Brunei's Biggest Problem - Legitimacy

Brunei’s harsh sharia laws, death by stoning for gay sex, adultery
bid by ruler to boost support among conservatives 
highlights steady drift away from West

punishment will come into force Wednesday
new penal code  fully implemented 

sparked global outcry
UN branding them “cruel and inhumane” 

• Sultan seeking Islamic credentials, economy is weakening.
• Brunei plunged into recession, oil prices plummeted 
• crude reserves declined

“Brunei is becoming Southeast Asia’s Saudi Arabia,” Bridget Welsh

regime increasingly relying on religious legitimacy


appealing to conservative ideology
weakening economy in Brunei 
concerns about erosion of support 
underscore increasing reliance on religion

hard to gauge public backing for sharia in Brunei
citizens would not publicly voice criticism of sultan

Those who speak publicly generally welcome it (Ha ha ha)

There was unease online
where people comment more freely

"This worries me so much for Brunei’s economy,” one user posted 

My comments :  Brunei suffers the same problem that is suffered by almost the entire Middle East - the problem of legitimacy.

There are NO free and democratic elections in Brunei.  
Its an absolute monarchy. 

And in the 21st century any absolute monarchy is going to have serious legitimacy issues. 

When the oil prices were high the Sultan could dish out the goodies. 
He even built a world class theme park for the people - no entrance fee.

Now oil prices have crashed.  Brunei's oil reserves are also dwindling. 
Long before the oil prices crashed, the theme park became abandoned. 
Revived again, now they charge some money. Not fully free anymore.
Times are bad.

The population has also increased to 400,000 people.

That is a lot of people - crammed inside a very small country.
This situation cannot prevail forever -  there will be cracks.

The Brunei Sultan should never fear the 21st century.
There is always a happy ending for any situation - including monarchies.
There are always solutions.