About Brunei

by Pisith Phlong

Brunei is a resource rich country in terms of petroleum and natural gas. Bordered by the South China Sea on Borneo’s north western shore, Brunei shares a common border with the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The country has a population of about 374,000 (July 2007), comprised of Malay, Chinese and other indigenous people. Its culture derived from the Old Malay located in the Malay Archipelago. Brunei’s monarchy has ruled for over six centuries. The Sultanate of Brunei's influence peaked between the 15th and 17th centuries when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Subsequent internal strife over royal succession and colonial expansion led Brunei into decline until it became a British protectorate in 1888. In 1984, Brunei claimed back independence and restored power to the Sultan. Brunei's official language is Bahasa Melayu or Standard Malay which is used in all areas of public life, including government, the printed media, and broadcasting. English is also spoken in various domains of the public and private life.

Brunei shares a common culture and history with the Malay based on its geographical location and also employs the Malay writing system. The writing system was rooted in the Arabic and South Asian alphabets at least five centuries ago and used widely until the recent times when the use of the Latin based alphabet became the norm to write many of the native languages. During the years of foreign control, the British controlled or heavily influenced any publishing in Brunei. Towards the end of that period a number of publications in native languages began. When Brunei finally became an independent country in 1984, the people were able to continue and expand their printing capacity. The number of publications produced in Brunei has grown steadily since that time. Most of what is published in the country comes out in Malay, with lesser amounts in other languages, such as Chinese or English. Along with information in printed formats, electronic information is also available and the people of Brunei have embraced this technology where they have access to it. Bruneians are establishing an increasingly large presence on the Web.