Where the Sultan rules

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33675, 26 October 1974, Page 11

Where the Sultan rules

'By

KENNETH ANTHONY)

Sultans are thinner on the ground than they used to be. Several Arabian sultans were deposed in 1968 when their territories, in what used to be called the Aden Protectorate, were incorporated in to the new Republic of Southern Semen.

• The Sultan of Zanzibar was ousted by a revolution in 1964 and now ’lives in exile. In all these cases the features of "the sultans quickly disappeared from their countries’ stamps. But in parts of southeast Asia, sultans continue to reign. The states of Malaya are still led by sultans, though their territories form part of the Malaysian Federation. One sultan in that part

of the world, however, retail'.- his independence. He is the ruler of Brunei, on the north coast of Borneo, and the dignified figure of His Highness Sir Muda Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah (to give the sultan his full title) duly appears on a new series of Brunei stamps. Many decorations Multicolour printing ■shows the sultan's uniform and his many decorations to good effect. But perhaps the most interesting point about these stamps is that although Brunei has had a fair number of short-lived commemorative sets, this is only the third regular series that Brunei has issued in nearly 70 years. Brunei is now a country of only some 2200 square miles; but at one time it was a much larger place, the sultan’s writ running over much of Borneo. It was from the sultan’s domains that the famous “white rajahs” of Sarawak carved their own private kingdom. Nowadays neighbouring Sarawak and Sabah are part of Malaysia, and the rest of Borneo is incorporated into Indonesia. Though small, Brunei has an important place in the world as a leading producer of oil and natural gas. ■vwnwiniiinm

And with this modern development in mind, it is hard to realise that Brunei was once so backward that it didn’t have a proper postal service at all until 1906, and the first regular stamp issue did not appear until 1907. From then until 1952 Brunei made do with just two stamp designs — one of a view on the Brunei river, the other showing Brunei Town, a motley collection of native houses on stilts. New design* New designs appeared in 1952, and that issue served for another 22 years, to be replaced in July, 1974. by a new series in the design illustrated here. So restrained a philatelic riCpv must surely be a ’

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