What two colors are the diagonal stripes on Brunei's national flag?

The diagonal stripes on Brunei’s national flag are black and white. They cross a yellow field and sit behind the central red national emblem.

The design’s diagonal bands date from 1906, when Brunei became a British protectorate and the flag gained its white and black stripes. The modern version, including the red crest, was adopted in 1959 alongside Brunei’s constitution.

The two stripes have symbolic meaning connected with Brunei’s wazirs, senior officials who historically served as advisers and, earlier, joint regents. The white stripe represents the Pengiran Bendahara, while the black stripe represents the Pengiran Pemancha. The white band is slightly wider than the black one.

The flag’s other colors carry their own associations: yellow represents the monarchy, and red appears in the emblem. Readers sometimes mistake the diagonal bands for a single gray or dark stripe, but they are distinctly separate black and white bands. The emblem includes a crescent, parasol, hands, and Arabic lettering.