Accession and coronation Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin died suddenly in
Singapore, leaving no male
heirs, on 4 June 1950. Omar Ali Saifuddien was proclaimed by
Pengiran Anak Muhammad Yasin as the next Sultan at the Government Office's hall on 6 June 1950. Omar Ali Saifuddien directed his late brother's burial at the
Royal Mausoleum upriver, contrary to the preference of the late Sultan's widow,
Tengku Raihani. Upon his ascension to the throne, Omar Ali Saifuddien also became the head of the
Islamic religion in the country. He supported initiatives aimed at improving the people’s livelihood through national development programs. The Bruneian government spent
B$10.65 million on educational issues. In 1954, this policy on education was first presented. The equipment of educational institutions, including
secondary schools,
adult education, and
vocational training, was to be determined by this policy. The English-language Raja Isteri Girls' High School in Brunei Town was finished in 1957, but only went up to Form 3. The school's children went to
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien College to sit for Forms 4 and 5 after completing the Lower Secondary Certificate Examination. Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School in Brunei Town,
Muda Hashim Secondary School in
Tutong, and
Sultan Hassan Secondary School in
Temburong were the secondary schools that were finished in 1966. The
Department of Religious Affairs was established on 1 July 1954, by the Sultan. The plan included aspects of Islam including
legal issues, educational issues, religious message–related activities, and social administration. Two religious officials from
Johor,
Ismail Omar Abdul Aziz and Othman Mohammad Said, were brought to Brunei on 25 September 1954. The Bruneian government started holding an evening
religious school in September 1956. Additionally, the government began providing scholarships to a limited number of students to pursue further education overseas at Al-Azhar University in
Cairo, Egypt;
Islamic College in
Klang; and
Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah in
Singapore. On 11 October 1956, seven religious schools were established in Brunei on the premises of both Malay and English schools, based on the religious officers' suggestions. Nine religious instructors who were invited from Johor were involved in the religious studies program. The religious schools opened in the afternoon, after
Zuhur. These religious schools were administered by the Department of Religious Affairs, and their director and administrator were the highest ranking officials in the department.
Constitutional journey of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddien formed a
royal commission to get feedback from locals in various regions, which was the first step towards drafting a written constitution for Brunei. The commission had seven appointed members and was called the . It was tasked with gathering public feedback, creating a report, and offering Omar Ali Saifuddien advice on creating district councils, reorganising the State Council, and creating the Constitution. The created a report detailing the public's support for Omar Ali Saifuddien's constitutional goals after touring all
districts of Brunei. Under his direction, Brunei's constitution was drafted, and on 23 March 1954, the presented a 50-page report to him. The first draft of Brunei's constitution, prepared by Abell and his colleagues aligned with the objectives of the constitutional committee. Abell, the Sultan, and his two wazirs,
Pengiran Muda Hashim and Pengiran Anak Mohamed Alam, met with British Resident
John Orman Gilbert from 16 to 17 December 1954 at
Istana Darul Hana. These negotiations led to minor amendments, which were submitted to the
Colonial Office and unanimously accepted. District Advisory Councils were subsequently established in each of the four districts in 1955. By mid-1955, Omar Ali Saifuddien's insistence on securing positions for his wazirs in the
Legislative Council (LegCo) and Executive Council complicated the constitutional drafting process and disrupted British plans for parliamentary reorganisation. In 1956, the
Brunei People's Party (PRB), led by
A. M. Azahari, gained popularity for supporting Omar Ali Saifuddien's role as a constitutional monarch while advocating independence through constitutional means. Although the Colonial authorities endorsed some of the PRB's goals, they deemed its demands for equal pay, worker welfare,
ministerial governance, and
public elections too extreme. Omar Ali Saifuddien's firm resistance to British proposals to limit his powers and turn him into a
constitutional monarch strengthened his resolve to maintain local control, leading to major revisions and deletions in the draft constitution. In 1957, Omar Ali Saifuddien sent a team to London to negotiate the constitution with the
British government. The principal focus of the negotiations was the (Brunei State Constitution Bill), drafted by
Panglima Bukit Gantang in Brunei House, Singapore. Although Azahari attempted to communicate with British officials, Omar Ali Saifuddien's opposition meant that the PRB's recommendations were not considered. in 1958 In 1958, the 1957 London discussions were revisited in Brunei. Omar Ali Saifuddien and Abell met on 27 October at Istana Darul Hana to review the outcomes and finalise the key concepts from the earlier talks. On 2 November, a special meeting chaired by his adviser resolved to send a delegation led by Omar Ali Saifuddien to London for further constitutional negotiations. Panglima Bukit Gantang and
Neil Lawson were selected to accompany him. Following the
Merdeka Talks, Brunei's constitutional issues drew the attention of British authorities, who summoned Omar Ali Saifuddien to London in early 1959 to finalise the document with the
Colonial Secretary,
Alan Lennox-Boyd. On 14 March, he travelled via Singapore with ten members of his team for the constitutional talks. As a result of these discussions, the Brunei Agreement was concluded on 6 April 1959. The agreement fulfilled the main requests of the , including the appointment of the (Chief Minister) and the adoption of staggered implementation measures starting on 1 July. Under the constitution, Omar Ali Saifuddien oversaw the appointment of five key administrators: the , the State Secretary, the General, the State Finance Officer, and the Religious Advisor On 29 September 1959, the constitution was signed in Brunei Town by Omar Ali Saifuddien and
Robert Scott, with the British delegation led by Lennox-Boyd. The British government subsequently accepted the draft constitution. The document established Omar Ali Saifuddien as the supreme
head of state, assigned Brunei responsibility for its internal administration, and restricted the British Government to foreign and defence affairs. The former post of Resident was abolished and replaced by a
British High Commissioner. Additionally, five councils were established: the Executive Council, Legislative Council,
Privy Council, Council of Succession, and the State Religious Council.
1962 district council election Brunei's
first state election was held on 30 and 31 August 1962. This was to elect members to sit in the LegCo. These elected members would then be involved in discussions of governmental policies. Despite this, Omar Ali Saifuddien still held absolute power and authority in the government. Among the political parties which contested in the election were PRB, Barisan Nasional Organisation, and Brunei United Party. The
polling went on for two days, which ended with the PRB winning the election. in 1962, from Istana Darul Hana
Proposed merger with Malaysia and revolt When
Tunku Abdul Rahman, the
prime minister of the
Federation of Malaya announced his proposal for a merger of Singapore,
North Borneo,
Sarawak, and
Brunei in May 1961, Omar Ali Saifuddien saw this as an opportunity for Brunei to achieve independence from British influence. He sent a congratulatory
telegraph to Tunku Abdul Rahman, showing his support for the merger. In his opinion, Brunei, as a small country, needed a protection of a larger country; the only way to achieve this was by merging with Malaysia and the rest of the states. This view was also shared by
Lee Kuan Yew, the prime minister of Singapore. When the
Malaysian Solidarity Consultative Committee (MSCC) first convened in
Jesselton in August 1961, Brunei abstained from the proceedings. The PRB, and its leader Azahari, who had considerable popular support, were against the merger. According to them, if Brunei was to join the Federation, Brunei would not have achieved full independence if it transferred power from Britain to Malaya. On 8 December 1962, the PRB led a
rebellion against the government. British military aid was deployed from Singapore. The
2nd Gurkha Rifles was sent to Brunei in 1962, the year the Brunei Revolt started. Omar Ali Saifuddien and his son,
Hassanal Bolkiah, were saved from his palace by
Digby Willoughby and a small group of
Gurkha soldiers. After the rebellion was defeated, the discussion of joining the proposed
North Borneo Federation continued. Omar Ali Saifuddien sent a delegation to attend meetings of the MSCC. The committee, chaired by Chief Minister
Marsal Maun, sought the views of the people. Omar Ali Saifuddien decided in 1963 to open religious classes for adults. This practice, initiated by an emergency meeting of the Religious Affairs Committee on 7 January 1963, aimed to foster and protect loyalty to the Sultan. and Omar Ali Saifuddien leaving the Brunei Airport Building in late 1963 In 1963, a meeting was held to discuss the prospect of Brunei joining Malaysia. Arguments arose about taxes. Omar Ali Saifuddien was offended by Tunku Abdul Rahman's proposals and held off making a decision. Singapore and Brunei were not present when the
Malaysia Agreement was signed in London in July 1963. The
Federation of Malaysia was established in September 1963, but Brunei chose not to join the federation.
Later reign On 24 September 1964, Omar Ali Saifuddien laid the foundation stone for the nation's first school teaching Arabic,
Hassanal Bolkiah Boys' Arabic Secondary School, and outlined his vision for religious secondary schools. On 28 October 1964, he also launched the first delivery of a 10-inch oil pipeline from the seabed off the coast of the Seria oil field. One of the results of Omar Ali Saifuddien's religious education programme was that students who completed seven years of schooling were trained to become local religious instructors. These "trained religious teachers" had to pass a specific exam and attend weekly sessions in order to become "Untrained Teachers". On 22 May 1966, evening religious training sessions were instituted five days a week for a year in order to improve their abilities and enable them become completely qualified "Trained Religious Teachers". ==Abdication and post-reign ==