THEME 5

THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN BRUNEI UNDER BRITISH PROTECTORATE

1906 – 1950
PART TWO

THE REIGN OF SULTAN AHMAD TAJUDDIN

1924 – 1950

1. He was the 27th Sultan of Brunei.

2. He was the eldest son of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam II.
3. He was born on 22nd August 1913 at the palace in Pekan Brunei.
4. He ruled Brunei for 26 years from 1924 to 1950.
5. He ascended the throne when he was only 11 years old.
6. As he was still too young to rule, two Wazirs were appointed as regents to rule
Brunei.
The two regents were:
i. Pg Bendahara Pg Anak Abdul Rahman
ii. Pg Pemancha Pg Anak Hj Muhammad Yassin.

HIS EDUCATION

1. He was the first Sultan to receive formal education which was at the
palace.
2. He studied Islamic Knowledge and English.

HIS CORONATION

1. He started his rule as Sultan on 19th Septmber 1931 when he was 18 years
old.
2. The coronation ceremony took place on 17th March 1940. It lasted 40 days.

HIS MARRIAGE

1. He was married at the age of 21 years old on 6th May 1934.

2. He married Tengku Ampuan Raihani, the princess of Selangor at the
Jame’Rahmah Mosque in Klang, Selangor.
3. They had one child called Pg Anak Puteri Noorehsani.

HIS CONTRIBUTIONS

1. During his rule, formal education was introduced.

2. Religious education was also encouraged and improved.
3. He was a writer and wrote a book called ‘Panduan Keselamatan’ which
controlled useful advice.’

HIS AWARDS

1. His Silver Jubilee was celebrated in September 1949 to mark his 25 years
of rule.
2. He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by the
British High Commissioner on the behalf of His Majesty, King George VI of
England at this ceremony.

HIS DEATH

1. Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin died on 4th June 1950. He was 36 years old.
2. He died of haemorrhage in Singapore on his way to London.

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3. He had no son. Therefore his brother, Pg Bendahara Pg Omar Ali
Saifuddien succeeded him as the 28th Sultan of Brunei.
4. Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin was buried at the Royal Mausoleum.

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 THE DISCOVERY OF OIL

The discovery of oil was the most important economic development as it brought
great wealth to Brunei.

 Oil was discovered by two men named F.F. Marriot and T.G.
Cochrane.
 F.F. Marriot (the BMP Field Superintendent of the Labi Area)
and T.G. Cochrane (the General Manager of the Sarawak
Oilfield Ltd.) went cycling from Kuala Belait to Lumut to visit a
friend.
1926  They were exhausted and decided to take a rest by the Seria
River.
 Cochrane smelled oil and told Marriot about it.
 Both decided to tell about the discovery to their friend who
was a geophysicist.
 They suggested a survey should be a carried out in the area
of the Seria River.
 A survey was carried out in the areas of the Seria and Bera
Rivers. This area was known as Padang Berawa.

1927  Gas seepages were reported in the area.

12th July  The Seria Well No. 1 (S1) started drilling.

1928

5th April  S-1 struck oil at 297 metres.

1929

19th  The Seria Well No. 2 (S2) started drilling. Huge amounts of oil
August found.
1929

1930  S-1 was abandoned after producing 5320 barrels of oil.

1932  The BPMC paid royalties of $68, 000 to the Brunei

Government.

1933  Oil royalties increased and accounted for 40% of Brunei’s

revenues.

1936  Brunei paid back its debts to the FMS.

 Extra revenue was invested locally and overseas.

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 EFFECTS OF THE
DISCOVERY OF OIL

INCREASE IN REVENUE

1. Brunei became a wealthy state.

2. Brunei was able to pay back its loan to the Federated Malay States (FMS)
by 1936.

3. Brunei invested its excess money locally and overseas.

4. Improvement in transportation and communication were carried out.

5. Public facilities were set up and many governmental projects were carried
out.

6. In 1937, Brunei was recorded as having no national debt.

THE GROWTH OF SERIA TOWN

1. Seria Town started because of oil.

2. The population in Seria and Belait increased.

3. There were economic activities in the Seria and Belait areas.

4. The BMPC provided public and welfare services in the Seria and Belait
areas such as law and order, medical facilities, education, recreation, and
communications.

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 THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION DURING THE SECOND
WORLD WAR

THE COMING OF THE JAPANESE TO BRUNEI

1. About 10, 000 Japanese soldiers came to Brunei.

2. They landed on 16 December 1941 at Kuala Belait. They captured

important posts such as the police stations and the oilfield in Seria.

3. They chose this place to land first because of the district’s economic
importance (oil).

4. The Japanese only took 6 days to capture Brunei.

5. Brunei Town was captured on 22 December 1941. They captured the

police headquarters and government offices.

6. Due to the superiority of the Japanese army, the British Resident, the
Sultan, the Malay Chiefs and the people decided not to resist the
Japanese.

Reasons for the Japanese easy invasion of Brunei:

a) The Japanese sent spies to investigate and obtain information

about Brunei. These spies acted as guides to the Japanese army
during the invasion.

b) The British were unprepared and outnumbered.

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 THE JAPANESE ADMINISTRATION IN BRUNEI

 The Japanese introduced a new system of administration

called Miri Shyu.

By this system, six territories in Borneo were united as

THE
one – Brunei, Baram, Bintulu, Labuan, Limbang and
JAPANESE Lawas (BBBLLL).

The new administration was headed by a Japanese

military governor.

 The Japanese were not interested in developing a good

system of administration or in rebuilding Brunei’s
economic infrastructure.

Their policy of neglect caused widespread hardship and

sufferings.

 The Japanese Military Police in the Second World War

was the Kempetai.

The people were afraid of the Kempetai because they

carried out cruel punishment against those suspected of
committing crimes. Victims were caught and tortured.

Prisoners were locked up at two places; Gadong and

Batu Lintang, Kuching.

 The Sultan of Brunei during the Japanese Occupation was

Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin.

The Sultan was dismissed with a pension and lived in

BRUNEI
Limbang.

 The State Secretary during the Japanese Occupation was

Enche Ibrahim bin Mohammad Jaafar. (Later on, he
became the first Menteri Besar of Brunei in 1959)

 The locals disliked the Japanese custom which made

them bow whenever they met a Japanese officer or
soldier.

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 NIPPONISATION

AIMS:

1. To force locals to adopt Japanese culture, language and ideology.

2. To make locals be loyal to the Japanese.

3. To make locals respect the Japanese.

THE LOCALS:

1. MUST FLY the Japanese flag named Nippon Hi No Maru.

2. MUST SING and RESPECT the Japanese national anthem named Kimigayo.

3. MUST SPEAK the Japanese language for all government officers and also
for children in schools.

4. MUST USE Japanese stamps and currency (also known as banana notes)

5. MUST USE the Japanese calendar and follow Japanese public holidays.

6. The Japanese also organized youth exchange programmes to strengthen

Japanese influence and to spread anti-European feelings.

7. The Japanese also encourage the locals to develop cultural activities in

attempt to win the hearts and minds of the locals.

LIBERATION BY THE ALLIED FORCES: FREEDOM!

 The Allies started bombing Brunei.

16  Totally destroyed Brunei Town, Kuala Belait, and Marbut

NOVEMBER Tunggal Mosque.
1944
 Also totally destroyed Japanese ships anchored in Brunei Bay.

 The Australian soldiers landed at Muara.

10 JUNE  They were led by Lieutenant General Sir Moorshead.

1945
 The Japanese soldiers did not resist the coming of the Allied
soldiers.

 Brunei was then temporarily placed under the British Military

Administration.

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 THE EFFECTS OF THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION

 NO SOCIAL and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS.

 NOT enough food.

 NOT enough medicine. Therefore, there was an outbreak of cholera and

malaria epidemics.

 The Seria Oilfields were burnt by the Japanese before leaving Brunei.

 Nationalist consciousness grew.

 Awareness of self-rule was created.