Bruneian People's Party

The Bruneian People's Party ( Malay Parti Rakyat Brunei ) was the first political party on Borneo and the only significant party in the history of Brunei to date . It was founded in 1956 and quickly became very popular with the population. Her goals included the abolition of colonialism , continuation of the monarchy and state independence. She won almost every possible seat in the district assembly elections in 1959. The Sultan, who feared for his power, gambled for time, so that the People's Party started a rebellion with its armed arm called the National Army of Northern Kalimantan . The rebellion was put down in a short time and the People's Party banned. It then tried to exert influence with the help of foreign governments and organizations, but lost its importance.

Foundation and advancement

The Brunei People's Party was founded on January 22, 1956 in the home of the Chairman of the Brunei Youth Front, Mohd Saleh Bin Haji Masri . As chairman was AM Azahari chosen Masri was his deputy. The Brunei People's Party was founded on the basis of the establishment of the Malaysian People's Party , which had taken place just two months earlier. The approval of the party dragged on until August, but one year later it had 16,000 members. Initially one of their goals was to reach the north of Kalimantan , i.e. H. also Sabah and Sarawak , under the majesty of the Sultan of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddin III. deliver. Later she moved away from this goal and called for the abolition of colonialism , continuation of the monarchy, state independence, and a federation with the British territories on Borneo under the leadership of the Brunei sultan.

Because of its popularity, the party soon demanded elections and constitutionality. She even sent a delegation to London because the British ruled Brunei with the help of the 1905 Treaty of Power. When the first Brunei constitution was passed in 1959, the leadership of the People's Party had to recognize that the Sultan was not ready to surrender parts of his power. The People's Party founded the Brunei United Labor Front in 1960 .

Rebellion in 1962

In August 1962, elections were held for the district assemblies, in which the People's Party won 54 out of 55 seats to be allocated. According to the constitution, the members of the district assemblies should have elected a legislative council, which the sultan delayed. In the early morning of December 8th, the People's Party with its armed arm National Army of North Kalimantan launched a rebellion . The Sultan immediately declared a state of emergency, had the rebellion put down with the help of the British military, banned the People's Party and had the People's Party leadership arrested. Azahari fled to Indonesia , where he was granted political asylum. In July 1973, some of the leaders of the People's Party managed to escape from the Berakas prison and were given asylum in Malaysia .

Petitions for political changes

On May 7, 1974, the People's Party was re-established in Kuala Lumpur . The aim was to convince foreign governments and organizations to lobby the Sultan for democratic reforms. Dr. Mahmud Saedon bin Awang Othman was given the task of re-establishing the party's contacts abroad, especially with Indonesia. On March 17, 1975, petitions and appeals were sent to a number of governments and the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Nations in London. In April 1975 a delegation under AM Azahari toured the Middle East to seek support for the aims of the People's Party. On July 15, 1975, the People's Party presented its demands to a special committee of the United Nations . In November 1975 their representatives reached a resolution of the committee, which however did not result in any consequences. The People's Party's efforts lasted until the early 1980s. However, they failed due to the lack of interest of the foreign governments addressed and the preparations for the independence of Brunei, which came into effect in 1984.

literature

Harun Abdul Majid: Rebellion in Brunei: The 1962 Revolt, Imperialism, Confrontation and Oil . IBTauris, London 2007, ISBN 978-1-84511-423-7 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jatswan S. Sidhu: Historical dictionary of Brunei Darussalam . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2017, ISBN 978-1-4422-6458-8 , pp. 247-249 .
↑ Aurel Croissant: The Political Systems of Southeast Asia: An Introduction . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-531-14349-1 , p. 78 .

[Sidhu247–249-1] Jatswan S. Sidhu: Historical dictionary of Brunei Darussalam . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2017, ISBN 978-1-4422-6458-8 , pp. 247-249 .

[Croissant78-2] Aurel Croissant: The Political Systems of Southeast Asia: An Introduction . Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-531-14349-1 , p. 78 .