Rebellion in Brunei

Tun Teja commented in the Comment Box a few days ago about how he just came across this book. In fact this is not a new book, this book has been around since the third quarter of 2007. I bought it in Singapore last year for a would you believe it price of S$193.81. I checked on the internet this morning, the price is much lower now. Barnes and Nobel is selling it for US$56.21 (S$78.86), Amazon USA is selling it for US$79.00 (S$110.84) and Amazon UK is selling it for GBP43.12 (S$98.96). Shipping and packing is of course extra.

This book is written by Datuk Harun Abdul Majid, one of our local businessmen. This book arises out of his dissertation when he was doing his Masters at King's College in London and he carried out his research at the Department of War Studies there.

Some people commented that no one has written about the 1962 incident. In fact, there are a number of other books written about Brunei Rebellion which you can still find in the market. Topmost obviously is HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah's "Remember, Remember 8th of December", Dr Haji Zaini Haji Ahmad's "Pertumbuhan Nasionalisme di Brunei (1939 - 1962)" and "Brunei Merdeka: Sejarah dan Budaya Politik" and Pehin Jamil's "8 Disember: Dalangnya Siapa?".

What's different about Datuk Haruns's book is that his view is seen from the larger regional 1960s Malaysia-Indonesia conflicts. A number of British servicemen who served in the region noted the fighting in Malaya and Brunei was part of the Small Wars which the British soldiers, sailors, and airmen from Britain and the Commonwealth have been fighting to defend Britain's shrinking empire since the end of World War Two. An interesting website of the servicemen's journals including the fighting in Brunei can be found here www.britains-smallwars.com.

According to the book's writeup, this book is supposedly "the first comprehensive history of the Brunei Rebellion, which was the trigger for the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation of the 1960s and of critical importance in understanding the history of the region. Harun Abdul Majid explores the turmoil throughout Southeast Asia that was the backdrop to the rebellion and analyses how Brunei not only survived but actually emerged from this turbulent period as a stronger and more coherent political state. Although the rebellion itself was short-lived, the consequences for the region's international relations within Asia and with the West - especially given Brunei's emergence as a significant oilproducer - were far-reaching."