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Kuala Belait
KNOWLEDGE OF Kuala Belait
Kuala Belait is a town located in the Sultanate of Brunei. It is the second largest town in the country, after Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei and functions as the administrative town for the Belait District.
"Kuala Belait" literally means "the mouth of the Belait River". Its name comes from "Kuala" meaning either confluence of two rivers or the mouth of a river, and Belait, the name of the river and district. It is also known locally as "Belait". When needed to distinguish it from the district of the same name, it is known as "Belait town" in English or "Pekan Belait" in Malay.
Kuala Belait was a small fishing village at the turn of the 20th century. The natives were Belait Malays who were mainly fishermen. According to local customs, there was a falling out between two groups of the inhabitants and one of those groups moved to the west bank of the mouth of the Belait River to found the current day Kampong Sungai Teraban.
The old historic administrative capital of the Belait district used to be Kuala Balai, furher up the Belait River. However when oil was discovered in Padang Berawa (modern day Seria), a new administrative center for the district was established at the mouth of the Belait River so as to be more accessible. Kuala Balai, then was too inaccessible as there were no roads linking it to the rest of the country.
The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was established near the turn of the 1930s, and this marked the transition of Kuala Belait from a village to a town. The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was the forerunner of the Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Board, or Lembaga Bandaran Kuala Belait dan Seria in Malay. In Brunei towns are governed by a Municipal Board while each village is governed by a village council.
The town was overrun by the Japanese during the Second World War but was restored to Brunei after the war.
Under the rule of His Majesty the late Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, the town blossomed as commercial buildings such as the current shophouses along Jalan Pretty and the local branch of the HSBC were built.
After independence from Britain in 1984, a number of new government buildings were constructed to house the local services of the Brunei government.
At the turn of the millenium, a number of hotels were built in the center of town which drastically changed the skyline.
"Kuala Belait" literally means "the mouth of the Belait River". Its name comes from "Kuala" meaning either confluence of two rivers or the mouth of a river, and Belait, the name of the river and district. It is also known locally as "Belait". When needed to distinguish it from the district of the same name, it is known as "Belait town" in English or "Pekan Belait" in Malay.
Kuala Belait was a small fishing village at the turn of the 20th century. The natives were Belait Malays who were mainly fishermen. According to local customs, there was a falling out between two groups of the inhabitants and one of those groups moved to the west bank of the mouth of the Belait River to found the current day Kampong Sungai Teraban.
The old historic administrative capital of the Belait district used to be Kuala Balai, furher up the Belait River. However when oil was discovered in Padang Berawa (modern day Seria), a new administrative center for the district was established at the mouth of the Belait River so as to be more accessible. Kuala Balai, then was too inaccessible as there were no roads linking it to the rest of the country.
The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was established near the turn of the 1930s, and this marked the transition of Kuala Belait from a village to a town. The Kuala Belait Sanitary Board was the forerunner of the Kuala Belait/Seria Municipal Board, or Lembaga Bandaran Kuala Belait dan Seria in Malay. In Brunei towns are governed by a Municipal Board while each village is governed by a village council.
The town was overrun by the Japanese during the Second World War but was restored to Brunei after the war.
Under the rule of His Majesty the late Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin, the town blossomed as commercial buildings such as the current shophouses along Jalan Pretty and the local branch of the HSBC were built.
After independence from Britain in 1984, a number of new government buildings were constructed to house the local services of the Brunei government.
At the turn of the millenium, a number of hotels were built in the center of town which drastically changed the skyline.
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