Description of the country of Brunei
The state of Brunei is located on the North of the equator within the latitude 4-5°N and the longitude 114-115 22°E. Brunei is an independent sultanate which is located on the northwest coast of Bomeo in the South China Sea. The location of this state is between Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak.
It lies on a land area of 5,770 square kilometers with a population density of 72 per square kilometer. The estimated population size, which is mostly composed of Malays who are Muslims, was 395,027 by 2010 where the growth rate was 1.7 percent.
These individuals are divided into seven ethnic groups which are “Brunei, Belait, Bisayah, Kedayan, Tutong, Dusun and Murut”. According to the same statistical records, the sultanate has a life expectancy of 75.9. The capital city which is also the largest city in this country is Bandar Seri Begawan with a population of about 78,000 by 2003.
The other large cities are Kuala Belait and Seria with populations of 27,800 and 23,400 respectively. The country uses Brunei dollar as their monetary unit. Brunei state was a trading partner of China during the 6th century after which it came under strong influence of the Hindu from its loyalty to the Javanese Majapahit kingdom during the 15th century.
Later the influence of the widespread of Islam led to high rate of conversion of individuals of this state to Islam. As a result the state became an independent sultanate. However, during the World War II, the state was taken by Japan but Australia liberated it in 1945.
In 1959, the constitution that was passed enabled Brunei to obtain internal self rule but under the protection of the British. This constitution gave the sultan all executive authority but demanded an elected legislative council. Brunei is therefore a state that is headed by a monarch through the hereditary sultan.
Brunei People’s Party won the election for this post of legislative council in 1962; however, the ruling sultan denied the party access to office and banned the party after calling for an uprising. This has made the legislative council become an appointed body since then (Saunders 201).
Sultan Bolkiah was crowned as the king in 1967 at the age of 22 years after his father Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin resigned. When the state finally became fully independent in 1984, the state was wealthy and rich from Bolkiah’s exploitation of Seria oilfield. Brunei has a high per capita income compared to other countries in Asia. Sultan is known as one of the richest men in the world.
Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah was inaugurated as the heir of this 500-year-old monarch in 1998. In this state, there is only one legal political party which is Brunei Solidarity National Party (PPKB). Its closeness with the government has made the party to hold the national assembly, the first of its practice in 10 years. However, this party has little influence as its activities are restricted by the sultan government.
The sultan is the state’s center of authority. This is where he holds all the important position of the government. For instance, besides being the state’s prime minister and holding the important ministerial positions like defense and finance, he is still the one who appoints the members of different councils like the religious council and the council of succession among others.
The country’s resources and GDP
Brunei‘s main source of income and revenue comes from its rich sources of natural gas and oil. This means that mining is the largest GDP activity in this state. Other activities are also undertaken and contribute very little to the economy’s GDP. These include; services offering, banking, warehousing and transport among others. The government of Brunei is very instrumental in the economy of this state.
This is through plans it undertook to diversify the economy in the 1990s. The government did this through promotion of agriculture, various industries like manufacturing, and commerce. This made the contribution of the non-oil sectors to the economy’s GDP to escalate from 24.3 percent to 66 percent in 1991 and 1998 respectively. The economy of this state also benefits a lot from foreign investment.
This is especially after the government has provided a corporate tax exemption of 30 percent for all companies listed under the pioneer’s status. These companies include those dealing with various industries like textile, synthetic rubber and cement among others.
The government has also made attempts to promote the private sector in order to avoid the overreliance if its citizens from public employment. It has done this through fostering the growth of leaders in areas of commerce and industry.
As a result of the huge gains that the government of Brunei gets from its rich sources of oil and gas, its revenues are enough to cater for its operations even without much tax contribution. This is because the government only demands the corporate tax which is as low as 30 percent.
All the others including import, export, and manufacturing and personal income tax are free in this state. This makes Brunei to be listed among the nations with the least tax levy on its citizens in the world.
Discussion
The government undertook a five-year National Development Plan during 1996 and ended in 2000. This plan which was budgeted to spend about 7.2 billion was aimed at helping the state prepare for the millennium. The government also adopted great plans that have made the lives of the citizens easy.
Besides exemption from the payment of taxes, the citizens also enjoy other social benefits like free education and health, subsidized housing scheme and friendly labor laws among others. Though the sultan has made these plans to ease the lives of his citizens, he has not been fair in sharing the rich resources that this state possesses.
This is because the sultan has a used larger part of the state’s riches to enrich himself. The benefits that he provides to these citizens are just a tip of an ice bag. This is why he has managed to be rated among the richest men on the globe yet some of his subjects are languishing in poverty for lack of employment and means of survival.
In addition, the sultan has also oppressed these individuals by denying them a chance to freely express their democratic rights through elections and also limiting their freedom of speech (Burma para 5-6). With the world becoming global and attaining a global culture, the conservative culture of the people of Brunei that makes them stay under this oppression will be erased.
This will bring a rise of a generation that will not be able to tolerate these injustices, thus leading to revolts and uprisings from the citizens. In addition, as the population increases, the government will face the challenge of offering these benefits to all its citizens especially considering that the main sources of income in this state, which are oil and natural gas, are depleting fast.
Sultan’s attitude towards democracy
The state of Brunei has not known democracy for a long time due to the dictatorial nature of the reign of the sultan monarch. The state is a complete monarch thus eliminating chances of an election or other political activities. The sultan is the one who makes the government decisions as illustrated above.
Bolkiah who is the world richest monarch has amassed so much power and wealth that he lives in a palace that is estimated to be worth more than a billion dollars (IBP USA and USA International Business Publications 258). This is without considering the state of his subjects where about 90 percent of them live in abject poverty.
Freedom of expression is limited in this state as those who protest against the rule of the sultan are jailed sometimes even without trial. The press in this state has also been limited where they are so much restricted that they cannot criticize the royal family since this can easily earn themselves a jail term of up to three years for making any kind of criticism to the royal family.
The dominance of the sultan in this state can be seen everywhere in the country. For instance, the photo of the royal king must be placed on the wall of every shop and office.
Recently, Brunei through the leadership of sultan Bolkiah has been making e few steps towards democracy. This has been noted with the 2004 democratic reform that made the sultan reinstate the parliament for the first time since the state gained their independence in 1984.
The citizens of this state saw this as a strong step towards the attainment of democracy in this monarch state. In addition, the popularity of the sultan was intensified by his decision to remove the four members of the cabinet from office after they planned to expand religious education, a decision which many parents in this state did not want.
Citizens’ happiness
The happiness and satisfaction of any people is stirred up by various aspects. Firstly, security in the wealth that a country possesses is a major source of citizens’ satisfaction and happiness. This is because the citizens are guaranteed that their economy will be able to provide their needs.
Making a living is a concern of every individual thus; it becomes an important determiner of the individual satisfaction. The people of the state of Brunei are enjoying satisfaction at the present. This is because the benefits that their government provides in terms of free education, health facilities and tax evasion among others are a source of their satisfaction.
These benefits therefore, enable them to enjoy satisfactory family life and good health without having to worry about economic strains. Happiness is not as a result of abundance since abundance leads to satisfaction but not all satisfied individuals are happy. On one hand, one would say that the individuals of this state are satisfied but not necessarily happy.
This is because being in one rule for so long yet the leadership of this state is dictatorial has brought unhappiness to the citizens of this nation. This is particularly due to their lack of an alternative as any reaction to this rule would attract tough measures from the government.
In addition, though the government has made subsidies and other provisions for the citizens of this state, there are still those who live in abject poverty. When these individuals compare themselves with their leader who is leading an affluent life, they may get dissatisfied thus attracting unhappiness in their lives.
The sultan is very rich and besides being the richest monarch on the globe, he owns a residential palace which is the largest in the world. This palace is so large that it has 1,788 rooms and 257 bathrooms and lies on an area of 2,200,000 square feet.
The country’s partners
Brunei as a state has countries that it can call friends while others are her enemies. Most of the countries that Brunei relates with are in terms of trade and diplomacy. Canada is one of these countries. Canada and Brunei have been allies since the times of Brunei’s independence.
After the establishment of their diplomatic relations, Brunei established its chancery in this nation and after which Canada opened one in Brunei the following year (Government of Canada para 3-6).
The two nations cooperate in issues of regional security and other international relation issues. They are also trade partners especially since Canada is a good market for the oil and gas products from Brunei.
Future prospects
The future prospects of Brunei economy are headed to stability if the plans the government has set aside for this purpose are implemented. With the inclusion of foreign entrepreneurship in domestic trade, the economy is bound to become better and even more stable.
The government regulations that have open possibilities of increase in foreign investors in this state are an added advantage to the growth prospects of the economy. In addition, the encouragement of private investment as opposed to citizens depending only on the government for employment will nurture the culture of entrepreneurship among the citizens.
The state’s richness in the high-priced commodities like oil and gas, its strategic location and possession of enough human capital will be a boost to the growth of the economy of this state.
According to Asian Development Bank (para 3-5), the current prospects indicate that if the state embraces the right policy reforms, regional cooperation and the effective strategies of encouraging industrial competitiveness, the economy of this state will continue to show improvement and growth.
The establishment of a new monetary authority by the government in January 2011 will also serve to improve policies and activities that will steer development into new high heights in this state. This is because the authority will streamline the monetary policy and currency trading activities.
In addition, it will also monitor the activities of financial institutions to ensure that they are operating as expected. The plans that the government has taken to diversify the economic sources is a good strategy to achieve sustainable development in the future as the state will be able to support itself when the hydrocarbon reserves run out.
At the beginning of 2011, the government came up with a long-term development plan that was named Wawasan Brunei 2035. This plan which is aimed at reducing the overreliance on oil and gas as the only sources of revenue for the economy will be effective in achieving sustainable development.
This is because at the present, these products contribute 94 percent of all the revenue of the government of this state. In addition, these same products are the highest contributor to the state’s exports standing up to 96 percent of all the state’s export and contributing 69 percent of the total GDP.
Since these reserves are estimated to run out by the period of 20 to 30 years to come, the plans to diversify the economy are in line with achieving sustainability.
Though these economic prospects are good for this state, implementing them may pose a challenge. This is because the culture and other factors may hinder the progress of these prospects. For instance, this state has ecotourism potential as a result of its unexploited natural landscape and the friendly tropical climate. However, the state has a very conservative culture.
Being a Muslin state, their strict laws on behavior and alcohol might hinder the growth of this sector. The government has not tapped this rich source of income either. Although plans are outlined and the need to increase tourism in this state reinforced, none of these plans is implemented to the letter. This is due to various political and social reasons.
Firstly, the government officials are not very welcoming to the visitors may be due to the fear of the criticism the visitors would raise about their leadership which may in turn spill over to the larger public, leading to revolts (The Economist, para 4).
Due to lack of government support, this industry has remained unfruitful even with the country’s possession of attractive sites for the tourists. For instance, the recent government decision to eliminate some of the sites that may act as attraction areas for the tourist has served to answer the question of the government commitment to its prospects.
Some of these sites include the previous sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin. This famous museum had a rich collection of Winston Churchill memorabilia and a large aquarium to show the region’s tropical fish. It was however converted to a less popular site by making it a Constitutional History Museum.
In addition, though the government of Brunei has the required resources to provide efficient infrastructure and can also provide the necessary attractive package to ensure that multinational companies invest in this nation, the plans it has underway are not guaranteed.
For instance, the government’s development of a port at Pulau Muara Besar which is aimed at generation of more employment positions for the citizens will create unnecessary competition with the already operational transshipment hubs.
Some of these hubs include ports like Port of Singapore and Malaysia’s Port Klang. The current tax system may not be an appropriate strategy in an economy that is not energy-based. The state therefore requires a transformation in its tax system and a change in the relationship of the state to the citizens.
This means that though the government has put in place plans to diversity the economy, little effort is being made to actualize these plans in order to achieve sustainable economy.
Brunei future political prospects are based on the actions that the monarch has in mind. This is because lacking political diversity means that the future of politics is in the hands of his dictatorial regime. There are various strategies that the state has put in place to ensure security and prosperity in its politics.
Firstly, the state’s government is seeking ways to establish cohesion and stability of the state with the guidance of the philosophy of Malay Islamic Monarchy. Secondly, the state is seeking ways of stabilizing its regional environment where it can pursue its national goals without external interferences.
Maintaining its defense and military capabilities is another agenda that the government is planning. This is in its attempts to preserve the state’s sovereignty, freedom and independence and protection of the state’s territorial integrity.
Discussion
The current situation of this state may not attract a revolt from the citizen. This is because though the state lacks democracy and power is only concentrated in the office of the sultan, the citizens are enjoying the benefits of the state’s wealth endowment from the country’s oil and gas wealth.
This therefore means that the benefits the citizens are getting from the government like free education and provision of jobs without being imposed to pay any taxes are a source of relief to them. However, this is not likely to go on for a long time.
This is because the depletion of the main sources of income for this state are drawing near yet the stand by diversification plans have not been implemented fully to counter-attack this challenge. As a result, in the very near future, the government might be unable to provide the range of benefits it is offering to its citizens at the present.
This will increase the citizens’ demand for a government that is more accountable and one which will give them the democracy that they have lacked for so long. As a result, Brunei may encounter future social unrest most of which will be stirred by economic shift. Having in mind that sultan lifestyle and that of his citizens requires a sustainable income; the government needs to prepare for the future.
This is because the government finances through the economy if not strengthened, social and political problems will emerge leading to uncertainties and upheavals among the citizens. The current state has already started posing a challenge to this government.
This is because the population of this state is increasing, leading to pressure in the number of individuals who require employment. This is particularly because this growth in population is not measuring up to the same growth in the GDP growth.
As a result, the state is being faced by the threat of lower GDP per capita. In addition, the structure of the population of Brunei is composed of a greater percentage of a young population where 47 percent of the population is below the age of 25 years.
With little growth in the public sector which is mostly in the area of teaching and negligible growth in the private sector, the country is being faced with a challenge of employment of the many school leavers who require jobs.
The current level of job seekers has already exceeded 7,000 individuals and this number is expected to increase in the future. Rise in the level of unemployment is known to be leading causes of revolts in other countries like Egypt. With Brunei experiencing this challenge especially on its young population means that chances of revolts and uprisings in the future are high.
Works Cited
Asian Development Bank. Central Asia’s economy: Mapping future prospects to 2015. 2011. Web.
Burma. Brunei Darussalam – politics, government, and taxation. 2011. Web.
Government of Canada. Canada-Brunei Darussalam relations. 2011. Web.
IBP USA and USA International Business Publications. Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah handbook. Washington, DC: International Business Publications, 2008. Print.
Saunders, Graham E. A history of Brunei. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
The Economist. Thinking of its future, Brunei gets ready for when the oil and gas run out. 2008. Web.