$0.3bn

Brunei’s the world’s 13th largest military spender… per person! That’s according to Economist.com:

The world's biggest military spenders by population

GLOBAL military expenditure rose by 4% in 2008 to a record $1.46 trillion, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Israel spends most on defence relative to its population, shelling out over $2,300 a person, over $300 more than America. Small and rich countries, and notably Gulf states, feature prominently by this measure. Saudi Arabia ranks ninth in absolute spending, but sixth by population. China has increased spending by 10% to $85 billion to become the world's second largest spender. But it is still dwarfed by America, whose outlay of $607 billion is higher than that of the next 14 biggest spenders combined.

The corresponding chart below:

Our tiny population’s obviously a major factor here and being the thirteenth biggest military spender per person, of course it’s not something to really be proud of. But when Brunei gets mentioned, that’s something.

Or maybe I’m just being sakai.

Anyway, on a more serious note, those millions (just a quarter = $75mil = B$108,595,391), rather than being spent on military, could’ve been focused on, say, eliminating poverty, or removing rubbish from the Kampung Ayer, or building one or two bridges (for tourists; for primary schoolchildren and parents), or subsidising local taxi drivers’ operating costs, etc. These projects might already might already be on their way, but some extra money to aid good causes shouldn’t hurt, right?