Inside or outside the mainstream? An ethnolinguistic study of the status of minority indigenous groups in Negara Brunei Darussalam

This chapter outlines what has been written by Donald Brown about the status of minority ethnic groups “of lesser significance” in Negara Brunei Darussalam. The initial focus is on the distinction between those designated in the 1959 Constitution as puak jati (indigenous groups), namely Brunei Malay, Kedayan, Tutong, Dusun, Bisaya, Belait and Lun Bawang, and those deemed non-indigenous, particularly the Iban and the Penan. Following discussion of how these groups and their languages have been described in subsequent anthropological and socio-linguistic research studies, an analytical framework is developed: the languages of all these groups may be considered as dialects of Malay for political purposes, whilst linguistically they demonstrate varying degrees of difference and distinction from the core Brunei Malay, termed “Pan-Bruneian Malay” by Noor Azam (2012). Whilst non-Bruneian ‘outsider’ researchers tend to view the minority languages as stigmatised and endangered in varying degrees, Bruneian ‘insiders’ focus more on the downplaying of differences for reasons of national unity and alignment with the national ideology. We conclude by offering some evidence for a recent shift in the official position concerning ethnic groups other than the majority Brunei Malays: rather than promoting assimilation, linguistic and cultural diversity is now acknowledged, even though not actively celebrated.