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VISITOR INFORMATION
Newspapers
Brunei publishes newspapers in multiple
languages covering local, regional and
international news. The oldest paper in Brunei is
the Borneo Bulletin, a daily paper in English that
has been published since 1953. The paper started
off as a weekly report, targeting the expatriate
community in the Belait district.
Over the years, Borneo Bulletin, published by
Brunei Press, has developed into the country’s
leading source of trusted and influential
information. Borneo Bulletin is available in
print and online. Media Permata is the Malay
equivalent of the Borneo Bulletin. The paper
was initially a weekly Malay insert in Borneo
Bulletin on January 13, 1994 but was eventually
published daily on July 30, 1998.
Pelita Brunei is a Malay newspaper, produced
by the Information Department at the Prime
Minister’s Office. The paper primarily covers
government-related news and events including
features on tender information, inter-department
sports activities and job vacancies within
government institutions. The paper can be
found in various places nationwide: government
departments, the airport and petrol stations
among others. Foreign newspapers available
in Brunei include Borneo Post and New Straits
Times from Malaysia and the Straits Times,
Singapore. Malay daily Berita Harian and
Chinese dailies See Hua Daily, Sin Chew
Daily and United Daily from Malaysia are also
circulated here.
Television and Radio
On May 2, 1957, Brunei saw its inaugural radio
broadcast go live. The station was operated by
the state, which later evolved into Radio Television
Brunei (RTB); Brunei’s state television and radio
network. RTB was inaugurated on May 2, 1957
by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan
Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien,
Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam
when colour television service was launched.
RTB now operates five channels: RTB Perdana
(previously RTB1) focussing on infotainment,
RTB Aneka (previously RTB2) airs entertainment,
RTB3 HD, RTB Sukmaindera (previously RTB4
International) and RTB 5 which focusses on
religious programmes. RTB also runs five radio
channels: Nasional FM (92.3 or 93.8), Pilihan FM
(95.9 or 96.9), Pelangi FM (91.4 or 91.0), Harmoni
FM (94.1 or 97.7) and Nur Islam FM (93.3 or 94.9).
Apart from RTB, DST Sdn Bhd offers cable
television through its joint project with Astro
Malaysia, bringing Kristal-Astro – DST’s
subsidiary – to Bruneian viewers. With over 100
channels, radio programmes and other interactive
services, DST provides these features through
digital Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite television
services.
Another DST subsidiary – Kristal Media Sdn
Bhd – runs the radio channel KRISTALfm – one
of Brunei’s private commercial radio stations.
The popular station is known to play a variety of
music, from current chart-toppers to throwback
songs and classic tunes. KRISTALfm is available
through 90.7FM for Brunei-Muara listeners and
98.7FM for Belait listeners.
Progresif Cellular launched Brunei’s first mobile
radio through its Progresif Radio app, where
audience may listen to live broadcasts or older
broadcasts through the On Demand feature. The
radio first went live on November 13, 2017. The
app also provides access to radio stations from
the region and other parts of the world.