All Discussions Tagged 'Zbrunei' - The 4 Freedoms Library2024-03-29T06:28:34Zhttp://4freedoms.com/group/malaysia/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=Zbrunei&feed=yes&xn_auth=noAbsolute Powertag:4freedoms.com,2012-05-22:3766518:Topic:1023822012-05-22T08:38:48.659Zshivahttp://4freedoms.com/profile/shiva
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ax5ZIdFoW1U/SrBuphLzk_I/AAAAAAAAVl4/8XZFC5---kM/s400/sultan-of-brunei-01.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ax5ZIdFoW1U/SrBuphLzk_I/AAAAAAAAVl4/8XZFC5---kM/s400/sultan-of-brunei-01.jpg"></img></a></p>
<p>Brunei Darussalam is a sultanate ruled by the same family for more than 600 years, and it has a population of approximately 428,000. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah governed under emergency powers that place few limits on his power. </p>
<p>Political authority and control rests entirely with the sultan. A 29-person legislative council (LegCo),…</p>
<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ax5ZIdFoW1U/SrBuphLzk_I/AAAAAAAAVl4/8XZFC5---kM/s400/sultan-of-brunei-01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ax5ZIdFoW1U/SrBuphLzk_I/AAAAAAAAVl4/8XZFC5---kM/s400/sultan-of-brunei-01.jpg" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Brunei Darussalam is a sultanate ruled by the same family for more than 600 years, and it has a population of approximately 428,000. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah governed under emergency powers that place few limits on his power. </p>
<p>Political authority and control rests entirely with the sultan. A 29-person legislative council (LegCo), which has no independent power and was composed primarily of appointed members, provides a forum for public discussion of proposed government programs as well as administrative deficiencies. It convenes once a year. Council members may be disqualified from service on the basis of various offenses, including disloyalty to the sultan.</p>
<p>Citizens do not have the right to change their government peacefully. The same family has ruled the country for more than 600 years. In 1962 the then sultan invoked an article of the constitution that allowed him to assume emergency powers for two years. These powers have been renewed every two years since 1962. The state of emergency places few limits on the sultan's power. The sultan also serves as prime minister, minister of defense, minister of finance, chancellor of the national university, inspector general of the Royal Brunei Police Force, and head of the Islamic faith.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eap/154379.htm" target="_blank">Link</a></p>
<p>Restrictions on Religious Freedom</p>
<p>The government continued its restrictions on the religious freedom of non–Muslims. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the government during the reporting period.</p>
<p>Since the early 1990s, the government has worked to reinforce the legitimacy of the hereditary monarchy and the observance of traditional and Muslim values by promoting a national ideology known as the Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB), or Malay Islamic Monarchy. MIB principles have been adopted as the basis for civic life. All government meetings and ceremonies commenced with a Muslim prayer. When attending citizenship ceremonies, non-Muslims must wear national dress, including Muslim head coverings for men and women.</p>
<p>Despite constitutional provisions providing for religious freedom, the government restricted, to varying degrees, the religious practices of all religious groups other than the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam. Proselytizing by any group other than the official Shafi'i sect was prohibited. The government placed strict customs controls on the importation of non-Islamic religious texts such as Bibles and Islamic religious teaching materials or scriptures intended for sale or distribution.</p>
<p>Anyone who teaches or promotes any "deviant" beliefs or practices in public may be charged under the Islamic Religious Council Act and punished with three months incarceration and a fine of BND 2,000 ($1,550).</p>
<p>The government routinely censored magazine articles on other faiths, blacking out or removing photographs of crucifixes and other Christian religious symbols. Government officials also restricted the distribution and sale of items that feature photographs of religious symbols.</p>
<p>There were credible reports that agents of the government's internal security department monitored religious services at Christian churches and that senior church members and leaders were under surveillance.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010_5/168348.htm" target="_blank">Link</a></p>