Politics

Heng visits Brunei to offer condolences on death of Sultan's son


Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat visited Brunei yesterday to offer his condolences on behalf of the Singapore Government to Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on the death of his son, Prince ‘Abdul ‘Azim.

Mr Heng, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister for Finance, had an audience with the Sultan.

He also called on and was hosted to lunch by Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, who is Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei.

Mr Heng and Crown Prince Billah reaffirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations and explored ways to continue deepening collaboration, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.

Accompanying Mr Heng on the trip were Dr Maliki Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, as well as officials from the PMO and MFA.

“Prince ‘Azim was well known for his dedication to developing more opportunities for youth, and helping the less fortunate in society,” Mr Heng wrote in a Facebook post yesterday.

“Prince ‘Azim studied in Singapore during his schooling years and was also a friend of Singapore,” he added.

Prince ‘Abdul ‘Azim died of multiple organ failure on Oct 24 due to an autoimmune disease.

He was 38.

He was diagnosed with severe systemic vasculitis earlier this year, a condition characterised by inflammation of blood vessel walls.

Fourth in line to succeed the throne of Brunei, Prince ‘Abdul ‘Azim was the second son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

He studied at the International School Brunei, Singapore’s Raffles Institution and Oxford Brookes University.

Mr Heng said of his meeting with Crown Prince Billah: “We agreed to explore new ways to further deepen collaboration between our two countries.”

He added: “I look forward to welcoming His Majesty and HRH Crown Prince Billah to Singapore when conditions for international travel are more favourable.”





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