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Brunei's ruler fears economic problems more than terrorists

Despite the threat of terrorism, the greatest menace to hundreds of millions of Southeast Asians is economic upheaval, Brunei's ruler said yesterday.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, hosting a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian nations, said in a speech that stock markets in recent weeks underscored the economic volatility of the modern world.

"For the hundreds of millions of people we represent, the most pressing item of business on our regional agenda is economic progress," the sultan said. "It is the biggest challenge for our ministers.''

One of the world's wealthiest men, the sultan is absolute ruler of this tiny oil-rich Borneo state of 300,000 people, an island of affluence in a region of 500 million people who range from well-off to some of the world's poorest.

The sultan spoke at the opening of a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers.
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