Slides From Our Graduation Night

For those who have either missed watching the slides I've compiled for our graduation night held last night, or wish to relive the memories again, you can watch it here in all its glory. (Thank you iMovie and YouTube).

Now that my colleagues and I have graduated, we are entering a whole new journey, with new challenges and opportunities that awaits us in our doorsteps. Our future is brighter now. But we will forever cherish the moments my colleagues and I spent together since our first day we set foot in The Business School.

The ITB Convocation

Present to deliver the certificates to the graduates was His Highness The Crown Prince.
Now it's these guys' turn to graduate. The 18th Convocation for the Brunei Institute of Technology was held yesterday where the graduation for the higher national diploma students from ITB took place. Among those who graduated for their HND this year were a few of my former super seniors from The Business School as well as old friends of mine who I had not seen for many long years. HND, now those are huge achievements. Well done you guys, and congrats on your big day.


The few familiar faces


The joy on their faces after the ceremony

A New Beginning

A week has passed since our convocation. A day which I would remember for the rest of my life. Everything's good now, having realized that I, along with my fellow colleagues are now among the ranks of those who have graduated before us.

One day we're gonna look back and recall the joyous times of our lives during our youth, and this is just one of them. This is graduation, the most glorious day for students, a time for a final reunion with our fellow comrades who we have been together for years, and a time to celebrate the end of our education course.

After the showdown with our final exams and wrapping up with our industrial attachments, its obvious that we deserve this joyous day. It is the moment when we all sing our last song. I never thought that I could actually experience such a meaningful day, due to the hiccups I've gone through many long years back. Though I'm glad that, as one of the students of Technical Education, (despite not as grandeur as the HND's or the Uni's), I get to be with my friends that I've studied with since 2005, adorned in our convo attire and recieving our honorary certificates on stage which are highly valuable to us all. All the hard years have really paid off.

Looking back, its hard to imagine how life would've been if I didn't actually take that first step to continue my education. I guess I wouldn't be where I am now, and I wouldn't be making great friends along the way. Best of all, with our achievements as a national diploma graduate, we are worth much more now compared to the day we first started taking the course. Our chances of employment and further studies just got better and brighter; its just a matter of taking that next course of action. We are smarter, more mature and experienced than ever before, and we will use these knowledge and experience we gained over the years for our survival and sustenance. Whatever opportunities that lie ahead, we're ready to take them.

As this chapter ends, a new chapter in our lives begin. Yet we will always remember this meaningful day as the checkpoint of our lives, and most importantly, our friendship we treasure for many years. 22nd April 2009 was a fine day to graduate!

Graduation 09

Cause these are the days worth living,
These are the years we're given,
And these are the moments,
These are the times,
Let's make the best out of our lives.

The Raptai

One more day. That's how excited we feel right now, knowing the fact that our big day tomorrow signifies the end of our course in The Business School. 22nd of April will be the day that we've all been waiting for after years of sitting in class and working on assignments with our group of friends back in campus. Sometimes it's hard to believe that we're already here, the last day of our time as national diploma students.


Today was the rehearsal for tomorrow's convocation ceremony at The International Convention Centre, and we were all lined up adorned with our graduation attire which we have all prepared with anticipation. We were given guidelines on the protocol for tomorrow's ceremony. I took this opportunity to grab my camera along, knowing that I won't be able to carry anything with me prior to receiving my certificate on stage.




Mus (Dineyfoto) was there and he was happy to take pictures of us during the raptai.

We Meet Again

Earlier today was our Convocation Briefing held at MTSSR where we were given details and instructions for our upcoming graduation day on the 22nd of April. Over 900 students who have completed their courses attended the convo briefing at the Multi-Purpose Hall which made our group from The Business School seem quite a few. We are a rather small family. I was already very excited about today as I was able to meet up with my friends who most of them I haven't seen for months since the end of our industrial attachment.


As what was briefed, the convocation will be held at the Plenary Hall of the International Convention Centre in the morning of Wednesday, where we will be wearing our graduation attire which will consist of a formal black cara melayu for the men and black baju kurung for the ladies. There will be a rehearsal on the 21st. We only have 2 weeks left before the big day. Soon we will only be known as the former students of The Business School who have liven up the college from 2005 to 2008.


The strapping boys. They've grown so fast, haven't they?


The bff's


The Secretarials, together again


Reunited with close friends


They really miss each other so much. LOL

As We Go On...

2 more weeks baby yeah....

Countdown To Convocation '09

PD/BNF/02, graduated in 2006
It's already been set. My colleagues and I will graduate next month and the Convocation will be held in ICC on the 23rd of April. I'm so excited now, coz this is indeed the moment I've been waiting for after all these years. I still couldn't believe that its close to the end of our course already, and 2005 still feels like yesterday. To think that I wanted this to happen so fast back when we were still sitting in campus.

We've gone through many challenges, passed so many obstacles, and for 4 long years we've endured all that. We made friends, we formed assignment groups, we held gatherings and events, we went through the pain and hardship together, and we made it to the end together. We remained friends until today, and we will forever cherish the moments we've spent together in the Business School since Day 1. And now, its time for us to graduate and move on, as new challenges and opportunities awaits us in our doorsteps. As one journey ends, another begins.

In light of this upcoming event, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who have given us all the support throughout the years of studying in The Business School for our National Diploma in Business & Finance. Our parents, instructors, friends, seniors, juniors, colleagues and of course, the Almighty. Our future has become a brighter one and we hope to take it further to the next level. See ya at the convo!

ITB Information Day

Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) will be organizing an ITB Information Day (InfoDay@ITB) on Saturday, 7th of March 2009 at the University’s campus in Kg Tungku. The InfoDay@ITB is open to the public and prospective students from 9 am to 4 pm. The deadline for applying to the University’s degree programmes has been extended to the 15th of March 2009 due to changes in the programme structure.

The activities during that day are:

• Personal consultation with ITB academics on the range of the 4-year degree programmes available at ITB with explanation on ITB definition of ‘discovery year’.
• Exhibition on few of ITB students’ hands-on final year projects physical displays.
• University’s Engineering laboratories tour.
• HECAS officers will also be available during the day whereby the prospective students can consult them regarding the registration process. They will also be able to register on the day as registration facilities will be provided

Frustrations of a Late Bloomer

Gambar ini adalah sekadar hiasan sahaja. Hak milik tercipta. Dilarang menduplikasi.
It's a tough world we live in. Age and O levels are still the factors in our nation when deciding to further our studies, despite the efforts some of us have made which, in foreign standards, are considered eligible for it. For most of my generation, these factors have become obstacles at this stage of life. It's quite a challenge for some, but also a waste of resources when we think about it.

Everybody deserves a second chance. A person who have struggled years of hardship and only managed to get back up again can be no different than the child prodigy. If they reject the next person who have successfully achieved outstanding results despite not qualifying the other criterias such as age (I mean, c'mon, seriously, what's up with that?), then they could've made a very big mistake. One decision can make a big change. What if that person could one day change the world if he had not been rejected?

I speak on behalf of these people like myself who have fallen before but managed to stand up again at this very day. Everybody deserves a second chance, and these people speak for themselves. Despite factors which have become obstacles that gets in their way, its the burning desire, drive and motivation to study which still exist in them that keeps them going. If these people, despite age, wishes to study, why stop them? Is education an investment or a cost in the future development of our nation?

Yes its true that we have to raise the bar in our education standards over the course of time in order to meet our vision 2035, but what about the responsibilities of fulfilling the promises of our late monarch, the architect of Modern Brunei? He envisioned that all, and I mean ALL of us in this nation deserve to live better and prosperous lives. As in the case, I am fighting for my future as its my rights. Its everyone's rights and everyone should stand and fight for it.

So let my experience be a lesson to all, especially to the teenagers who are currently enjoying the freedom given to you. We are living in difficult times. While you still have that freedom you think you deserve, do not take things simply for granted. We should be thankful that we are given education at no cost, so don't waste that chance and blew it. Opportunities are wide open at the early age. Don't end up with life full of regrets like the rest of us who could've done better when we had those chances.


One of the lucky few who have survived the education depression

Cross Country Through My Neighborhood

I was on my way back from a good morning car wash earlier today when I came across hundreds of students from Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan briskwalking along the small road in my neighborhood. Apparently it's their annual cross country event, with the majority participated in this physical activity being the lower secondary students of the college.


My lil cousin Mamat (R)


Cold refreshing mineral water. Never leave home without it.


The morning glory pose.


With full determination.

What Next?

One Night at Merce

So attachments' over and graduation's only a matter of months away. This is the time where we spend our remaining days together as schoolmates before we put on our black cloaks and graduation hats. To keep ourselves occupied on these remaining months, some have secured their job from where they were attached, others found a different job, while I am a full-time photographer. Nevertheless, we still get the fun going. We were at Merce Pool & Snooker in Kiulap (near Blue Eden) for a game of pool together last night, just one of the fun things we've planned to do before our graduation in May.

The Last Day at The Business School For The Year 2008

Just some random pictures of our last day to set foot in The Business School for the year 2008 before the long December holiday. These were taken last week. Apparently the Lecture Theater has a new air-conditioning system built in which is 5 times more powerful than its predecessor. Talk about nyaman and sajuk! And no more hiccups this time for sure. The only problem now is that the theater won't be able to accommodate the entire population of the campus, except for combined classes. I assume that assemblies are done outside at the compound.


The only thing missing in the LT is popcorn.
2009 is upon us, and it'll be the last year for us as students of the Business School. Being in campus on the last day of the year sure brings great memories from the day we first got in. So much has changed in school over the years and so many new faces, but we won't forget those who have ever been with us since 2005; our seniors and beloved ex-tutors. We're wrapping up our industrial attachment this month. I'm so excited for our graduation day. I could feel it comin closer now. We're going out!!!


"This just in..."


That's Akee screaming "I WANNA GET OUT OF HERE!!"

Recalling Raya '07

Got the Raya mood already? Same here. We're all pretty excited. I'm gonna make this year's aidilfitri more meaningful along with my fellow classmates and colleagues. After all, this is probably gonna be the last Raya we'll ever celebrate as fellow schoolmates of The Business School. Here's a recap of our Raya celebration held last year.






Our annual visit at Rena's.


Open house at our group coordinator's place. (antik uniform kami atu ah! hehe)


I really like this picture.

All images courtesy of Marriz

Our Last Sungkai Together As Fellow Schoolmates

Finally, a reunion sungkai with my fellow schoolmates in the final week of Ramadhan, after a long 3 months at work attachment. We had our sungkai buffet at KTM Restaurant in Jerudong yesterday evening. KTM serves thai delicacies, but the menu served on the buffet table yesterday were entirely comprised of local dishes with a bit of spicy Thai touch. The place was really packed but it's a good thing we got our seats reserved in the first place.

All shots below were taken with my SB-600 attached on my camera. I was so excited to take photos with my new flash unit. hehe.










Aidilfitri is just around the corner. I can't wait to 'beraya' with my fellow colleagues when that time comes. It's gonna be like the good old days. I still remember our previous years celebrating Aidilftri 'beraya' together, way back since our Pre-National Diploma days. We were much younger back then.


This was probably the last time we'll ever have sungkai together before we all go our separate ways after graduation