Flag and Crest

First used in 1906, the Brunei Darussalam flag is made up of four colours: yellow, white, black and red. The yellow serves as a backdrop with two wide stripes of black and white across it diagonally. A red state crest, added in 1959, sits in the centre of the flag. The national flag was officially used when the Sultanate signed the Supplementary Agreement with Britain. The colours represent the signatories of the agreement: yellow for the Sultan, white for the Pengiran Bendahara and black for the Pengiran Pemancha.

The National Crest consists of:

• The Bendera (flag)
• The Payung Ubor-Ubor (the royal umbrella)
• The Sayap (wing of four feathers) which signifies the protection of justice, tranquillity, prosperity and peace
• The Tangan (hands) represents the government’s pledge to promote welfare, peace and prosperity
• The Bulan (crescent) which symbolises Islam – the national religion of Brunei

The Arabic characters inscribed on the crescent read “Always in Service with God’s Guidance”, while the words on the scroll mean “Brunei, the Abode of Peace”.