Freedom in the World 1998 - Brunei

1998 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 6.0
Civil Liberties: 5
Political Rights: 7

Overview

Consisting of two noncontiguous enclaves on the northern coast of the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, Brunei became a British protectorate in 1888. The country's first written constitution of 1959 provided for five advisory councils: the Privy Council, the Religious Council, the Council of Succession, the Council of Ministers, and a Legislative Council. In 1962, the leftist Brunei People's Party (PRB) won all ten elected seats in the 21-member Legislative Council. Late in the year, British troops crushed a PRB-backed rebellion seeking an independent state encompassing nearby British territories. The sultan assumed constitutionally authorized emergency powers for a stipulated two-year period. These powers have since been renewed every two years. Elections have not been held since 1965. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ascended the throne in October 1967.

Brunei achieved independence from Great Britain in 1984. In 1985, the government recognized the moderate Brunei National Democratic Party (PKDB) and, a year later, the offshoot Brunei National Solidarity Party (PPKB). In 1988, the sultan dissolved the PKDB and detained two of its leaders for two years, reportedly after the party called for elections. In 1995, the authorities permitted a PPKB general assembly that elected Abdul Latif Chuchu, one of the two former PKDB leaders detained from 1988 to 1990, as party president. Chuchu later resigned under government pressure, and since then, the PPKB has been inactive.

Relations between the sultan and his younger brother Prince Jefri deteriorated after the collapse of the nation's largest private company, Amedeo Development Corporation, which was run by Prince Jefri. The sultan subsequently removed Prince Jefri as head of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), which manages the royal family's vast worldwide assets, amid charges of financial mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of Brunei, a hereditary sultanate, lack the democratic means to change their government. The sultan serves as prime minister, rules by decree, and, along with an inner circle of relatives, holds absolute power. The Legislative Council has been fully appointed and the constitution partially suspended since 1970. Currently, only the Council of Ministers, composed largely of the sultan's relatives, and the Legislative Council convene. Since 1992, village chiefs have been chosen for life terms through local elections in which all candidates must have a knowledge of Islam (although they may be non-Muslims) and cannot have past or current links with a political party. The chiefs communicate with the government through a village consultative council, although the sultan appoints the council's advisors. Citizens may also petition the sultan. There has been no public political party activity since 1995. Some members of non-Malay ethnic groups, including ethnic Chinese and others born in Brunei, are not automatically accorded citizenship, and Brunei's colonial-era nationalization laws are generally considered to be in need of reform.

The only privately owned newspaper practices self-censorship on political and religious issues. The government-controlled Radio Television Brunei operates the only local broadcast media. A cable network offers international programming. Foreign journals with articles critical of the royal family or government are not allowed into the country. Islam is the official religion, and non-Muslims face bans or restrictions on building or repairing places of worship, importing religious books or educational materials, and providing religious education in non-Muslim schools. Since 1991, the sultan has promoted local culture and the primacy of the monarchy as the defender of Islam through a conservative Malay Muslim Monarchy (MIB) ideology, apparently in an effort to ward off any incipient calls for democratization. Islamic studies and MIB must be taught at all schools.

The government constrains the activities of international service organizations, such as Rotary and Lions clubs. There are three independent, but largely inactive, trade unions, all of which are in the oil sector, but their membership comprises less than five percent of that industry's workforce. Legislation neither explicitly recognizes nor denies the right to strike, and in practice, strikes do not occur.

The judiciary is independent of the government. A 1996 appellate-level decision formally established the courts' power to discharge and acquit a defendant even if not requested by the prosecution. Defendants enjoy adequate procedural safeguards, and, in civil cases, there is a right of appeal to the Privy Council in London. Although Shari'a (Islamic law) supercedes civil law in some areas, it is not applied to non-Muslims. The police force is under civilian control. Police have broad powers of arrest without warrants, although in practice they generally obtain a warrant from a magistrate. The Internal Security Act (ISA) permits the government to detain suspects without a trial for renewable two-year periods. The ISA has occasionally been used to detain political dissidents.

Although the law permits government intrusion into the privacy of individuals, families, or homes, this rarely happens. Citizens can travel freely within the country and abroad. Women face discrimination in divorce, inheritance, and child custody matters, which are handled under Shari'a. Muslim women are encouraged to wear the tudong, a traditional head covering, but there is no official pressure on non-Muslim women to do so. Female domestic servants are occasionally beaten or otherwise treated poorly.