Rebellion in Brunei: The 1962 Revolt, Imperialism, Confrontation and Oil (International Library of Twent) [Hardcover]

Abdul Harun Majid (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 184511423X | ISBN-13: 978-1845114237 | Publication Date: October 2, 2007

Brunei has long been associated with massive oil resources and the stability that its wealth can guarantee.  But little is known of the revolt of 1962 which might have changed the fortunes of the sultanate and the fate of South East Asia.
 
This is the first comprehensive history of the Brunei Rebellion, the trigger for the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation of the 60s and of critical importance in understanding the history of the region.
 
The revolt of 1962 was a small armed uprising in support of a Borneo Federation consisting of Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo.  It opposed the Malaysian Federation, seen as a buttress of British and Western imperial interest.  In a period of great tension between the West and the Communist world, China viewed the rebellion as a national liberation war and it was quickly suppressed by the British Emergency Force.  But 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 oil-producer - were far-reaching. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Contains a lot of colourful material which is genuinely original and throws some new light on an interesting military operation of the 1960s' - Professor Michael Clarke, Director, International Policy Institute, King's College, London"

About the Author

Harun Abdul Majid carried out his research into the Brunei Rebellion at the Department of War Studies at King's College, London.
 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184511423X
• ISBN-13: 978-1845114237
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,671,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > History > Asia > Brunei

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Again, a predominantly British narrative over Konfrontasi, October 12, 2009

By 

revolucionaria - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rebellion in Brunei: The 1962 Revolt, Imperialism, Confrontation and Oil (International Library of Twent) (Hardcover)

Most of the British positions over the Brunei Rebellion and Konfontasi are well documented by previous authors - and Majid's new material do not shed any new light on British narratives of Konfrontasi that have been extensively documented elsewhere (i.e. Mackie 1974). While Harun Abdul Majid does criticize 'the victor's view' (mainly British) that plagues most of the writings on the period , his book becomes redundant given the absence of the most important material that have never been used on the conflict's historical analysis: Indonesian sources (bulks that can be read at the Indonesian National Archives, the Roeslan Abdulgani collection, military archives).

Majid takes a particularly harsh critique on Greg Poulgrain's 'The Genesis of Konfrontasi' (1998), which Majid accuses of being 'revisionist'. However, it is worth mentioning that Poulgrain did extensive interviews with Indonesian military actors (e.g. Suharjo Padmodiwirjo) and the last breed of Brunei's dissident exiles living in Indonesia. This is where Poulgrain's work differs in contrast to the majority of Anglo-perspective writings (which Majid's book is sadly part of). Majid has been uncritically accepting British views that Sukarno was poised to annex the Borneo states - while many writings by The Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, as well as numerous writings by Sukarno, Roeslan Abdulgani or Subandrio reveal that Indonesia was never ideologically ambitious nor militarily capable to do so (explaining why Sukarno never invaded, for example, East Timor). Majid also ignored sequential facts in analyzing why Sukarno was vehemently against the Malaysia project. The PRRI / Permesta rebellion in Indonesia (which Malaya and Singapore covertly supported) was a major evidence (convincingly presented by Poulgrain) which sustained Indonesia's longtime suspicions over British designs over Malaya and Borneo. In addition, the internal social and political dynamics within Brunei and Sarawak are critically under-represented (e.g. no analysis on the mass popularity of Azhari & the PRB in Brunei, Ahmad Zaidi and the CCO in Sarawak, the failings of the Cobbold Commission)

It is relatively shocking how much Majid's analysis is trapped within the narratives of British actors (e.g. General Walker). I was hoping that Majid would come forward with more local sources that may contribute to a more nuanced and holistic view of the Konfrontasi itself. He regrettably failed on this aspect.