Brunei People's Party (Malay: ''Parti Rakyat Brunei, PRB'') is a banned

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

. PRB was established as a left leaning party in 1956 and aimed to bring Brunei into full independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The party sought to democratise the government by shifting the national leadership from the palace to the people.

Formation

Brunei People's Party was established, initially, as a branch of the Malayan People's Party (MPP) on 21 January 1956, at the house owned by a prominent leader, H.M. Salleh at Kampong Kianggeh, Brunei Town, two months after MPP was founded in Malaya. About 150 people attended the event. Some of them include Manan bin Muhammad, Muhammad bin Sulaiman, Zaini bin Haji Ahmad, Jais bin Haji Karim, Muhammad Jamaluddin, H.B. Hidup and Jasin bin Affandy. The meeting was chaired by A.M. Azahari, and assisted by H.M. Salleh.

Radical influences from Malaya

In early July 1955, A.M. Azahari had visited the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. While in Singapore, he met with a well-known political figure, Harun Muhammad Amin (Harun Aminurrashid). He was once blacklisted by the British administration in Malaya and Brunei. The meeting had substantially affected his minds and actions. A.M. Azahari also met several leaders of radical Malays such as Burhanuddin al-Helmy,

Ishak Haji Muhammad Ishak Haji Muhammad (14 November 1909 – 7 November 1991), better known as Pak Sako, was a Malaysian writer, active in the 1930s until the 1950s. He was a nationalist and his involvement began before independence and continued thereafter. He fo ...

and Harun Muhammad Amin at the house of

Ahmad Boestaman Ahmad Boestamam (30 November 1920 – 19 January 1983), or Abdullah Sani, was a Malaysian freedom fighter, politician and was the founding president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Parti Marhaen Malaysia. Ahmad Boestamam was born in Setapak, Ampa ...

at Kampong Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian issue

In 1961, PRB rejected the proposal for membership in federation with

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, proposed by Malaya's Prime Minister,

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

even though the government of Brunei was favourable to the federation. On 12 January 1962, PRB leader A.M. Azahari was appointed to the Brunei Legislative Council and PRB won all 16 of the elected seats in the 33 seat legislature in the August 1962 elections.Sejarah Indonesia
"The Sukarno Years"
Retrieved 30 May 2006. The first meeting of the Legislative Council was scheduled on 5 December 1962 and PRB stated that it would submit a resolution for the return of

British North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945);Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , go ...

and

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

to Brunei to form an independent state known as the

North Borneo Federation The North Borneo Federation, also known as North Kalimantan or Negara Kesatuan Kalimantan Utara (Unitary State of North Kalimantan) in Malay, was a proposed political entity which would have comprised the British Colonies of Sarawak, British ...

, the rejection of Brunei's entry into Malaysia and the independence of Brunei in 1963. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III rejected this proposed resolution and postponed the opening of the Legislative Council to 19 December 1962.

PRB's Rebellion

On 8 December 1962 an armed insurrection by the PRB now known as the Brunei Rebellion broke out in Brunei and bordering areas of North Borneo and Sarawak. The rebels were known as the ''Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara'' (TNKU) or North Kalimantan National Army and a few key towns were occupied by the TNKU. The Brunei police however remained loyal to the Sultan and his government and additional British troops landed from Singapore by the evening of the same day. By 9 December 1962, the rebellion was effectively broken when Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III declared PRB illegal and condemned the TNKU for treason although sporadic incidences continued to occur. The Sultan also publicly stated Brunei's intention not to join the Malaysian federation. The rebellion ended five months later with the capture of Yassin Affandi. PRB leader, A.M. Azahari, who was in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

during the outbreak of the rebellion, fled into exile in Jakarta.

PRB in exile

On 13 July 1973 PRB detainees who had refused to renounce the party staged an escape and reconstituted the party in exile. In December, an Ad Hoc Committee for the Independence of Brunei was established in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. Subsequently, on 7 May 1974, the PRB was formally reactivated with the naming of an executive committee with A.M. Azahari as president. The PRB continued to garner international moral and material support throughout the 1970s and resulted in the United Nations General Assembly adopting Resolution 3424 that established principles of succession and legitimacy that any government established in Brunei should meet.

Current status of PRB

PRB today is believed to be still operating in exileLink2Exports.com
"Brunei Country Profile"
. Retrieved 30 May 2006. although it is most likely dormant.World History Study Guide
"Parti Rakyat Brunei"
Retrieved 30 May 2006. On 12 September 2005, former political prisonerSangkancil

. Retrieved 11 June 2006 and Secretary General of PRB, Yassin Affandi, co-founded the National Development Party.Brunei Direct
"On The Approval Of The Formation Of The Parti Pembangunan Bangsa (National Development Party)"
. Retrieved 11 June 2006 is the third political party that is operating legally in Brunei to date.

References

External links

(In Malay)

{{Authority control Political parties in Brunei Banned socialist parties Political parties established in 1956 1956 establishments in Brunei