Brunei Darussalam

This book focuses on the intertwined relationships between globalisation, nation-building, education, and reform as manifested throughout the modern history of Brunei Darussalam, an Islamic monarchy located on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is the first book dedicated to the examination of Brunei’s education system, schooling, teacher education, and society in close connection with the national philosophy Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) or Malay Islamic Monarchy. The authors provide a historical understanding of the country’s education and tell Brunei’s story of educational reform and change in its own language, narratives, accounts, and unique standpoints. Interdisciplinary chapters draw on significant historical and textual sources in three languages, namely Arabic, English, and Malay, to contribute to scholarship on education studies, international and comparative education, and international and development education.

Brunei Darussalam is a small country located in Southeast Asia with a population of approximately 442,400 people. The country is situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo and shares land borders with Malaysia. Brunei Darussalam has a rich history, with evidence of human activity dating back to the 6th century. The country was ruled by the Bruneian Empire from the 14th to the 16th century and later became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. Brunei achieved independence in 1984 and has since been governed as an absolute monarchy under the Sultan of Brunei. Brunei Darussalam has a thriving economy based primarily on the production of crude oil and natural gas. The country has one of the highest standards of living in Southeast Asia with a relatively low unemployment rate and a well-developed infrastructure. Despite its small size, Brunei Darussalam has a rich cultural heritage with a diverse population consisting of various ethnicities including Malays, Chinese, and indigenous groups. The country is known for its beautiful natural scenery, with pristine rainforests, white sand beaches, and breathtaking coral reefs. Brunei Darussalam is also home to a variety of unique flora and fauna, including the proboscis monkey and the carnivorous pitcher plant.

This thoughtful and wide-ranging open access volume explores the forces and issues shaping and defining contemporary identities and everyday life in Brunei Darussalam. It is a subject that until now has received comparatively limited attention from mainstream social scientists working on Southeast Asian societies. The volume helps remedy that deficit by detailing the ways in which religion, gender, place, ethnicity, nation-state formation, migration and economic activity work their way into and reflect in the lives of ordinary Bruneians. In a first of its kind, all the lead authors of the chapter contributions are local Bruneian scholars, and the editors skilfully bring the study of Brunei into the fold of the sociology of everyday life from multiple disciplinary directions. By engaging local scholars to document everyday concerns that matter to them, the volume presents a collage of distinct but interrelated case studies that have been previously undocumented or relatively underappreciated. These interior portrayals render new angles of vision, scale and nuance to our understandings of Brunei often overlooked by mainstream inquiry. Each in its own way speaks to how structures and institutions express themselves through complex processes to influence the lives of inhabitants. Academic scholars, university students and others interested in the study of contemporary Brunei Darussalam will find this volume an invaluable resource for unravelling its diversity and textures. At the same time, it hopefully stimulates critical reflection on positionality, hierarchies of knowledge production, cultural diversity and the ways in which we approach the social science study of Brunei. ‘I wish to commend the editors for bringing this volume to fruition. It is an important book in the context of Southeast Asian sociology and even more important for the development of our social, geographical, cultural and historical knowledge of Brunei.’ —Victor T. King, University of Leeds

After being a British protectorate for about 96 years since the 1888 Treaty of Protection, the modern state of Negara Brunei Darussalam (Abode of Peace) eventually obtained its independence from Great Britain on 1 January 1984. Run by a royal family that established a kingdom in Brunei some 650 years ago, the first sultan, Muhammad Shah (Alak Betatar) was installed in c.1363. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the current ruler, is the 29th sultan of the lineage and is one of the richest men in the world. In spite of being called a mini-state, Brunei is well-known around the world because its population enjoys one of the highest gross national income per capita in the world, at an average of US$39,943 (2015) a year. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Brunei Darussalam.