1  The Brunei Dollar: A Unique Symbol For A Unique Country (Please Grade This)

Hi there, welcome to my blog! This is my very first post in my Brunei series and I hope you’ll enjoy reading through it :). Today, I will be looking at symbols. When contemplating what symbolizes a country, it’s unlikely one thinks of currencies given how common most are. That said, Brunei’s dollar is unique and complex, and exploring it can help improve understanding of this unique country.

Let's start with some history according to DollarsAndSense.Sg (2024) [1]. The Brunei dollar was established in 1967 alongside the Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar, replacing the previous British currency they shared. At the time, the three currencies were pegged together to ensure stability during the currency transition. Today, only the Brunei and Singapore dollar remain pegged, with both currencies still mutually accepted in both countries. 

This unique arrangement highlights Brunei’s positive attributes. The strength of Brunei dollar (CMC Markets, n.d.) [2] symbolizes the stability and wealth of Brunei as an oil-rich country. Additionally, Brunei’s currency agreement with Singapore represents its openness for economic cooperation and willingness to build friendly relations with others. This, by extension, also represents the warmth and friendliness of Bruneian culture (Juliff, 2024) [3].

However, the Brunei dollar’s uniqueness has potential downsides. While its economic ties with Singapore are beneficial, it leaves room for the potential changes in Singapore’s economic prosperity and monetary policy to impact Brunei, undermining Brunei’s interests and sovereignty. It also hides economic issues, such as an over-reliance on oil revenue and difficulty diversifying (Kurlantzick, 2016) [4]. Regardless, the Brunei dollar is certainly still special, acting as a unique symbol for a unique country.

Sources

[image source] Ting (2017)

[1] DollarsAndSense.Sg (2024)

[2] CMC Markets (n.d.)

[3] Juliff (2024)

[4] Kurlantzick (2016) 

 2  Thoughtful Street Art: The Seven Padians in Bandar Seri Begawan (Please Grade This)

Street art, or the lack thereof, often acts as a good representation of the culture and customs of a place. In Brunei, street art is rare as it is seen as an illegal act of vandalism if created without prior consent (Wong, 2020) [1]. That being said, the amount of street art in Brunei is steadily rising with increasing demand by Brunei’s population for commissioned works (Wong, 2020) [1]. This post will explore the Seven Padians in Jalan Roberts, Bandar Seri Begawan, one such mural painted in 2020. 

Located in the heart of Brunei’s capital, the Seven Padians was commissioned as part of a project to modernize and revitalize Jalan Roberts, inspired by similar efforts in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia (Bakar & Bandial, 2020) [2]. This mural aims to represent Brunei’s people and culture, with the padians being a symbol to pay homage to the people (generally women) on boats who sold food and goods in water villages on the Brunei River (Yussof, n.d.) [3]. The number of padians was specifically chosen so that each padian could symbolize one of the the seven ethnic groups of Brunei (Yussof, n.d.) [3]. For reference, Brunei's seven ethnic groups are the Melayu, Tutong, Belait, Murut, Kedayan, Dusun, and Bisaya (Yussof, n.d.) [3].

Given how recent this mural was painted, it is still understandably not as well known as other tourist attractions. However, with recent coverage in travel blogs by Brunei Tourism (2021) [4] and its prime location in the capital, the mural is bound to become an established attraction for both locals and tourists alike, commemorating Brunei’s cultural identity as the country develops.

Sources

[image source] Yussof (n.d.) 

[1] Wong (2020)

[2] Bakar & Bandial (2020)

[3] Yussof (n.d.)

[4] Brunei Tourism (2021)

 3  Brunei: Don't Mistake It For Malaysia (Please Grade This)

As a fellow Singaporean, I have never had the best understanding of Brunei. In my head, Brunei is Malaysia if Malaysia was richer. This is because, aside from affluence, Brunei seems predominantly Malay in ethnicity, defaults to Malay for language and is culturally Islamic, just like Malaysia. My misconception of Brunei is an easy mistake to make, and exploring this misconception can help further one's understanding of Brunei.

For some context, Brunei is located on Borneo alongside Malaysia and Indonesia, as shown in the map above. During the formation of Malaysia, Brunei chose not to join due to significant internal opposition despite neighboring Sarawak and Sabah doing so (BBC News, 2023) [1]. 

Back to misconceptions, Brunei is unique and overlooking this dismisses its national identity. Firstly, Brunei is an absolute monarchy that has been headed by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah since 1968 (BBC News, 2023) [1]. The sultan firmly believes in Islam and fully introduced Sharia law in the nation (BBC News, 2023) [1]. Secondly, given Brunei’s wealth, Bruneians do not need to pay income tax and are eligible for subsidized housing (BBC News, 2023) [1], which can act as an area of national pride. Finally, Brunei has very conservative societal rules especially in gender dynamics, clothing and a particular emphasis on maintaining face, preventing shame and having honor which results in a generally respectful and well-mannered culture (Commisceo Global, n.d.) [2]. These factors are just some of the ways Brunei is different from Malaysia and its other neighbors.

In conclusion, Brunei’s unique identity is distinct from Malaysia, and those trying to understand Brunei should not mistake both countries to be the same.

Sources

[image source] Apple Maps (2024)

[1] BBC News (2023) 

[2] Commisceo Global (n.d.)

 4  Understanding Brunei’s Issues: An Outsider’s Perspective

For this post, I was originally going to discuss potential forms of meaningful international engagements in Brunei and how I might contribute to help. However, it feels wrong for me, as a foreigner, to voice my opinion on local issues I do not fully understand. As such, I decided that I will instead learn about and present two areas of issue in Bruneian society.  

One area is economic challenges. As mentioned in my post about the Brunei dollar, Brunei’s economy over-relies on oil revenue and has issues diversifying (Kurlantzick, 2016) [1]. This is a major issue with oil prices increasingly volatile and with prices falling (Prusak, 2016) [2]. This has already resulted in the government accruing an unsustainable level of fiscal deficit (Han, 2024) [3]. As the government looks to cut costs, this will likely strain relations between it and its people, with public welfare services being chipped away at (Prusak, 2016) [2]. 

Another area is social injustice. One issue highlighted during the 2020 George Floyd protests was Brunei's racism towards migrant workers, particularly at South Asian people, that is culturally normalized and ignored (Mohamad, 2022) [4]. Another issue is the lack of workplace sexual harassment protection, with recounts of such incidences being shared as a result of the #MeToo movement (Mohamad, 2022) [4]. While still unresolved, Brunei’s youth have been increasingly vocal about such social injustices which is promising to see (Mohamad, 2022) [4].

And that’s all for this post! I'd like to conclude by saying that no country is perfect and knowing each country’s problems is crucial to help improve every country's understanding of each other.

Sources

[image source] Wilson (2008)

[1] Kurlantzick (2016) 

[2] Prusak (2016)

[3] Han (2024)

[4] Mohamad (2022)

 5  Colliding Cultures: Exploring Bruneian Customs (Please Grade This)

Exploring a new country often comes with being exposed to customs that are different to one’s own. When visiting an Islamic nation like Brunei, significant differences in customs is almost guaranteed to cause non-Muslim tourists to experience at least some confusion at best or culture shock at worst. The best advice is to be open and ready to adapt. However, it is still a good idea to have some mental preparation before visiting Brunei, and this post will aim to help with that as briefly as possible.

Firstly, food in Brunei must be halal and follows Islamic customs (Ibrahim, 2022) [1]. This means meeting Islamic food standards, praying over food and banning haram (forbidden) foods such as pork and alcohol (Ibrahim, 2022) [1]. Secondly, expect more boundaries in social interaction, with physical acts such as handshakes between strangers of different genders and public displays of affection frowned upon (Zaidi, 2024) [2]. Thirdly, one's clothing is expected to modest and conservative. Brunei is a hot and humid place so wearing summer clothing is understandable, but wearing clothing that reveals lots of skin is not recommended (Zaidi, 2024) [2].

The most important detail to know is that Sharia law is in effect in Brunei and applies to everyone, including tourists (Liang, 2019) [3]. This has significant ramifications. For example, this allows for extreme punishments for offenses such as queer intercourse and adultery (Liang, 2019) [3]. As a queer person, this is something I must consider when I am there. Keep a lookout for my next post where I explore how queer people can stay safe in Brunei. Till then, stay curious!

Sources

[image source] D & A (2019)

[1] Ibrahim (2022)

[2] Zaidi (2024)

[3] Liang (2019)