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1. Bolkiah Dynasty in Brunei
- The Bolkiah Dynasty is one of the world's oldest dynasties
- Since 1368 Brunei has had 30 Sultans
- The first Sultan was Muhammad Shah, who established the Sultanate and reigned in 1368-1402
- Hussin Kamaluddin reigned twice, in 1710-1730 and 1737-1740
- Only the 14th wasn't from the House of Bolkiah
- The 14th Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin killed his predecessor and thus started the civil war
- Abdul Hakkul Mubin ruled in 1660-1673, he was killed and followed as Sultan by Muhyiddin from the House of Bolkiah
- Brunei is the last of the several small Sultanates in Southeast Asia that still survives until this day
- The full title of the Sultan is "His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam"
- It's not certain if the House of Bolkiah was named after the current Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah or the 5th Sultan Bolkiah
- Brunei is one of the only 7 absolute monarchies in the world
- Currently the only absolute monarchies in the world are Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Vatican City and the United Arab Emirates
2. White Rajahs of the Sarawak Kingdom
- White Rajahs of Brunei were a dynastic monarchy of the English Brooke family
- James Brooke founded and ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak
- Six members of the Brooke family ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak between 1841-1946
- In 1841 James Brooke was granted a landmass in Sarawak as a reward for helping the Sultanate of Brunei fight piracy and insurgency among the indigenous people
- The landmass received independent kingdom status and James Brook was confirmed with the title of Rajah of the territory
- The Brooke administration leased or annexed more land from Brunei
- The Kingdom of Sarawak grew and developed during the first two Rajahs occupying much of the north region of the island of Borneo
- The second Rajah encouraged the migration of Chinese workers from China and Singapore to work in the agricultural fields of Sarawak
- Sarawak emerged as one of the world's major producers of black pepper, in addition to oil and the introduction of rubber plantations
- Sarawak and Borneo were occupied by Japan during World War II
- After World War II the Kingdom of Sarawak was ceded to Great Britain as a Crown Colony in 1946
1. Bolkiah Dynasty in Brunei
- The Bolkiah Dynasty is one of the world's oldest dynasties
- Since 1368 Brunei has had 30 Sultans
- The first Sultan was Muhammad Shah, who established the Sultanate and reigned in 1368-1402
- Hussin Kamaluddin reigned twice, in 1710-1730 and 1737-1740
- Only the 14th wasn't from the House of Bolkiah
- The 14th Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin killed his predecessor and thus started the civil war
- Abdul Hakkul Mubin ruled in 1660-1673, he was killed and followed as Sultan by Muhyiddin from the House of Bolkiah
- Brunei is the last of the several small Sultanates in Southeast Asia that still survives until this day
- The full title of the Sultan is "His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam"
- It's not certain if the House of Bolkiah was named after the current Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah or the 5th Sultan Bolkiah
- Brunei is one of the only 7 absolute monarchies in the world
- Currently the only absolute monarchies in the world are Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Vatican City and the United Arab Emirates
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| Personal Emblem of the Sultan of Brunei |
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| Monarchies around the world |
2. White Rajahs of the Sarawak Kingdom
- White Rajahs of Brunei were a dynastic monarchy of the English Brooke family
- James Brooke founded and ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak
- Six members of the Brooke family ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak between 1841-1946
- In 1841 James Brooke was granted a landmass in Sarawak as a reward for helping the Sultanate of Brunei fight piracy and insurgency among the indigenous people
- The landmass received independent kingdom status and James Brook was confirmed with the title of Rajah of the territory
- The Brooke administration leased or annexed more land from Brunei
- The Kingdom of Sarawak grew and developed during the first two Rajahs occupying much of the north region of the island of Borneo
- The second Rajah encouraged the migration of Chinese workers from China and Singapore to work in the agricultural fields of Sarawak
- Sarawak emerged as one of the world's major producers of black pepper, in addition to oil and the introduction of rubber plantations
- Sarawak and Borneo were occupied by Japan during World War II
- After World War II the Kingdom of Sarawak was ceded to Great Britain as a Crown Colony in 1946
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| James Brooke |
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| Kingdom of Sarawak map |
3. Only Elections in Brunei in 1962
In 1962 the only parliament elections in Brunei were held. The elections were won by the leftist Brunei People's Party, which opposed the authoritarian Sultan and favored joining the North Borneo Federation. The result of the elections was invalidated, which led into an uprising. The Sultan managed to suppress the uprising, the constitution was invalidated too and the country was declared to be in martial law. Opposition leader Yasin Affandy was imprisoned for 10 years without a trial. The revolt influenced the Sultan's decision of not joining Malaysia in 1963. This incident is seen as one of the first stages of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, which ended in 1966 when Indonesia finally accepted the formation of Malaysia.
In 1962 the only parliament elections in Brunei were held. The elections were won by the leftist Brunei People's Party, which opposed the authoritarian Sultan and favored joining the North Borneo Federation. The result of the elections was invalidated, which led into an uprising. The Sultan managed to suppress the uprising, the constitution was invalidated too and the country was declared to be in martial law. Opposition leader Yasin Affandy was imprisoned for 10 years without a trial. The revolt influenced the Sultan's decision of not joining Malaysia in 1963. This incident is seen as one of the first stages of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, which ended in 1966 when Indonesia finally accepted the formation of Malaysia.
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| Brunei Revolt 1962-1963 |
4. Living Conditions in Brunei
- The government of Brunei ensures the citizens a free and high-class healthcare, free education, full employment of the population, fair pensions
- There's no income tax in Brunei
- The small country finances its welfare by oil revenues
- There will be potentially problems when the oil reserves of Brunei will end in a couple of decades
- Brunei is the only country in the world with a public debt of 0%
- Brunei's wealth has allured migrant workers especially from the Philippines and Indonesia, who form over one third of the work force
- Migrant workers don't get their share of the welfare, education and other benefits as the Bruneians
- Brunei has sharia law so it's banned to sell and consume alcohol
- The death penalty is still used for many crimes, because of the sharia law
- Non-Muslims are allowed to take a certain amount of alcohol from their point of embarcation overseas, but only for their own private consumption
- The government of Brunei ensures the citizens a free and high-class healthcare, free education, full employment of the population, fair pensions
- There's no income tax in Brunei
- The small country finances its welfare by oil revenues
- There will be potentially problems when the oil reserves of Brunei will end in a couple of decades
- Brunei is the only country in the world with a public debt of 0%
- Brunei's wealth has allured migrant workers especially from the Philippines and Indonesia, who form over one third of the work force
- Migrant workers don't get their share of the welfare, education and other benefits as the Bruneians
- Brunei has sharia law so it's banned to sell and consume alcohol
- The death penalty is still used for many crimes, because of the sharia law
- Non-Muslims are allowed to take a certain amount of alcohol from their point of embarcation overseas, but only for their own private consumption
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| Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque |
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| Brunei exports map 2012 |
5. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei
- The 29th Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967
- Hassanal Bolkiah's father abdicated in 1967 and Hassanal's coronation was held in 1968
- The 1st Prime Minister of Brunei since 1984
- Minister of Finance since 1984
- Minister of Defense and Commander in Chief of Royal Brunei Armed Forces since 1986
- Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei since 2015
- The Sultan is also the religious leader of the country
- During his rule Brunei gained independence from Great Britain in 1984
- Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah appoints the parliament and picks the other members of the government from his family
- There are no parties and the law inforcement is dependent on the Sultan's will
- Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was estimated to have a peak net worth of 20 billion USD in 2008 by Forbes
- In 2016 after the death of Thai King, the Sultan is the wealthiest monarch in the world
- As of 2012 Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has five sons and seven daughters with his three wives
- He also has 11 grandchildren
- The Sultan's primary residence, the 1800-room palace Istana Nurul Iman is considered the world's largest private residence
- The Sultan is passionate about cars, he has over 100 cars in the underground garage of his palace
- The Sultan's brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah used billions in different indulgences and landed him in trouble and the royal family in a financial crisis
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| Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah |
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| Istana Nurul Iman |
Timeline
1300s Brunei was part of the Majapahit Empire
1368 Sultanate of Brunei was created
1521 Portuguese navigator Fernao de Magalhaes was the first European in Brunei
1660-1673 Civil war in Brunei
1700s Dutch East Indies Company ruled islands in Southeast Asia including the southern parts of Borneo
1841 James Brooke was granted a landmass of Sarawak and received independent kingdom status after helping the Sultanate of Brunei fight piracy and insurgency among the indigenous people
1846 The British attacked Brunei due to internal conflicts over who was the rightful Sultan
1888 Brunei became a British Protectorate
1890 The Kingdom of Sarawak annexed Brunei's Pandaruan District and this led Brunei to its current borders
1906 Brunei's administration was reformed and British advisors were sent to help the sultan
1929 Petroleom was discovered in Brunei
1941 The Japanese occupied Brunei in World War II
1945 Japanese occupation ended
1959 A new constitution was written declaring Brunei a self-governing state
1962 A rebellion against the monarchy erupted, which was suppressed with the help of the British
1963 Unlike Sarawak and Sabah, Brunei didn't join Malaysia
1945 Japanese occupation ended
1959 A new constitution was written declaring Brunei a self-governing state
1962 A rebellion against the monarchy erupted, which was suppressed with the help of the British
1963 Unlike Sarawak and Sabah, Brunei didn't join Malaysia
1967 Sir Muda Hassanal Bolkiah ascended into the throne
1984 Brunei got independence from Great Britain
1984 Brunei got independence from Great Britain
2013 Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced his intention to impose Sharia law on Brunei's Muslim population
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