According to history, Islam was first established in the Malay Archipelago as early as the 6th century. The first Sultan of Brunei, Awang Alak Betatar, son of Sang Aji, had embraced Islam and named himself Sultan Muhammad in the 14^th. The first mosque was built by the third Sultan by the name of Sultan Sharif Ali or Paduka Seri Sultan Berkat who married the daughter of the second Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Ahmad. The other notable Sultans who further enhanced the MIB concepts were: Sultan Bolkiah in the 15^th century, who had colonised countries as far as Luzon island, Sultan Muhammad Hasan in the 16th century and Sultan Husin Kamaluddin in the 18^th century. But by far the most remarkable Sultan was Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien III who instituted strong foundations of formal Islamic education in schools and all sectors to further enhance this concept. During his reign a mosque named after him as Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque (inset), was built in 1958. It is one of the most magnificent mosques in Southeast Asia. It symbols the strong of Islamic faith of the people of Brunei Darussalam. After the independence of Brunei in 1984, the rooted MIB national concept was officially declared by the present Sultan, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah. This guiding light will continue to move from strength to strength, spiritually and materially to withstand against all odds in order to maintain a truly peaceful, harmonious and progressive Monarchy.

Brunei Darussalam is a member of the United Nations, WTO, WHO, Commonwealth, APEC, ASEAN, EAEC, CITES and...

Brunei is ranked as the richest economy and third biggest spender among the developing Asia Pacific economies, according to a report by the Asian Development Bank. It stated that "Brunei was the richest economy with a per capita GDP of US$34,629.00 or BND$49,866.92 (rate as at Dec 10, 2007) which is more than 13 times the regional average which is US$ 2,621 and more than 40 times larger than the lowest ranked economy, Nepal the region's poorest. Its riches come from the exports of Crude Oil & Natural Gas. Crude oil was found in 1929 by Shell Petroleum Company at Seria town which is 10 km from Kuala Belait in the Belait district. The company is now known as Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn. Bhd. (BSP). The extraction of Natural Gas has started since 1973 and the company, which is based in Lumut, was named Brunei Liquified Natural Gas (BLNG). At last Brunei has its own oil and gas company called Brunei Petroleum Company which was formed in 2001. Mr Haji Hamdillah bin Haji Abdul Wahab (Dato) was appointed the first Bruneian CEO of BLNG on 1^st December, 2000-2005. Due to recent rise in oil prices between (2007) U$60 to U$90 per barrel, the government has stepped up the offshore and onshore exploration to optimise production of oil and gas in the country. Oil in Brunei may only last for another 30 years. The government has stepped up the drive of being less dependent on Oil and Gas by diversifying towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub, e-Commerce, tourism, SMEs, light industries, agriculture, manufacturing, harbour and other services to boost the economy of the country. The Methanol Plant is one of the mega projects from this initiative. It is called The Brunei Methanol Company (BMC), a joint venture between Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Petroleum Brunei and Itochu Corporation. It is situated at SPARK (Sungai Liang Industrial Park) as a world class industrial park at Lumut near BLNG. Its infra structure had began on fourth quarter of 2007 and When completed in 2010, it will be the third largest industry after oil (BSP) and gas (LNG) industries in the country.

Brunei has no foreign debts and has substantially large foreign reserves which is entrusted with the management of Brunei Investment Agency (BIA). There is no income tax except import duties on luxury goods (5-20%) such as tobacco, textile, cosmetics, perfumery, electrical goods and machine parts, auto parts, timber products, motor vehicles and some others products. Petroleum, sugar, rice and many essential goods are subsidised by Government. All types of Personal Computer are exempted from tax. There is a corporate tax of 30% on all limited companies.

The infrastructure of the country is in place. It has one of the best telephone communication systems and the highways are effectively planned. The seaport has been modernised. Brunei is relatively a young but aggressive country.

Brunei grandly hosted Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2000. Tourism is Brunei is on the move. No doubt Visit Brunei in Year 2001 has ended but this industry will definately be brighter each year as it has more and more places of interest to offer. The GDP per capital is around US$ 14,800, the second highest in ASEAN and fourth in ASIA. The value currency of Brunei is at par with Singapore dollars.

Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) used to be the sole producer since 1929. One billionth barrel of oil was extracted in 1994. In late 1980's Elf of France partnership with local company has ventured into oil exploration.

There are seven international commercial Banks namely: Citibank, Malayan Banking Group, HSBC Bank, RHB Bank, Standard Chartered and United Overseas Bank (UOB), and two local banks- Bank Islamic Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and Baiduri Bank Group, and three finance companies, totalling 30 branches operating throughout the country. Its currency is at par with Singapore Dollars. The denominations are $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 and $10,000 while coins are 1, 5 10, 20 and 50 cent.

Banking hours is generally from 9 am to 3 pm on weekdays except Saturday till 11 am.

Healthcare in Brunei celebrated its centennial anniversary in year 2007. A book named 100^th of Caring was launched by His Majesty on 15^th Noverber 2007 (Thursday) to commemorating this auspicious occasion of Brunei's health services. All citizens of Brunei receive Free healthcare. All hospitals are equipped with modern high-tech equipment. There are four major hospitals in the country. The main hospital in the capital is the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital (RIPAS) named after the present Queen. The second hospital in Kuala Belait District is The Suri Seri Begawan Hospital (SSB) named after the 28^th Sultan. The third hospital in Temburong District is called Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Hospital named after the former second Queen. The fourth hospital is Tutong Hospital is named after the present Crown Prince Hospital Pengiran Muda Makhota Pengiran Muda Haji Al Muhtadee Billah. There are many clinics throughout the country including the "Flying Doctors" to care the people in the rural areas. There is a nursing college named after eldest Princess HRH Rashida Nursing College where local nurses are trained. There is private medical center named Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) where major operations such as open heart surgery and others are performed. Sufferers of rhinosinusitis (Sinusitis) will soon be relieved as they soon used Balloon SinuplastyTM system. It is managed by Singaporean. There are many private out-patient clinics and dental clinics throughout the country. The birth mortality is one of the lowest in the region.

There are over 170 government schools, one university (University of Brunei Darussalam-UBD), a technical institute (Technical Institute of Brunei-ITB), a nursing college, an agricultural training center, a mechanical training center, a number of trade schools, vocational schools and private Information Technology (IT) institutes. There are about 15 private schools in Brunei and one international school. Education is totally freed for its citizens in all Government education sectors. English is the main language in education.

Malay Language is the National Language and it is compulsory, Islamic Studies, Religious Knowledge and the understanding of Melayu Islamic Beraja (MIB) or Malay Islamic Monarchy to all curriculum of the schools.

There are quite a number of schools have introduced Computer Studies in Brunei Cambridge GCE "O" Level Examination (British Standard). To be in line with the promotion of IT in the country, all schools have their respective computer facilities.

The school systems are six years in primary, three years in secondary, 2 years in upper secondary which is Brunei Cambridge GCE "O" Level (British Standard) and two years Pre-university which is Brunei Cambridge GCE "A" Level (British Standard). A total of 13 years of education before entering university.

There are a number of five star Hotels down to smaller and budget hotels. The services of some hotels are second to none as they had served many Head of States, world Dignitaries and VIPs during the APEC Summit. Turning our attention to local cuisine, Restaurants in Brunei are one of the best in the region. All types of food are served here and very reasonably priced. International Fast-Food chains and all types of Carbonated Drinks are found here. Supermarkets in Brunei are of international standards as all varieties of air-flown fruits, meat, vegetables, canned foods, confectioneries and other products are imported either directly from its country of origin or through Singapore.

There are three shopping Malls and over ten large departmentals stores and supermarkets throughout the country. Boutique shops selling branded goods are open to serve tourists and locals alike, making shopping in Brunei a pleasure. There are many Locally hand-made products that are attractive as souvenir.