THE POLITICAL ECONOMY AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

The main economic problem in Brunei is the need for diversifying the economy before the oil and gas reserves of the country run out. For different reasons this has proved difficult. Since diversification also seems to imply that fairly large quantities of immigrant labour have to be utilised, the predominance of the Malay Muslims - a cornerstone of the country's official national policy and the sultanate itself - may be challenged with social unrest as a possible outcome. Whether there is a way out of this apparent dilemma is the paramount question pertaining to the future of the country.