei Darussalam
Ceylon Rifle Regiment Soldiers
who did garrison duty in
Labuan from 1869–71 and
had connections with Brunei
while touring as members of a
recruiting party in 1846 under
Captain Tranchell.
Private Soldier in
c. 1850.
Introduction
The number of Sri Lankans currently domiciled in
Brunei Darussalam is miniscule when compared to that
of other South Asians from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Nepal. Like their South Asian counterparts, the Sri
Lankans are a transient population in Brunei with little
prospect of becoming permanent residents or citizens
due to the strict immigration laws of Brunei. In 2011,
approximately 150 to 200 Sri Lankan families live and
work throughout the Sultanate. The largest number is
based in and around Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital
city of Brunei, while others live in the Seria-Belait
area, home to the oil industry. Many Sri Lankans are
employed as expatriate officers in the Government
sector, but their number has dwindled when compared
to the 1970s and 1980s. Others are engaged in private
sector work in the construction industry as engineers,
quantity surveyors, or are engaged in minor clerical
work. However, unlike the Indians and Pakistanis
who abound in ubiquitous retail shops, tailoring and
hair dressing occupations etc., not many Sri Lankans
are engaged in unskilled jobs. Unlike in the Middle
East, Sri Lankans are not recruited as housemaids and
domestic helpers due to the Brunei quota system which
favours the import of workers recruited mainly from
other ASEAN countries.
The first sri lankans
There are no special historical links between Brunei
and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) which might have
facilitated migration even on a small-scale during premodern times. The earliest recorded contact between
Sri Lankans and Bruneians occurred in 1856, when
a recruiting party of Sri Lankan Malay soldiers led
by Captain R. Tranchell visited Brunei and Sultan
Omar Ali Saifuddin II helped to enlist prospective
Brunei Malay soldiers to serve in the Ceylon Rifle
Regiment (1798–1873). For two years from 1869 to
1871 a detachment of Sri Lankan Malay soldiers was
stationed in Labuan from where they interacted with
the Brunei Malays from whom they obtained Malay
manuscripts. The earliest reference to a Sri Lankan
actually living in Brunei occurs in a colonial British
report by a former British Consul, M. S. H. McArthur
in 1904 to a Sinhalese who served as a private secretary
to the then Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam (r. 1885–1906),
the twenty-fifth Brunei Sultan. Similarly Sultan Ahmad
Tajuddin (reigned 1929–50) was served by a Burgher
Map 4.XX
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Muara
SABAH
MALAYSIA
Pulau Muara
Besar
South China Sea
Bandar Seri
Begawan
SARAWAK
INDONESIA
Te
i
Sung
Su
n
g
Sung a
Kuala Belait
nd a
ai Pa
elait
ai B
BRUNEI
mbu
r o ng
Bel
ait
rgan
96
ng
ai
SARAWAK
Su
Sri Lankan Malay man with
a child. In a book entitled
Lost cousins: The Malays
of Sri Lanka (1987), B. A.
Hussainmiya writes about the
historical connection between
the Malay archipelago and
Sri Lanka.
0
0
25 kilometres
25 miles
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
EMINENT SRI LANKANS IN BRUNEI
A Sri Lankan medical doctor, S. Sinnathamby, rose to become
the Medical Director General and a nurse, Mrs. S Thurairajah,
who became the head of the nursing services, were both
conferred the ‘Dato’ title, a high state honour awarded by the
Sultan. A Sri Lankan geographer, Dr. K. U. Sri Nanda became the
founding Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences when
the University of Brunei Darussalam was established in late
1985. A Sri Lankan journalist of fame, Mr. Rex de Silva continues
to serve the chief editor of the country’s oldest English medium
daily newspaper, The Borneo Bulletin since 1990. Another Sri
Lankan, B. A. Hussainmiya, wrote several pioneering books
on the history of Brunei Darussalam, including a political
biography of the present Sultan’s father titled “Sultan Omar
Ali Saifuddin III and Britain: The Making of Brunei Darussalam”
published by the Oxford University Press in 1995.
from Sri Lanka named Mr. Miranda. Following the
migration of Sri Lankan Burghers to Australia, the Sri
Lankan Malays too tried to migrate to Brunei in the
1960s, but the proposal did not find favour with the
British officials who were largely controlling the Brunei
Government administration at the time.
Developments From The 1950s
Workers of Sri Lankan origin began to trickle into the
Sultanate in the 1950s and during the following decade,
the number of Sri Lankan professionals steadily grew
especially in the education, health, telecommunications
sectors and the public works department. Their
number saw a steady increase since early 1960s when
Malaysian expatriates left Brunei following political
tensions between the two countries after Brunei
refused to join the Malaysian Federation in 1963.
Sri Lankans made a good a name for themselves in
their respective occupations and some rose to higher
positions in their respective professions. The services
of teachers like Tuan Bahar, K. C. Thangarajah, Tuan
‘Tuna’ Saldin and others are still fondly remembered
Portrait picture of Mr Rex
de Silva.
Sri Lankan Scholar Associate Professor B. A. Hussainmiya is awarded a high State honour of 4 Star
(PSB) medal for his contributions to Brunei historiography by the Brunei Sultan HM Haji Hassanal
Bolkiah during his 61st Birthday celebrations in 2007 at his palace, Istana Nurul Iman.
by their students who have now come to occupy higher
echelons of Brunei bureaucracy. Sri Lankan engineers
were particularly conspicuous in the Public Works
Department and in the telecommunications and health
sector. Lately there are about 10 Sri Lankan academics
serving in the University of Brunei Darussalam, some
of whom hold senior administrative positions.
The Sri Lankan Association Of Brunei
Darussalam
In 1968 Sri Lankans in Brunei formed their first
association which is known as the Sri Lankan
Association of Brunei Darussalam (SLABD). In 2011,
the organisation, led by Ahmed Mackie, a surgeon
attached to the main Brunei hospital, had more than
100 members. The Association is a focus point of Sri
Lankan national activities and recreation in Brunei
Darussalam. They hold periodical cultural shows and
welfare activities and interact closely with other similar
ethnic or national associations functioning in Brunei
Darussalam.
Sri Lankan Association of
Brunei.
B. A. Hussainmiya
Newspaper article featured
in the Borneo Bulletin on
26 September 2011. Members
of the Sri Lankan Association
in Brunei took part in a beach
cleanup and the campaign
hoped to forge closer relations
between all members of the
Sri Lankan community
residing in Belait district and
Brunei-Muara district.
97