Sultan Unchallenged in Tiny New Nation : Brunei Oil Wealth Buys Political Peace

The lazy rocking of Brunei’s famous “nodding donkeys” not only pumps oil but also apparently puts people to sleep politically.

The hypnotic, see-saw motion of the hammerhead oil pumps has given the ruler of Southeast Asia’s last autocratic monarchy the dollars to buy political peace from his 200,000 mainly Muslim, Malay subjects.

Since the tiny north Borneo sultanate gained full independence from Britain at the start of 1984, barely a voice has been raised against the feudal-style government of Sultan Muda Hassanal Bolkiah.

Although energy accounts for 99% of exports, falling world oil prices and production cutbacks have made little impact on living standards, which remain the second highest in the world after the United Arab Emirates, according to World Bank figures.

The young sultan, who recently bought London’s Dorchester Hotel, holds the strings to a $15-billion state purse and sits on top of oil and gas reserves that are conservatively estimated to last well into the next century.

Any Bruneians who hoped the end of nearly a century of British rule might rekindle local political life must be disappointed.

Debate, still less dissent, is rare in this 400-year-old hereditary Islamic monarchy where ordinary Malays and ethnic Chinese have virtually no say in running the government. There are no active political parties.

When Britain handed over control of defense and foreign affairs, the sultan made himself prime minister, finance minister and home affairs minister in addition to his duties as head of state and commander-in-chief of the country’s well-equipped, British-officered armed forces.

He gave the defense portfolio to his father, made his brother, Prince Mohammed, foreign minister and abolished the appointed State Legislative Council.

The palace spends nearly half the $4 billion a year earned in energy exports by Brunei Shell Petroleum on the “Shellfare State.”

This cradle-to-grave welfare program provides most of the population with free schooling at home and abroad, free medical care, low-cost loans, subsidized food and generous retirement pensions. Nobody pays income tax, either.

Some argue that greater awareness among young Bruneians, particularly among those who have studied abroad, of political freedoms in other countries could lead to pressure for reform at home. Others believe that the sultan would be wise to seek wider consultation before making decisions and adopt a higher public profile to explain policies.

The indications are that Sultan Hassanal, a polo and sports car enthusiast educated at Britain’s Sandhurst military academy, has no intention of immediately changing either the style or substance of his power.