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Negara Brunei Darussalam is a tiny, oil-rich sultanate of 2,226 square miles. It is situated next to the East Malaysian state of Sarawak in the northwestern corner of Borneo. Malay Muslims form the majority of the population. The people of Brunei enjoy a high per capita income and extensive welfare benefits. Since 1967 the head of state has been Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th in an unbroken line of sultans (Brunei's Hindu-Brahmanic and Buddhist polity was converted in mid-fourteenth century to an Islamic dynasty). Most indigenous peoples, such as the Muruts and Dusuns, have not converted to Islam....

