BRUNEI - Politics and Governance of SEA Flashcards
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This state is situated in the northwestern part of the island of Borneo.
Sultanate Brunei Darussalam (Negara Brunei Darussalam, “Nation of Brunei, Abode of Peace”)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Capital of Brunei
Bandar Seri Begawan
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This valley is part of the Malaysian state of Sarawak that separates the eastern and western territories of the sultanate.
Limbang Valley
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
With a population of 414,000, Brunei is a (?). Only about (percentage?) of the total population has citizenship.
- microstate
- 65%
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Most citizens are of (?), an estimated (?) belongs to indigenous groups
- Malayan descent
- one fifth
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The remainder of the population consists of (? and ?)
“permanent” (8%) and “temporary” residents (27%).
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Most permanent residents are (?) who were not granted citizenship when Brunei declared its independence but received (?). The majority of temporary residents are (?) from (?) employed in the (?)
- ethnic Chinese
- Bruneian travel documents
- foreign workers from various South Asian and Southeast Asian countries
- construction and service sectors
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Brunei has a relatively (?) population, predominantly consisting of Malay Muslims
homogeneous
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
It is the official state religion in Brunei that make up 75% of the population, whereas the other two religion (?) represent 9.4 and 8.5%
- Islam
- Christians and Buddhists
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The head of state and government is the (?) who represents the country’s highest religious and political authority, making it the only (?) in Southeast Asia.
- Sultan (Yang Di-Pertuan, He, who is Lord)
- absolute monarchy
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Brunei began its first step toward its self-government with their constitution. It was first drafted in (?) provides no (?). The Sultan’s principal authority is (?) by parliament and he remains (?).
- 1959, provides no separation of powers
- not diminished
- head of judiciary.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
According to the national founding myth, the Sultanate’s political history began when Sultan (?) converted to Islam in 1363 and established today’s ruling dynasty
Awang Alak Betatar
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The current sultan in Brunei ascended the throne in (?) as the (no?) member of the house Bolkiah, serving for (?) years as of 2024
- Sultan Hassan al Bolkiah
- 1967
- 29th member
- 57 yrs
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Brunei reached its height of influence, exerting control over large portions of (?), (?) and (?)
Borneo, the Sulu Archipelago, and parts of the Philippines.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Following the arrival of European colonial powers in the sixteenth century, the Sultanate slowly lost much of its influence over (?). By the 19th century, Brunei’s influence began to wane as European powers, particularly the (?), gained control over Southeast Asia.
In the nineteenth century, the Sultan had to forgo control over much of Borneo, finally ceding external sovereignty to the British in the (treaty?)
- maritime trade
- British and Dutch
- Anglo-Bruneian Treaty of 1847.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Threatened by complete collapse after internal strife, Brunei was only saved when the British offered the Sultan a (treaty?) and installed a (?) in 1905. Under the terms of the (?) agreement, recommendations of the British Resident were binding on every matter except for religious affairs
- “Treaty of Protection” in 1888
- Resident
- 1906 Supplementary Protectorate agreement
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The British established this system which allowed British officials to have substantial influence over Brunei’s internal administration, with the Sultan maintaining symbolic authority.
Resident System (1905)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
When the (?) discovered large (?) in Brunei in 1929, the country quickly became the (?) largest source of petroleum in the British Commonwealth. This gave the Sultanate a steady stream of revenue.
- Royal Dutch Shell
- petroleum reserves
- third largest
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Fueled by oil revenues, Brunei transformed from a mainly agrarian-based to a (?) economy
“rentier state” economy
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
These are states that regularly receive most or all of their revenues from rents, such as oil revenues or income derived from the exploitation of other natural resources
Rentier states
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The (years?) marked a turning point in Brunei’s political development. The birth of the sovereign Federation of Malaya (1957) and the approaching end of British control over Sarawak and Sabah triggered the emergence of a (?) movement led by the (?)
- 1950s and 1960s
- pan-Bornean movement
- Brunei People’s Party (Partai Rakyat Brunei, PRB)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Founded in 1956, PRB demanded the formation of the sovereign (?) under the nominal leadership of the Sultan of Brunei.
Federated States of Borneo
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Sultan (name?) and (?), however, favored a closer association with Malaysia and opposed the expansion of popular participation and democratic rights especially after (treaty) which granted Brunei almost complete political and administrative autonomy, leaving the British High Commissioner only control over (three ?)
- Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III and the aristocratic elite
- a new Treaty of Protection (1959)
- foreign policy, internal security, and defense.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The first Bruneian constitution, proclaimed that
same year at the instruction of the British government, instituted a consultative assembly with a handful of indirectly elected members, called the (?)
Legislative Council (1959)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The PRB managed to win all (?) elected seats of the council’s 33 total seats in the first popular vote in (?)
- 16
- August 1962
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
When the Sultan proved unwilling to include the PRB in the (?), the national movement radicalized. Hence, in December 1962, (?) and (?) started an uprising that was easily crushed by British troops but provided the Sultan with the opportunity to establish (?), dissolve the (?) and ban all (?)
- decision-making process
- PRB cadres and the pro-Indonesian National Army of North Kalimantan (Tentara Nasional Kalimantan Utara, TNKU)
- establish emergency rule, dissolve the legislative council, and ban all political parties
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
TRUE OR FALSE
Negotiations for Brunei to join the Malayan Federation failed over the allocation of oil and gas revenue and the constitutional status of the Sultan relative to the other traditional Malay rulers.
TRUE THE FIRE
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In 1967, Omar Ali Saifuddin III abdicated in favor of his son (?), dodging British pressure for the return to a (?) regime. A renewed (treaty?) opened the way to full national sovereignty, which was realized on (?)
- Hassan al Bolkiah
- constitutional regime
- Brunei-British Treaty in 1979
- January 1, 1984.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Since independence, the stability of the political regime rests on four pillars.
- The first is the legitimation of the absolute monarchy through the concept of Melayu Islam Beraja or the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB), even though it remains unclear how strongly the MIB actually resonates with the beliefs and attitudes of its citizens.
- The second pillar is “soft repression” to prevent public criticism and opposition.
- Third, the Sultanate secures its national sovereignty and independence through membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations (UN), and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as its bilateral defense and security cooperation with the United Kingdom and Singapore.
- Fourth, resource abundance and oil revenues provide the means to co-opt Malay elites and middle classes in a rentier-based “authoritarian bargain”, in which citizens relinquish political rights for economic security and exchange political loyalty for economic benefits and social welfare.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
TRUE OR FALSE
Brunei is the third largest producer of liquid gas worldwide
Brunei is the FOURTH largest producer of liquid gas worldwide
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The revenue is administered by the (?), Brunei’s sovereign petroleum fund under the auspice of the ministry of finance
Brunei Investment Agency (BIA)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The government uses oil and gas revenues to finance a generous welfare system, also known as (?) that includes subsidies for fuel, housing, and staple foods as well as free education, university stipends for citizens to study abroad, and access to affordable quality health care
“shellfare system”
CONSTITUTION
Brunei’s constitutional order rests on two documents:
- the Constitution of 1959 (with major revisions enacted in 2004 and 2006) and
- the Succession and Regency Proclamation of the same year
CONSTITUTION
Even though Brunei has had a written constitution since 1959, its (?) merely formalizes the Sultan’s absolute sovereignty. The document was drawn up under (?) but without the participation of social groups
- pseudo-constitutionalism
- pressure from the British and the PRB
CONSTITUTION
The absolute sovereignty of the Sultanate itself is (?): all positive laws derive their validity from his person
Brunei’s
“Grundnorm” (basic norm)
CONSTITUTION
The constitutional text consists of a (?), (sections?), and (articles?)
preamble and 11 sections with a total of 87 articles.
CONSTITUTION
The text considers the Sultan’s power absolute and not limited or bound by (?) A series of constitutional reforms between 2004 and 2006 introduced the (?) as the only basic right
- basic or human rights
- free exercise of religious beliefs
CONSTITUTION
TRUE OR FALSE
constitutional reforms in the mid-2000s confirmed the Sultan’s prerogative to wield all executive and judiciary powers and amended the section concerning the Legislative Council
FALSE
Constitutional reforms in the mid-2000s confirmed the Sultan’s prerogative to wield all EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE powers and amended the section concerning the Legislative Council
CONSTITUTION
Under the revised 2004 Constitution, the Sultan is now free to adopt or reject (?), and the Legislative Council is further prohibit from discussing any matters that might (?) or matters relating to the national doctrine of the (?)
- any amendment to the constitution\
- reduce the rights and powers of the Sultan and his family
- Malay Islamic Monarchy
CONSTITUTION
TRUE OR FALSE
The constitutional review of laws and royal decrees is now explicitly banned
TRUE
CONSTITUTION
Finally, the constitution now extends complete (?) to the Sultan and any government official acting on behalf or under the authority of the Sultan
legal immunity
CONSTITUTION
The amendments also clarified that Brunei’s official religion is Islam according to the interpretation of the (?) one of the four schools of legal thought in (?) Islam.
- Shafi’i school
- Sunni