Daily Inspiration Quote by Hassanal Bolkiah

“We are increasing our efforts to attract the right kind of foreign investors” is the kind of sentence that sounds managerial until you notice how much power is packed into “right kind.” Hassanal Bolkiah isn’t pitching an open-door economy; he’s defining a gate. The phrasing does two jobs at once: it reassures global capital that Brunei is “open for business,” while reassuring domestic audiences that openness will be curated, controlled, and compatible with the state’s priorities.

The subtext is selective globalization. “Various agencies” suggests institutional coordination and bureaucratic professionalism, a modernizing veneer that distances the message from personal rule even as it ultimately serves a highly centralized political order. It’s a soft-sell version of sovereignty: investment is welcome, but only on terms that preserve political stability, social norms, and the existing distribution of wealth. In resource-rich monarchies, foreign capital is less a lifeline than a lever; you don’t invite it in to rescue you, you invite it in to diversify without diluting authority.

Context matters: Brunei’s oil-and-gas wealth has long insulated it from the kinds of fiscal desperation that force messy reforms elsewhere. So this isn’t the language of economic panic. It’s the language of risk management in an era when “foreign investor” can mean anything from a long-term industrial partner to speculative money, reputational baggage, or cultural friction. “Right kind” is the diplomatic euphemism for due diligence, ideological comfort, and tight control over who gets a stake in the country’s future.