Book Description

Sultan Haji Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin III (r. 1950-67), Brunei's twenty-eighth Ruler and the father of the present Sultan, His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, is known as the 'Architect of Modern Brunei Darussalam' for his role in transforming Brunei from a backwater community, threatened with extinction, into a modern State adorned with mosques and palaces, while retaining its unique Kampong Ayer. Brunei, the only traditional Malay Islamic Monarchy enjoying an independent existence, reached its zenith in the early part of the sixteenth century, when its paramountcy was acknowledged throughout Borneo, the Sulu Archipelago, and the southern Philippines. The kingdom which Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin inherited, however, not only remained under the protection of Britain but had been reduced to a mere 5765 square kilometres, split into two enclaves - Brunei-Muara, Tutong, and Belait districts on the one side, and Temburong district on the other - by the annexation of the central Limbang district by Rajah Charles Brooke. Coveted for its massive oil wealth, the kingdom faced challenges both internally from anti-colonialist and independence movements and externally from its more powerful neighbours. This study describes in detail the way in which Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin conducted diplomatic relations with Great Britain in his efforts to restore the sovereignty and dignity of the Brunei monarchy, protect his dynastic interests as well as the interests of Brunei, resist British plans for forging political unions (first with the British colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak, and then with Malaysia), and attain self-government according to his own political agenda. But it ismore than a biography of a remarkable man's life and his times. The book adds to our knowledge and understanding of modern Brunei and its political life, of the ambitions and activities of the Sultan, the British, and other principal actors in Brunei's political scene, and of British policy in the latter days of empire in Asia.