Brunei Darussalam

Geography, Brief History, Form of Government, Economic System

By: Erin Umi Rohana

• Background:The Sultanate of Brunei's heyday occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries, when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession, colonial expansion of European powers, and piracy. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the less developed countries. The same family has now ruled in Brunei for over six centuries.

Geography of Brunei Darussalam

• Brunei Darussalam is a sovereign country in South east Asia that is located on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. The country has an area of 5,765 km² which occupies the island of Borneo with coastline touches the whole South China Sea

Brief History

• Brunei is a country among the oldest kingdoms in the Malay world. The existence of this old Brunei to records obtained by Arab, Chinese and oral tradition.

• Islam began to grow very rapidly in the sultanate of Brunei since Syarif Ali was appointed as the sultan of Brunei 3rd in the year 1425 AD the word Darussalam, the term in Arabic is "a peaceful place" or "home security", embedded in the 15th century by sultan 3rd Sharif Ali.

Form of Government• Kingdom of Brunei Darussalam is a country that has a

style of government Absolute Monarchy with the sultan, who served as head of state and head of government, serves as prime minister and Minister of Defence, assisted by the advisory council sultanate and several ministers.

• Brunei does not have a legislative council, but in September 2000 the Sultan convened to determine the parliament that was never held again since 1984. Brunei became one of the most stable country in terms of politics in Asia.

Economic System

• As the Islamic State of Brunei embraced liberal economic system in which the economy is set by the government and the country's assets or wealth controlled by a combination of the royal party (domestic) and foreign / private.

• Resources of Brunei largely derived from sales / exports of oil and natural gas for approximately the last 80 years, more than 50% of gross domestic product is derived from petroleum and natural gas

• Brunei's small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for about 90% of its GDP. About 167,000 barrels (26,600 m3) of oil are produced every day, making Brunei the fourth-largest producer of oil in Southeast Asia. It also produces approximately 25.3 million cubic metres (890×106 cu ft) of liquified natural gas per day, making Brunei the ninth-largest exporter of the substance in the world.