Our strength in finance has led us to set up an international

"Our strength in finance has led us to set up an international financial centre with medium and long-term objectives, especially to develop Islamic financial and insurance services." These are the words of Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, a ruler who sought to guide his nation not only with the treasures of the earth, but with the wisdom of foresight. His saying is not a mere statement of policy, but a vision—a recognition that wealth is not in gold alone, but in the way a people shape their prosperity for the service of generations.

The ancients knew well that wealth without purpose is like a river without banks: it floods and destroys. But when guided, it nourishes the fields and gives life. The Sultan, in speaking of strength in finance, reminds us that riches are not an end in themselves but a means—a tool to shape destiny, to establish places of learning, of commerce, of growth. In setting up an international financial centre, he calls his people to look beyond the fleeting gain of the moment, to the enduring goals of the medium and long-term, where the seeds planted today bear fruit for sons and daughters yet unborn.

Especially striking is his call toward the development of Islamic financial and insurance services. For here lies a deeper truth: that finance, though a worldly art, can and must be guided by values, by faith, by a moral compass. The ancients spoke of usury and greed as chains that enslave men, while righteous trade and fair dealing uplift both buyer and seller alike. By linking finance with the principles of Islam, the Sultan sought not only prosperity, but justice—wealth that does not oppress, but sustains; systems that do not exploit, but protect.

Consider the example of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, centuries past, when the Abbasid caliphs gathered scholars, merchants, and thinkers into a centre that shone as a beacon of civilization. It was not only swords and armies that made their empire strong, but their ability to weave knowledge, commerce, and faith into a fabric that endured. From those halls, innovations in mathematics, medicine, and trade flowed outward to the world. Likewise, in Brunei’s vision of a financial centre, there lies the same aspiration: to gather strength, to foster exchange, to build a legacy that outlives the moment.

But let us also remember the warning that history gives. Nations that placed their wealth only in the counting of coins and the hoarding of treasure soon crumbled, for they forgot the higher purposes of strength. Rome drowned in its luxuries, and kingdoms rich with silver perished when they forsook wisdom for greed. True strength in finance is not in what is stored, but in how it is used—to build, to shield, to serve. The Sultan’s words remind us that prosperity must be tied to vision, and vision to virtue.

The lesson for us is clear: whether as nations or as individuals, we must guide our resources with purpose. Let our wealth, however great or small, serve more than our appetites. Let it be planted into works that endure—into education, into justice, into the support of those who are vulnerable. Just as Brunei seeks to build systems rooted in values, so too must each soul remember that money without meaning is a hollow gain, but money joined with principle becomes a force of light.

Practically, this means setting goals not only for today’s comfort but for tomorrow’s growth. It means asking not, “How much can I gain?” but “What good can I build with what I have?” It means saving with discipline, investing with wisdom, and giving with generosity. It means remembering that finance, whether personal or national, is not about the glitter of riches but the strength of stewardship.

So let the Sultan’s words echo in our hearts: strength in finance is not measured in numbers alone, but in vision, values, and the will to serve. And when your children ask what true wealth is, you may tell them: “It is not gold that makes a nation strong, but the way it shapes that gold into justice, into growth, into hope for generations to come.”