Geography
In The
News™
Neal Lineback
and Mandy Lineback Gritzner
SULTAN OF
BRUNEI
in the 16th century, followed by waves of
Christian influence from the Spanish (in
the Philippines) and the British.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries,
Brunei was a powerful country, controlling most of the island of Borneo and the
southern islands of the Philippines. By the
mid-1800s, Brunei’s influence declined
and the British negotiated protectorate
status for the country. In 1905, the British
declared Brunei’s dependency, which is
essentially a colonial status. Gradually, the
United Kingdom loosened its grip and in
1984, Brunei became independent.
In 1967, even before his country’s independence, Hassanal Bolkiah was crowned
as Sultan, or king, at the age of 22 when
his father abdicated the throne. A massive
oil field had been discovered a few years
before, and the new sultan quickly accumulated an incredible wealth.
Brunei remains a kingdom ruled by the
sultan. Although the constitution calls for
elections, none have been held since 1965.
There has been some minor agitation by
dissident groups in the past, but Sir Hassanal Bolkiah, as the sultan is known in
Brunei, has declared that there will be no
opposition to himself or his government.
Furthermore, in 1990 he declared that the
laws of the land would increasingly conform to Islamic law.
Brunei’s sultan and his family are perfect examples of lavish royal excesses. He
purportedly has a huge automobile collec-
tion including a fleet of Rolls-Royces. Extravagant buildings include mosques, palaces and public buildings. Despite those
excesses, there is surprisingly little open
opposition to the sultan or government.
With the fifth highest GDP per capita in
the world (which translates to a high standard of living), Brunei is a well-developed
country. The sultan provides Bruneians
with subsidized food, fuel and housing.
Bruneians have free education and medical care and no income tax. The government hires more than 50 percent of the
work force.
While Brunei’s conservative economic
policies insulated it from most of the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the country’s
growth has fallen sharply. Its economy,
based on its extensive oil and gas resources, is dependent upon the rises and falls of
those volatile markets.
Furthermore, Brunei’s oil wealth is finite, perhaps limited to only 25 more years
at present rates of extraction. Many world
powers are urging the sultan to look to
Brunei’s future. Lavish royal spending will
not ensure the long-term prosperity of this
tiny country.
And that is Geography in the News™. October 1, 2010. #1061.
Co-authors are Neal Lineback, Appalachian
State University Professor Emeritus of
Geography, and Geographer Mandy Lineback
Gritzner. University News Director Jane
Nicholson serves as technical editor.
A tiny East Indies country is the home to
one of the richest royals in the world. Brunei, a fascinating “micro-state,” is ruled by
a sultan worth $20 billion (down from $37
billion in the 1990s).
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, a Muslim, was
recently in the news for quietly divorcing
his wife of five years. He remains married
to his first wife, whom he married in 1967
and their son, the Crown Prince, is heir to
his father’s throne.
Brunei is located on the north side of the
island of Borneo in the East Indies. Bordering the South China Sea, Brunei consists of
2,226 square miles (5,765 sq. km.) in two
fingers of land extending inland from the
coast. Slightly smaller than Delaware, the
country is surrounded by the Malaysian
state of Sarawak, making it almost an enclave within Malaysia. Brunei is located between 4 and 5 degrees north
Brunei’s Liquid Wealth
latitude. It enjoys a tropical wet climate similar to much of the Amazon
BHU.
INDIA
CHINA
Basin in Brazil.
©2010
BANG.
The population of Brunei is estiTAIWAN
mated to be slightly over 406,000,
MYANMAR
most of whom are Malays, a
LAOS
Bay of
brown-skinned people native to the
Bengal
VIETNAM
Philippine
THAILAND
PA C I F I C
surrounding islands. Malay, in fact,
Sea
South
has become the official language of
OCEAN
CAMBODIA
China
the country, although both Chinese
PHILIPPINES
Sea
Andaman
and English are also spoken.
Sea
About 11 percent of the people
BRUNEI
are Chinese, most of whom are
0
1000 mi
shopkeepers and business owners.
M A L AY S I A
0
1000 km
Although only a few of the Chinese
SINGAPO RE
Island of
are allowed to hold Bruneian citiBorneo
zenship, they control commerce in
INDIAN
the country’s few cities, as they do
PAPUA
OCEAN
I N D O N E S I A
throughout the cities of Southeast
NEW
GUINEA
Asia and the East Indies.
Geography in the News 10/1/10
Tory Smith
Most Bruneians are Muslim and
most of the Chinese in Brunei are either Buddhist or Christian. Islam was
brought to Indonesia and Malaysia
Sources: GITN 222, “Wealth Beyond Belief,” October 8, 1992;
between the 13th and 15th centuries
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2700.htm; and http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/
by Muslim invaders. Christianity arsultan-of-bruneis-lowkey-third-marriage-ends-with-quiet-divorce-2002597.html
rived in the region with the Dutch
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