Negara Brunei Darussalam

Flag Description


The Brunei flag was officially adopted on September 29, 1959. The flag features the country's national emblem. Yellow represents the Sultan of Brunei, and the black and white stripes represent the country's chief ministers.

The national flag of Brunei was adopted on September 29, 1959 when the country was a British protectorate, and was retained when the country gained full independence on January 1, 1984, as Brunei Darussalam (State of Brunei, Abode of Peace). The flag has the Coat of Arms of Brunei in the centre, on a yellow field. The field is cut by black and white diagonal stripes, although they are officially called parallelograms.
The coat of arms is as follows: a crescent (symbolising Islam) joined with a parasol (symbolising monarchy), and two gloves on both sides. Below the crescent is a ribbon. On the crescent and ribbon are Arabic inscriptions translating as "State of Brunei, Abode of peace" and "There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" (more commonly rendered as "There is no deity but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God").
In Southeast Asia, yellow is traditionally the colour of royalty, and the royal standards of Malaysia and Thailand, along with the presidential flag of Indonesia, also use a yellow field.



Modern History

The Sultanate of Brunei was very powerful from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Its realm covered the whole island of Borneo and the southern Philippines. European influence gradually brought an end to this regional power. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei was victorious. The decline of the Bruneian Empire culminated in the nineteenth century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984.
There was a small rebellion against the monarchy during the 1960s, which was prevented by the United Kingdom. This event became known as the Brunei Revolt and was partly responsible for the failure to create the North Borneo Federation. The rebellion also affected Brunei's decision to opt out of the Malaysian Federation and was the first stage of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation.



Background Information :

Head of State
:His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah

Capital
:Bandar Seri Begawan

Land area
:5,765 sq.km

Population
:357,800 (2004)

Language
:Malay, English

Religion
:Islam

Member of
:ASEAN, APEC, APT, APDC, Commonwealth, ESCAP, GP 77, GATT/WTO, ICAO, IMO, IMF, WMO, UNDP, WHO, WIPO, WTO-GBT, ASEM, EALAF, UN, OIC, NAM, AASROC, UNESCO, APG, WSIS, IDB, ADB and AMED

Currency
:B$ (Bruneian Dollar).

GDP
:US$ 5,4626.6 million (2004) at current market prices

Major Industries
:Oil and gas, textiles, food and beverages, building materials

Major Exports
:Oil and gas, ready-made garments

Major Imports
:Transport equipment and machinery, manufactured goods, food chemicals