Mohammad bin Daud (born 1 May 1943) is a nobleman and politician who was the 1st
Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) from 1985 until 1990, the 3rd
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) from 2005 until 2008, and the
Minister of Energy An energy minister is a position in many governments responsible for energy production and regulation, developing governmental energy policy, scientific research, and natural resources conservation. In some countries, environmental responsibilities ...
from 2008 until 2010.
Early life and education
Mohammad was born in Brunei on 1 May 1943. He attended the
British Army Staff College,
Camberley
Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...
in 1971 during the middle of his military service. He studied for a year at the
Royal College of Defence Studies in London in 1985.
Military career
An announcement that there was a position available for officer cadets to train at the
Federation Military College in Malaya for two years was made early in December 1960 by the neighborhood newspaper and radio station. The journey of the "
three musketeers" had just begun. A panel of four officers from the
Royal Federation of Malaya Armed Forces interrogated the 17 young men during the
Tasek Lama selection process, which took place in the gymnasium of Sultan Omar 'Ali Saifuddien (SOAS), in the middle of December. Three people were chosen out of the seven who were shortlisted; they were
Sulaiman Damit
Sulaiman Damit (; 28 March 1941 – 8 July 2016) was a Bruneian soldier who served as the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) from 1990 until 1994.
Early life and education
Sulaiman was born on 28 March 1941, at Kampong Keriam ...
, Mohammad Daud, and
Ibnu Basit Apong
Pengiran Ibnu Basit bin Pengiran Haji Apong (born 20 January 1942), also known as Pengiran Ibnu Ba'asith, is a Nobility, nobleman, soldier and politician in the Government of Brunei whole formerly took office as the Ministry of Defence (Brunei), ...
. On 24 December 1960, they took their oaths before the magistrate and left Brunei the next day through Singapore.
Mohammad received his appointment as a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in December 1962. Afterwards, he had a variety of command and staff positions in the recently founded
Brunei Malay Regiment
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); ms, Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei, (ABDB), is the collective term for the military forces of the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. They consist of the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF), the Royal Bru ...
. He was promoted to the rank of Major on 1 July 1969. He held positions such as
battalion commander,
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
of the training center, Deputy Commander of the RBAF, and lastly Commander of the RBAF until his retirement in the rank of
major general in 1990.
In the early and late 1980s, he actively engaged in the Pacific Armies Management Seminars (PAMS) and served as the delegation leader for Brunei to the seminars in
Honolulu,
Seoul, and
Bangkok.
He retired in May 1991.
Political career
He served as a Member of the
Brunei Legislative Council from 1974 to 1983. Also, since 1991, he has been a member of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
, the Government's highest advisory body. He attended the General Assembly and Conferences of the
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO) as a representative of Brunei in Singapore in 1982, Bangkok in 1991,
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
in 1992,
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
in 1997,
Kuala Lumpur in 1998,
Manila in 1999, Bangkok in 2001,
Hanoi in 2002, and Jakarta in 2003.
On 24 May 2005, it announced by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah that he would take on the role of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. Pehin Mohammad was later reappointed as the Minister of Energy on 22 August 2008,
and would last until 29 May 2010.
Diplomatic career
From September 1993 until May 1995, Mohammad served as both the
non-resident ambassador Dual accreditation is the practice in diplomacy of a country granting two separate responsibilities to a single diplomat. One prominent form of dual accreditation is for a diplomat to serve as the ambassador to two countries concurrently. For exampl ...
to
Morocco and
Egypt. When Brunei hosted the
APEC Summit
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. in November 2000, he was appointed the
Executive director for Logistics in February 2000. On 14 February 1996, he presented his
credentials to
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that afternoon in his capacity as the new Permanent Representative of Brunei to the United Nations (UN).
He represented Brunei as its
permanent representative to the UN in New York City from February 1996 to April 1997.
Later life
Prior to being chosen as a Minister in the MCYS, Mohammad served as the
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the Brunei Economic Development Board. Moreover, he is also the President of the Royal Brunei Flying Club, the Deputy chairman II of the board of directors of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation, a member of the National Committee of the
Malay Islamic Monarchy
(abbreviated as MIB; Jawi: ملايو اسلام براج; en, Malay Islamic Monarchy) was officially proclaimed as the national philosophy of Brunei on the day of its independence on 1 January 1984 by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
MIB is described ...
(MIB), the Chairman of the Employees' Trust Fund Board, and a member of the board of directors of the Islamic Bank of Brunei (Tabung Amanah Pekerja).
As of 2015, he was the Chairman of the Takaful Brunei board of directors. Recently, he became the
Co-Patron of the
Kampong Tanah Jambu
Kampong Tanah Jambu is a village in the north-east of Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. The population was 8,809 in 2016. It encompasses the original village settlement, as well as the public housing areas STKRJ Kampong Tanah Jambu and RPN Kampong ...
Mosque.
Personal life
Mohammad is married and has four children.
Honours

Mohammad was bestowed the
manteri
The Manteri are a group of royal dignitaries within the Sultanate of Brunei whose position ranks the fourth-highest official in the country behind the Sultan. There are two main groups in the Manteri, namely the Manteri Berchiri and the Manteri B ...
title of ''Yang Dimuliakan'' (The Exalted One) ''Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa''. Moreover, he has earned the following honours;
*
Order of Pahlawan Negara Brunei First Class (PSPNB; 10 February 1976) – ''Dato Seri Pahlawan''
*
Order of Paduka Seri Laila Jasa
The Most Distinguished Order of Paduka Seri Laila Jasa ( ms, Darjah Paduka Seri Laila Jasa Yang Amat Berjasa), also translated as The Most Distinguished Order of Merit of Brunei, is an order of Brunei. It was established in February 1964 by Sultan ...
Second Class (DSLJ) – ''Dato Seri Laila Jasa''
*
Order of Setia Negara Brunei Second Class (DSNB) – ''Dato Setia''
*
Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Second Class Class (DPMB) – ''Dato Paduka''
*
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Medal
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
(PHBS; 1968)
*

''Pingat Bakti Laila Ikhlas'' (PBLI; 2 June 1976)
*

Silver Jubilee Medal (5 October 1992)
*

Royal Brunei Armed Forces Silver Jubilee Medal (31 May 1986)
*

Proclamation of Independence Medal (1997)
*

General Service Medal (Armed Forces)
*

Long Service Medal (Armed Forces)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammad Daud
Living people
Bruneian military leaders
1943 births
Bruneian Muslims
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies
Government ministers of Brunei
Ambassadors of Brunei to Egypt
Ambassadors of Brunei to Morocco
Permanent Representatives of Brunei to the United Nations
Members of the Privy Council of Brunei