Whole-of-nation Moral Learning by Spiritual Hearts: A Case of Brunei’s Evolving Education System

The role of the spiritual heart in transformation and reformation is vital. However, the dynamism of change emanating from the heart is less understood. Using the work of al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), this paper centralises the noetic of the spiritual heart and its roles as a learning medium and a change agent. The heart is then conceptually operationalised within the national settings, particularly its role in whole-of-nation moral learning. This is further illustrated by a whole-of-nation moral learning trajectory situated within Brunei’s governance context, which is the (re)Islamisation of the national education system during three periods: pre-independence 1984, post-independence, and the new norm. The case showed the important roles of virtuous leaders to push for moral changes, followers to also engage in moral learning to suppress immoral learning, structures and cultures to be institutionalised to perpetuate moral learning, and selective international relations to catapult local progress.


A. Introduction
The 'heart' metaphor is powerful and widely used by both scholars and practitioners. Many religions around the world put great emphasis on it. However, its functionality may be lost due to misunderstanding and ensuing misuse by contemporary influencers, politicians, and prominent thinkers, leading to collective confusion and indecision within the society. The common association with 'emotion' and 'affection' would then consider the heart to be fleeting and therefore unreliable in making important decisions; Only the cognitive faculty is valued for being trustworthy and reliable, especially in this digitalised world driven by data. 1 However, there are more research from Islamic traditions and contemporary research focusing on the heart and spirituality. This can be seen in the field of Islamic psychology and spirituality, such as Briki & Amara 2 and Rothman, 3 which provide concise understanding of the heart. However, they do not necessarily focus on the heart's potential for moral learning and moral change. Furthermore, these researches have not address the role of the heart in changing organisation and nation, as well as be affected by them.
This paper aims to re-articulate the noetic of the spiritual heart within the socio-organisational settings in order to understand the dynamics of learning and change that are advanced by the heart. Two key roles of the heart are highlighted: a moral learning medium and a change agent. The heart is then operationalised within the socio-organisational settings, particularly its role in organisational moral learning. The paper further illustrates the dynamics of socio-1 Iznan Tarip and Nur Firdaus Abu Bakar, "Al-Ghazali on the head, heart and hand tripartite, and its organisational implications," International Journal of `Umranic Studies 3, no. organisational change by exploring Brunei's whole-on-nation moral learning, particularly scrutinising the (re)Islamisation of the national education system. The single case is analytically valuable and can show the dynamism of spiritual hearts in producing collective learning and change. The significance of this paper is in the role of the spiritual heart in delineating the parameters of the whole-of-nation moral and immoral learning and change.

B. Moral Learning by Spiritual Hearts
Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 1058-1111) proffered a clear and concise definition of the spiritual and immaterial heart in his Iḥyā 'Ulūm ad-Dīn, which is the perceiving and knowing essence of human, by which one truly knows God and the real nature of things. 4 The heart is an important instrument for discerning the real nature of things; it is the seat of knowledge. 5 Furthermore, the heart is the king of the whole body (i.e., kingdom), free to make decisions in order to lead a moral life. These decisions are made in consideration of the sense knowledge from the 'hand ' (i.e., sight, smell, touch, etc) and knowledge from the 'head ' (i.e., imagination, memory, thought, deliberations, recollection). These are then presented to the king 'heart' for moral decision-making towards the good life, as it con contains soteriological knowledge, pertaining to morality, ethics, virtues, spirituality and divinity, guiding from the darkness of ignorance to the light of salvation. The heart would then make moral intentions and perform moral actions in response to internal and/or external stimuli. 6,7 However, the heart is constantly in flux, instigated by an array of internal (e.g. disposition, experience, imagination, etc.) and external factors (e.g. personal relations, environmental setups, etc.) rapidly influencing it. 8 This then creates the potential for the internal moral compass in the heart to be misaligned to the divine reality. Therefore, purification of the heart is important for realignment. It is a process that involves the continuous struggle against vices and self-training of inculcating virtues. 9 In order words, it is a process of continuous moral learning and moral change. Real success is achieved when the heart chooses to self-purify, acquire the necessary knowledge, and manifest them in continuous actions toward habituation, thus becoming a moral and ethical person, focusing on knowing and worshipping only Allah Ta'ālā.
The noetic of the spiritual hearts can further be positioned within the socio-organisational context. To do so, the framework of 'organisational moral learning (OML) by spiritual hearts' devised by Iznan Tarip is utilised. 10 Originally, OML is an established concept to capture the importance of knowledge flow for organisational moral development, involving various organisational elements, such as organisational moral culture, moral and ethical leadership, and ethical decision-making. Then, Tarip re-examined the notion of OML, conceptualised two antagonistic processes for organisational moral development, involving the spiritual hearts: 11 On the light side, purified hearts operate OML, defined as "the principal means of moral strategic renewal of an organization towards achieving a moral end"; and on the dark side, dead and corrupted hearts operate 8 al-Ghazālī, "'Ajā'ib al-Qalb (Wonders of the Heart)," 152-60. 9 Yusuf Sidani and Akram Al Ariss, "New conceptual foundations for Islamic business ethics: the contributions of Abu-Hamid Al-Ghazali," Journal of Business Ethics (2014).
10 Iznan Tarip, "Organizational moral learning by spiritual hearts: a synthesis of organizational learning, Islamic and critical realist perspectives," Asian Journal of Business Ethics 9, no. 2 (2020). 11 Tarip, "Organizational moral learning by spiritual hearts: a synthesis of organizational learning, Islamic and critical realist perspectives." organisational immoral learning (OIL), defined as "the principal means of immoral strategic renewal of an organization towards achieving an immoral end". 12 These two are at the two extreme ends of organisational (im)moral development.
OML and OIL are further elaborated using the 4I organisational learning (OL) framework, originally by Mary Crossan and colleagues, 13 and adapted by Tarip to incorporate its moral dimension. 14 The original 4I framework outlined four sub-learning processes (i.e., intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalising), cohesively linking the individual, group and organisational levels of analysis in order to ensure strategic renewal of an enterprise. Tarip argued that similar OL processes unravel in the moral dimension, operating on all three distinct levels of analysis. The following account unravels the noetic of the spiritual hearts for individual learning, group or collective learning, organisational-level learning, and higher-scaled levels of learning:

Individual Learning by Spiritual Heart
The worldview of Islam placed knowledge in an elevated platform for its soteriological purpose: knowledge as the light of guidance for the hearts out of the darkness of ignorance. This is operationalised by "the arrival of meaning in the soul, and the soul's arrival at meaning, and this is the recognition of the proper places of things" in the supersystem derived from the worldview of Islam . The idea of "proper place of things" also implies an order or hierarchy of creation, and subsequently, a hierarchy of knowledge, as well as methods of attaining knowledge that is harmonised. Nasr explained that the Islamic intellectual tradition: "...has created a hierarchy of knowledge and methods of attaining knowledge according to which degrees of both intellection and intuition become harmonized in an order encompassing all the means available to man to know, from sensual knowledge and reason to intellection and inner vision or the 'knowledge of the heart'". 15 In particular, 'intuition' plays an important role in uncovering the vastness of the sea. Al-Attas explained that the "arrival of meaning is through intuition, for it is intuition that synthesizes what reason and experience each sees separately without being able to combine into a coherent whole". 16 Western conceptions of intuition are similar. 17,18 It is subconscious, non-rational, complex, instantaneous apprehends totality by synthesising bits of information, and it plays an important part in decision making, especially in times of unstable environment. This is why the first of the 4I sub-learning OL processes starts with intuition, the impetus for change. 19 Intuition also has differing levels, starting with common direct and immediate apprehension of a novice to the higher levels of masters. 20 In Islam, the role of clear moral intuition is imperative for moral change. Only a purified heart can intuit morally, for they see with the light of Allah Ta'ālā. 21 Furthermore, moral intuition is interrelated to two interrelated elements: moral purpose and moral action. Al-Attas explained that acquiring knowledge is not complete unless it includes "moral purposes" that activates in adāb or moral actions. 22 So, the answer to 'why do we learn?' is related to the two moral purposes of life: to worship Allah, 23 and to be the vicegerent on Earth. 24 Yaman reported several classical scholars who highlighted the importance of putting knowledge into action. 25 For example, Ja'far al-Ṣādiq (d. 702 -765) viewed that "as long as [knowledge] does not result in certain practical manifestations such as forbearance, humbleness, and moral scrupulousness, merely seeking it as a mental activity does not conform to basic Islamic intellectual principles". 26 The moral purpose-knowledge-action connection must be maintained. Neglect in any one of the three would then result in perpetual corruption of the heart, confusion of justice, and disintegration of adāb or "right actions". 27 Corruption occurs when the moral purpose of any activity is neglected or immoral purpose is chosen as the objective (i.e., corruption of vision), there is confusion in the proper place of things in the supersystem (i.e., corruption of knowledge), 21 Narrated Abū Sa'īd Al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬ said: "Beware of the believer's intuition, for indeed he sees with Allah's Light."  and/or there is a disconnection between real knowledge and its associated actions, leading to the action transgressing the boundaries established by the Sharī'ah (i.e., corruption of action). Corruption of knowledge is then key to widespread corruption of the world. Hence, due emphasis is given to learning by the hearts in order to manifest peace and prosperity around the globe.
Al-Ghazālī further categories three different states of the heart: purified, corrupted, and diseased. On the light side, the real believers of Islam possess purified hearts, motivated not necessarily by utilities, material gains, and worldly honours, but by seeking God's pleasure, to know Him and be His loyal servants. Their hearts beat with 'tawhīdic impulse', 28 which then spurs moral intuitions, inspiring creativity and ingenuity in order to the moral purpose of life. 29 However, on the dark side, the real disbelievers and hypocrites have dead hearts, the former rejects real knowledge outwardly as seen from their rejection of the true Islam, and the latter inwardly as seen from their specific characteristics in relations to knowledge: spread false knowledge through lying, severe treaties and promises even after knowledge between multiple parties are confirmed, and being fraudulent and dishonest towards trusts and custodies which reflects the distortion of initial knowledge. 30 The dead hearts would then intuit towards achieving immoral objectives. With the continuous cycle of corrupted purpose, knowledge, and action, the dead heart will be in perpetual darkness, cannot perceive the light wisdom, and will spread corruption on earth. These are the two extremes of the purified and dead heart in relation to individual learning.
Between the two extremes lies the diseased heart in the grey area, having a commixture of both virtues and vices, to which he/she is in the process of becoming a virtuous person. The diseased heart may intuit towards fulfilling either moral or immoral objectives, but not amoral. 31 In the heart's path towards betterment, many internal factors inhibit the acquisition of knowledge by the heart. Al-Ghazālī analogised the heart to a mirror to explain how man learns and what inhibits learning. 32 In brief, to uncover real knowledge, one must be 1) sufficiently mature, 2) exercise continuous self-purification of the heart, 3) have the motivation to seek knowledge, 4) challenge their current understanding, 5) engage critically, and 6) use the proper methodology to uncover the reality. By doing so would the heart acquire wisdom (ḥikmah), the highest form of knowledge.

Collective Learning by Hearts
Consequently, the heart's intuitive understanding can be aggregated at the group and collective levels through the sub-learning processes of 'interpretation' (i.e. communicating and clarifying intuitions to self and others), and 'integration' (i.e., the establishment of common understanding and subsequent collective actions). 33,34 So, intuition is interpreted through language and dialogues, and subsequently integrated to form collective understanding and actions, thus creating a community-of-practice. 35 On the light side, the purified heart shares moral intuition with others, calling to goodness and prohibiting evil, and thus creating a society conducive for the worship of Allah. 36 On the dark side, the dead heart interprets immoral intuitions, influencing others to aspire and work hard towards achieving common immoral objectives, and thus corrupting the world. In the grey area, the diseased heart possessing weaker moral consciousness may be persuaded, influenced or forced by either the purified hearts or the dead hearts to 'follow' them, establishing the leader-follower relationships within a certain collective. 37 Another important function of the spiritual heart is its potential for (dis)unity with other hearts. A collection of hearts may not achieve the virtue of Islamic collectivity, despite the many resources invested in bringing people together. 38 A real Islamic collective body is a collection of purified hearts (i.e., virtuous individuals) linked by mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy, 39 operating and striving towards fulfilling societal obligations (farḍ kifāyah). These responsibilities cannot be upheld by inanimate institutional entities, but fell upon the collective agents. The roles played by religious officers, health workers, teachers, mothers and businesspersons respectively are needed to fulfil societal obligations. 35 John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid, "Organizational Learning and Communitiesof-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation," Organization Science 2, no. 1 (1991), https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2.1.40. 36 Amin Abdul Aziz, "Governance in a Contemporary Islamic Negara." The Journal of Islamic Governance 1, no. 1 (2015): 1-9. https://islamicgovernance.org/jig1-p1/. 37 Iznan Tarip, "'Darkness to Light' in Islamic Corporate Governance," The Journal of Islamic Governance 5, no. 1 (2019), https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53105/jig.5-1. 38 The Qur'ān 8:62-3 39 This is derived from ḥadīth: "The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever."  On the other hand, dead hearts (i.e., immoral and vicious individuals) may also be united, along with their ignorant followers, in their mission to spread corruption, to which they are also under layer upon layer of darkness. 40 Hypocrisy may also be present amongst the society, performing moral appearance while operating immorally. However, their unity is brittle, as seen from the worldview of Islam. 41 Additionally, these two collective forces of light and darkness then generate grey areas between them, in which the diseased hearts may find difficulties in navigating the settings. The way to salvation for these hearts is through the continuous purification of the collective hearts, in order to allow the light of guidance to enter the heart and achieve moral collective learning and action, while suppressing the influential forces of darkness. 42,43 Wise and spiritual leadership is also sought, not only by Muslims but by others as well. Even Western and non-Islamic academia also pay attention to wisdom and virtues for leaders and leadership, 44,45 as well as on spirituality. 46

Organisational Moral Learning
Learning conducted by individuals and the collective can then be institutionalised and embedded within organisational learning (OL) repositories, i.e., in the organisational vision, mission, procedures, rules, strategies, structure, culture, resources and so on. These OL repositories will then affect other individuals, shaping the decision-making processes and subsequent organisational activities. The heart's response to the OL repositories can be categorised into two ways: the heart as the passive recipient is shaped, conditions and constrained by the OL repositories, and the heart as the active recipient and change agent configures, modifies, elaborates or abandons the OL repositories. Two outcomes are expected: 'morphostasis' (i.e., keep the status quo) or 'morphogenesis' (i.e., pursue change) for the organisation. 49,50 It is then the role of the 'reflexive agents,' or in this case, the reflexive hearts to decide whether to preserve or transform the existing state of affairs. The OL repositories would then be exploited by the hearts in their endeavours towards achieving their respective purposes.
If the respective heart's purpose is aligned to the organisational vision, and both are aligned towards worshipping Allah, then both the individual and organisation can grow. Otherwise, there will be a clash of existence, where one progresses, while the other digresses. This misalignment can be seen when employees misbehave and cause problems for the organisation, e.g., corporate scandals and thefts by employees, or when the organisation suppresses their employees, e.g., exploitation of labour and immigrants. There is often a disparity between organisational visions and personal ones.
Given that the organisational vision is in line with the Sharī'ah, the individual hearts then need re-align themselves: minimise personal whims and desires, communicate and negotiate with colleagues and other stakeholders to achieve organisational goals collaboratively, and exploit existing OL repositories to manifest the real vision of Islam for themselves and the collective. In turn, the organisation can develop morally, conducive for the worship of Allah, and grow even further to meet the organisation's objectives. This development would then empower employees to develop morally as well, thus creating a virtuous developmental cycle between the organisation and the people within. This is the multi-levelled process of organisational moral learning (OML) by spiritual hearts, 51 involving the individual, group, and organisational levels, involving both feedforward (i.e. from individuals and groups to the organisation) and feedback processes (i.e. from the organisation to the people within).
With OML, virtuous individuals play an important role in active learning and changing the organisation to become more virtuous, and in turn, the virtuous organisation would facilitate the moral learning of individuals within the organisation. However, organisational immoral learning (OIL) may also unfold, driven by immoral and corrupted hearts, influencing others through various processes of sociospiritual corruption, such as rationalisation, socialisation and institutionalisation of corrupting knowledge and actions. 52 Similar to how the purified heart and the corrupted heart are antagonistic, moral and immoral strategic renewals are similarly antagonistic, even though both hearts are exploiting the same OL repositories. The responsibility to ensure OML falls upon the virtuous hearts by their continuous activation of the virtuous learning cycle and organisational purification, i.e., the removal of un-Islamic organisational elements (e.g., unjust leaders and unjust systems), and the (re)institutionalisation of Islamic organisational elements (e.g., the promotion of just leaders and establishment of just systems). The absence of such cycles will lead to the gradual formation of vicious OIL cycles, which can then lead to perpetual organisational corruption.

Higher-scaled Levels of Learning
Beyond the confines of the traditional and contractual organisation lies a myriad of ontological elements that have the potential to affect OML and development. There are higher levels of learning beyond the organisational level, such as 'inter-organisational learning' between institutions, 53 and 'population-level learning,' which includes factors such as geographic location, social connections, and information technology to facilitate communication. 54 There may also be potential sources of learning processes, especially with the dynamism of intercultural exchange, political (in)stability, diffusion of technological innovation, and leadership in this highly globalised and interconnected world.
One of the more important sources of learning is the advent of the fourth industrial revolution. Examples of disruptive technologies include artificial intelligence, big data for decision-making, smart cities, widespread digital presence, implantable technologies, robotics, 3D printing, and more. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, proposed that the revolution requires public and private sector leaders, as well as other change agents to re-think the relationship between technology and the many facets of societal development. 55 Although the revolution is a source of disruption to the current existing system, the author calls for mobilising "the collective wisdom of our minds, hearts and souls", 56 referring to contextual, emotional, and inspired intelligences respectively. By doing so, holistic solutions can be devised to prepare workforces alongside intelligent machines. 57 Especially crucial is the leader's ability to learn and adapt in order to be successful. 58 The Ummah needs to also adapt to the new Industrial Revolution, while at the same time, hold firm to the rope of Allah Ta'ālā in order to be truly successful. This is the missing ingredient in Schwab's proposal, which is the purified heart with tawhīdic impulse.
Indeed, morality in the hearts is still an important dimension in higher-scaled levels of learning, even for learning with those beyond the vanishing organisational borders, catalysed with the advent of the recent technological 55  advancements. These technologies are merely tools to serve their purpose: moral or immoral. For higher-scaled levels of learning across borders, a united purpose is needed, such as the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, and the achievement of the Maqāṣid (objectives) of the Sharī'ah for the Ummah, in order to mitigate the corruptive transfer of knowledge towards immoral goals, e.g., transnational crimes.

C. Brunei's Whole-of-nation Moral Learning
After elucidating the multilevel framework of moral learning by spiritual hearts, this section aims to illustrate the noetic of the spiritual heart for 'whole-of-nation' moral learning (WoNML). Brunei is selected as the case context in which WoNML by spiritual hearts unfolds. The nation had to adopt the 'wholeof-nation' approach, an approach aimed at boosting collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, i.e., public, private and the wider community, to holistically tackle common issues, such as national security, 59 health care, 60 smart cities, 61 and environmental protection. 62 In this paper, one WoNML trajectory situated within Brunei's context is selected: the (re)Islamisation of the national education system. This contemporary case illustrates the noetic of the spiritual hearts in sustaining and/or transforming existing structures and cultures of the society and respective institutions.
To achieve this, the case study methodology is employed, for three specific reasons: 1) its superior ability in dealing "with a full variety of evidence" needed to construct the case, 63 2) it pays due attention to the context in which the phenomenon unfolds, unlike many other methodologies, 64 3) it allows deep exploration of relevant factors and processes underlying a poorly understood phenomenon, 65 i.e. WoNML by spiritual hearts, and 4) its potential to foster conceptual generalisation from specific cases. 66 The analytical cases are constructed from drawing in a variety of evidence, i.e., historical literature, newspaper, and websites, as well as researchers' observations and critical reflexivity. 67,68 There are several limitations to this research design. First, the constructed cases are contestable due to biases and selective evidence rather than exhaustive, hence affecting their construct validity. Such weakness has always been the operand of real complex cases spanning over many years with multiple actors and voices. It is also nearly impossible to examine the human hearts in clearer depth, in addition to the intersection of the intentions of thousands of hearts. The strategy to strengthen the validity of the case narratives is to 1) rely on a strong theoretical framework, 2) co-constructed by multiple authors' viewpoints, and 3) triangulated with multiple sources of evidence. But before going deeper into the specific case, it is important to know the case context: Brunei's historical trajectory.

Brunei: Case Context
The rich history of Brunei sets the context for wholeof-nation learning and development. The current state of Brunei is the organisation in the form of a stable society with a demarcated boundary shared with Malaysia, a landmass of 5,765km 2 and a population of 453,600. The majority are Malays (65.8%), with 10.2% local Chinese and others at 24%. The national philosophy 'Malay Islamic Monarchy' is set as the driving lens for the contemporary development of the nation, proclaimed in 1984 by the 29th Sultan of Brunei. Located in the northern part of Borneo, Brunei has a long-distinguished history of civilisational activities that can be traced back to the 10 th century. According to the official history of Brunei, the first recorded Sultan of Brunei is Sultan Muhammad Shah, who ruled the Islamic kingdom from 1363 to 1402. By the mid-15 th century, the country reached its golden age during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485-1524), whereby Brunei controlled the whole of North Borneo (present-day Sabah and Sarawak), the Sulu archipelago, and parts of the Philippines. It was a great trading hub, well-connected with many parts of the world, including India, China and the Arab world. The first recorded European contact was when Ferdinand Magellan's expedition arrived in 1521.
However, due to colonial interventions and conflicts in the region, Brunei entered a state of decline. By the 19 th century, the socio-political instability faced by Brunei was exploited by the British, and later became a British protectorate in 1906. A British Resident was then assigned to advise the Sultan, but in reality, acted as the Prime Minister. Also, Brunei was occupied by the Japanese during World War 2 for a short period between 1941-1945, which also impacted Brunei's overall development. 69,70 Later, the Brunei Constitution of 1959 was signed by the 28th Sultan of Brunei, Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien, to demarcate between the local authority and the British, 71 along with subsequent treaties over the years to give more control to Brunei. 72 Finally, in 1984, the declaration of independence was announced by the current 29th Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzadin Waddaulah. 73 Malay Islamic Monarchy (Melayu Islam Beraja) was also proclaimed to be the country's national philosophy, and has then shaped the government and the society forward. Islam played an important role in the development of the country, 74 and cannot be divorced from Brunei's governance. Even the two other elements of national philosophy have been closely intertwined since the beginning of Brunei's history, as stated in the official history. The monarchical system, which was based on the Indic Mandala system, a polity defined by its centre, is Islamised by removing elements of idolatry. 75 Even the word Malay has become synonymous with converting into Islam when people say that the person has become Malay.
Whole-of-nation Moral Learning by Spiritual Hearts: A Case of Brunei's Evolving Education ...

(Re)Islamisation of the National Education System
After the abolishment of the Caliphate in 1924, Islamic civilisation was facing many crises, with Muslim societies fighting for independence and revival. A global 'Islamisation' mega-movement came to address the knowledge crisis faced by competing epistemologies and worldviews affecting Muslim realities. 76 Brunei, as a former British protectorate, also faced the same struggle. Before the British administration in 1906, education was done informally among families and societal members, focusing on their immediate needs. 77 There was also systematic Islamic religious education with centres in houses and halls (called balai) built by religious scholars (generally called Manteri Ugama, or more specifically, Datu Imam, Khatib and Mudim) in the Water Villages. 78 The classes can be divided into two main categories, according to their ability to write and read in Jawi: 79 general class, and more specialised. The general classes covered the Jawi alphabet, al-Qur'ān reading, the attributes of Allah, how to pray and fast, and how to play the hadrah music instrument. 80 The main reason is to fulfil the individual obligations of a Muslim. The specialised classes covered more religious subjects in greater depth to produce the next generation of Muslim leaders and scholars. shape society. However, there was a lack of scientific and technical knowledge. As a result, material development was outdated as compared to Western civilisation.
Under the British administration, the education system was formally institutionalised in 1912. With that, the first formal Malay school was established, shifted from personal houses and balai to its own building (formerly a government office). 81 1916 saw the first Chinese vernacular school, 82 and later in 1931, the first non-governmental English medium school, funded by Anglican Christian body, 83 which marks the start of institutionalised Christianisation in Brunei. The curriculum during the early period included reading, writing, simple calculations, and basic geography. Additional subjects were later added, including physical education, health science, handicraft (basket-sewing), and gardening. Agriculture was specifically introduced as many Bruneians lived in the water village, and knew less of the latest agricultural system. When oil was discovered in 1929, the education system also changed to fill in the missing workforce. 84 Despite its industrial relevance, Islamic religious education was largely ignored in the process, in part because the British administration did not see its importance for Brunei's development. The Malay school was deemed more value-adding, as it is able to churn employable graduates to fill in low-ranking positions in the government, and to harness the available natural resources for economic benefits. At that time, the Muslim community were still comfortable with their religious education within the traditional setting in houses, balai, and masājid, and did not see the importance in the newly institutionalised education system. 85 Only in 1931 did Islamic religious education begin to be integrated into the Malay school as a subject, spearheaded by three Bruneian elites, Pengiran Bendahara Abdul Rahman, Pengiran Pemanca Haji Mohd Yassin, and Pengiran Syahbandar Hashim. 86 The Brunei society also realised the need to upgrade their overall education level, and inadvertently, their spirit of patriotism. Arguably, the Japanese occupations 1941-1945 supplemented the local transformative impulses through their indirect promotion of the local language Bahasa Melayu and Jawi alphabet, and incessant bellowing chants for Asian pride. 87 Several political bodies were then established, such as Kesatuan Melayu Brunei, Barisan Pemuda, and Parti Rakyat Brunei. Morally conscious members of the society also pushed the Brunei government to provide a more comprehensive education system. They specifically suggested to the 'Tujuh Serangkai', political elites elected by the 28th Sultan of Brunei, to advance the system to the university level. 88 Such organic demands from the people showed that the myopic approach of the British Resident for the education sector especially, ignoring many local sensitivities, and focusing on developing mainly the skilful 'hands' of Bruneian for economic benefits.  . 87 Hussainmiya, "Resuscitating Nationalism: Brunei under the Japanese Military Administration (1941)(1942)(1943)(1944)(1945)." 88 Nani Suryani Abu Bakar, Asbol Mail, and Izzah Abdulla, Tujuh Serangkai dari perspektif sejarah (2015), 30-31.
The Brunei government then took on the task of reshuffle the education system to meet the current and future needs of the country. In 1956, seven formal Islamic religious schools were established, as instructed by the then 28th Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien.
Brunei benefited from its well-connected roots with many parts of the world in designing the education system. The wide network has opened opportunities for Bruneians to import outside expertise. Overseas education was available, even during the Japanese and British occupations. During the Japanese occupation of 1941-1945, Bruneians were sent to schools and training centres throughout the region, including Miri, Labuan, Singapore, and Indonesia. One Bruneian, Pengiran Mohd. Yusuf bin Pengiran Haji Abdul Rahim, who excelled in his studies, was awarded a scholarship by the Japanese government to study in Japan. 89 However, religion was superficially used by the then-ruler of Japan to move people's hearts, not knowing the real tawhīdic impulse in the hearts of Bruneians. This is not to say that Brunei is disconnected from various Islamic religious authorities around the globe. Local Muslim scholars were well-connected in the region, such as Johor and Malaya. Even outstanding students were sent to Al-Azhar University in Egypt to further their Islamic religious educations.

Education After Independence
After Brunei independence in 1984, more developments unfolded. Chronologically, more primary and secondary schools were built, as well as technical and vocational institutes. Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Institut Teknologi Brunei were established soon after in 1985 and 1986 respectively, and more institutions for higher education in later years. Malay and English schools were streamlined with the introduction of the bilingual education policy. Systematic Islamisation of knowledge was also introduced by the Ministry of Education in 1985 to ensure holistic societal development in line with Islamic principles and values. It aimed to ensure that knowledge is not contradictory to Islam. 90 It took some time for academic and religious education to merge structurally in 2001. However, the merge lasted until the end of 2005 because its operationalisation was deemed ineffective, and had failed to convince relevant stakeholders. 91 The Ministry of Education re-diverted their attention to general, technical and higher education, whereas the Ministry of Religious Affairs handles the administration of primary religious and Arabic schools. 92 Afterwards, more universities were established to complement UBD: two existing higher education institutions were upgraded to university level (Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan andUniversiti Teknologi Brunei in 2007 and2008, respectively), and a purely Islamic university, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, in 2007. The current education system is called the 'National Education System for the 21st Century', launched in January 2009 to provide quality education to achieve Brunei Vision 2035. 93  of Education in his speech to the public when the Ministry placed Islamic Religious Knowledge as an optional subject rather than a core. This was rectified immediately, again exemplifying the Sultan's clear vision for Islamic education. The Compulsory Religious Education Act 2012 for children was also commenced to ensure all Muslim children know how to perform their religious obligation. The Ministry of Religious Affairs also provided religious trainers to various government institutions, e.g., the military, health centres, rehabilitation centres, and so on, to ensure continuous lifelong learning for professionals. The Government also continued to provide scholarships to send students abroad to study at various institutions all around the world, including Oxford University in the United Kingdom and Al-Azhar University in Egypt.
As can be seen, continuous upgrades are made to develop Brunei's education system, and hence the Bruneian people. The many educational institutions collectively train not only the analytical 'heads' and skilled 'hands', but also the spiritual hearts of Bruneians with contemporary sciences, technical knowledge, and religious subjects, as well as the inculcation of Brunei virtues in hearts.

Education in the 'New Norm'
With the COVID-19 pandemic that started in December 2019, the educational landscape changed around the world had to evolve rapidly, spanning formal education systems and tapping into the more dynamic social and technological networks. This can be seen from Brunei's evolution to the pandemic, not only transforming the mode of formal education to blended online learning, but all members of the society have to proactively learn how to live in the new norm. Brunei detected its first wave from 9 March to 5 May 2020 with zero cases for more than a year, and the second wave on 7 August 2021 until now. The Brunei government was very swift to implement a series of mitigation measures through the collaborative whole-of-nation approach and strong international relations. Measures were taken, not only with the guidance from World Health Organisation (WHO), but also in reflection to all spheres of Bruneian life. Moral learning and subsequent moral actions by relevant government agencies, as well as members of society and counterparts across the globe, were exercised in order to address the crisis.
There are multiple channels used to facilitate moral learning, mostly through digital technology readily available to the majority to spread correct information before the heart accepts them. So, the government organised press releases, mostly led by the Minister of Health, and additionally, disseminated information through various digital platforms, such as BruHealth App, Instagram, Telegram, Whatsapp and official websites. A Health Advice line 148 was also made available to respond to any health-related enquiries from the public. Through these multiple platforms, the public was notified if there are any changes with the situation, such as new cases, recovered or deceased patients, as well as any changes to the existing guidelines on social interactions, vaccination procedures and so on. The government is also in close contact with relevant agencies around the globe, such as the World Health Organization and health ministers around the region, in order to exchange useful information in order to tackle the pandemic globally.
With regards to formal education system, the Ministry of Education revised the education policy for the 'new norm' to shift to online learning when schools were closed for both waves. The shift was challenging, especially for those that could not afford the proper equipment, but businesses, nongovernmental organisations and various members of the public were quick to provide continuous support, e.g., donate new laptops and internet lines. Such is the moral learnings and actions taken by the government and various members of the society.
However, immoral learning may also ensue through unofficial channels by the dissemination of false and/or illmotivated information, which cannot be completely blocked. The sources may originate locally but also anywhere in the world, given that the world is digitally connected. In this case, the local government and society played a continuous role in ensuring that false information is suppressed. Organically, Bruneians echoed correct information through their social media networks, as well as suppressed false information as much as possible. The 29 th Sultan of Brunei even reprimanded and corrected the misconceptions of some Bruneian Muslims, 94 while emphasising the need for a whole-of-nation approach to combat this pandemic. Additionally, the Laws of Brunei (Chapter 22) were already in place to penalise those that furnish false information. Without these measures, immoral learning may ensue. This is why continuous moral learning cycles need to be activated and driven by agents of change. made collectively with followers, embedding morality into the organisational structure, culture, systems, and procedures. In turn, these organisational learning repositories act as catalysts for moral changes in the hearts of others. The ongoing positive interactions between hearts and the organisation then generate the virtuous learning cycle. To illustrate OML, one trajectory of Brunei's WoNML is narrated: the (re)Islamisation of the national education system. At the socio-environmental level where higher-level learning progresses, Brunei's international relations facilitated the necessary transfer of knowledge between Brunei and other foreign nations and international bodies. Bruneians learned through oversees studies, foreign interventions, and most recently, social media. This then opened up opportunities, as well as challenges, as can be seen in the chronologies. However, foreign influences may not necessarily be in line with local development. For example, in the mid-20th century, the British came with industrialisation, and the Japanese came with patriotism, but both did not fully reflect the hearts of Bruneians beating with tawhīdic impulses. Only when Brunei took charge of its own development can Brunei truly develop alongside the rest of the world. Of course, critics from international communities arose with any local developmental efforts. However, only Bruneians better understood the 'glocal' context and still persevered with its moral developmental trajectory.

D. Concluding remarks
On the organisational level, the many learnings done by the collective hearts were institutionalised and manifested in organisational visions, structures, cultures, and systems. Various resources were allocated to enable any of the myriads of proposed transformations. Additionally, the temporal and spatial considerations were needed. For example, responses to COVID-19 required swift actions from all change agents, especially the government, to restructuring their systems and operations in order to mitigate the pandemic. Only with proper systems can proper governance ensue. Additionally, these OL repositories are re-configured according to the situation: for example, when the pandemic hits Brunei, the Masājid were closed to the public, even though the facilities are provided, and public are encouraged to pray at their own homes.
On the group/collective level, societal members played their respective parts. For example, in the case of the 'new norm' during this COVID-19 pandemic, peoples in Brunei have to learn how to adapt and cooperate with all relevant stakeholders: learn to live in the new norm; and for those that resisted faced repercussions for they are endangering other members of the society. The role of Islamic spiritual leaders has played pivotal roles in interpreting and integrating changes for moral transformation. This is done not only by the Sultan of Brunei, with the facilitation of the absolute monarchical system, but also by community leaders on the ground. All these changes are not possible without the hearts' tawhīdic impulse. The spiritual hearts play an important role in learning and decision-making processes in managing the bodily kingdom, as well as the whole nation. The spiritual hearts play a crucial role in creating and sustaining virtuous learning cycles to support the virtuous organisation, while inhibiting vicious and corrupting learning cycles.