Temburong District

Temburong District (Daerah Temburong; Jawi: دائيره تمبوروڠ ), or simply Temburong, is the easternmost district in Brunei. It is an exclave surrounded by Malaysia and the Brunei Bay. Temburong is accessible from Brunei's mainland via the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge. It has a total area of 1306 km2. As of 2016, its population was 10,251; it is the least populous district in Brunei. Bangar is the administrative centre of the Temburong District.

Geography
The district is surrounded by Brunei Bay to the north, and Sarawak, Malaysia to the east, south, and west.

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

The highest point of Temburong is Bukit Pagon with a height of 1850 m. It is also the highest point in Brunei.

Brunei's first national park, the Ulu Temburong National Park, is located south of the Temburong district, covering 550 km2 of the Temburong forest. The national park has a scientific research facility, the Kuala Belalong Rainforest Field Studies Centre, which is only accessible by boat. 25 ha 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. An Outward Bound centre can also be found within the national park.

Temburong has 67 km of roads connecting Bangar to the interior villages. In addition, a 54 km system of roads connects villages in the interior.

A new 30 km roadway connecting the Muara and Temburong districts of Brunei was completed in March 2020. 14 km of this roadway crosses the Brunei Bay.

Administration
The district administration is the responsibility of the Temburong District Office (Jabatan Daerah Temburong), a government department under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Temburong District is divided into five mukims:


 * Mukim Amo
 * Mukim Bangar
 * Mukim Batu Apoi
 * Mukim Bokok
 * Mukim Labu

These are further subdivided into 76 Kampongs (Villages), however only 57 have a permanent population.

According to the Constitution, the district is to be represented in the Legislative Council, the state legislature, by up to 2 members. As of 2017, one member has been appointed to represent the district in the legislature.

Demographics
Temburong District is the least populous district in Brunei. According to the 2016 census update, the population was 10,251 and made up about 2.5% of the country's total population. NaN% were males and NaN% were females. The racial make-up was as follows: NaN% were Malays, NaN% were Chinese, and NaN% were those other than the aforementioned races. In terms of residency status, NaN% were citizens, NaN% were permanent residents and NaN% were temporary residents. In terms of professed religions, NaN% were Muslims, NaN% were Christians, NaN% were Buddhists, and NaN% professed other than the aforementioned religions or irreligious. The age groups were as follows: NaN% were 14 years old and below, NaN% were 15 to 24 years old, NaN% were 25 to 64 years old, and NaN% were 65 years old and above. The population is predominantly rural, whereby NaN% lived in rural areas in contrast to NaN% in urban areas.

The census recorded 2,007 households living in 1,894 dwellings in the district.

In 2020, the district's population was estimated to have increased to 11,200.

Tourism
Much of the district is still covered by trees. 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') were 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. The promotion event is a kick-start of the Heart of Borneo project at the Brunei vicinity.

Education
In 2019, there were 14 schools in Temburong District under the Ministry of Education, out of which 12 were government-owned and 2 were private. There were 238 teachers, of which 91.6% taught in public schools and 8.4% in private schools. The number of students was recorded at 1,816, whereby NaN% were enrolled in public schools and NaN% in private schools. For the formal Islamic religious education, which is under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, there were 12 religious schools (7.6% of the country's total), employing 106 teachers and enrolling 770 students.

The highest education level available in the district is secondary and this is provided at the Sultan Hassan Secondary School, the sole secondary school in the district.

Healthcare
Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Hospital is the district hospital. It was inaugurated on 3 September 1987. Its construction cost was B$15 million; it sits on a 2.8 ha site. The hospital has 50 beds and clinical services, such as maternity, dental, optical and intensive care units. It is named after Mariam binti Abdul Aziz, the former second wife, and Pengiran Isteri (princess consort), of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

Roads
As of 2022, the district's road network comprised a total length of 235.11 km, out of which 71.4% were paved.

The road network is connected to the rest of the country primarily via Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge, commonly known as Temburong Bridge, which traverses the Labu Forest Reserve and the Brunei Bay. The other end of the bridge terminates in Brunei-Muara District. There is also an alternative road that crosses the Brunei–Malaysia border and is paved through the Limbang District, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Before the opening of the bridge in 2020, the route that passes through Malaysia was the only land route to the rest of the country.

Security
The district has an army presence at Bangar Camp. The main police headquarters are located in Bangar, with numerous police posts around the district.

Use by SAF
The SAF Commandos regularly conducts jungle training in the district. A Singapore army camp is also located between Kampung Negalang and the town of Lakiun.