Small is big

Brunei may be one of the smallest nations in Asia, but it makes up for its size with its remarkable prosperity. Shalaka Paradkar meets some of the UAE's Bruneian expats to pose the obvious question: why did they their wealthy, oil-rich country in the first place?

"The city is all built on salt water, except the king's house, and the houses of certain chief men," wrote Vincenzo Pigafetta.

"It contains 25,000 families. The houses are all of wood, placed on great piles to raise them high up."

Pigafetta, the diary keeper for Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe in 1521, was describing what was to become one of the richest countries on the globe.

In his report, Pigafetta misnamed Brunei, calling it Borneo. However, the name stuck and the South East Asian island where Brunei is situated came to be known as Borneo thereafter.

Today, the Sultanate of Brunei comprises less than one per cent of Borneo's land area and is the only sovereign country on the island.

Located on the northeastern coast and surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei shares Borneo with the Malaysian state of Sabah and the Indonesian provinces of West, East, South and Central Kalimantan.

The country has a land area of only 5,270 sq km, and most of its population is concentrated along the coast, where its capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, lies.

Yet Brunei enjoys an international fame that belies its diminutive size. Who hasn't heard of its ruler, the Sultan of Brunei, and his fleet of luxury cars, including more than 200 Rolls Royces?

The oil-rich sultanate can afford to provide its population with high living standards, including free medical services, subsidised education and housing and welfare.

"There are no poor people in Brunei," says Lim Eng Pein, area manager for Royal Brunei Airlines and one of Dubai's two Bruneian expatriates. However, he concedes that some people are better off than others.

Indeed, Bruneians aren't too badly off. Due to its extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, Brunei has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the developing world.

As a fourth-generation Chinese Bruneian, Lim hails from an ethnic minority. Two-thirds of Brunei's population are Malay and the remainder are Chinese and Indian, with a sprinkling of other nationalities - Thai, Filipino, Indonesian and Bangladeshi and indigenous ethnic groups such as the Dayak and Belait.

"We have a population of less than 400,000 people and the majority (and official) religion is Islam. Yet we enjoy the freedom to practise our faith and have never experienced any racial or communal tension," says Lim. "Our culture is similar to (that of) Malaysia, but we are a much smaller nation."

Malay is Brunei's official language but English, Mandarin Chinese and native Borneo dialects are also spoken.

Islam came to the island approximately 500 years ago and a number of Islamic sultanates were established, the largest of which was Brunei, which between the 15th and 17th centuries controlled most of the northern coast of Borneo.

A British protectorate from 1888 to 1984, Brunei opted out of being part of the Malaysian Federation in 1963. Yet, for six centuries, it has been ruled by the same royal family.

The Sultan, or His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam as he is formally known, is the 29th ruler in an unbroken line of monarchs that began with Sultan Mohammad in 1405.

The Sultan's legendary wealth, and equally legendary spending - including a massive palace and a fleet of luxury cars - accrues from the discovery of a huge oil and gas field in 1929.

Despite the wealth, the pace of life in Brunei is languid. "There is no stress about driving or walking on the road. In fact, our laws demand that a car should stop at all times to let a pedestrian cross," Lim says.

Dubai's other Bruneian resident is S. W. Goh, a mother of two who has been living in the UAE since January. Goh says if it weren't for Brunei's easy pace of life, she may never have met and married her husband.

"He was waiting for the traffic light to change in Bandar Seri Begwan when he asked me for directions to a fast- food joint. When I met him again at the same joint a little later, we got to talking and eventually ended up marrying," she says.

Though it has glitzy malls and a six-star hotel, much of Brunei is yet to experience the full force of urbanisation. "The tallest building in Brunei is just 15 storeys. The government has been quite protective about opening the economy and the pace of development is slow, but steady," says Lim.

Most of Brunei is tropical wilderness and only 20 per cent of its land area is inhabited. With this relatively unspoilt natural environment in mind, the government is encouraging tourism. The tourism thrust is part of a strategy of economic diversification, as oil reserves are expected to run out by 2020.

As an executive at Royal Brunei Airlines, Lim, 36, is at the forefront of these developments.

"We are trying to promote eco-tourism and Brunei as a stopover destination," he says.

While Brunei has opened its doors to the outside world, albeit rather hesitantly, Bruneians are in no hurry to leave their beautiful country.

The UAE has about 30 Bruneian expats, many of them employed in the embassy in Abu Dhabi. They meet regularly for a meal or to go bowling. "Once you are out of Brunei, it's the people and uniquely Bruneian culture that you miss the most," Lim says.

"I have been out of the country for 15 years now ? The things you take for granted in Brunei - the warmth, hospitality, friendliness and natural beauty - are what you miss most when you leave your homeland."

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Correction
In the 'Cultures' segment under the title, 'Roots 'n' rhythms', (Friday, June 2-8), Emil Akumah was misquoted; he is from Trans-Volta, Ghana, not Volta. The Ga-Adangme people live in the Eastern and Greater Accra regions, not Trans-Volta. Akumah was awarded a scholarship by the German government, not the Ghana government, as stated.