The State of Brunei is situated approximately within latitudes 4-5 N of the equator and longitude 114-115 22 E, with an area of 5,765 square kilometres. The population is fractionally over 300,000, of whom the majority are Malays (mostly Muslim in religion). The Malays consist of seven ethnic groups. It is clearly defined in the Brunei Constitution in 1959 that a Malay is:

any person born in Brunei before, on or after the appointed day who is commonly accepted as belonging to one of the following indigenous groups of the Malay race, namely, Belait, Bisayah, Brunei, Dusun, Kedayan, Murut and Tutong.

In terms of the economy, the oil and gas industry provide most of the State?s income. In the early 1990s, the Government had started to introduce a programme to diversify economic activities, focusing mainly on industrialization, trade, agriculture, communications, construction, and investment abroad. Socially and economically, the government adopted a policy of free education and health, old age pensions, a subsidised housing scheme, no income tax and liberal labour laws. Brunei is currently engaged in its 5-years National Development Plan (1996-2000) with an estimated budget of 7.2 billion in preparation for the new millennium. Today, the success of Brunei Darussalam in maintaining its separate existence as a Malay Islamic Sultanate is the result of a long struggle in facing various issues which mainly emerged as a result of the global economic and political challenges.

Historically, Brunei was known from the tenth century under the name Polo, Puni, and P?o-ni, as mentioned in a Chinese report. Currently Brunei is a tiny state on the north-west coast of the island of Borneo but she had once been the centre of a large empire before the coming of the European powers, especially during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah. As the fifth Sultan of Brunei, he was one of Brunei?s greatest leaders and was well known as an experienced traveller. Under his reign, the Brunei empire covered the whole island of Borneo, as well as the islands of Palawan and Luzon in the Philippines. Brunei was once rich and powerful, as mentioned by the Portuguese adventurer, Goncalo Pereira in 1530:

This king of Borneo (is) rich and powerful and is served with great ostentation....(His) is a land rich in flesh-meat, rice and other provisions and in local merchandise of great worth.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Brunei was weakened by the progressive intervention of European powers, mainly the British. The first European powers to arrive at Brunei were the Portuguese, Spanish and the Americans. In 1578, Brunei was attacked by Spaniards from Manila, which led to its occupation for nearly three months. By the end of the nineteenth century, Brunei could no longer defend herself from the foreign incursions, and the Sultanate could not compete with the advancing European powers, especially the British, who established their sphere of influence in North Borneo and Sarawak. In 1839, an English adventurer, James Brooke, arrived at Kuching. He eventually appointed as the first ?White Rajah of Sarawak? by Pengiran Muda Hashim, the Governor of Sarawak, through the Agreement in 1841 which was confirmed by the Sultan of Brunei in 1842. The development of the Brooke dynasty later became a security threat to Brunei?s political survival, because of its expansionist policy.

In 1847, the Sultan of Brunei entered into a treaty with Great Britain. However, the agreement did not mention the protection of Brunei from foreign encroachment. Forty-one years later, Brunei signed the 1888 Treaty which placed Brunei under the protection of Great Britain. Under the agreement, the Sultan agreed that the foreign relations of the State should be conducted by Her Majesty?s Government. This agreement still could not protect Brunei from further loss of her territories. The Rajah of Sarawak continued to try to expand his territory and even wanted to take Belait and Tutong districts from Brunei rule. Under the advice of Frank Swettenham and resulting from a report presented by McArthur in 1904, a supplementary Agreement was entered into whereby the Sultan undertook to accept a British Officer to be styled Resident, who would be the agent and representative of the British Government.

The period 1906-1909 was a transitional period which saw British administrative practices supplanting the traditional administrative system. Very shortly after the treaty, a form of Government was set up under the Sultan in Council and the British Resident. In reality, the British Resident exercised real power in the State of Brunei , especially during the regimes of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam (1906-1924) and Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin (1924-1950). As a British Resident said:

Brunei was a protected State and the treaty provided that he (the Sultan) should accept a British Resident and his advice on all subjects other than the Mohamedan religion and Malay customs. So the Sultan had to accept my advice on all other subjects. I was really responsible for the general affairs of the state, because I did the paper work of the meeting. Therefore, I ran the government.

This system continued after World War II. Although it had gone through economic and political changes, compared with other countries in Southeast Asia, Brunei was politically backward. Political and nationalistic movements, which were experienced by most of the Southeast Asian countries after the Second World War, finally brought about their independence. These, to a certain extent, affected Brunei in the sense of stimulating political consciousness among a few educated members of the younger generation in Brunei society. They began to realise that they wanted to administer their own country. A movement emerged in 1946 led by Barisan Pemuda (BARIP) under the leadership of H.M.Salleh. The association composed of young teachers who had studied at Sultan Idris Tanjung Malim College, Perak. The aim of the movement was to achieve independence for Brunei. Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin supported it. However, it failed to achieve this objective due to the death of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin on his way to London to discuss the future of the Brunei polity but the people of the Brunei still continued this struggle in the 1950s. This was occasioned by drastic changes in the political system in the state, initiated by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, leading people to question the future of their country. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien and his government played important roles in changing the political environment by encouraging people to take an active part in the state?s internal politics through the introduction of a guided democratic system with the foundation of the first written Brunei Constitution in 1959. At the same time, the formation of Party Rakyat Brunei (PRB) or the Brunei People?s Party in 1956 led people to become more aggressive in their demands for political reform. The Sultan wanted the British to maintain a minimum of power in the country through the presence of a British advisor. By doing this, he could safeguard sultanate's rule to face any threats from the internal political party (PRB) or outside forces.

The Sultan realised that he could not maintain his own traditional system of administration without making changes to adapt to a modern system of government. Therefore, he made known his intention to introduce the first written Constitution to the people and the State of Brunei in 1953. The desire to grant a Constitution to his people arose largely because he envisaged that Brunei?s position, governed by a British Resident, was increasingly out of step with other Southeast Asian countries. Finally, he foresaw that the only way he could ensure the survival of the Malay Islamic Sultanate.

As a result of the Sultan?s speech in the State Council in 1953, a committee was formed consisting of seven members led by Pengiran Maharaja Laila Muda Abdul Kahar. The committee was known as Jawatankuasa Tujuh Serangkai (the Group of Seven Committee), which aimed to visit all the towns and villages in the State in order to listen to their opinions and to the requests of the people themselves, and ascertain their views concerning the proposed Constitution. All of these views were forwarded to R.H. Hickling, a British lawyer who came from Malaya to assist Brunei in drafting the new Brunei Constitution, for which he was given six months in 1954. At last, R.H.Hickling suggested that Brunei had to change her political system in a way that was adaptable to modern life and consistent with the wishes and the needs of the people. Furthermore, R.H.Hickling said:

The sense of personal allegiance has in fact increased. The State is a Malay State with a living constitution based upon a strong sense (sic) of history, and with their wealth the people are politically ambitious, although their ambitions have not yet been overtaken by general education. All these factors emphasize the need for care in the guiding of constitutional development in the State.

The State Council, with the British Resident and British High Commissioner for Brunei, discussed the draft of the Brunei Constitution in 1955. The process of introducing the constitution was very slow. Furthermore, it took a long time to discuss the matter with the British Resident and the British High Commissioner, because the Sultan had different interests and attitudes toward Brunei?s political future. The first meeting between the Brunei Government and the Colonial Office took place in September 1957. The Sultan and his delegation met the State Secretary and officers from the Colonial Office three times to discuss and try to solve the disagreement regarding the content of the Constitution, namely, the power of the British High Commissioner, the creation of the Chief Minister?s post and the question of a Borneo Federation. The London Talks took place on the 11th, 27th and 30th of September 1957. The Sultan led the Brunei delegation and the Colonial Office delegation was headed by the Secretary of State, Alan Lennox Boyd.

The three important issues mentioned above were a source of controversy between the two sides. The talks lasted about a month. The British Government approved ninety percent of the contents of the proposed constitutional draft. Two years later, the last set of talks that took place at the Colonial Office beginning on March 23 ended on April 6 with complete agreement reached on all matters discussed. Under the terms of the agreement the Sultan of Brunei would promulgate a written Constitution for Brunei which would enable the people to participate in running the state. This could be done through the introduction of elections when people could choose their leaders for selection as members of the Legislative Council. Members of the Brunei delegation who accompanied the Sultan to the London talks were Dato Pengiran Ali, Pengiran Pemancha, Dato Setia Pengiran Haji Yusof, Pehin Perdana Menteri Haji Ibrahim, Dato Setia Haji Mohamed Noor, Dato Marsal Maun, Pehin Sanggamara Abas, Dato Setia Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar, Pehin Dato Setia Haji Ahmad and Pehin Dato Setia Haji Mohamed Taha.

The PRB, the only political party in Brunei, led by A.M. Azahari, felt that the Brunei Government had failed to introduce a full democratic system in the State. In June 1957, the PRB invited Mr. Raeburn, Q.C. to visit Brunei to advise them on the drawing up of a memorandum which they wished to present to His Highness the Sultan and the British Government. As a challenge to the Sultan?s mission in the United Kingdom, the PRB sent their delegations to meet the Secretary of State for the Colonies. They demanded full self-government and independence of Brunei from Great Britain. The memorandum also requested the British Government to hold free and democratic elections, at the latest by 1958. At least 75% of the members of the proposed Legislative Council should be elected by adult suffrage and the party which commanded the majority in the House should form the government. Unfortunately, The delegates returned from London empty-handed. When the party members asked them about the progress and the achievement of the mission, Azahari explained that everything was considered top secret.

In reality, there was no secret. Azahari had met the Secretary of State in London with the permission of the Brunei Sultan. In the meeting, the Secretary of State expressed frustration with the PRB action of boycotting the Brunei Constitution and asked the PRB to cooperate with the government by presenting their criticisms of the proposed Constitution. The Secretary of State was also unable to accept the PRB memorandum because it was supposed to be handed through the Brunei Government or the Sultan before being forwarded to the Secretary of State.

In sum, the PRB mission to London, composed of A.M.Azahari, Zaini Ahmad and Yassin Affandy, ended in failure.They were asked to study the proposed Constitution of Brunei put forward by the Government. But the PRB still showed their uncompromising attitudes toward the government. They condemned the Constitution as undemocractic and continued their struggle to increase the percentage of people's representatives in the proposed Legislative Council to 75%. After the London Talks, PRB activities declined because of their failure and increasing internal party problems such as the leadership issue. The PRB became popular again in 1961 when it revealed itself as the defender and the protector of the people from a new era of Tunku Abdul Rahman?s neo-colonialism.

On 29 September 1959, the new Constitution was proclaimed by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien. This was preceded by the signing of a new treaty by the Sultan and the Commissioner General of Southeast Asia, Sir Robert Scott, on behalf of Her Majesty?s Government. Generally, the 1959 Brunei Agreement granted internal self-government to Brunei. Briefly, the Constitution provided that powers to govern were in the hands of the Sultan but in the execution of those powers three councils, namely, the Legislative Council, Executive Council and the Privy Council , were established under the Constitution.

The Constitution as it stood no doubt represented an important step forward for Brunei, in the sense that it gave birth to internal government. However, it did not represent a big step towards parliamentary democracy, though the Sultan declared that the creation of the Legislative Council marked a milestone towards the attainment of democracy. However, the PRB denounced the Constitution as a ?colonial type administration contrary to the principles of democracy." It contended that all Brunei had achieved was ?self government." Some people even argued that ?the State of Brunei was not self-governing, contrary to what the British authorities have been telling the United Nations?. This was because the Menteri Besar did not exercise all the power that had once been invested in the British Resident. The powers were split between the Sultan, the Menteri Besar and the British High Commissioner. This meant that the Sultan did not have supreme executive authority. It was asserted that the Constitution was not for the benefit of the people, but for Britain and a privileged few who had praised the British Government. This was done through the appointment of certain important posts in the Government administration. Those appointed to the posts of Attorney General, State Financial Officer, Secretary of State, the Commissioner of Police, Head of Special Branch, Education Officer, Medical Officer and State Engineer were either British officers or seconded Malayan officers. The appointment to these posts had to be made jointly by the British and the Sultan, thus somewhat limiting Brunei?s internal autonomy. Complaints were raised that no provision had been made for a general election to choose a responsible or representative government. Generally, the PRB felt ?insulted? by the Brunei government?s action of not consulting the PRB?s leaders in the creation of the Brunei Constitution. Therefore, the PRB continued their struggle to criticize the government policy of not giving enough voice to the people in the Legislative Council and the delay in holding the elections provided for in the Constitution.

To sum up, in the 1950s the Sultan faced two sets of pressures that made him look for other ways to tackle the problem of PRB?s demands and the British Proposal for a Borneo Federation. Internal pressure from the PRB and also from the British colonial officers caused the Sultan to seek a way to safeguard his own political future.As a political manoevre and diplomatic approach the Sultan said that he attracted to the idea of joining a Federation along with Malaya.

To know more about Brunei history after this episode please refer to my book which I wrote with Dr. Sabihah Osman and Sabullah Haji Hakip, entitle "Brunei Menuju Kemerdekaan". Other sources are my thesis: Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien: Peranan dan Sumbangannya Terhadap Perkembangan Politik Brunei 1945-1967". My article in Jurnal Persatuan Sejarah Brunei "Pendudukan Jepun di Brunei 1941-1945", "Barisan Pemuda" (BARIP) in Jurnal Jabatan Pusat Sejarah, "Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien: Raja Berjiwa Rakyat", in BERIGA and unpublish articles in the Library of History Centre, etc.