Kampong Sungai Liang

Sungai Liang
Village
Kampong Sungai Liang
Kampong Sungai Liang Mosque
Location in Brunei
Coordinates: 4°40′39″N 114°29′45″E / 4.677473°N 114.495868°E / 4.677473; 114.495868
Country	Brunei
District	Belait
Mukim	Liang
Government
• Village head	Haszrin Bagol[1]
Area
• Total	78.25 km2 (30.21 sq mi)
Postcode	KC1135

Kampong Sungai Liang (Malay: Kampung Sungai Liang) or simply Sungai Liang, is a village in Belait District, Brunei, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the district's principal town Kuala Belait and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the oil town Seria. The population was 910 in 2016.^[2] It is one of the villages within Mukim Liang.^[3] The postcode is KC1135.^[4]

The name Sungai Liang/Bang Liang derives from the Dusun tribe's dialect or term Bang Liang (Liang River), which means "big hole." The term "bang" is an acronym for bawang (river). Bang Liang is the name of the river that empties into a large chasm and then empties into the South China Sea.^[5]

The village is one of the settlements along the country's coast with the South China Sea. The neighbouring primary settlements include Kampong Telisai in Tutong District to the north-east and Lumut to the south-west.

The Sungai Liang beach is located on the coast of the village.^[6] Even though there are huts on the beach, it nevertheless is not a commercial one.

The river basin is a vital fishing spot, where freshwater and saltwater meet.^[7]

Eight smaller villages are located inside the 78.25 square kilometer Kampong Sungai Liang, which are:^[5]

As of 2018, a total of 3,469 individuals call Kampong Sungai Liang home, including Dusun, Kedayan, Malay, Chinese, Iban, among other tribes and ethnicities; there are 1,732 men and 1,737 women.^[5]

Along with having access to public facilities like water and electricity, mosques, health clinics, elementary, religious, and private schools, fire stations, public halls, garbage dumps, resorts, and the ability to receive mobile phone and radio trunk signals, Kampong Sungai Liang residents receive attention in the form of Welfare Assistance, Old Age Pension, and JAPEM Welfare Assistance.^[5]

• The village is home to Sungai Liang Health Centre, the sole community health centre in Mukim Liang. It also has an emergency ambulance service.^[8]
• The Sungai Liang Police Station is the sole police station in the mukim.^[9]
• On 14 September 1990, the Sungai Liang Fire Station was officially opened. Despite it being built in Kampong Lilas, it is still named after the village. It housed the Fire and Rescue Department (JBP) Operation Branch 'B'.^[10]

Sungai Liang Primary School is the village's government primary school.^[11] It also houses the Sungai Liang Religious School (school for the country's Islamic religious primary education).^[12]

When the Sungai Liang and Lumut community saw the need to construct a school that would provide their kids access to a primary education, Chung Lian School was established in 1953 and would later be opened in August 1955 with 27 pupils and a teacher serving as the principal. Since then, Chung Lian School has been around to educate children and give back to the local community.^[13]

Kampong Sungai Liang Mosque is the village mosque; it was inaugurated on 8 November 1980.^[14]

Sungai Liang Forest Recreation Park is around 14 hectares (35 acres) in size and is mostly lowland woodland that has not been altered. It is roughly 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Bandar Seri Begawan. The recreational park offers tourist amenities such picnic areas, jogging, hiking, and nature appreciation pathways leading to various park locations. The park is frequently used for teaching and research by the Forestry Department and other educational organizations. A small lake, a floating hut, shelter huts, and open spaces perfect for outdoor recreational activities are some of the park's additional features.^[15]

Brunei Forestry Museum is built in 1986. It is one of Brunei's earliest colonnaded structures. The museum was first built in the middle of 1985 out of wood with a thatched roof. The museum serves as the public's primary source of forestry knowledge and showcases the natural history of Brunei forestry, the riches of the country's woods, as well as vintage tools and traditional forest goods.^[16]

The people of Kampung Sungai Liang also make their own goods, including as traditional food (confectionery) and weaving-based handicrafts like takiding, baskets for use as receptacles for keeping ornamental objects, among other things. Handwoven products are displayed not only in Brunei Darussalam but also at international expos. Items such as the bamboo squirrels and woven takiding attracted positive attention. Even though it only creates straightforward things using natural components, it has gotten positive feedback and even orders from local handicraft lovers.^[5]

Paddy plantations are another source of industry from the agricultural sector in the area.^[17] The Marsya Farm company was established in 2000 and registered under the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food which was originally based in the Sungai Liang Agricultural Development Area (KKP), Belait District with an area of 2,808 hectares (6,940 acres).^[18]

The Brunei Methanol Company (BMC) owns a methanol plant in Sungai Liang.^[19][20] The BMC plant was the largest investment done outside of the oil and gas and LNG industry.^[21] The plant was noted to have the capability to produce up to 850,000 tonnes of methanol per year.^[22] The project was part of the Wawasan Brunei 2035 goals on diversing Brunei's economy and reduce the dependence on oil and gas industry.^[23][24]

There will also be a demo hydrogenation plant in the area; it is currently in construction and expected to be completed by 2019.^[25] It is developed by AHEAD, a Japanese consortium, and is aimed to produce 210 tonnes of liquefied hydrogen, in which the gas will be obtained from the nearby Brunei LNG plant.^[26] The product will be exported for the Japanese domestic market; the first batch is expected to be utilised as fuel for 3,000 cars used during the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in 2020.^[25][27]

The Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI) owns a fertilizer plant is also planned to be built in the site; the plant is developed by the German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp and expected to operate by 2021.^{[28][29][30][31]}