MEDIA

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.