BRUNEI - Negara Brunei Darussalam

Brunei ,officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: نڬارا بروني دارالسلام‎), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is completely surrounded by the insular Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 428,963 in 2018. The government is an absolute monarchy under the Sultan which implements sharia law and directs Islamic practices.

Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields.

Brunei is a southeast Asian country consisting of two unconnected parts with a total area of 5,765 square kilometres (2,226 sq mi) on the island of Borneo. It has 161 kilometres (100 mi) of coastline next to the South China Sea, and it shares a 381 km (237 mi) border with Malaysia. It has 500 square kilometres (193 sq mi) of territorial waters, and a 200-nautical-mile (370 km; 230 mi) exclusive economic zone. Brunei is located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Its coastline with the South China Sea is the only portion that is not bounded by another country; the state of Sarawak, Malaysia surrounds the country and it is divided into two portion by Limbang, which is part of Sarawak.

The first stamps of Brunei were the 1895 "Star and crescent" set, long considered to bogus but subsequently shown to be genuine, although valid only for mail within the state and to Sarawak and Labuan. In 1906 stamps of Labuan came into use, overprinted BRUNEI. In 1907 a set inscribed "BRUNEI POSTAGE & REVENUE" was issued showing a boat on the River Brunei. This set remained in use until 1949 during which time it went through many different printings. Brunei was occupied by the Japanese forces in January 1942 until liberation in June 1945. During the occupation, overprinted and un-overprinted stamps of Brunei were used as well as stamps of Japan. Following liberation, stamps of North Borneo and Sarawak were overprinted "BMA" (British Military Administration). 

A new set of definitives was issued on 2 January 1947. In 1949 a set was issued celebrating Sultan Ahmed Tajudin's Silver Jubilee. Also in 1949 Brunei issued stamps for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union as part of a British Commonwealth omnibus issue.

In 1952 a new series of definitive stamps were issued featuring Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin which was another long-running series lasting until 1972. Regular commemorative and definitive stamp issues have continued since then. Since independence on 1 January 1984, Brunei has issued stamps inscribed as "Brunei Darussalam".

Brunei has beautiful stamps but the philatelic service is not much explored and unreliable. The covers posted on August 24, 2016 and I received  on September 19, 2016.