Word: brunei
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...continue to handle much of the sultanate's affairs, as they have since 1888, when the tiny backwater country, which a passing naval captain had chanced on 40 years earlier, formally became a British protectorate. In addition, London agreed to keep a battalion of tough Gurkha soldiers in Brunei (pronounced Brew-nigh) until the sultanate's own Lilliputian army becomes more seasoned. Even the five-year transition period was a grudging concession by Sir Hassanal, who may be the world's most Anglophile ruler...
...Brunei's maneuvering to retain British protection is based on oil. Tucked between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, the sultanate sits on an estimated 1.6 billion bbl. of petroleum. The government owns a 50% share in a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, whose wells pump 230,000 bbl. per day; it is also one-third owner of the world's largest natural gas liquefaction plant. Brunei's revenues should surpass $1 billion this year, and the national surplus, already $2.5 billion, will grow by another $700 million...
...Brunei fears that Malaysia might be tempted to make a play for such wealth. Thus the present sultan and his father, Omar Ali Saifuddin, who abdicated in 1967 in favor of his son but remains a power behind the throne, have steadfastly insisted that the British stay...
...result, Brunei remains a quaint throwback to the days of the British...
Queen Elizabeth's birthday is celebrated with a full-dress military parade and a flyby of the Brunei air force, which consists of twelve helicopters. The English commander of the 1,000-man Royal Brunei Malay Regiment is in effect the sultanate's Defense Minister. The British High Commissioner handles foreign affairs and is chauffeured about the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan in a huge silver Daimler, given to him by the sultan. One of the few points of interest in the sleepy capital is a museum honoring Winston Churchill. Another landmark is the Royal Brunei Yacht Club...