Dr Iznan presented at a Webinar Series on 8 April 2025, titled ‘Social Media as a Space for Interreligious Dialogue for Peace in Southeast Asia’, in celebration on 10-year Anniversary for the King Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). The title of the presentation is ‘Social Media as a Tool for Information (Dis)order: A Bruneian Experience.’
The script presented is as follows:
Opening Remarks
Thank you for the invitation. The panel topic is “Social Media as a Space for Interreligious Dialogue for Peace in Southeast Asia”. Speaking from my own perspective, I will talk about “Social Media as a Tool for Information (Dis)order: A Bruneian Experience.”
Social media has amplified connections around the globe, for better or for worse. There are various social media platforms owned by tech giants, such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, X and so on. There are many transfers of information through these platforms, whether they are accurate or not. This has led to widespread misinformation, disinformation and malinformation.
Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) offered a typology of ID based on information and harm, and delineate three constructs: misinformation, disinformation and malinformation:
- Misinformation: is when false information is shared, but no harm is meant.
- Disinformation: is when false information is knowingly shared to cause harm.
- Malinformation: is when genuine information is shared to cause harm, often by moving information designed to stay private into the public sphere.
In the Brunei context, the usage of social media is extensive, growing year on year in most of the major social media platform. According to one estimate, in January 2024, there is a growing number of users on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, but noticeably less in X. 99% of Bruneians are using the internet. These are the flourishing grounds for many nefarious activities, such as online scams and the spread of misinformation.
In my session, I will present three case studies within the Brunei context: the implementation of the Syariah Penal Code Order 2014, 2019; public reaction on social media to COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-2022; and Digital Distortions: Building a Wise Nation against Misinformation, 2024. Three perspectives are being used: Islamic governance, Islamic critical realism and moral learning by spiritual hearts.
Implementation of the Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO) 2014, 2019
Briefly, the introduction and implementation of Syariah Penal Code Order since 2013 alongside the existing Laws of Brunei reflected old Brunei’s used two legal scripts in the 16th century: ‘Hukum Kanun’ (Canon Law) based on Islamic principles and ‘Undang-undang dan Adat Brunei Lama’ (Old Brunei Law and Custom). After the British resident’s intervention in the early 20th century, the Canon Law was severely limited to only issues of marriage, divorce and other minor religious issues. Then, the 29th Sultan of Brunei commissioned for the establishment of Syariah courts to the highest level in 1996 to handle Islamic criminal law “as ordained by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.” The SPCO was developed and finally gazetted in 2013, and implemented in gradual strategic phases, with the final instalment in 2019.
In the final instalment in 2019, there were familiar rejections from the international community. Two United Nations agencies called for the suspension or repeal of the criminal law, because according to them, “the death penalty for same-sex relationships, adultery and childbirth out of marriage ‘breach international human rights norms’” (UN News, 2019). Joining the international outcry were high-profile celebrities such as George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John, who also called for the boycott of Brunei-owned luxury hotels, such as Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and the Dorchester in London. The University of Oxford also opened a review on the Sultan of Brunei’s Honorary Degree of Civil Law by Diploma.
To these, the Sultan responded with a further affirmation of the implementation of the SPCO 2013, as “it is full of Allah’s mercy and blessings.” The Second Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Brunei also echoed the Government’s commitment to international obligations in promoting and protecting human rights as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During Brunei’s mandatory review at the UN Human Rights Council in May, the UN Watch (2019) reported that 90% of the 91 countries that spoke praised Brunei’s many positive progresses. There are support from locals and internationals who understood the compassionate nature of Shari’ah law.
Public reaction on social media to COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-2022
Brunei had its first wave in 2020, the second in 2021, and the third was in 2022. Despite the challenges inherent in a small state, the Brunei government swiftly implemented a series of mitigation measures earlier, spearheaded by the Ministry of Health.
International and regional coordination are crucial to mitigate the pandemic, and Brunei’s diplomacy has been instrumental. Brunei acquired up-to-date information about the global situation through the World Health Organization and others in the region to execute the appropriate strategies with many actors in the region. Locally, the strategies were to control the spread of the virus through early detection, nationwide contact tracing using BruHealth mobile application, and centralised information-sharing. There was plenty of initial hesitancy and even rejection from the public, but social media has been used for various dialogues of life, both publicly and privately. The government organised press releases and disseminated information through various social media platforms, such as Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp, and official websites, to systematically counter information disorder. Social influencers used their creativity to make the information more palatable. The Sultan also reassured the public many times, and even televised his vaccination. He also reprimanded and corrected the misconceptions of some Bruneian Muslims early during the first wave regarding tawakkal (reliance on God) without making essential efforts while emphasising the need for a whole-of-nation approach to combat this pandemic. Through these multiple platforms, the public was notified of any changes.
Digital Distortions: Building a Wise Nation to be Resilient against Misinformation 2024
The findings in this report indicate that Brunei has several successes in mitigating information disorder (ID) through various multi-level mechanisms. In fact, many of Brunei’s success stories are in line with existing recommendations for combating ID from the literature. However, this report also reveals that Brunei needs to improve on several mechanisms, such as low levels of media literacy and critical thinking which are necessary to combat ID. Some findings from interviews include:
Findings
- Social media is perceived to be a digital double-edged sword
- Language barriers hinder effective communication between public and government
- Lack of national standards and ethics set for journalism
- Trust, credentials and social networks are prerequisites for obtaining information and debunking false information
There is a strong need for a new policy goal:
A wise nation to build resilience against information disorder
To achieve this goal, the following strategies are proposed:
Strategies
- Inculcate wisdom in individuals
- Stronger cross-sectoral collaboration to form a wiser nation
- Adopt digital solutions proactively
- Improve centralized public-service information order
- Standardise journalism ethics
- Provide media literacy to all levels of society
- Fund specific initiatives on information disorder
Way forward..
Moving forward, there are several recommendations on how to utilize social media for positive interreligious and intercultural dialogues, particularly in ensuring information order and combatting information disorder:
- Inculcate wisdom in users
- Provide media literacy to all levels of society
- Stronger cross-sectoral collaboration to form a wiser nation
- Adopt digital solutions proactively to combat (future) threats
- Improve centralized public-service information order
- Train religious and community leaders in IRD & ICD
- Fund specific initiatives on information (dis)order
- Strengthen regulation on tech giants.
Applying these recommendations to the ongoing crisis in Palestine, a lot of information disorders can be perceived. With over 60,000 deaths and many suffering from human-caused hunger, we can see the information has been used for warfare. Tech giants have also been reported to limit free speech regarding Palestine. It is up to individual to examine the facts courageously, think critically and inculcate wisdom for impactful collective just actions.
