Brunei's 'New' Warships

I have always been curious as the three warships that Brunei is supposed to have bought. I know we paid a fortune for it. According to BBC the three ships cost the Brunei Government some GBP600 (about $1.9 billion our money). In 1998/1999, when oil price plunge to about US$10 a barrel, this price was more than what the government was earning in a year. I found two interesting articles. The first written about the ships sometime in 2003 and the second is what is happening to the ships now and written sometime Jun 2007.

(A) First Article - written by Dave Cullen [European WARSHIPS IFR magazine(*)]

Three new corvettes built on the Clyde for The Royal Brunei Navy.

BAE SYSTEMS Marine is completing contractor's sea trials of NAKHODA RAGAM, the first of a new class of three 95m Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) being built for the Royal Brunei Navy. She is due to sail from Scotland to the Far East by the end of the year.

The ships names are prefixed KDB (as in Kapal Diraja Brunei, which translates as Ship of the Rajah of Brunei) and BENDAHARE SAKAM, the second ship of the class, was launched in June 2001. She has completed diesel generator trials in dry dock at BAE SYSTEMS' Scotstoun yard and is under-going contractor's sea trials with delivery in June 2003.

The third and final vessel, named KDB JERAMBAK, was launched in June 2002 and is scheduled to be delivered in December 2003.

A variant of the generic F2000 series corvette design, Royal Brunei Technical Services Sdn Bhd is procuring the ships under a UK/Brunei government-to-government contract signed in January 1998. The design is a reduced version of the Lekiu Class built by the same yard for Malaysia and they have cost around US $350 million each. With a displacement of approximately 1,500 tons standard and 2,000 tons full load, the new Brunei OPVs have a maximum speed of 30 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles at 12 knots.

Endurance will be 14 days and they will have a crew of 62 (including eight officers) and 24 berths for Flag Staff and scientists. They are powered by four Paxman diesels turning two controlled-pitch propellers, and their hulls are fitted with fin stabilisers. One generator is able to meet normal loads. The new ships feature a comprehensive combat system based around the hub of an Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) NAUTlS II command and fire-control system.

AMS is also supplying AWS-9(3D) E/F-band surveillance and target indication radar and two 1802SW radar trackers.

The vessels are armed with:

· Eight MBDA MM40 Block 2 Exocet Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSMs).
· An MBDA Vertical Launch Sea Wolf installation containing 16 Surface-to-Air-Missiles (SAMs).
· A single Otobreda 76/62 Super Rapid gun.
· Two MSI-Defence DS 30B REMSlG guns.
· A Close-In Weapons System (CIWS).

A flight-deck aft provides for the operation of a Seahawk-size helicopter, but there is no hangar facility. Other systems include a Radamec System 2500 electro-optical director and TMS 4130C hull-mounted sonar supplied by Thales Underwater Systems (the sonar incorporates a torpedo warning capability). Thales Sensors is supplying its Cutlass 242 ESM and Scorpion jammer, and Wallop Defence Systems is providing the Super Barricade decoy system.

The Royal Brunei Navy

The three new OPVs will be based at Brunei's main naval base in Muara, in the South China Sea and represent a significant enhancement for a small fleet.
The Royal Brunei Navy has a total personnel strength of 800 staff (including 65 officers) and a Special Combat Squadron of six officers and 114 men for river duties.

The main threat has traditionally come from neighbouring Indonesia, although the Chinese are likely to pose a future concern and Islamic terror groups cannot be discounted as a security headache for the oil-rich sultanate. Britain has strong defence links with Brunei, with a Gurkha infantry battalion and an Army Air Corps helicopter flight permanently stationed there. UK Royal Marines regularly train at the UK's jungle warfare school in Brunei. The advent of the new corvettes will no doubt lead to regular exercises not only with regional allies, such as Singapore and Malaysia, but also with the RAN, Royal Navy and US Navy. Singapore maintains 500 troops and a helicopter detachment in Brunei.

By 2003 the Royal Brunei Navy will consist of:

3 x F2000 corvettes
3x Waspada guided-missile Patrol Craft, armed with Exocet Surface-to-Surface Missiles.
3 x Perwira Class inshore Patrol Boats.
2 x Amphibious Warfare Craft
2 x Landing Craft
17 x Small Armed River Craft (for the Special Combat Squadron)
1 x Support Launch
23 x Marine Police Patrol Boats.


(B) Second Article - from BBC News Website

Brunei warships to go on sale

Construction was completed at BAE Systems in Scotstoun
Three warships built at BAE shipyard in Glasgow for the Royal Brunei Navy are finally to be sold after a long-running legal dispute was resolved.
A £600m deal between BAE Systems and Brunei was signed in 1998, resulting in the completion of three coastal patrol frigates by 2004.

However the Sultan of Brunei claimed the ships were not as he had ordered, and they remained berthed in Scotstoun.

The arbitration dispute ended in May, allowing the ships to be sold on.

Following finalisation of contracts, the ships were able to be handed over to the Royal Brunei Technical Services (RBTS), which is the Brunei's equivalent of the Ministry of Defence.

A spokesman for BAE Systems said that the shipbuilders had been paid for the completion of the ships, and that the ships had now been handed over to RBTS.

He declined to comment on any alleged problems with the specification of the ships or on the company's relationship with Brunei.

A German company, Lurssen, is said to be acting as an agent for Brunei for the sale of the three vessels.

The ships, the KDB Nakhoda Ragam, KDB Bendhara Sakam and KDB Jerambak, were originally destined for the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) squadron of the Royal Brunei Navy.

Brunei's Currency Notes before 1967

The following article was published in The Golden Legacy column of the Brunei Times on 30th June 2007.

When His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam exchanged the new Brunei’s and Singapore’s $20 currency notes with His Excellency Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore on 27th June 2007 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement between the two countries’ currencies, that day marked the first time that the Brunei currency shared a similar currency note design with another country in more than 40 years.

On that day, Brunei and the Singapore issued new $20 notes which shared the same reverse (back) design even though the obverse (front) of the two notes are different. The last time the currencies even shared the same design was prior to the 1967 issuance of Brunei’s very own currency notes.

Brunei’s currency had undergone many changes in the past. Historically Brunei’s ancient history, its long lineage of sultanate, its central strategic position in the trade between East Asia and Southeast Asia had meant that many goods and trades took place in Brunei as well as the circulation of many currencies such as those of China, India, the Arabic countries and the likes.

At the same time, the various Brunei’s Sultans also produced a number of their own coin currencies commonly known as pitis. Numismatists divided Brunei’s many historic coins into three – one made up of issues by known Sultans, a second made up of issues by unknown Sultans and the third made up of issues of flowers and patterns.

The last Sultan to issue his own coin was Sultan Hashim who issued the ‘star coin’ in 1886 which was minted in Birmingham, England.


When Sultan Hashim agreed to have the British Resident in Brunei in 1906, he also acquiesced that the other currencies used by the British in the Straits Settlement (Malaya), Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak to be used in Brunei Darussalam.


By the beginning of the 20th century, there were a number of these currencies being used in Brunei. The Straits Dollar issued by the Straits Settlement government then included that of Queen Victoria used from 1889 onwards (together with notes issued by Chartered Bank and Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank); King Edward VII; King George V and King George VI.

Sarawak had issued its own currency too. Between 1858 to 1953, the various Rajahs of Sarawak - Rajah James Brooke, Rajah Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, and Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke each issued their own coins and notes. The British North Borneo (Sabah) too issued its own currencies between 1882 to 1953.

In 1939, the Board of Commissioners of Currency Malaya was formed and it issued a new currency for circulation in Malaya (as well as in Brunei and Singapore) called the Malayan Dollar. However the currency originally printed in 1940 was short lived with many of the notes captured by German forces at sea and then in 1942, the occupying Japanese Government had issued its own currency notes popularly known as ‘duit pisang’ even though only one of the currency notes ($10) portrayed the picture of the banana tree.

The Malayan Dollar was revived after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the notes (dated 1941) and coins were reissued. One of the more popularly known coins then was the square ½ and 1 cent coin.

The notes were printed in $1 (blue), $5 (green), $10 (red), $50 (blue), $100 (violet), $1,000 (violet) and $10,000 (green) – the forerunner to today’s currency notes’ colours. The coins replaced the paper notes that were issued prior to the war which were originally issued because of the possibility of shortage of metal during the war.

The design on the currency notes had the portrait of King George VI and on the back, it had among others the crest of Brunei Darussalam as well as the crests of the various states making up Malaya and Singapore.

In 1953, the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and North Borneo was constituted. The currency notes featured Queen Elizabeth II and were issued at the same denomination as the King George VI’s issuance. Brunei’s crest was maintained at the back of the note together with other crests.

This new currency note replaced all the other currencies that had been issued by the Straits Settlement, the Sarawak State Government and the North Borneo Government. This new Board is now responsible for issuing new Malaya and British Borneo Dollar to be called officially as the Malayan Dollar meant for use by Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei.

In 1959, the Board discontinued issuing the Malayan Dollar with Queen Elizabeth II on its cover for its $1 notes and later in 1961 the $10 notes.

The new $1 notes had the sailing boat (duit kapal – ship’s money - as some Bruneians called it) and the new $10 notes had a portrait of a farmer plowing with an ox (popularly known as ‘duit kerabau’ – cows’ or ox’s money). The latter can be found for purchase at the Tamu for more than $200 a piece now.


In between those years, the three countries, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore also signed the Malaya and British Borneo Currency Agreement of 1960.

In June 1967, the single Board of Commissioners was replaced by the three countries’ new bank and boards - the Brunei Currency Board, the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore and Bank Negara Malaysia with each issuing its own currency.

However the Malaya and British Borneo currency continued as legal tender for a few years at a reduced 85 cents per dollar as the British pound which it was based on was devalued in November 1967.

The Brunei Currency Board issued the first Brunei Dollar on 12th June 1967 with the portrait of His Majesty Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III and maintained the same colour schemes as those of the last few issuances. Malaysia and Singapore also issued their own currencies on the same day. All three maintained the same sizes and the same colour schemes of the old Malayan Dollar.

The three countries also agreed to maintain the exchangeability of their currencies but Malaysia left in 1973 leaving Brunei Darussalam and Singapore to maintain its currency interchangeability agreement until today.

History as a Shelter?

I wrote about a book called 'As the Future Catches You' in my used to be well known blog on The Daily Brunei Resources. Though in that entry I have never mentioned what was written about Brunei. In the book there are only two entries about Brunei. They both hurt. But then truth hurts.

One of the entry is as above. I am guilty of this as sometimes I tend to make a big thing out of history as if it is an achievement when in actual fact, the reality is no matter how much we make out of it, the truth is - we have always been behind other nations when it comes to development and progress. Perhaps if we all realised this, we can move a little bit faster.

Brunei Civic Centre

This is an old postcard showing the Civic Centre before it became TAIB's headquarters. Though with the HSBC building next to it, this photo does not seem as old as it should be. But if you look further towards the buildings in Jalan Tutong, the block of buildings are still just double storeyed and looking at the cars, this photo is about 30 years old.

Kampong Ayer 1949

I bought this photograph on ebay. This photograph was taken on 29th October 1949 by someone called Lim Seng Lee who at that time works for the Sarawak Oilfields Ltd. Sarawak Oilfields was the forerunner to the Brunei Shell Petroleum. He sent this photo to someone called Cheah Thay Cheng who lived in 28 Busurrah Lane in Penang, Malaysia. All these were written at the back of the photograph.

Given that this photograph is almost 60 years old, it is still surprisingly good and very clearly shows the houses at Kampong Ayer then.