Kampong Jerudong or simply Jerudong is a village in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, about 21 kilometres (13 mi) from the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The population was 3,856 in 2016.[1] It is one of the settlements within Mukim Sengkurong.

Jerudong
Kampong Jerudong
Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam Mosque
Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam Mosque
Kampong Jerudong is located in Brunei
Kampong Jerudong
Location in Brunei
Coordinates: 4°56′14″N 114°50′31″E / 4.9373°N 114.8419°E / 4.9373; 114.8419
CountryBrunei
DistrictBrunei-Muara
MukimSengkurong
Area
 • Total32.97 km2 (12.73 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total3,856
 • Density120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (BNT)
Postcode
BG3122

The village is home to a few notable places of the country. It is the location of Jerudong Park, the country's sole amusement park, as well as The Empire Hotel and Country Club, a luxury hotel often regarded as one of the notable landmarks of Brunei. Jerudong is also home to Jerudong Park Medical Centre and Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre, the country's main specialist healthcare centre.

Name edit

The origin of the name Jerudong according to folk tale, in the beginning where the village and area did not have a specific name until the name Jerudong came about as a result of the meeting of a man and a woman who came from different areas and then gave the village its name. According to Ketua Kampong Jerudong, Awang Haji Mohd. Rais, the woman took her pet buffalo to a grassy area and for feeding. Then came a man of unknown origin and asked what the name of the village he stopped by was. Then the woman explained to the man that the village did not have a name yet and the man continued to plan to give it a name. They both agreed to give a name to the village which the man suggested that the woman connect the word he was going to say which is 'JA' and the woman connect it with the word 'DONG'. So, said the Ketua Kampong Jerudong, the name of the village came from the word 'JADONG' and the man also told the woman to protect the name of the village they had created. The word was always on the woman's lips until her buffalo was named JAUDONG.[2]

History edit

There had been oil exploration attempts being conducted in Jerudong in the past. In 1914, five shallow wells were drilled but abandoned in the following year due to geological issues.[3][4] Nevertheless, drilling was renewed in 1940, and subsequently in 1955, by the then British Malayan Petroleum Company, resulting in the six wells being spudded.[5][6][7][8] However, the wells yielded negligible results.[9]

Administration edit

A total of 23 small villages included in Kampong Jerudong, namely Kampong Angor, Kampung Kampong Limau, Kampong Pancuran, Kampong Sungai Penipahan, Kampong Pulau Kubu, Kampong Pulau Mamut, Kampong Peninjau, Kampong Bukit Bunga, Kampong Bukit Kaboh, Kampong Bukit Seniwasa, Kampong Telaga Tabam, Kampong Temiang Lada, Kampong Kepayas Akar, Kampong Luahan, Kampong Mejawa, Kampong Durian Selangan, Kampong Tandueh Besar, Kampong Tandueh Kecil, Kampong Merasak, Kampong Menunggul, Kampong Siacang, Kampong Lampaki and Kampong Siandang. They are among the villages encompassed by Mukim Sengkurong.[2]

Economy edit

 
Locally produced sweet honey on display

The economy of Jerudong is based on a mixture of retail, service and hospitality. Jerudong has a number of grocery stores, restaurants and other types of shops which mainly cater the livelihood of the residents. It also has a fish market: Jerudong Market (Pasar Jerudong) is located close to Jerudong Beach, whereby the fish and other marine produce sold in the market are mainly catches by the fishermen going to the sea from this beach. The Jerudong Market is one of the two largest markets in the country, supported by the Minister of Home Affairs.[10]

Meanwhile, people who are in the service sector are mainly employed in the specialist healthcare centres, namely Jerudong Park Medical Centre and Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre, where as those in the hospitality industry are mainly employed in the few hotels located in Jerudong, as well as the leisure facilities of Jerudong Park Country Club.

Transportation edit

Jerudong is served by three highways: Muara–Tutong Highway, Jalan Jerudong and Jerudong–Tungku Highway. The Muara–Tutong Highway traverses Jerudong between its northeastern and western points, where as Jalan Jerudong passes through Jerudong in north-south direction; the latter also terminates in the area in the north at Jerudong Beach. The two roads are directly connected via an interchange.[11] They are also indirectly connected via a road which passes through the Jerudong Park area, whereby it is connected to the Highway via an interchange and terminates at the other end at a traffic light junction of Jalan Jerudong.[11] Meanwhile, the western end of Jerudong–Tungku Highway terminates in the east of Jerudong at another traffic light junction of Jalan Jerudong.[12]

Infrastructure edit

The village mosque is Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam Mosque; it was inaugurated by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on 29 January 1999.[13] It can accommodate 2,000 worshippers.[13] The mosque is a waqf (Islamic endowment) of Mariam binti Abdul Aziz,[13] a former consort of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

The village is also home to the Consulate of Russia and Benin.[14]

 
Jerudong International School

Education edit

 
Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre

Health edit

Recreation edit

 
Royal Golf & Country Club fountain

Jerudong Park, the country's only amusement park, was opened in 1994.[20][21] It used to offer free admission,[21] which claimed to be the first amusement park in the world to do so.[22] The park fell into disuse for several years but it was eventually revamped and relaunched in 2014.[20] At present, Jerudong Park features several rides as well as a water park, musical fountain, food court and an indoor amphitheatre for events; the Jerudong Park Amphitheater once hosted concerts by Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston in 1996.[21]

Jerudong Park is located within the grounds of Jerudong Park Country Club, which also includes Royal Brunei Golf and Country Club, one of two golf courses located in Jerudong and one of the few in the country, and Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club, the country's sole polo club.

The other golf course in Jerudong is located within the compound of the Empire Hotel and Country Club.

Another quite famous recreational park that people often visit is Bukit Shahbandar Recreational Park. In this park there are tracks for those who like to climb hills and do sports activities such as running and recreation.[2]

Accommodation edit

There are a few hotels in Jerudong but the most notable is The Empire Hotel and Country Club. Opened in 2000,[23] it is a luxury 5-star beach resort overlooking the South China Sea,[24][25] which features 518 rooms, restaurants, event halls, gardens, cinemas and country club that includes a golf course.[26] The Empire Hotel is arguably the flagship hotel of Brunei. It is a member of Worldhotels,[26] a leading organisation of independent hotel around the world.[27]

Miscellaneous edit

The BRIDEX International Conference Centre is located in Jerudong.[28] It is a convention centre which formerly hosted the Brunei International Defence Exhibition and Conference, an international event held biennially which showcases exhibition related to arms and defence technology.

Istana Nurul Izzah (Nurul Izzah Palace) is one of the residences of the Brunei Royal Family.[29]

Notable people edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Population and Housing Census Update Final Report 2016" (PDF). www.deps.gov.bn. Department of Statistics. December 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c KOMPILASI RENCANA KNK 2015 (PDF) (in Malay). Kenali Negera Kitani. 2015. pp. 129–135.
  3. ^ B. A. Hamzah (1991). The Oil Sultanate: Political History of Oil in Brunei Darussalam. Mawaddah Enterprise. p. 96. ISBN 978-983-9737-01-1.
  4. ^ United States. Federal Oil Conservation Board (1928). Report. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 141.
  5. ^ Albert Lidgett (1955). Petroleum Times. Petroleum Times. p. 854.
  6. ^ Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 1956. p. 1664.
  7. ^ Annual Report. H.M. Stationery Office. 1955. p. 17.
  8. ^ Annual Report of the Geological Survey Department, British Territories in Borneo. Government Printer. 1956.
  9. ^ Great Britain. Colonial Office (1957). Brunei. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 59.
  10. ^ Kampong Ayer to get B$45-million facelift | March 13, 2018 | Hakim Hayat |
  11. ^ a b Brunei Darussalam street directory : quick & easy reference maps., Brunei. Juruukur Agung., Brunei Press Sdn. Bhd., Published & printed by Brunei Press Sdn. Bhd., Commercial Printing Services, 2014, pp. 46–47, ISBN 9789991732411, OCLC 932264901{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ Brunei Darussalam street directory : quick & easy reference maps., Brunei. Juruukur Agung., Brunei Press Sdn. Bhd., Published & printed by Brunei Press Sdn. Bhd., Commercial Printing Services, 2014, pp. 58–59, ISBN 9789991732411, OCLC 932264901{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ^ a b c "SenaraiMasjid - Masjid Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam, Kampong Jerudong". www.kheu.gov.bn (in Malay). Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Embassy". Information Department, Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Jerudong International School". jerudonginternationalschool.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam". www.moe.gov.bn. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  17. ^ "Laman Utama - Senarai Sekolah Ugama". www.kheu.gov.bn. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  18. ^ "About Us - JPMC | Jerudong Park Medical Centre". www.jpmc.com.bn. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Home page -". www.pjscbrunei.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  20. ^ a b "Jerudong Park Playground Timeline – Jerudong Park". www.jerudongpark.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  21. ^ a b c "Jerudong Park - Theme Park in Brunei - Thousand Wonders". www.thousandwonders.net. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  22. ^ "About Jerudong Park – Jerudong Park". www.jerudongpark.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  23. ^ "More about The Empire Hotel & Country Club in Brunei". www.theempirehotel.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  24. ^ Marimari.com. "The Empire Hotel & Country Club Brunei, Located in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei". www.marimari.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  25. ^ Travels, Oxford. "Empire Hotel and Country Club Brunei with Discounted Rate Reservation - Online Hotel Bookings". www.oxfordtravels.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  26. ^ a b "The Empire Hotel & Country Club - Hotels in Bandar Seri Begawan | Worldhotels". www.worldhotels.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  27. ^ "About Worldhotels – Company Profile". www.worldhotels.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  28. ^ "Bridex". www.armadaproperties.com.bn. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  29. ^ "Ambassador Maeda's audience with His Royal Highness Prince 'Abdul Mateen". Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Sultanate - News | Negara Brunei Darussalam | His Majesty at funeral ceremony". sultanate.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.