Temburong District

Temburong is the eastern-most district (daerah) in Brunei. It is an exclave, as it is separated from the rest of Brunei by Malaysia and Brunei Bay. Its capital is Bangar. The main town located in the district is Pekan Bangar.

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Geography

The district borders Brunei Bay to the north and Sarawak, Malaysia to the east, south and west. It has a population of 9,300 and covers 1,166 km² (450 mi²).

The Sungai Temburong river flows through the district, and the Sungai Pandaruan river forms the western section of the border with Malaysia.

Temburong is divided into five mukim (districts):

Brunei's first national park, the Ulu Temburong National Park, is located south of the Temburong district, covering 550 square kilometres of the Temburong forest. The national park has a scientific research centre facility, the Kuala Belalong Rainforest Field Studies Centre, which is only accessible by boat.

Recently, 25 hectares of the Kuala Belalong area had been allocated for joint venture research projects conducted by the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Kuala Belalong Field Studies and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It is called the "Belalong Rainforest Experience," and is funded by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation: Brunei.[1]

An Outward Bound centre can also be found within the national park.

Temburong has 67 km of roads connecting Bangar to interior villages. In addition a further 54 km of roads connect villages in the interior.

Eco-tourism in Temburong district

Pristine forest still covers most of the district.[2] This leads to the intensive development of the eco-tourism industry in Temburong district. Eco-Tourism promotion events such as "Cuti-Cuti Temburong" ('Temburong holidays') was launched at the end of 2008 by the local tourism group known as "Kenali Negara Kitani" (KNK) ('Know Your Country') to encourage locals and tourists from foreign countries to travel to the Temburong district.[2] The promotion event is a kick-start of the Heart of Borneo project at Brunei vicinity.

Education

SM Sultan Hassan is the district's only secondary school and is located in Bangar. In addition, there are 14 primary schools spread across the district.

Health

In 1987 the $10 million Pengiran Isteri Hajah Mariam Hospital opened, providing 50 beds and a variety of medical services. A number of village clinics also exist.

Security

The district has an army presence at Bangar Camp. There are two police stations, one in Bangar and a smaller one in Puni.

Recreation

Popular sports in Temburong include football, top-spinning, netball and sepak takraw.

References

  1. ^ Rasidah, H.A.B. (April 4, 2009). "Project for in-depth study of local forests". The Brunei Times. http://www.bt.com.bn/en/home_news/2009/04/04/project_for_in_depth_study_of_local_forests. 
  2. ^ a b "Exploring Brunei in 'Cuti-Cuti Temburong". The Brunei Times. December 6, 2008. http://www.bt.com.bn/en/home_news/2008/12/06/exploring_brunei_in_cuti_cuti_temburong.