5 Ringgits / Dollars - Hassanal Bolkiah 10 Years of Independence

Brunei's independence from British protection came on January 1, 1984, after Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah declined to follow neighboring Malaysia and Singapore into independence during the 1960s decolonization wave — a deliberate delay that preserved British military guarantees while oil revenues consolidated the sultanate's wealth. By the time this coin was struck a decade later, Brunei's per-capita income was among the highest in Southeast Asia, underwritten entirely by petroleum extraction that had begun in earnest in 1929.

The .925 silver KM#60a was issued alongside a gold variant, KM#60, making the silver the more accessible commemorative of the pair.