Although Brunei is one of the oldest established states in Southeast Asia, education planning and language planning in particular are recent phenomena. Basic formal education, limited to a small number of boys only, was introduced in 1912 while language planning was only vaguely described in the 1950s and then formally as a language-in-education plan in 1984. This paper analyses present language planning in relation to its historical context. In particular, it examines why two non-Bruneian languages, Standard Malay and English, emerged as the current mediums of education in the country’s schools. Brunei’s geography, its recent history and current economic and political events all contribute to the present status of language planning in Brunei.