Omar Ali Saifuddien III
Omar Ali Saifuddien III Sa'adul Khairi Waddien was Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 1950 until his abdication in 1967.
Early life and education
Omar Ali Saifuddien, born as Pengiran Muda Tengah, was born at Istana Kota, a palace in Kampong Sultan Lama, Brunei Town on 23 September 1914. He was the seventh child out of ten of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam II and Raja Isteri Fatimah. Following his birth, Pengiran Sharbanun binti Pengiran Muhammad raised him along with his older sister, Pengiran Anak Puteri Besar. Like the other royal children of Brunei, he received an education centred on Islamic customs, etiquette, and good manners in the palace.Omar Ali Saifuddien's behaviour and traits from a young age aligned with Islamic teachings. He began learning to read the Quran at the age of ten, under the guidance of tutors, and successfully completed his studies, performing forty formal recitations. It was customary for the princes and princesses of the royal family to study under various Quranic scholars to receive their blessings and favour. In his teenage years, Omar Ali Saifudden continued his religious education, deepening his understanding of Islamic law. One of his mentors was Abdul Mokti Nasar. Regular instructors for him included Pengiran Abdul Rahim, a specialist in Islamic customs and ceremonies.
At the palace, he was instructed in English language, religious knowledge and customs. Pengiran Abdul Rahim, Shaykh Haji Abdul Halim, and T. F. Stalley were among his tutors. During this time, he studied Dikir Brunei, a form of traditional Bruneian vocal performance or chant, every day after supper until he became an expert in it. He had four years of formal education.
On the recommendation of Thomas Carey, the British Resident, the 18-year-old prince enrolled together with two of his cousins, Pengiran Anak Mohamed Alam and Pengiran Anak Abdul Kahar, at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in Perak, British Malaya, which he attended from 1932 to 1936. Haji Abdul Rahim accompanied him to the college. He was the first of the Bruneian sultans to receive formal education at a foreign institution.
Early adulthood
In 1936, one week after arriving in Brunei Town from Malaya, Omar Ali Saifuddien was invited by Roland Evelyn Turnbull, the British Resident, to Kuala Belait to work as a cadet officer in the Forestry Department. After one week in Kuala Belait, he, along with Awang Abdul Hamid, Awang Maidin, and Awang Ludin, relocated to Bukit Puan, where they spent three months surveying the forest reserve. He familiarized himself with the forestry industry by working with Dusun, Belait, Tutong, and Iban labourers. Subsequently, he received invitations to work in locations including Bukit Sawat, Pengkalan Siong, Kuala Melayan, Sukang, Melilas, and Ingai.In 1937, he was transferred to the Judiciary Department, where he became an administrative officer in 1938. He was instructed by Hughes Hallet, the Assistant British Resident in Kuala Belait, to examine the Criminal Procedure Code that was in effect in Brunei. During the Japanese occupation of Brunei from 1941 until 1945, he was employed by State Secretary Ibrahim Mohammad Jahfar at Somobucho. Under his supervision, he familiarised himself with the Criminal Procedure Code, which he had started to learn at Kuala Belait.
In 1947, after the end of the Japanese occupation, he was appointed a member of the State Council and chairman of the Syariah Court. He had the Wazir title Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Bendahara Seri Maharaja Permaisuara conferred on him by his brother, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, on 15 July 1947. Following his appointment as Wazir, he traveled often to Brunei's interior regions. Following each trip to the interior, he prepared reports that he sent to the Sultan. He also provided the British Resident with these reports to address the issues raised. Omar Ali Saifudden said that the government always acted with his suggestions, especially when Eric Ernest Falk Pretty was serving as the British Resident.
One early contribution of Omar Ali Saifuddien was to regularise Islamic administration in Brunei. A religious council, the Mohammedan Religious Advisers, was formed. The council met for the first time on 31 January 1948. He himself was appointed its chairman. After examining laws on Islamic affairs in the Malay Peninsula, the board made proposals regarding the religious administration in Brunei.
Reign
Accession and coronation
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin died suddenly in Singapore, leaving no male heirs, on 4 June 1950. Omar Ali Saifuddien was proclaimed by Pengiran Anak Muhammad Yasin as the next Sultan at the Government Office's hall on 6 June 1950. Omar Ali Saifuddien directed his late brother's burial at the Royal Mausoleum upriver, contrary to the preference of the late Sultan's widow, Tengku Raihani. Upon his ascension to the throne, Omar Ali Saifuddien also became the head of the Islamic religion in the country.At 2:30 p.m., Pretty formally declared him as Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III and the 28th sultan of Brunei, with the decision's origin remaining unclear between Sarawak's Governor Anthony Abell and Brunei's State Council. Pretty had installed Omar Ali Saifuddien as sultan "against significant local opposition." During a news conference held in Singapore early on 7 June 1950, Gerard MacBryan stated that the intended coronation of Omar Ali Saifuddin would not be possible without the elements of the Brunei royal regalia Pretty had obtained.
Omar Ali Saifuddien was crowned as the Sultan dan Yang di-Pertuan Negara in the Lapau on 31 May 1951. In conjunction with the coronation, he was conferred with the Honorary Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George by Elizabeth II. He performed the Hajj pilgrimage in September of the same year.
Early reign and educational reforms
Omar Ali Saifuddien sent locals to study overseas as one of his initiatives. Three Malay fifth-graders were transferred to Singapore's Al-Juned Arabic School in 1950. This number went up every year. Omar Ali Saifuddien later attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey, London on 2 June 1953. He supported initiatives aimed at improving the people’s livelihood through national development programs.The Bruneian government spent B$10.65 million on educational issues. In 1954, this policy on education was first presented. The equipment of educational institutions, including secondary schools, adult education, and vocational training, was to be determined by this policy. The English-language Raja Isteri Girls' High School in Brunei Town was finished in 1957, but only went up to Form 3. The school's children went to Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien College to sit for Forms 4 and 5 after completing the Lower Secondary Certificate Examination. Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School in Brunei Town, Muda Hashim Secondary School in Tutong, and Sultan Hassan Secondary School in Temburong were the secondary schools that were finished in 1966.
The Department of Religious Affairs was established on 1 July 1954, by the Sultan. The plan included aspects of Islam including legal issues, educational issues, religious message–related activities, and social administration. Two religious officials from Johor, Ismail Omar Abdul Aziz and Othman Mohammad Said, were brought to Brunei on 25 September 1954. The Bruneian government started holding an evening religious school in September 1956. Additionally, the government began providing scholarships to a limited number of students to pursue further education overseas at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Islamic College in Klang; and Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah in Singapore.
On 11 October 1956, seven religious schools were established in Brunei on the premises of both Malay and English schools, based on the religious officers' suggestions. Nine religious instructors who were invited from Johor were involved in the religious studies program. The religious schools opened in the afternoon, after Zuhur. These religious schools were administered by the Department of Religious Affairs, and their director and administrator were the highest ranking officials in the department.
Constitutional journey of Brunei
Omar Ali Saifuddien formed a royal commission to get feedback from locals in various regions, which was the first step towards drafting a written constitution for Brunei. The commission had seven appointed members and was called the Tujuh Serangkai. It was tasked with gathering public feedback, creating a report, and offering Omar Ali Saifuddien advice on creating district councils, reorganising the State Council, and creating the Constitution. The Tujuh Serangkai created a report detailing the public's support for Omar Ali Saifuddien's constitutional goals after touring all districts of Brunei. Under his direction, Brunei's constitution was drafted, and on 23 March 1954, the Tujuh Serangkai presented a 50-page report to him.The first draft of Brunei's constitution, prepared by Abell and his colleagues aligned with the objectives of the constitutional committee. Abell, the Sultan, and his two wazirs, Pengiran Muda Hashim and Pengiran Anak Mohamed Alam, met with British Resident John Orman Gilbert from 16 to 17 December 1954 at Istana Darul Hana. These negotiations led to minor amendments, which were submitted to the Colonial Office and unanimously accepted. District Advisory Councils were subsequently established in each of the four districts in 1955. By mid-1955, Omar Ali Saifuddien's insistence on securing positions for his wazirs in the Legislative Council and Executive Council complicated the constitutional drafting process and disrupted British plans for parliamentary reorganisation.
In 1956, the Brunei People's Party, led by A. M. Azahari, gained popularity for supporting Omar Ali Saifuddien's role as a constitutional monarch while advocating independence through constitutional means. Although the Colonial authorities endorsed some of the PRB's goals, they deemed its demands for equal pay, worker welfare, ministerial governance, and public elections too extreme. Omar Ali Saifuddien's firm resistance to British proposals to limit his powers and turn him into a constitutional monarch strengthened his resolve to maintain local control, leading to major revisions and deletions in the draft constitution.
In 1957, Omar Ali Saifuddien sent a team to London to negotiate the constitution with the British government. The principal focus of the negotiations was the , drafted by Panglima Bukit Gantang in Brunei House, Singapore. Although Azahari attempted to communicate with British officials, Omar Ali Saifuddien's opposition meant that the PRB's recommendations were not considered.
In 1958, the 1957 London discussions were revisited in Brunei. Omar Ali Saifuddien and Abell met on 27 October at Istana Darul Hana to review the outcomes and finalise the key concepts from the earlier talks. On 2 November, a special meeting chaired by his adviser resolved to send a delegation led by Omar Ali Saifuddien to London for further constitutional negotiations. Panglima Bukit Gantang and Neil Lawson were selected to accompany him.
Following the Merdeka Talks, Brunei's constitutional issues drew the attention of British authorities, who summoned Omar Ali Saifuddien to London in early 1959 to finalise the document with the Colonial Secretary, Alan Lennox-Boyd. On 14 March, he travelled via Singapore with ten members of his team for the constitutional talks. As a result of these discussions, the Brunei Agreement was concluded on 6 April 1959. The agreement fulfilled the main requests of the Tujuh Serangkai, including the appointment of the Menteri Besar of Brunei and the adoption of staggered implementation measures starting on 1 July.
Under the constitution, Omar Ali Saifuddien oversaw the appointment of five key administrators: the Menteri Besar, the State Secretary, the General, the State Finance Officer, and the Religious Advisor On 29 September 1959, the constitution was signed in Brunei Town by Omar Ali Saifuddien and Robert Scott, with the British delegation led by Lennox-Boyd. The British government subsequently accepted the draft constitution. The document established Omar Ali Saifuddien as the supreme head of state, assigned Brunei responsibility for its internal administration, and restricted the British Government to foreign and defence affairs. The former post of Resident was abolished and replaced by a British High Commissioner. Additionally, five councils were established: the Executive Council, Legislative Council, Privy Council, Council of Succession, and the State Religious Council.