Brunei King vs

Other Kings of
Group 6
Southeast Asia
 Process

I. II. III. IV.

Introduction Comparison Quizz Discussion
 Brunei King vs
Other Kings of Southeast Asia

I.
Introduction
I. INTRODUCTION
Southeast Asian countries’ political systems:

 Communist Laos, Vietnam

State
 Republic Indonesia, The Philippines,
East Timor, Myanmar, Singapore
 Constitutional Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia,
Monarchy Thailand have KINGs
 I. INTRODUCTION
Kings of constitutional monarchy nations:

Brunei: Thailand: Malaysia:

Cambodia:
King Tengku
Sultan Hassanal King Maha King Norodom Muhammad
Bolkiah Vajiralongkon Sihamoni Faris Petra
 I. INTRODUCTION
Differences between King - Sultan
 King:
•a generic title for the
head of country where
modern monarchy exists
(head of kingdom),
• used alongside other titles
for monarchs,
• mentioned in many
historical stories
 Sultan:
• a noble title assumed by
Muslim rulers (head of
Sultanate),
• or title for certain rulers who
claimed almost full sovereignty
in practical terms,
• mentioned in holy Quran
 I. INTRODUCTION
The Sultan of Brunei
 Full title: His Majesty The Sultan and
Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam
+ was born on July 15th 1946
+ became the 29th Sultan of Brunei at the young age
of 21 in 1967 HASSANAL
+ having completed 50 years in power BOLKIAH
+ hails from the royal family which has ruled Brunei
for 600 years.
+ is now the world’s second-longest-reigning monarch
 rules a unique political system
Brunei = the first Southeast Asian country to adopt
Islamic Sharia Law,
follows a conservative ideology which presents the
monarchy as the defender of the faith.
 Brunei King vs
Other Kings of Southeast Asia

II.
Comparison
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:
1.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH
 Is both the head of state and head of government
(Monarch + Prime Minister of Brunei Darussalam)
 has absolute authority,
exercises power over almost all key fields of the country:
+ appointing Ministers and Deputy ministers
to form executive branch  Politics
+ Minister of Defense and Commander in Chief
of Royal Brunei Armed Forces  National Defense
+ Minister of Finance  Economics & Finance
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:
1.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH
 Foreign Affairs:
+ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei
+ Chairman of Summit APEC Leaders in 2000 and
ASEAN Summit in 2013
+ attended various meetings of international organisations.:
ASEAN, Commonwealth, the Organisation of the United
Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:
1.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH

 Religion:
+ Malay Muslim Monarchy,
+ Head of Religion
+ the defender of the faith
(help bring Islam the official religion of the country,
build mosques, prayer halls and stations)
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:
1.2. Other Kings of SEA
 only the head of state
(an elected prime minister = the head of government)
 has limited power of a symbolic figurehead over only
few areas, mainly legitimacy and national social affairs.

Cambodian King
+ has no legislative powers,
+ refrains from participating in politics & government,
+ plays only a ceremonial role.  limited power
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:
1.2. Other Kings of SEA

Thai King
+ intercedes in national affairs as a moderator.
+ head of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, having the
power of pardon and the prerogative of royal
assent.
the king is no longer the originator of all laws (the
National Assembly of Thailand)
BUT has a royal assent to pass bills to become laws.
 Over few areas
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:
1.2. Other Kings of SEA

Malaysian King
+ exercises executive power on the advice of the
Federal Council of Ministers
+ has discretionary powers to choose the Prime
Minister
+ can reject any new laws or amendments to existing
laws
 Over few areas
 II. COMPARISON:
1.Invisible Role and Power of Kings:

Brunei King Other Kings of SEA

 both the head of state
and head of government
 has absolute authority
over almost all key fields
 only the head of state
 has limited power of a
symbolic figurehead
 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH
 The Sultan of Brunei alone:
+ was once regarded as the world's richest man.
+ has an estimated wealth of $40 billion in 1990s.
+ was ranked the world’s fourth richest royal,
with a net worth of $20 billion by Forbes in 2008.
+ earns $100 a second from oil earning and investments.

 His extravagant lifestyle.

 The world's second-largest palace
350$ million 22-karat gold 800-car underground garage
1,788 rooms 257 bathroom 5 swimming pools
The world's second-largest palace
 Personal collection of supercars
7,000 high performance cars – $5 billion
includes 600ROLLS ROYCE cars over 300 Ferraris
 Luxuriously customized private jets
Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 767-200ER
 Luxuriously customized private jets
Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 767-200ER
 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH
 His extravagant lifestyle
 The royal family of Brunei:
one of the wealthiest royal families
+ have indulged themselves in lavish parties, polo ponies, race horses,
+ hosted a number or celebrities and beauty queens.
+ spent up to $500 million a year at the London jeweler Asprey.
+ Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of Sultan
owned more than 2,300 cars and a yacht named Tits.
 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH

 His personal financial impacts:

+ used his own money to help prop up currencies and the
stock markets in Singapore and Malaysia during the Asian
economic crisis in 1997-98
+ sold at least $300 million of his assets to make loans to his
Southeast Asia neighbors.

 has significant financial impacts

 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.1. Brunei King: HASSANAL
BOLKIAH

 owns an enormous personal asset even though it

officially belongs to the state,

 used enormous income to make his tiny sultanate

one of the world's most economically prosperous
and socially secure societies
 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.2. Other Kings of SEA
The differences in invisible role and powers do not affect their visible
assets  all have enormous personal assets

Thai King
• The Thai royal family is one of the richest
dynasties in the world.
• His net worth is $30 billion which he inherited
the wealth for his father (RAMA IX)
• He owns luxurious European villas or the fancy
King Maha sports cars  really rich
Vajiralongkon
 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.2. Other Kings of SEA Norodom
Cambodian King Sihamoni
• net worth of $275 million.
• has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-
paid monarchs for 2018
• owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property
holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics.
• owns several restaurants (the “Fat Norodom Burger” chain)
a Football Team (the “Phnom Penh Angels”),
his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wondernorodom - Cambodia),
a top-selling perfume (With Love from Sihamoni) and
a fashion line called “Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni Seduction”
 II. COMPARISON:
2. Visible assets of Kings:
2.2. Other Kings of SEA
Malaysian King
• owns a huge collection of luxurious supercars
(travels in either a stretched red Bentley Arnage, a
dark-blue Bentley Continental Flying Spur, or black
Maybach 62)
• All the Sultans in Malaysia are also transported in
official cars bearing their respective royal emblems

 Little details about his personal assets

Tengku Muhammad but he is still considered rich monarches in the world.
Faris Petra
 Brunei King vs
Other Kings of Southeast Asia

III.
Quizz
 Question1
 Why in Brunei the king
is called ”Sultan” not
“King”?
A, “Sultan” in Brunei means
“absolute power”
B, “ Sultan” is Prime
Minister in Brunei
C, “Sultan” is a noble title
of Muslim rulers
D, “Sultan” means “every
thing”
2
29 9
 Question 2
 In which aspects can Sultan
of Brunei exercise his power?

A, national defense
B, foreign affairs
C, finance
D, all of above options

30
 Question 3
 What is the main difference
between sultan of Brunei with
other kings of Southeast Asia?

 - Sultan is both the head of

state and head of government,
has absolute authority, including
emergency powers.
 - Other kings are only the head
of state, has limited power of a
symbolic figurehead over only
few areas.

31
 Question 4
 Can you name some assets
that Sultan possess?

 The wealth of $40 billion in

1990s.

 His family was ranked the

world’s fourth richest royal, with
a net worth of $20 billion by
Forbes in 2008.

 He earns $100 a second from

oil earning and investments

32
 Question 5
 Which countries in Southest
Asia have constitutional
mornarchy?

A, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and

Cambodia.

B, Brunei, Laos, Thailand and

Cambodia.

C, Thailand, Brunei and Malaysia

D, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodai,

Brunei and Thailand

33
 Question 6
 How does Sultan form
his executive branch?

 He appoints Ministers
and Deputy ministers to
form executive branch
with up to 15 members

34
 Brunei King vs
Other Kings of Southeast Asia

IV.
Discussion
Discussion questions

 Is Brunei King more powerful than other Kings of

Southeast Asia in international relations?
Thank you for
your attentive
listening!