Her i dette fine land skinner solen og min formiddagstur bliver en lang spadseretur til havet mod vest. Det Sydkinesiske Hav.

Statsoverhovedet er: Sultan eller konge, han er måske verdens rigeste mand, har været det måske. Uindskrænket monarki, han stoler ikke på andre og bruger sin famile som regering - han har dog lovet at der kan vælges 15 medlemmer til det rådgivende råd - parlamentet!
Jeg har talt med folk om disse forhold - på gaden. De virker ærlige, men øjnene løber rundt i pereferien medens de taler om de elendige demokratiske forhold, en mindede mig om sagen med sultanens søn som blev finansminister - som at sætte en børnehave til at passe en slikbutik. I korte træk - tjek selv - fra min hukommelse er det noget med at sønnen ikke var tilfreds med de hoteller han boede på når han udsvævede i fx Paris eller NY - så han byggede så selv hotellet før han tog til stedet.
Noget med 2.000 personlig ejet biler og da det blev faderen for meget, måtte den stakkels cøn flytte til London med en apanage på 500.000 USD pr år. PS hans toiletbørster var af guld eller måske bare guldbelagte.



Landet er et absolut sunni muslimsk monarki - i grove tal - ca en tiendedel af DK både størrelse og befolkning. Regnes for verdens 5. rigeste nation og aviserne er fulde af bekymringer over olie- og gaspriserne. Britisk kronkoloni til 1984. Ex stormagt. 4 grader nord. (og helt uden for sammenhæng: Vandet i håndvasken centrifugerer stadig, når det løber ud - men svagt.

Brunei

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brunei, Abode of Peace

Negara Brunei Darussalam (Rumi)

نڬارا بروني دارالسلام (Jawi)


FlagCrest
Motto: 

• الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى
• Sentiasa membuat kebajikan dengan petunjuk Allah
• "Always in service with God's guidance"

Anthem: 

• Allah Peliharakan Sultan
• God Bless the Sultan

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Location of Brunei (dark green) in ASEAN (light green) and Asia.
Capital

and largest cityBandar Seri Begawan

4°53.417′N 114°56.533′EOfficial languagesMalayRecognisedEnglishOther languages

• Brunei Malay
• Tutong
• Kedayan
• Belait
• Murut
• Dusun
• Bisaya

Ethnic groups (2004)

• 66.3% Malays
• 11.2% Chinese
• 3.4% Indigenous
• 19.1% other

ReligionSunni IslamDemonymBruneianGovernmentUnitary Islamic absolute

monarchy - SultanHassanal Bolkiah - Crown PrinceAl-Muhtadee Billah - Grand MuftiAbdul Aziz JunedLegislatureLegislative CouncilFormation - Kingdom of Po-ni7th century  - Sultanate14th century  - Empire15th – 19th century  - British protectorate1888  - Independence from

the United Kingdom1 January 1984 Area - Total5,765 km2 (172nd)

2,226 sq mi - Water (%)8.6Population - Jul 2013 estimate415,717 (175th) - Density67.3/km2 (134th)

174.4/sq miGDP (PPP)2012 estimate - Total$21.907 billion - Per capita$50,440GDP (nominal)2012 estimate - Total$17.092 billion - Per capita$39,355HDI (2013) 0.852

very high · 30thCurrencyBrunei dollar (BND)Time zoneBDT (UTC+8)Drives on theleftCalling code+673ISO 3166 codeBNInternet TLD.bna.^ Under Article 82: "Official language" of the Constitution of Brunei, Malay is the official language.b.^ Under Article 82: "Official language" of the Constitution of Brunei, English is used in official documents (official documents are bilingual; Malay and English).c.^ Also 080 from East Malaysia.





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Brunei (i/bruːˈnaɪ/, broo-NY or /bruːˈneɪ/ broo-NAY) officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: نڬارا بروني دارالسلام‎), is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia; and it is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang.
It is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the
remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 408,786 in July 2012.
At the peak of Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485–1528) is alleged to have had control over most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, Seludong (modern-day Manila), and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The maritime state was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in 1578's Castille War.
During the 19th century the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak (Kuching) to James Brooke and being force to install him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962, a small armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British.
Brunei regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January
1984. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, averaging 56% from
1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has
developed wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei
has the second-highest Human Development Index among the South East Asia nations, after Singapore, and is classified as a "developed country". According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated, in 2011, that Brunei was one of two countries (the other being Libya) with a public debt at 0% of the national GDP. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum and natural gas fields