Brunei to reinstate parliament after 20 years

Producer: Felix Tan
First broadcast: 16 July 04, Radio Singapore International

As part of political reforms, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah has said that he would reopen its parliament after it was suspended 20 years ago.

However, the state of emergency that was enforced in the 1960s after an armed revolt would still be in force.

There has been no parliament sitting in Brunei since 1962 and the legislative council was formally suspended in 1984 when Brunei gained independence from Britain.

But what are some of the possible reasons why Brunei has decided to reinstate parliament after 20 years?

Felix Tan put this question to Professor Mohammad Abu Bakar (AB), Head of the Department of International and Strategic studies at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur:

AB: “Well, you must bear in mind that, in a way, the recent efforts can be considered to little too late, considering that the last round experimented democracy was more than 40 years ago in the early 60s - that was the major one. But that led to the rebellion of the early 60s. So, in a way, in view of Brunei’s recent political history and non-strategic position, you still can consider the recent or the latest attempt as a major effort in the right direction. After all, this is one reason why Brunei is heading towards that, another reason is because of globalisation of democracy, which is now impacting on the whole world, including Southeast Asia in particular Indonesia. So, if you do realise, the urgency of the situation, in view of the change of stance and change of leadership in countries like Indonesia, so you could well understand the reasons for Brunei’s latest attempts.”

But to what extent are economic factors responsible for the reconvening of the parliament in Brunei?

AB: “Well, I am not very sure about the economic side, but what I can say is that for the last 20 or 30 years, the Brunei people had been rather well taken care of by the government, so much so that there is not much discontent in the country. So that also must have given additional confidence, on the part of the government, to re-experiment democracy, presumably… I cannot be categorical on this issue because I am more inclined to attribute it to the first factor, i.e. the globalisation of democracy, which is right now impacting all around. But of course, the chances are that also the Brunei government is going in that direction partly in reaction to whatever economic development that is taking place either in Brunei per se or in the whole of Southeast Asia.”

Now, what will the process of reinstating the legislative council entail?

AB: “Well, so far, all that has not come into broader relief… but if one goes back to earlier experiments, one can see that there will be greater participation of political parties. But unlike before, which saw at least one socialist oriented or leftist inclined party, like Parti Rakyat Brunei. I do not think the present government will have to contend with similar parties because of the change of power configuration in the world, with the Cold War no longer on and with communism no longer a threat in Southeast Asia and also, in the absence of people like Sukarno in Indonesia. So, in all likelihood, the parties concerned will be more or less malleable, tamed and are able to lead, probably, to the expectations of the present government.”

Will the members of parliament be appointed this time around or elected?

AB: “I cannot be categorical about that either simply because they have not spelt it out yet. In the newspapers reading, what I could see is that they are going to liberalise. In that way, how much, it is very difficult for me to say. Maybe you can see how it unfolds in the coming few days.”

What kind of implication will this have on the monarchy, I mean, what sort of role will the Sultan play then?

AB: “You must bear in mind the political socialisation that Brunei has gone through in the last 40 years. And also the economic development, which has shaped the Sultanate and must have, more or less, influenced the attitudes of the people towards the Sultanate also. Meaning that they might be more favourable this time around. In view of the fact that, as I have noted earlier, they have been taken care of by the government over the last 40 years. And secondly, of course, the so-called ‘outside influence’ - the British influence in Brunei was very much noticeable in the 60s and the 70s may not be a sticking point anymore. In view of the fact that the people have, more or less, overcome some of the earlier problems related to the so-called ‘colonialism’ or neo-colonialism.”

I also understand that the state of emergency, which was enforced since 1962 still remains in force today, to ensure public order. Now, why is that so?

AB: “Well, probably that is still this lurking fear… after all, the remnants of Parti Rakyat Brunei are to be found in Brunei itself or outside Brunei. So, they might invoke the past in order to resurrect their earlier struggles, even though that does not augur well for the future of Parti Rakyat Brunei - either in the sense that most of people, by and large, have not sided with them anymore and many of the old Guards have already left the scene. But at the same time, by virtue of the fact that they have experienced that, have gone through those…, I can understand the sensitivities of the present government.”