July 14, 2000
JANE GEORGE
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT — There’s been no official confirmation — yet — but residents of Iqaluit and Pangnirtung are dusting off their best clothes, once again to receive VIP guests over the Labour Day weekend.
On Sunday, September 3, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the Sultan of Brunei are expected to land in Iqaluit for a short tour of Nunavut.
Brunei is a tiny nation on the South China Sea surrounded on three sides by Malaysian territory on the island of Borneo. The Sultan of Brunei is the supreme ruler of about 200,000 Malay-speaking people, most of whom are Muslims.
Brunei has no political parties and no free press.
"While there are no laws restricting freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the government used its authority to protect public safety, morals, health and domestic security to restrict these freedoms," says a 1999 U.S. State Department report on Brunei.
The predominately Malay population is Muslim — and increasingly fundamentalist in its beliefs. In 1991, the sale of alcohol was banned, and dress codes now require women to increasingly cover up in public. Women are denied equal status with men in areas such as divorce, inheritance, and custody of children.
His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’i addin Waddaulah, as the Sultan’s full name goes, is the kingdom’s prime minister, minister of defense, minister of finance, chief of police, university chancellor and religious leader.
The Sultan is the only ruler Brunei has had since it gained independence from Britain in 1984. Married, with two wives and ten children, the Sultan has a huge extended family, many of whom live in his lavish 1,788-room palace.
Dogged by controversy
Brunei’s royal family has been dogged by controversy, including bad management of funds, and other hijinks. In 1997, a former beauty queen accused the Sultan and his brother of trying to turn her into a sex slave in Brunei, although these charges were eventually dismissed.
The 54-year-old Sultan, who is one of the richest people on the face of the earth, has accumulated his vast wealth through the development of Brunei’s natural gas and oil reserves.
Brunei is exceedingly wealthy — one of the most prosperous members of the Commonwealth.
Since the 1970s, when its plentiful oil and gas reserves first began to be tapped, billions of dollars have streamed into Brunei, creating a kind of "Beverly Hills" bonanza. As a result, education and health services are free, and housing is subsidized. Brunei’s per capita income, around $15,000 US per person, is one of the highest in the world.
"Officially, Brunei is known as the ‘Abode of Peace,’ but insiders know it’s not about peace. It’s about oil and money flowing through the hands of a family so unhinged that they seem utterly incapable of managing it," wrote Richard Behar in a 1999 article for Fortune magazine, called "The Fairy Tale’s Over for the Kingdom of Brunei."
Lavish spending
Brunei’s royal family also has a history of spending money freely. On his 50th birthday, the Sultan blew $17 million on a lavish bash that featured concerts by pop singer Michael Jackson.
Brunei has also spent $800 million on a 600-bedroom hotel, with a salt water lagoon, golf course, numerous swimming pools, several restaurants, and gold-plated fittings in all the bathrooms.
The Sultan owns 17 aircraft, 2,000 luxury cars, and a 152-foot yacht. He will likely use his own 420-passenger, Boeing 747 jet to travel to Iqaluit.
His wives will, reportedly, not accompany the Sultan on his visit to Iqaluit.
Yet the stay of the Sultan promises to be interesting for Nunavut and may even create a short-lived economic boom. The Sultan usually travels with a large entourage, and he’s been known to leave tips of $40,000.
Chrétien’s office said it is "too early" to confirm the Prime Minister’s schedule, but an advance team was in Iqaluit last week, spreading the news about their leader’s upcoming visit.
This isn’t the first time that Nunavut has welcomed such a high-level visit. In fact, it’s almost becoming a Labour Day tradition to have important visitors in town over this long holiday weekend.
Last year, French President Jacques Chirac and Chrétien took in the sights of Iqaluit, Cape Dorset and Pangnirtung.
This time, Chrétien and the Sultan are expected to limit their visit to Pangnirtung.
In Pangnirtung, Chrétien and the Sultan will stop by the Uqqurmiut Artists Centre, where advance teams from Brunei and the Prime Minister’s office have already checked out the facility. The leaders will also drop by the Angmarlik Centre, the former blubber station, and the headquarters of Parks Canada.
A short helicopter ride down the fiord to visit Auyuittuq Park is on their agenda, too, depending on the weather.