Mug Shot — «Brunei - Nodding Donkey»

Country: Brunei Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 338 users (32 trading, 97 seeking)

Brunei is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia; and it is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. It is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo. The remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 408,786 in July 2012. At the peak of Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485–1528) is alleged to have had control over the northern regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, Seludong (modern-day Manila), and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The maritime state was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in 1578's Castille War. The Bruneian Empire began to decline; during the 19th century, the Sultanate ceded Sarawak to James Brooke as a reward for his aid in putting down a rebellion and named him as rajah; and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888 Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British Resident as colonial manager in 1906. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962 a small armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British. Brunei regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984. Economic growth during the 1970s and 1990s, averaging 56% from 1999 to 2008, has transformed Brunei into a newly industrialised country. It has developed wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum and natural gas fields.

The nodding donkey, a common sight in the quaint old town of Seria pumps out the lifeblood of Brunei’s economy from under the oil-rich earth. The discovery of oil in Seria marked the birth of the oil industry in Brunei and made it a wealthy nation. In 1991, Brunei Shell extracted the billionth barrel oil from the rich Seria field. To celebrate this historic moment, Brunei Shell Petroleum commissioned a monument known as the Billionth Barrel near the seawall. Today Brunei is one of the largest oil producers in Asia region.

edited by anonymous and mobydick74
photo by lucky robles

  Brunei, MIC, Malaysia

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