Kuala Belait (KB; Jawi: ) is the administrative town of

Belait District Belait District (; Jawi: دأيره بلأيت), or simply Belait (), is the largest as well as the westernmost district in Brunei. It has an area of and the population of 69,062 as of 2016. The administrative town is Kuala Belait, located at ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

. The population of the town proper was 4,259 in 2016. Kuala Belait is officially a municipal area (), as well as a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

under the mukim of the same name. The town is located west of the country's capital

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...

, and west of

Seria Seria () is a town in Belait District, Brunei, about west from the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The total population was 3,625 in 2016. It was where oil was first struck in Brunei in 1929 and has since become a centre for the countr ...

, the district's other town. It is also in the westernmost part of country, near the mouth of the

Belait River The Belait River ( ms, Sungai Belait) is a river in Belait District, Brunei. It is the longest of the four main rivers in the country. History During World War II from 1941 onwards, the whole of Brunei was under Japanese occupation until 19 ...

History

In 1914, a road connecting Kuala Belait and

Brunei Town Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital 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 i ...

was completed. Kuala Belait was a small fishing village at the turn of the 20th century. The natives were Belait Malays who were mainly fishermen. There was a disagreement between the two groups of settlers which caused one of those groups to the relocated up to the west bank of the mouth of the Belait River. The village is now known as Sungai Teraban. The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was established in 1929, and this marked the transition of Kuala Belait from a village to a town. In 1930, British Malayan Petroleum Company (BMPC) constructed a

telephone line A telephone line or telephone circuit (or just line or circuit industrywide) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system. It is designed to reproduce speech of a quality that is understandable. It is the physical wire or ot ...

along the Belait coastline which linked up Seria and

Rasau Rasau is an area in Brunei. The area contains one of the two oil fields of Brunei, the Rasau Field,hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

was built by BMPC and completed in 1931, followed by the first

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

English school being built that same year. Telephone lines stretching from Kuala Belait to Tutong was dismantled in 1934 after failing to meet expectations. By 1939, pipelines and roads between the town and

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

has been constructed. On December 16, 1941, the town was captured after an amphibious assault was carried out at

Belait Beach Belait Beach ( ms, Pantai Belait), also known as Kuala Belait Beach ( ms, Pantai Kuala Belait), is a beach in Kuala Belait, Mukim Kuala Belait, Belait District, Brunei. The beach used to stretch from Kuala Belait to Pelumpong Spit, Brunei, Pelump ...

by 10,000 soldiers from the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Kawaguchi Detachment The Kawaguchi Detachment was an Imperial Japanese Army formation that existed during World War II. Under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi, the detachment consisted of the 35th Infantry Brigade and the 124th Infantry Regiment. The deta ...

and remained part of the

Japanese occupation of British Borneo Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, an island, and British North Borneo; w ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Moreover during the Japanese occupation of Kuala Belait, war crimes such as

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

and execution of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

(POW) of the 2/15th Punjab Regiment were committed out by the Japanese. It can also be noted that 55 Indian prisoners died from

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

in the POW camp in town. As part of

Operation Oboe Six The Battle of North Borneo took place during the Second World War between Allied and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Borneo campaign of the Pacific War, it was fought between 10 June and 15 August 1945 in North Borneo (later known as Sabah) ...

, the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

9th Division arrived in Kuala Belait on June 24, 1945, followed by the recapturing of the port of Kuala Belait. Reconstruction plans for the destroyed town were approved in 1949. Within the same year, a new

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in town was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

. Due to the increase in profits from the oil industry in the 1950s and 1960s, rapid development was seen throughout Kuala Belait. The first offshore gas field, South West Ampa, was discovered off Kuala Belait in 1963. During the 1962 Brunei revolt, rebels of the TKNU managed to gain control of the town, but was soon liberated by the 1/2nd Battalion Gurkha Rifles Regiment.

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

by the rebels against the town's police station were repelled by the local police force. After independence from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1984, a number of new government buildings were constructed to house the local services of the Brunei government. In 1990s, the two-lane road along the coast leading from Muara to Kuala Belait was upgraded to 4-lane.

Governance

Administrative division

The area of Kuala Belait comprises territorial division which can be informally grouped into three main areas: ''Pekan Kuala Belait'' or Kuala Belait Town, and Kampong Pandan and Mumong suburbs. The latter two areas are further divided into three and two ''kampongs'' or villages respectively. Pekan Kuala Belait is also officially a ''kampong''-level administrative division. All of the villages constitute almost all of Mukim Kuala Belait, a subdistrict of Belait.

Local authority and town definition

The town of Kuala Belait is administered under ''Jabatan Bandaran Kuala Belait dan Seria'' (Kuala Belait and Seria Municipal Department), a government department under ''Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri'' (the Ministry of Home Affairs). The department comprises ''Lembaga Bandaran'' or the Municipal Board, which is headed by ''Pengerusi Lembaga Bandaran'' (Chairman of the Municipal Board). The current chairman is Ridzuan Haji Ahmad.

Overlapping territory

The area under the authority of the Municipal Department overlaps with that under ''Jabatan Daerah Belait'' or the Belait District Office. The municipal area consists of Pekan Kuala Belait, the whole of Kampong Pandan suburb, and parts of Mumong suburb. However, all of the ''kampongs'' are also under the governance of the Belait District Office, since they constitute the proper subdivisions of the district and subdistricts, and subsequently the headmen of the ''kampongs'', known as ''ketua kampong'' (with the exception of Pekan Kuala Belait since there is none assigned), answers to the ''Pegawai Daerah'' or District Officer.

Economy

Oil and gas

Kuala Belait is located in the vicinity of the onshore

Rasau Rasau is an area in Brunei. The area contains one of the two oil fields of Brunei, the Rasau Field,About BSP – History of Oil and Gas
– retrieved 18-04-2007 However Brunei

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

has various facilities in town to support the oil and gas production facilities in the vicinity. The Kuala Belait Bunkering Station (KBBS) is located near the mouth of the Belait River. It supplies domestic gas to the town and other bulk chemicals in support of the various activities. The Kuala Belait Wharf is the main point from which personnel to and from the offshore platforms, off the Belait districts, embark and disembark.

Marine

The Kuala Belait supply base is located to the south of the

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

, and is the main point for logistics for Shell. The Marine Construction Yard (MCY) in Sungai Duhon, commonly known as SCO, is where construction of marine structures are carried out prior to installation offshore.

Climate

The climate of Kuala Belait is tropical. The weather is warm, humid and rainy all year.

Transportation

Road

Most of the roads within the municipality are surfaced. There are buses taking passengers to

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

from Kuala Belait. The Kuala Belait Highway from the Malaysian border west of Sungai Tujuh, Kuala Belait links up with multiple other highways leading to Bandar Seri Begawan and

Muara Town Muara Town ( ms, Pekan Muara) or simply Muara is a port town in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, about from the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The population of the town proper was 2,102 in 2016. It is home to Muara Port, the country's primary deep ...

Water

It is possible to hire a

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

at the public

close to the Kuala Belait market to go upriver towards

Kuala Balai Mukim Kuala Balai is a mukim in Belait District, Brunei. The population was 31 in 2016. Geography The mukim borders Mukim Seria to the north, Mukim Labi to the east and south, the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the west and Mukim Kuala Belait ...

. There are also trips organized by the Kuala Belait Boat Club to sail out in the open sea to various nearby destinations. A timber

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

used to exist in

Rasau Rasau is an area in Brunei. The area contains one of the two oil fields of Brunei, the Rasau Field,Kuala Belait Port The Kuala Belait Port ( ms, Pelabuhan Kuala Belait), also known as Kuala Belait Wharf, is a port operated by both the Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) and Maritime and Port Authority Brunei Darussalam (MPABD). The port can only accommodate low-dr ...

is one of the three

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 Ham ...

s of

. The part of the port near the mouth of the river is operated by Brunei Shell and public entry is restricted. The commercial port of Kuala Belait is located to the south of the municipality in Kampong Sungai Duhon and its environs further upriver from the mouth. Due to

silting Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...

of the

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carrying ...

, the port can only take shallow draft vessels. Two

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

have been constructed at the mouth of the Belait River to reduce silting of the river mouth.

Air

Commercial travellers would have to travel to either

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

to catch a commercial flight. There is a

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital.

Education

Primary and secondary

Primary education is offered in various government and private schools. There are currently three government primary schools: * Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (main gate-1)

Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (main gate-1)

Ahmad Tajuddin Primary School * Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Primary School * Pengiran Setia Jaya Pengiran Abdul Momin Primary School The government also has built three schools which offer secondary education: * Perdana Wazir Secondary School * Pengiran Jaya Negara Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar Secondary School *

Sayyidina Ali Secondary School Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (, Abbrev: '), is a co-educational school located in Kampong Pandan, a suburban village in Kuala Belait, Brunei. In 2013, it had a student population of 1500, 700 of which were Pre-U students. The current principal ...

There are four private schools in Kuala Belait. They may offer primary, secondary or both. * Chung Hua Middle School, Kuala Belait *

International School Brunei International School Brunei (ISB) is an international school split over two sites, one located in the Sungai Akar area of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei and the other located in Seria in the Belait district. It is the first international school ...

, Kuala Belait * St. James' School * St. John's School

Post-secondary

Secondary students opting for

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

education study at Pusat Tingkatan Enam Belait. The sixth form students currently share facilities with the secondary students. However, the sixth form is expected to have its own stand-alone campus in the near future. Alternatively, students opting for vocational education may proceed to study at one of the two post-secondary institution, namely: *

Institute of Brunei Technical Education The Institute of Brunei Technical Education (; abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full v ...

, Jefri Bolkiah Campus - a government post-secondary institution providing technical and vocational qualifications; and *

Kemuda Institute Kemuda Institute (KI) is a private college in Brunei. It was established in 2004 and has campuses in Beribi in Bandar Seri Begawan. Kemuda Institute mainly provides vocational courses in computing and information technology, leading up to BTEC ...

- a private college that offers Foundation, Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses.

Tourist attractions

Kuala Belait town itself has a number of tourist attractions. Some of these are: * Silver Jubilee Park is a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

built to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s accession to the throne, as a gift from the people of Kuala Belait. * Menara Cendera Kenangan is a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

built to commemorate the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's 50th Birthday, along the Belait River. * Tea Pot Roundabout (locally known as 'kiri') is a monument in Kampong Pandan sponsored by Brunei Shell Petroleum. * Belait District Museum is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

dedicated to the Belait District. * Kampong Pandan Mosque is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Kampong Pandan, built in 1994. * Mohammad Jamalul Alam Mosque is a mosque in Kampong Melayu, built in 1961. *

Istana Kota Manggalela The Istana Kota Manggalela (English: ''Kota Manggalela Palace''), also known as Istana Manggalela, is one of the temporary official residences of the then Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien III. The palace is located at Jalan Maulana, Kuala ...

is the residence of the

Sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

in the Belait District, completed in 1958. *

lies along the coast of Kuala Belait.

Notable people

Tiger Lim Tiger Lim (born 5 September 1974) or officially Lim Han Hu, is Brunei's self-proclaimed No. 1 broken-English blogger and a YouTube comedian who shares his videos under the username tigerlim7673. He is also a freelance sound engineer whose blog ga ...

(born 1974), Chinese

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ger and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

* Zulkhairy Razali (born 1996), Malay

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays striker for Indera SC

Notes

External links

Kuala Belait Municipal BoardKEMUDA Institute
{{Authority control Populated places in Brunei Municipalities in Brunei