Freedom in the World 1999 - Brunei

1999 Scores

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

Overview

Brunei, a hereditary sultanate, consists of two noncontiguous enclaves on the northern coast of Borneo. It became a British protectorate in 1888. In 1959, the country's first written constitution provided for five advisory councils: the Privy Council, the Religious Council, the Council of Succession, the Council of Ministers, and the Legislative Council. In 1962, the leftist Brunei People's Party (PRB), which sought to remove the sultan from power, won all ten elected seats in the 21-member Legislative Council. The results were annulled, and a rebellion ensued. Occupying 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, and elections have not been held since 1965. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ascended the throne in October 1967.

Brunei achieved full 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 1998, 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. Abdul Latif Chuchu, one of the two former PKDB leaders detained from 1988 to 1990, was elected as party president. Chuchu later resigned under government pressure, and since then, the PPKB has been inactive. In August 1998, the sultan announced that his son, Prince Billah, was heir to the sultanate.

Relations soured between the sultan and his favorite brother, Prince Jefri, following the collapse of the kingdom's largest private company, Amedeo Development Corporation, in 1998. Corruption and mismanagement resulted in an estimated loss of $16 billion to $18 billion. The sultan subsequently removed Prince Jefri as head of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), which is valued at more than $60 billion and manages the royal family's worldwide assets, and appointed another sibling, Prince Mohamed, as the new BIA chief.

For years, the kingdom's population refrained from criticizing the sultan's lifestyle as they benefited from oil sales revenues. However, quiet public dissatisfaction against corruption and abuse of power has grown in recent years as the economy suffers from the Asian financial crisis and a 40 percent drop in world oil prices. This Amedeo scandal increased public pressure, which the government respond to with pay raises for all state workers – which makes up 80 percent of the workforce – and a tightening of political control. An Islamic scholar was appointed vice chancellor of the University of Brunei Darussalam and conservatives have sidelined more liberal members within the civil service. The drop in the sultan's fortunes may also affect his conduct of diplomacy, which uses loans, investments, and purchases to buy friends.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of Brunei lack the democratic means to change their government. The sultan serves as prime minister (as well as finance and defense 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, and the sultan appoints the council's advisors. Citizens may petition the sultan. No public political party activity has occurred 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.

There are privately owned newspapers, but they are either owned or controlled by the sultan's family members, and they practice self-censorship on political and religious issues. A new tabloid paper, the News Express, was launched on the eve of the Southeast Asian Games, which Brunei hosted in May 1999. Its debut reflects burgeoning political rivalries, with the sultan playing divide-and-rule among his siblings. The Borneo Bulletin, the main paper, is owned by Prince Mohamed, while the News Express is owned by Prince Sufri, who is also titular head of the Southeast Asian Games. 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 kingdom.

Islam is the official religion, and non-Muslims face bans or restrictions on building and repairing places of worship, importing religious books and 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 (Malayu Islam Beraja, or MIB, in Malay) ideology, apparently to ward off any incipient calls for democratization. Islamic studies and the study ofMIB are required in all schools. Although the government approved the establishment of the first apostolic prefecture in the country in 1998, it also moved to curb activities deemed offensive to Islam. The police confiscated Christian and Buddhist icons as well as alcohol and foodstuff that do not conform to Islamic dietary laws from establishments mainly frequented by foreigners and non-Muslim residents.

The government constrains the activities of international service organizations, including Rotary and Lions Clubs. There are three independent trade unions, which are all in the oil sector. However, they are largely inactive, and their membership comprises less than five percent of the oil industry's workforce. Legislation does not explicitly recognize or deny the right to strike, but in practice, strikes do not occur.

The judiciary is independent. A 1996 appellate-level decision formally established the courts' power to discharge and acquit a defendant even if not requested to do so 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 Sharia (Islamic Law) supersedes civil law in some areas, it is not applied to non-Muslims. The police force is under civilian control. Police have broad powers to arrest without warrants, but in practice they generally obtain a warrant from a magistrate. The Internal Security Act (ISA) allows 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. Under Sharia, Muslim women face some discrimination in divorce, inheritance, and child custody matters. There are occasional reports of physical abuse and ill treatment of female domestic servants and foreign workers.