State Council | |
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Majlis Mesyuarat Negeri | |
Type | Unicameral Advisory body |
Status | Dissolved |
Abbreviation | State Council (SC) |
Appointer | Sultan of Brunei |
Constituting instrument | Supplementary treaty of 1905/1906 |
Formation | 1906 |
Abolished | 18 October 1959 |
Succession | Legislative Council Executive Council Privy Council |
This article is part of a series on the |
History of Brunei |
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The State Council (SC; Malay: Majlis Mesyuarat Negeri) was established in 1906 as a result of the British eesidency system and offered a legislative structure for the administration of a protected state managed by the British government without direct jurisdiction of the Crown. First held in June of 1907, it served as a predecessor to the Constitution of Brunei under Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III for over fifty years, until September 1959. The State Council was distinct from the executive and legislative councils characteristic of Crown Colony government, while being a British colonial body.[1]
The Sultan of Brunei maintained his sovereign power and the country was never a colony. Nonetheless, the State Council was important in maintaining the British government's semi-colonial control over the British residents of Brunei. The State Council, according to Sir Frank Swettenham, was a "great safety valve" that gave the angry Malay aristocrats and nobilities an opportunity for debate outside of the traditional meeting with the Sultan and his personal advisors. It has been noted that the State Councils set up on the Malay Peninsula sought to include Kapitan Cina as well as Malay district chiefs in the consultation process.[1]
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