Kampong Jerudong

Kampong Jerudong or simply Jerudong is a village in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, about 21 km from the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The population was 3,856 in 2016. It is one of the settlements within Mukim Sengkurong.

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
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.

History
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. Nevertheless, drilling was renewed in 1940, and subsequently in 1955, by the then British Malayan Petroleum Company, resulting in the six wells being spudded. However, the wells yielded negligible results.

Administration
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.

Economy
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.

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
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. 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. Meanwhile, the western end of Jerudong–Tungku Highway terminates in the east of Jerudong at another traffic light junction of Jalan Jerudong.

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

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

Education

 * Although Jerudong International School is named after this place, it is officially located in Tungku.
 * Jerudong Primary School is the village primary school, whereas Jerudong Religious School is the village school for the country's Islamic religious primary education.

Health

 * Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) which houses Gleneagles JPMC, the heart surgery centre
 * Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC) which houses The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC) and Brunei Neuroscience Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre (BNSRC)

Recreation
Jerudong Park, the country's only amusement park, was opened in 1994. It used to offer free admission, which claimed to be the first amusement park in the world to do so. The park fell into disuse for several years but it was eventually revamped and relaunched in 2014. 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.

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.

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

Miscellaneous
The BRIDEX International Conference Centre is located in Jerudong. 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.

Notable people

 * Yakub Abu Bakar (1947–2007), politician and minister