.
The 67-year-old absolute monarch declared last year that he wanted to
introduce a full sharia system in his oil-rich nation and warned
critics who took to social media sites to complain that they could be
prosecuted using the new laws.
The decision to introduce sharia
and reintroduce the death penalty has been condemned by NGOs and legal
rights campaigners, who say the new rules will breach international
laws. It has also triggered alarm among some of Brunei’s non-Muslim
communities, who will also be subject to some of the rulings.
The
development could put pressure on Britain to rethink its close
relationship with Brunei, a former colony.
A British regiment based in
the country – the last surviving UK regiment stationed in East Asia – is
paid for entirely by the Sultan.
In a letter to Sultan Hassanal
Bolkiah, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said it deplored
the new rules, adding that, if implemented, they would lead to serious
human rights violations. “Brunei has not implemented the death penalty
for years, so it came as quite a surprise that
the new law has
reintroduced it,” said the ICJ’s Emerlynne Gil.
The Sultan of Brunei says he wants to set up a ‘firewall’ against globalisation.
Brunei is two-thirds Muslim and has long implemented some sharia, mainly
for civil matters such as marriage. But last year the Sultan, who is
said to be worth £24bn and lives in a 1,788-room palace, announced a
plan to introduce full Islamic law.
Offences include insulting the
Prophet Mohamed, drinking alcohol, getting pregnant outside of marriage
and “sodomy”. The latter will be punishable by stoning.
“It is
because of our need that Allah the Almighty, in all his generosity, has
created laws for us, so that we can utilise them to obtain justice,” the
Sultan said at the time.
It is unclear precisely what is
motivating the Sultan, who also serves as the country’s prime minister
and assumed the throne in 1967. But in a speech in February to mark the
country’s National Day holiday, he claimed the system of an absolute
Islamic monarch acted as a “strong and effective firewall” against the
challenges of globalisation. He referred specifically to the internet.
He
claimed that there were those, both in and outside Brunei, which last
year chaired the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), who
had been challenging his plans and who wanted to see “internal turmoil”.
He added: “These parties, it seems, have attempted to mock the king,
the Islamic scholars and sharia. They are using the new media,
such as
blogs, WhatsApp and so on, which are not just accessed by locals but
also by those overseas.”
The speech by the Sultan – who for many years was involved in a
high-profile legal battle with his
brother, a playboy accused of
misappropriating £9bn of government assets and who reportedly owned a
yacht called Tits –
has had the impact of silencing many who might
publicly speak out against the move.
Yet there are concerns,
especially among the minority communities.
There are around 30,000
Filipino citizens in Brunei, many of them Catholic, and the Philippine
ambassador to Brunei, Nestor Ochoa, recently held a meeting at which he
warned his countrymen about the implications of the new laws.
Father
Robert Leong, a Catholic priest in Brunei, said there were
concerns
that baptisms of newborn babies could breach the new rules, which
prohibit the “propagation of religion other than Islam to a Muslim or a
person having no religion”.
He said that the law was being introduced in
three phases, with the harshest punishments, including the death
penalty, being phased in over two years from Tuesday.
“There will be no
baptisms. There is not a lot we can do about it. We will have to wait
and see what happens,” he said.
Britain granted independence to
Brunei in 1984, but has maintained a close relationship with the
country. A 1,000-strong regiment of the British Army, the Royal Gurkha
Rifles, has been located there since the late 1950s and in 1962 stepped
in to quell a rebellion against the Sultan’s father. The regiment is
paid for by the Sultan.
The British Army also runs a jungle warfare
training school in the small nation. A government spokesperson said:
“Ministry of Defence discussions are ongoing with the Bruneian
authorities to clarify any impact on UK forces.”
Royal Dutch
Shell, an Anglo-Dutch multinational, also runs a major operation there
as a joint venture with the Brunei government.
A briefing document
published last year about defence and security opportunities in Brunei
by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said
Brunei
invested “a significant proportion of the country’s wealth through the
City of London”. It said the
British Armed Forces garrison was a
linchpin of UK-Brunei relations.
“The Government’s goal is to
retain a dominant position in these key areas, and to maximise our share
of influence as Brunei diversifies its economy and puts increasing
emphasis on regional partners like Asean and China,” it said. “As it
does so, Brunei will also provide a UK-friendly window into the key
growth area of South-east Asia.”
The Sultan has been married three
times. He remains married to his first wife, but he divorced his
second, a one-time airline stewardess, in 2003 after 21 years. He
divorced his third wife, a former TV reporter, in 2010 after five years.
Both ex-wives were stripped of their royal titles.
Stories of his
wealth abound. It was reported that, while playing polo with Prince
Charles on one occasion, he had his boots delivered by helicopter to the
polo field.
The Brunei government did not respond to queries and
the Brunei High Commission in London failed to answer questions from The
IoS. However, earlier this year, Brunei’s most senior Muslim cleric
claimed that those criticising the new rules did not understand them,
according to a report in The Brunei Times.
Dr Ustaz Hj Awg Abdul
Aziz Juned said in a lecture in London: “Not even a day after the law
was announced, human rights groups on social media commented that the
steps taken by the Brunei government to implement the law was out of
date and not modern.”
Sharia explained
What is sharia?
Sharia
is the Islamic legal system that derives from the Koran, the example of
the life of the Prophet Mohamed and “fatwas”, which are the rulings of
Islamic scholars. Different schools of thought exist, resulting in
different interpretations.
What does it cover?
While
Western law confines itself predominantly to crime and civil matters,
sharia is a guide to help Muslims understand
how they should lead every
aspect of their lives. This ranges from deciding whether to enter a bar
with someone wanting to drink alcohol to the punishments for theft or
for criticising the Koran. Its treatment of women is particularly
controversial. Judgements have
banned the holding of property once
married, enabled beatings for insubordination, and required a husband’s
consent to divorce.
Where is it used?
Mauritania,
Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Maldives, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Yemen and Nigeria all apply sharia. Some states, including UAE,
Jordan and Egypt, use some form of sharia in their judicial system." via Lucianne
Image of Sultan of Brunei's car from "The
Sultan's Cars," wheel to wheel blog, 7/24/12
============================
The World Bank says 20% of any expenditure in Indonesia goes to corruption:
11/19/12, "White House Announces $6 Billion to Promote Clean Energy – in Asia," CNS News, Lucas
"The White House announced the federal government will spend $6
billion over four years for a “sustainable energy future” plan with
Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to
increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and
equipment.
“Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most
pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership
with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the
Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the
U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy
Future,” the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific
countries."...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec. 11, 2011, "Indonesia’s Climate of Graft Snarls Investment," Jakarta Globe, Shirley Wibisono
by S. Creagh
