Brunei's Currency Notes before 1967

Note: The following article was published in The Golden Legacy column of the Brunei Times on 30th June 2007.When His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam exchanged the new Brunei’s and Singapore’s $20 currency notes with His Excellency Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore on 27th June 2007 to

The Origin of 'Brunei Darussalam'

[Note: The following article was published in The Golden Legacy column of Brunei Darussalam's national newspaper, The Brunei Times, on 23rd June 2007]As one of the ancient kingdoms of the Malay archipelago, Brunei's historical legacy is long and can be comparable or if not exceeding that of other better known empires in the region.Among others, its strategic geographical location and well

Brunei’s Early Philatelic History

[Note: The following unedited article was published in The Golden Legacy column of Brunei's national newspaper The Brunei Times on 16th June 2007.]Brunei surprisingly, was the last among the Borneo states to have its own postage stamps.The Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) which included Kalimantan first issued theirs in 1864, Sarawak in 1869, the British Colony of Labuan, despite not being a

Memukun - Brunei's Unique Tradtion

[Note: The following article was published in Brunei's national newspaper, The Brunei Times under the Golden Legacy column on 9th June 2007.]One of the unique features of Brunei Darussalam's many ethnic traditions and cultures is 'memukun'. It is fairly hard to describe to an outsider unless one has actually listened to it.‘Memukun’ is a very Bruneian tradition where a group of people (usually

The Role of "Pengalu" in Brunei History

[Note: The following article was published in the Golden Legacy Column in Brunei's national newspaper, The Brunei Times, on 2nd June 2007]History sometimes overlooked the small people. Yet these are the people who mattered.In the Brunei history too, one of the overlooked group of people are the 'pengalu'. Among Bruneians, some of the words used extensively in its old history have been forgotten.

History of Brunei's Musabaqah Tilawatil Al-Quran

[Note: An edited version of the following article was published in The Golden Legacy column in Brunei's national newspaper, The Brunei Times dated 26th May 2007.]Like many Muslim countries, Brunei Darussalam treats the annual Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran or the Al-Quran Reading Competition with great respect. The winners will be given the honour to represent Brunei Darussalam in international

Padians: Women Vendors on Brunei Waters

[Note: An edited version of the following article was published in The Golden Legacy column in Brunei's national newspaper, The Brunei Times dated 19th May 2007.]“When the tide rises, the women go in boats through the city selling provisions and necessaries,” Pigafetta, the Italian chronicler with the famous seafaring adventurer Magellan wrote this of Brunei way back in 1521, almost 500 years