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.