Brunei must help Asia: New crown prince
Brunei must help Asia: New crown prince
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters): The newly proclaimed crown prince of Brunei said the oil-rich sultanate must help Asia out in its economic turmoil.
"We have to help as best we can with what limited resources we can," said Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, in line to be the 30th Bolkiah sultan of this tiny rain forest kingdom with vast reserves of oil and gas.
"The economic landscape of the region has changed. Our neighbors are now facing difficulties," he told the lifestyle magazine Regal in an interview.
Stressing the need to help out amid the chill winds of recession, he said: "We are after all economically linked and we cannot escape the reality of the global business environment."
Brunei contributed US$500 million to the $17.2 billion bail- out package arranged for Thailand last year by the International Monetary Fund.
But Brunei itself has not been immune from the downturn.
Plummeting oil prices have hit its ambitious development plans.
With the bestowal of an ancient sword at an ornate ceremony in August, Brunei proclaimed Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's eldest son heir to the throne in one of the world's last surviving absolute monarchies.
For the 300,000 people of tradition-bound Brunei, it was a cause for celebration after rifts in the royal family.
The sultan's estranged brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, has been accused of bankrupting one of the sultanate's biggest firms amid reports of billions of dollars of losses.
The 24-year-old crown prince, who was educated at Oxford University in Britain, listed three world leaders that he admired -- Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad and Britain's Margaret Thatcher.
He is known as a fanatically keen snooker player who has received coaching from top international players.
The prince said he still enjoyed playing snooker with his friends as well as the occasional tournament in Brunei.
But he added: "Now my time for playing snooker is becoming less and less as I take on more official duties."
In this tight-knit Islamic society, he said he was a great fan of pop as well as traditional Malay music -- but he complained that many of the songs of today were just re-releases from the sixties and seventies.
The inheritor of one of the world's most fabulously wealthy dynasties insisted: "I am an ordinary person. I do and feel as everyone else... The only difference perhaps is that I was born as a royal prince."
His full title is The Crown Prince His Royal Highness Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah.