ABSTRACT
In the post-war era, Brunei opted for status quo, to remain a British protectorate as in pre-war days. Paralleling socio-economic developments were advances in constitutional progress that culminated in a new constitution and a fresh Anglo-Brunei treaty. Brunei in the 1950s and early 1960s, especially the latter decade, experienced turbulent times when the sultanate was at a crossroads, a defining period faced with the dilemma between change and continuity. In 1906, consequent of the Anglo-Brunei Treaty, a British officer, styled “Resident”, was accredited to the royal court as well as appointed as a member to the State Council. The Constitution notwithstanding, the Brunei monarch in reality was an absolute ruler, but significantly the Constitution further enhanced and strengthened the power of the throne. Oil production and the exports of oil products had, since the 1930s, been the mainstay of Brunei’s foreign exchange earner and played the predominant role in the sultanate’s economy.
