Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin

He faced a challenge from the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) and the Brooke government (White Rajahs) in Sarawak who wanted more land from Brunei and it was not strong enough to stop the land grabs. In the hopes of improving the relations between the Sultan and the White Rajahs to settle the conflict in Limbang, he leased the settlement of Punang Terusan to Sarawak in 1885.[4] Unfortunately in November of that same year, tensions would rise again in Limbang after the murders of multiple Bruneian Malays. The two alleged culprits were offered to be handed over to the Sultan but later declined as they were not the guilty parties. Due to his decision, the people of Limbang protested and refused to pay their taxes in which was taken advantage of by both the British Consul General Peter Lays and Rajah Charles Brooke. The Sultan eventually agreed to lease Limbang for 6,000 Sarawak dollars per year.[3]

The British government agreed to the White Rajahs' persuasive thesis in that same year, thus Limbang came into Sarawak's rule after arguing that the Sultan no longer has the ability to govern the colony. In November 1886, Wazirs and people of Bandar Brunei demanded that Limbang to be returned to Brunei with the slogan of "Brunei is the spirit of Limbang and Limbang is the (physical) body of Brunei". The demand was motivated by Abdul Momin's Amanah.[3] In 1887, he wrote to the British Crown with the intention of requesting a British Resident to be put in place. That same year, Padas-Damit was also among the areas annexed.[4] Sultan Hashim made a minor change in Brunei's coinage with the introduction of the copper one cent in 1887.[5]

Not until 17 September 1888, the Sultan signed a Treaty of Protection with Sir Hugh Low of Great Britain in order to prevent further lost of Bruneian territories.[3] The treaty handed the country's foreign affairs over to Great Britain and would only gain more power after the installment of the British Resident in the Supplementary Agreement of 1905/1906.[6] Tho Brunei came under British protectorate, the last territory to be annexed was the Pandaruan District in 1890, with no actions taken by the British.[7]

In 1902, Brooke and Hewett asked him to cede Belait and Tutong to them but he refused and said, "What would happen to me, my chiefs and my descendants? I should be left like a tree, stripped of branches and twigs."[8] They also offered 8,000 Sarawak dollars to the Sultan to lease both Tutong and Belait rivers.[9]

Under this treaty, Brunei accepted a British Resident to advise the Sultan on both external and internal affairs except those relating to Islam and Malay customs. The Sultan felt that the British were not upholding their words in the treaty and so he sought help by writing a letter to Sultan Abdul Hamid of Ottoman Turkey.[10] The letter to the Turkish Consul General was discovered letter and confiscated from them by Hewett, the British Resident of the West Coast of Sarawak.[11] Malcolm Stewart Hannibal McArthur was sent to solve the problems in Brunei and began negotiations with the Sultan which finally successfully introduced Residential system to Brunei.[4]

After Brunei signed the Supplementary Agreement of 1905/1906, which made the sultanate a British shade, it was deemed of interest that they should have their own national flag like other countries.[12] Design proposals were made and eventually agreed upon that the design of the flag would be based on the yellow and the irregular colors of white and black. All of these colors have their own symbolic meanings, yellow being the symbol for the Sultan, white being the symbol for the Pengiran Bendahara, and black being the symbol for the Pengiran Pemancha.[13][14]