Tag: Brunei stamp

There are not many Monarchs left in the world with absolute power. Unlimited oil and gas wealth would seem to keep the lights on and internal opposition to a minimum. Absolute Monarchs still have families though, in this case a rather tacky little brother. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The current Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, assumed the Throne over tiny Brunei in 1967. His rule continues at age 76. The Protectorate status with Great Britain ended in 1984, so 1985 was a great time for a new issue of bulk mail stamps with the Sultan front and center. A western style dress military uniform done up with crazy fun amounts of gold trim and topped by a fez, so time to get the party started.

Todays stamp is issue A60,  a 40 Sen stamp issued by the Sultanate of Brunei on December 23rd, 1985. It was a twelve stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth an appropriate 40 cents used.

The Sultan really is an absolute ruler. In addition to his Royal title, he is also the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Defense Minister, the Defender of the local Muslim Faith, and Minister of Finance. The buck would seem to stop with the Sultan. There is however the thorny issue of younger brother Jefri.

The business man of the family, Jefri was charged with investing the billions of Brunei’s sovereign wealth fund. There were a few assets like a chain of luxury international hotels Jefri could point to, but there also seemed a pile of debt. The Sultan was forced to start legal cases around the world to seize assets and accounts of Jefri. The brothers had seemed to work it out in 2000, with Jefri voluntarily transferring back some assets in return for no further prosecution and not having to change his lifestyle. This agreement later fell apart as naughty Jefri failed to come clean about all his accounts. The Brunei Sovereign Wealth Fund again had to try again to start reclaim assets.

Jefri remember had that out about his lifestyle. A haram of five wives that he gradually whittled down via divorce. There was an additional palace that contained 25 women paid $20,000 a week for their services. Among them were a Miss USA that didn’t sue him, another that did. Apparently she had thought her duties for the 20k would just be candy striping at the local hospital. Another girl struck it big by writing a memoir of her time at the palace, Some Girls, My life in a Harem.

Next to the concubine palace was a giant parking complex housing Jefri’s exotic car collection. You would think this would be easy to seize however none of the cars are properly titled or able to obtain export certificates. They are now mainly rotting undriven in Brunei’s jungle climate. Previous management at Rolls Royce joked that if the Monarch is overthrown he hopes that the car park is torched as all the cars hitting the used car market would tank values. There was also a more recent controversy over Jefri having statues commissioned of him and a new “fiancé” having sex. The penalty for that in Brunei is stoning to death, so perhaps not something to be memorialized in gold leaf.

Well my drink is empty and drinking is not allowed in Brunei. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

The Sultan of Brunei is an ancient title that once conferred leadership of much of the island of Borneo and even included much of the Philippines. The time of colonialism saw the realm shrunk and protection from Great Britain sought. Inviting the British proved lucky as they discovered oil. With the fading of the British, decisions faced new Sultan Omar Ali Saiffuddin on how to move forward. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Brunei was a British Protectorate at the time of this stamp. That means there was a British Resident locally that the Sultan was required to consult with on all matters excluding religion and customs. Yet unlike some other Protectorates, like this one https://the-philatelist.com/2019/07/23/bechuanaland-protectorate-1888-the-british-side-with-christian-chief-khama-to-keep-the-pioneers-at-bay/ , you don’t see the British Monarch on the stamps. The oil revenue conferred power locally so there was more local involvement in the administration.

Todays stamp is issue A4, a 3 Cent stamp issued by the Sultanate of Brunei on March 1st, 1952. It was a fourteen stamp issue in various denominations celebrating new Sultan Omar that year. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents unused.

Brunei was occupied by the Japanese during the war. The future Sultan served in their administration as well as the British before his older brother abdicated and he became Sultan. The war had reduced dramatically colonial power in the area. Philippines became independent in 1946, after a fight Indonesia became independent in 1949, See https://the-philatelist.com/2017/11/24/well-we-think-we-are-independant-we-have-a-constitution-a-flag-and-austrian-stamps/   . Malaya was also moving toward independence and to take control of other British controlled areas like Singapore and Brunei. Sultan Omar was faced with the challenge of wrestling more authority over his people from the British, while keeping Indonesia at bay, while exploring the possibilities with Malaya. The British problem was dealt with first. A new constitution replaced British control with local and the British Resident was replaced by a High Commissioner as with former colonies. The British kept up the commitment to defend Brunei. Negotiations with Malaya were began. They did not go well as Sultan Omar would be the low man on Malaysia’s system of revolving regional sultans. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/07/12/kelantan-the-british-peal-away-siam-for-the-benefit-of-malaya/ . They would also not guarantee that oil revenue would remain for the benefit of Brunei, Malaysia went ahead with former  Brunei territories of Sarawak and North Borneo, but not Brunei itself. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/02/21/the-last-white-rajah-of-sarawak-much-to-the-annoyance-of-many/   , and https://the-philatelist.com/2019/01/24/north-borneo-company-1922-a-british-chinese-hong-company-comes-to-borneo-to-persevere-and-achieve/    . Gosh I have written a lot of articles.

Anyway, the new constitution meant elections and a left wing Indonesia supported party won. The favored a confederation between Brunei, Sarawak, and North Borneo with a capital in Brunei and no more Sultan. A militia tied to the party began attacking oil installations and government offices. The Sultan asked for British help and the British responded with two companies of Gurkhas who flew in on a Bristol Britannia from Singapore and rescued Sultan Omar. Sarawak’s old World war II resistance leader and now museam currator asked for help from his old Kelabit tribesman to block escape routes to Indonesia while the Gurkhas got up to strength.  This would all sound like the last charge of Empire except that the Falklands War was 20 years later. The Gurkhas were able to retake Seria but not before the rebels had executed  some Brunei officials who refused to join the rebellion. This helped convince Sultan Omar not to join Malaya but keep up a close relationship with the Gurkhas, To this day there is a British Gurkha infantry battalion in Brunei. Rich city state Singapore also maintains a few thousand Gurkhas for internal security. Must keep jealous triangles at bay.

A few years after the revolt Sultan Omar decided to abdicate in favor of his first born son, who still rules. When now Begawan Sultan Omar died in 1986 his funeral was attended by all his former triangle suiters with even Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip flying out to pay their respects.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the Gurkhas. It was such a masterstroke of the Empire to recruit the Nepalese soldiers from outside the Empire. Even after the Empire’s sun as set, they have proved indispensable. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

The way the British wormed their way into Brunei is a story worth telling. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This was the first stamp issue of Brunei. There were none issued before British protectorate status. It is still a well printed stamp showing a peaceful river scene. The British colonials using this stamp to communicate with home, were well served.

The stamp today is issue A1, a 1 cent stamp issued by the Sultanate of Brunei in 1926. This stamp, in various colors and denominations was issued for 30 years from 1907-1937. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.25 mint. The stamp to look out for in this long running set  is the black and red $25 version. It is worth $1200 used. There exists mistakes with inverted watermarks that can be worth as much as 5 times this.

Brunei was an ancient empire that once controlled much of the island of Borneo and even the Philippines. The Philippines was lost to the Spanish who then came to conquer Brunei. The Spanish occupation was short lived as much of their force fell to malaria. This allowed the Sultan to return to power.

The British encroachment began when a British adventurer named Brooke was given the territory of Sarawak after assisting the Sultan in a rebellion. After that he was constantly pressuring Brunei to yield more land to his white rajah area. See also https://the-philatelist.com/2018/02/21/the-last-white-rajah-of-sarawak-much-to-the-annoyance-of-many/. The Sultan asked for help from Britain in containing the Brooke dynasty in Sarawak. Britain agreed to protectorate status in which it would maintain Brunei’s current borders from outsiders. A few years later, Sarawak took another chunk of land and Britain did nothing to help Brunei, as they did not consider Sarawak a foreign entity. Brunei today is a very small territory, a small fraction of it’s once great empire.

The time of this stamp was before the discovery of oil. The then Sultan, Muhammad Jamalul Alam Aquamadin was the last of the Sultans to lack a western education. He was a devout Muslim who built a Mosque and had Mohammaddan, (Islamic) law codified. Later in his reign a British resident was awarded executive powers that had previously been with the Sultan. The Sultan died of malaria at age 35.

Oil was discovered in 1929. This was after 2 British men smelled it and thought it was worth a survey and test wells. The oil has made Brunei quite rich and the current sultan is one of the richest people in the world. The descendants of the Brookes are not as wealthy and Sarawak was absorbed by Malaysia upon independence from Great Britain. British protectorate status ended in 1984  for Brunei although there is still much military cooperation.

Well my drink is empty and so I will open the discussion in the below comment section. One can see how the colonials in this type of place can be viewed as interlopers but it is hard to imagine such a place functioning in the modern world without the interference. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.