Brunei news headlines

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — All Brunei residents will be required to use the BruHealth contact tracing app if they wish to go out for essential purposes from 6pm on September 25, the health ministry announced on Friday. Individuals who do not have BruHealth must be accompanied by someone who has […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Brunei’s daily new coronavirus cases jumped to a record high of 326 on Saturday as another four COVID-19 patients have died. This is the third time in a week the sultanate reported more than 200 COVID-19 cases a day after averaging 146 daily new infections over the past […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Starting from September 24, individuals can get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the Indoor Stadium vaccination centre every Friday without making an appointment. The health ministry is expanding its walk-in vaccination services from 2.30pm to 8pm every Friday at the […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Takaful Brunei Keluarga (TBK) is providing free COVID-19 special coverage for new and existing subscribers of its protection and savings plans. TBK subscribers who are diagnosed with COVID-19 from September 1 to December 31, 2021 will receive a hospitalisation cash payout of […]

Author: Ngeow Chow Bing, University of Malaya The somewhat awkwardly termed Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is an ASEAN sub-regional area launched in 1994. The area — which covers Brunei and parts of Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua), […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The health ministry reported 201 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, surging 62 percent compared to the previous day. This is the second time in three days the number of daily new infections crossed the 200 mark as another five clusters were identified. Brunei has been […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Three women were brought to court on Tuesday for suspected drug activity at the government isolation facility at the PKBN camp in Temburong. A statement from the Attorney General’s Chambers said the defendants — Noorhadahyati Aji, Siti Kamilah Hj Mohammad and Fatin @ […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The health minister Tuesday warned of a possible full lockdown if residents continue to disregard COVID-19 rules and a spike in cases persists. During a press briefing, YB Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Isham Hj Jaafar said tighter coronavirus restrictions may be imposed as […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – In a long awaited statement, the Ministry of Education (MoE) announced on Monday that written papers for IGCSE, O and A Level examinations would not take place for the October/November session due to the current COVID outbreak. The exams will be replaced with a system called […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Brunei recorded 214 new coronavirus infections on Monday, its highest daily tally since August 22. All but one of the new cases were local transmissions, with the other imported from Singapore. The health ministry also identified seven new clusters, including two at Hua Ho […]

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Progresif Media users can now stream eight new locally-produced shows on a newly-launched website.  During an online relaunch on Saturday, Progresif Media showcased new radio shows and podcasts by local content creators.  The content streaming platform partnered with […]

Authors: Jayaprakash Murulitharan, University of Cambridge and Matthew Ashfold, University of Nottingham Malaysia The almost annual haze in southern Southeast Asia originates from both natural and anthropogenic forest fires in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Forests are cleared for small-scale and […]

Author: Swee Kheng Khor, Kuala Lumpur The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to Southeast Asian countries. The region is experiencing accelerated national-level tragedies played out in accelerated speed. Only three Southeast Asian countries have any semblance of control. Brunei […]

Author: Moez Hayat, Georgetown University The year began well enough for Brunei when the sultanate took up its responsibilities as ASEAN chair. Under the theme of ‘We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper’, Brunei’s agenda focused on tackling COVID-19 in Southeast Asia and charting a post-pandemic […]

Authors: Nadia Azierah Hamdan and William Case, University of Nottingham Malaysia In regime studies, Brunei Darussalam is typically cast as an absolute monarchy, in some renditions the most coercive form of rule. But in practice the Sultanate’s politics remains relatively benign. In coping […]

Author: Editorial Board, ANU The relationships between ASEAN, China and the United States are under pressure in a world in which the global order is changing dramatically. This change threatens Asia’s shared prosperity and security. It is a product of the big shifts in the structure of global […]

Author: David Camroux, Sciences Po In justifying his Brexit posture, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained that, when it comes to the EU ‘cake’, he was ‘pro having it and pro eating it’. ‘Cakeism’ also forms the approach of the ten ASEAN countries to their own regional arrangement. […]

Author: Hsien-Li Tan, NUS When COVID-19 cases first appeared in the ASEAN region early in 2020, there were fears that public health systems would be overwhelmed. Responses around the region have varied. After decisive action — and missteps — in the initial months, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, […]

Author: Ann Black, University of Queensland In April 2019, the words ‘Sultan’, ‘Brunei’, ‘stoning’ and ‘gay-sex’ were trending globally. Condemnation of Brunei’s death by stoning law for proven acts of liwat — consensual intimacy between men — came from governments, the […]

SINGAPORE – When Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah delivered an address at the opening of Brunei’s annual legislative session on March 9, he expressed gratitude to “God” that his nation remained free of Covid-19 infections. At the time, the oil-rich Borneo sultanate was still one of the last […]

As China’s coronavirus epidemic spreads and global panic rises, with over 17,000 infections and 360 fatalities, countries in neighboring Southeast Asia are rolling out travel restrictions and bracing for contagion effects. While the wider region has pursued closer ties with Beijing in recent […]

Author: Kerstin Steiner, La Trobe University Brunei is a politically stable country whose extensive oil and gas resources make it one of the richest countries in the world. Oil wealth arguably allows the state to control the population through financial incentives such as no income tax and […]

The recent moratorium on enforcement of a law mandating that those committing homosexual acts in Brunei be stoned to death came only after a wide-ranging and high-profile international outcry. In a matter of about four weeks, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, backtracked on the […]

Amid a global outcry against Brunei’s implementation of Islamic sharia law measures that allow for death by stoning for sex between men and extramarital affairs, the sultanate’s ruler has apparently climbed down from the harshest measures in what some have interpreted as a bid to shield his […]

Kementerian Luar Negeri Brunei menegaskan bahwa penerapan hukum anti-homoseksualitas di negara tersebut baru-baru ini bertujuan untuk menjadi sebuah pencegahan daripada hukuman. Menteri Luar Negeri Brunei Erywan Yusof berkata bahwa hukum syariah lebih berfokus pada pencegahan daripada hukuman, […]

The Foreign Ministry of Brunei has said the latest implementation of an anti-gay law aims to serve as a preventive measure rather than punishment. The county’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Erywan Yusof, said the Sharia law focuses more on prevention than punishment, with an aim to educate, deter and […]

There has been no shortage of invective directed at Brunei’s decision this month to introduce far more tyrannical punishments under its Islamic legal system. Sharia was first introduced in 2014 by Brunei’s absolute monarch, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, but has now been augmented in its final phase […]

汶萊是全球最小的國家之一，也是僅存不多的君主制國家。然而，該國計劃實行伊斯蘭法刑法，引入鞭刑、被亂石打死等酷刑而遭國際社會炮轟。亞洲時報（Asiatimes.com）報導 […]

Brunei, one of the world’s smallest countries and few remaining absolute monarchies, is under global fire for phasing in a controversial new sharia penal code that mandates amputation, whipping or stoning to death for violations. The oil-rich sultanate of less than half a million people is now […]

Strict interpretation of Sharia law will make homosexual intercourse and adultery in Brunei punishable by stoning to death. The new law, that had been on hold for four years, was reaffirmed on March 27 and is set to be implemented on April 3, The Jakarta Post reported. Homosexuality, which was […]