Nationalism In Brunei Essay

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Nationalism can be understood as love of a country and willingness to sacrifice for it. In the context of Brunei, especially in formulating the state concept, Malay Islamic Monarchy (in Malay, Melayu Islam Beraja, MIB), nationalism only applies to one man, that is Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin. Through the reinforcement of MIB in Brunei, he successfully regained the sovereignty of the monarch and the country from the British, though he had to face several challenges. This essay will look at the history of Brunei from the signing of the Anglo-British Treaty of 1905-1906 until 1984 when Brunei gained its independence. From that, it can be understood why the formulation of MIB was important to the Sultan. Apart from that, this essay will try to answer the question by looking at 'nationalism ' in formulating state concept of Brunei, which was different to those in other countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. To begin, the origin of MIB can actually be traced from the first ruler sultan of Brunei, Awang Alak Betatar, or famously known by his Muslim name, Sultan Muhammad - then the idea of Melayu Islam Beraja came forth as the first Sultan was an Orang Melayu with Islamic background, and happened to be the first Sultan of Brunei. The idea of MIB was then reinforced …show more content…

The plans presented by the Malaysians to produce a state concept, for instance, favored every ethnic group in the country. But in practice, it is almost impossible to actually reach equality for every ethnic group. The problem lies in the status of the ethnicity of those people. Everyone favours equality, so equal status was given. But an important question that needs to be asked is, are the indigenous people, in the country prepared to lose their privileges in their own land to the immigrants? Obviously, until today there are still tensions among the different ethnic groups, and also political issues in the

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