Bangar () or officially known as Bangar Town (), is a town and administrative centre of

Temburong District Temburong District (; Jawi script, Jawi: دائيره تمبوروڠ) or simply known as Temburong ('; ), is the second largest and least populated districts of Brunei, district in Brunei. It has an area of and the population of 9,444 as of 20 ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

, an isolated territorial

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

separated from the rest of the country by the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

. The population of the town proper was 451 in 2021. A number of tiny retail establishments may be found throughout the town, providing everything from clothing to handicrafts to basic needs.

Etymology

The origin name of the town has not been fully established thus several possibilities were opened up. A document published by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, claimed that the town has a literal descriptive name where Bangar meant a place of smelly dryish deadwood

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

. Meanwhile the Kampong Belingos Protection Council (''Majlis Perundingan Kampung Belingos'') claimed that the word Bangar is derived from a Murut tribe that means board (''papan''). The origin of this term may be traced back to a location where the Murut people formerly donated boards for the construction of homes, huts, and boats close to the Pekan Bangar creek. Thus, Bengar was given to the region. However, the Survey Department at the time altered the name to Bangar. Old Bangar Town and New Bangar Town were the original divisions of Bangar Town. But as of late, that name has been dropped and replaced with Pekan Bangar alone.

Geography

One main road runs through the town, roughly east–west. Headed east of Bangar is Lawas,

(

) and to the west is the river crossing to Limbang, Sarawak (Malaysia). The road is the major route to the local quarry where boulders are collected, processed and shipped to stockyards in the capital,

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) is the capital and largest city of Brunei. It is officially a Municipalities of Brunei, municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei–Muara District, the s ...

, for construction companies. The town has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Administration

Bangar is an unincorporated town; it has no municipal body. It is only a village subdivision within

Mukim Bangar Mukim Bangar (') is a mukim within Temburong District exclave, in Brunei Darussalam. It has a total area of ; the population was 2,112 in 2021. The mukim encompasses Bangar, the district's sole town and administrative centre. Etymology The ...

, a

mukim A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English language, English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay language, Malay from the Arabic word ...

in the district. It has the

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

PA1151. The town serves as a stopover and a communication hub and is the district administrative headquarters.

Transportation

Road

The Bangar Bridge was built around 1969. It is located across the Temburong River, measuring 300 feet in length and 40 feet in width. Previously, the residents in this area used boats to cross to other regions. Once the bridge was completed and put into use, it became the main connection between the old Bangar Town, new Bangar Town, Labu Estate, and the surrounding areas. The construction of the bridge was part of the

National Development Plan National Development Plan (NDP, ) is the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on (mainly) national infrastructure. The first five-year plan ran from 1988 to 1993, the second was a six-year plan f ...

. Driving and going through the Puni Immigration Control Post in order to pass the Malaysian state of Sarawak's border at Limbang. More projects to improve road infrastructures, including those in Temburong District, would be carried out through the National Development Plan 2007–2012. These projects include repairing earth slips at various locations, upgrading high density roads to residential areas, replacing existing wooden bridges, and rehabilitating Jalan Bangar–Puni–Labu.

Water

The Pekan Bangar Boat Terminal construction project got under way on 19 June 2008, and it was finished on 19 December 2009. On 7 January 2010, Pehin Dato Haji Awang Abu Bakar, formally opened the terminal. The National Development Plan project that resulted in the construction of this

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

cost roughly $1.4 million. The route involves taking a boat to Bangar Town via Temburong River, which departs from a dock along the

Brunei River The Brunei River () is a river which flows through Brunei and empties into the Brunei Bay towards the north-east direction. The Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, stands on its banks. The Brunei River is the s ...

. It should take 45 minutes to complete the route. The Bangar Passenger Jetty Terminal reopened on 13 March 2018, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Brunei Darussalam (MPABD), and offered boarding and disembarkation services for passenger boats traveling from Bangar to

. All passenger services of the jetty permanently closed their operations after

Radio Television Brunei Radio Television Brunei (, Jawi: راديو تيليۏيشين بروني, officially abbreviated as RTB) is the national public broadcaster of Brunei, headquartered at the Secretariat Building, Bandar Seri Begawan. Radio Brunei made its fir ...

(RTB) Temburong District took over the Bangar MPABD building as their new branch once renovation works were completed on 1 March 2022. The Passenger Jetty Terminal continues to exist but remains unused.

Air

Commercial travellers would have to travel to either

Miri Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest ...

to catch a commercial flight. The Bangar Helipad is the sole aviation facility.

Infrastructure

Government

Government facilities in Bangar include: *Bangar Post Office * Bangar Fire Station is the only

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

in town. *Temburong Police Station is the only and primary

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

in the district. *Pengiran Isteri Hajah Mariam Hospital serves as the district's primary referral facility, cost about $9.9 million to construct. The citizens have access to more advanced services and a higher quality of health owing to the current medical and healthcare facilities that are available. *The Government Department Building Complex was built in 1982. The building began to be used in 1984 and the Temburong District Department along with other Departments have moved to the new building until today. *Bangar Camp (''Perkhemahan Bangar'') is a military base operated by the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF), it has a

surau A surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, their ritual functions are similar to those of a mosque, they admit ...

named Surau Al-Quwwah. *Belalong Community Hall (''Dewan Kemasyarakatan Belalong'') served as the town's

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

Commerce

Bumiputera Main Complex has a variety of stores are housed on the three floors of this building, including a

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

, a

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

and

souvenir shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collections ...

, a cake shop,

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s, a textile shop, a

dhobi Dhobi known in some places as Dhoba, Rajaka, a Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, scheduled caste in India and the greater Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are Clothes washing, washing, ironing, and Farmworker, agricultur ...

, a

travel agency A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destina ...

, and many more. Tamu Aneka Temburong is a market to sample regional specialties, which are widely accessible at this dry market in the town across from the Youth Centre. Temburong 27 July 2023 63

Education

Schools in Bangar include: *Sultan Hassan Primary School (public) * Sultan Hassan Secondary School (public; closed down and moved to a new building in Kampong Batu Apoi) *Temburong Arabic School (public) *Pai Yuek Primary School (private - Chinese) The Temburong District Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

which sits on Jalan Labu, Eastern half of the town.

Tourist attractions

*Kedai Rakyat Jati is a

market place A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

with man-made giant colourful trees. *Utama Mohammad Salleh Mosque is the only

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in town. The first Pekan Bangar Mosque was built in 1935. *The Tugu Peringatan 1962 was constructed around 1963 and is located on the

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

of the Temburong River, in the Temburong District. The monument, built entirely from concrete, was inaugurated on 5 January 1964 by Sultan

Omar Ali Saifuddien III Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien (Jawi script, Jawi: ; 23 September 1914 – 7 September 1986) was the 28th Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 1950 until his abdication in 1967 to his oldest son, Hassanal Bolkiah. Over the course of his ...

. It was erected to honour the service and sacrifice of government officials who lost their lives during the 1962

Brunei revolt The Brunei revolt () or the Brunei rebellion of 1962 was a December 1962 insurrection in the British protectorate of Brunei by opponents of its monarchy's proposed inclusion in the Federation of Malaysia. The insurgents were members of the ...

in the Temburong District. The names of the fallen fighters are inscribed on the monument. *Old Temburong District Office is planned to be turned into a museum in addition to coming under the Antiquities and Treasure Trove Act 1967. The building was built in the early 1950s. When it was established, this building was used and shared with several other government agencies such as the telecom office, the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, the customs and excise office and a court room and land transport office. Since this building is used together with other government departments, the building was named the Temburong District Government Office Building. *The entrance arch to the community hall complex is located at the main junction of Jalan Labu. Constructed entirely from blue and white concrete, this arch was donated by local residents and entrepreneurs in celebration of the silver jubilee of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on 5 October 1992. The design of the arch incorporates Islamic motifs, elements of traditional Malay culture, and symbols of competitiveness in business. *Temburong Permata Hijau sign

Recreation and sports

*Temburong Youth Centre *Festival Park (''Taman Perayaan'') is a recreational park with a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

and a

hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...

. *Kuala Belalong Mini Park

Gallery

File:Temburong 27 July 2023 28.jpg, Pengiran Isteri Hajah Mariam Hospital File:Temburong 27 July 2023 41.jpg, Religious Affairs Department File:Kompleks Utama Bumiputra Temburong (2020-11-29).jpg, Bumiputera Main Complex File:Temburong 27 July 2023 40.jpg, Bangar Fire Station File:Temburong 27 July 2023 26.jpg, Temburong District Library File:Temburong 27 July 2023 42.jpg, Temburong Arabic School File:Government Department Building Complex.jpg, Government Department Building Complex

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Populated places in Brunei Temburong District Villages in Temburong District