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VISITOR INFORMATION
Newspapers
Brunei Darussalam 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, targetting 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 from 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.