Public feedback sought as BSB masterplan enters final stage

Visitors of the BSB Development Masterplan public forum looking at a model of the capital
THE Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) Planning Information Centre opened its doors to the public for a two-day forum, where visitors were updated on the BSB Development Masterplan and shared ideas with the consultants as the masterplan is set to enter its final stages.

HOK Planning Group consultants presented their proposals and strategies for the masterplan to representatives from several government agencies and the public. A question and answer session was also held to raise any issues or concerns. Yesterday's public consultation was the second of two major consultation exercises. The outcomes will shape the masterplan for the capital city of BSB.

The public workshop continues today with discussions on different study areas of the masterplan. This will be followed by a two-week public exhibition at the centre which will be open from June 25 to July 8. Full story here.

First assignment with a Canon System

Russian Ambassador to Brunei, Victor A Seleznev, delivering his welcoming speech during a hosted reception at the Empire Hotel & Country Club in commemorating the Russian Republic's 20th year of independence.

Promoted

Cap'n Zeeko

RBAF Commander Major General Hj Aminuddin Ihsan (L), presenting the rank
insignia to Leftenant Hj Mohd Aisamuddin Hj Ali (R), who has been promoted to Captain.

Tourism sector improves services to Korean tourists

Adele Kim, Director of PROMAC Partnership, briefing participants of the workshop.
A TRAINING programme is being held to help professionals in Brunei's tourism industry to to further improve services to Korean tourists visiting the country.

Jointly organised by the Asean-Korea Centre and the Brunei Tourism Board, the three-day "Asean Tourism Human Resource Development Programme" provides participants an insight into Korean tourism, culture and manners, and basic Korean language by four experts from South Korea.

Some 40 participants comprised tourism professionals from government and private sector such as hoteliers, travel agents and NTO official are attending the programme.

"The Asean-Korea Centre has been organising Asean Tourism HRD Programme to help build the capacity of tourism professionals of Asean countries in providing tailored service to Korean tourists," said Jae Hyun CHO, the Centre's Director of Development Planning and General Affairs Unit. He said that four such programmes have already been organised in the Mekong Sub-region including Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. "In the fiscal year of 2010, the Centre will organise the same programmes in BIMP-Eaga countries and Singapore," he added.

"It is hoped that this programme will be of help to all participants in deepening understanding of the Korean tourists and their culture and also in learning Korean language so that tourism professionals could provide services closely attuned with the needs of Korean tourists, thereby further promoting Korean tourism to the Sultanate," said Jae Hyun CHO.

Present to officiate the launch of the workshop was Brunei Tourism CEO Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed.

Republic of Korea Ambassador to Brunei Kim Dae-Sik said that the programme would provide a useful opportunity for the stakeholders in the tourism sector to learn from Korean experience and expertise.

He said that Korea is an important market for Asean tourism, as statistics have shown that the number of Koreans travelling to Asean countries is increasing every year.

"Despite a temporary hike in 2008 with charter operations from Seoul to Bandar Seri Begawan by a Korean travel agency, it is still hard to say that we are seeing steady increase of Korean travellers in Brunei," said the ambassador

"The task ahead is how to turn the current trend of sporadic nature into a sustained one. I believe that Brunei has a lot to bring in more Korean people to the country on a sustainable basis, if it utilizes its tourism potentials to the fullest with effective strategies," he added.

"Six century-old monarchy, well-preserved pristine rainforest, noble Islamic architecture, the largest water village in the world, hospitable people are no doubt distinctive assets of the Sultanate. Furthermore, the ongoing project 'BSB Development Masterplan' which aims to transform the capital into one of the world's most livable and greener cities will be instrumental in attracting more tourists," he added.

Keeping alive customs of ethnic Dusuns

A dancer clad in traditional Dusun costume performing during the Adau Gayoh celebration.
THE ethnic Dusun community of Mukim Kiudang in Tutong yesterday gathered to celebrate Adau Gayoh, to mark the end of the padi harvesting season and celebrate the spirit of unity.

The festival at Wasai Batu Mapan Recreational Park in Kg Pad Nunok represents Dusuns' way of expressing gratitude for good harvest and brings together people from all walks of life.

Acting Tutong District Officer Hj Suffian Hj Bungsu said that such spirit of goodwill needs to be preserved and maintained to continue efforts in developing the country as the nation is facing global challenges.

"Our customs and traditions are our priceless heritage. No matter how developed and progressive our country is, the customs that we inherit must be practised and continued so that it will not vanish with time," he said.

"Besides an opportunity to uphold the ethnic group's traditions and cultural identity, this festival is also to celebrate the farmers' hard work and joy at the end of harvest, and more importantly to be thankful for the good harvest," he added.

He went on to say that padi planting activities are one of the many resources which could contribute towards the nation's economy and as an activity encouraged by His Majesty's Government in fulfilling national requirements as well as to reduce dependence of imported rice.

It was the first time such a festival was organised at the new recreational park which has been open to the public since 2008.

"Wasai Batu Mapan is a recreational park filled with rich flora and fauna and has recently become a new addition to the various landmarks which exist in the district," said Hj Suffian.

"The collaboration of promoting cultural customs, local village products and this recreational park will hopefully promote the uniqueness of the village and boost ecotourism here," he added.

Organised by the Kg Pad Nunok Village Consultative Council, the festival saw various activities lined up for the young and old.

Throughout the morning, the audience was entertained by young dancers dressed in elegant traditional Dusun costumes, a symbolic gesture in keeping the traditional occasion alive.

Vibrant and colourful cultural performances and traditional songs were staged by performers from Kg Pad Nunok, Kg Batang Mitus and Kg Bukit Udal, as well as invited performers from Limbang, Malaysia.

Adau Gayoh is celebrated every May 1.

Maktab Duli Goes Green

Young members of Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah's Environmentally Friendly Club collecting waste recycled as part of their energy conservation project.

FROM recyclables to reusables.

This was the mission of 30 students from Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah (Maktab Duli) in Gadong as they collected recyclable materials and waste in their school compound over the past week to be recycled by a local company, Daijo recycling.

The 30 students are part of the 70 active members of the colleges' Environmentally Friendly Club (EFC).

The club supervisor, Dk Jaliha Pg Sahbudin, said the proceeds of the sale of the recycled waste would then be used to produce reusable bags bearing the college's logo as well as friendly message on encouraging shoppers to use reusable bags as their next project.

Use of reusable bags is being encouraged in the Sultanate after it marked its first No Plastic Day on May 3.

"These bags will be sold to the students and teachers in the college and they can use them to replace the plastic bags when they go shopping in supermarkets, thus helping the environment by reducing the number of plastic waste," said the club supervisor.

Dk Jaliha said the activities conducted yesterday were to encourage the young club members to inculcate a habit of conserving energy that they can practise in their daily lives, thus saving the environment from further destruction, and in the end, lead by example for the rest of the community in the country.

"Aside from doing our part in conserving the environment, we want to convey our beliefs and concerns to the public by starting with the students in the college, and then on to the students' parents and siblings who will later on pass the awareness to their friends, colleagues at work and neighbours, as a way to get our message across," she said.

"Through recycling, we are significantly cutting down the consumption of energy that would've been used to produce new materials, and at the same time slow down the process of depletion of resources," she added.

Aside from collecting recyclables, the students also did their part in conserving energy and protecting the environment by recycling wastes and planting crops organically in their campus.

Crops were planted near the school's old female hostel. The crops which consisted of various types of vegetables such as watercress and long beans were planted organically as Dk Jaliha said the benefits of organically-grown vegetables were far greater than the conventionally-grown due to the absence of various poisons such as pesticides.

"It's good to grow your own crops because you are assured that you've grown them organically and can always guarantee that your food is safer and healthier. Additionally, you can also control the amount of vegetables you use for your cooking, thus preventing food waste," said Dk Jaliha.

"Furthermore, you save energy (fuel) from travelling to buy vegetables from the market, and growing vegetables using organic fertilisers will not deteriorate the soil. Finally, gardening is good for your health, especially if you want to keep in shape," she added.

Dk Jaliha went on to say that planting fruits and vegetables organically at home may be slightly less cheaper than buying them from the supermarkets, but the environmental and health costs from the conventionally-grown crops far exceeds the organically-grown ones in the long term.

Asra Nursyakillah Rabaha, president of the club said that the project was a tremendous success for the club this year and is planning to make it an ongoing activity in the college.

"The response have been very positive. We've had non-member students contributing recyclable wastes to us as a sign of support for our drive towards helping the environment.We also have parents of students who came over today to deliver their recyclable wastes," she told The Brunei Times.

The 19-year-old said that that the experience gained from conducting the various projects and activities have been highly beneficial and educational for the group, while having tremendous fun engaging them.

Since its formation in 2008, the club has been involved in running several projects on environment conservation, including recycling campaigns, energy conservation and alternative packaging.

Last year, the club made headlines by contributing $890 to Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) in support of the tree planting project to restore the trees in Badas Forest Reserve which were lost to forest fires.

The Orient Express Invades MSPSBS

STUDENTS of Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College (MSPSBS) were given the rare opportunity last wednesday to learn music from members of the Orient Express, the US Navy's band of USS Tortuga, who are in the country as part of the CARAT Exercise.

The eight-piece group of professional navy musicians' visit to the college was to expose and educate students involve in the college band to various music genres, styles and rythm, which they have not heard before, and apply them in their music education.

"As music will be a huge part of the co-curriculum of SPN21, the workshop enables the students to have first hand exposure in a subject which they will soon have the option of taking up, especially for Year Seven and Year Eight students," said the College Band Coordinator Mohd Raymie Hj Othman, who is also a chemistry teacher at MSPSBS.

He said that the workshop and the special appearance by the US Navy band members also hoped to encourage more students to join the college band and promote the college's non-academic endeavours.

During the workshop, the Orient Express band members also took the opportunity to work one-on-one with each of the student with their different instruments to allow them to appreciate music more. "This workshop is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our music and culture to the Bruneian people, and to share our knowledge with the Bruneian students on our profession as Navy Musicians, in a way teaching them various integral points in order to transform from basic high school musicians into professional musicians like us," said Musician First Class Bradley Blanchard, the band's frontman.

The students were also treated to a live joint concert by the Orient Express and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) band. The Orient Express brings with them a diverse range of American music from pop to R&B, much to the delight of the audience.

Also present to witness the live mini-concert were Acting Principal Dk Sarimah Pg Hj Ahmad, Lt Col (Navy) Hj Osman Hj Suhaili and US Navy Rear Admiral Nora W Tyson.

As the highlight of their visit in the country, the band together with the RBAF band will collaborate to perform at the Jerudong Park Playground's Mini Amphitheatre on the evening May 8 as part of the park's Family Entertainment Night.

MS Costa Romantica

An exchange of plaque between the Acting Director of the Ports Department Hj Bujang Hj Tinkong and Captain Pietro Sinisi.

The Other Side

Muara Container Terminal

The Mechanic

Laser eye surgery to be available in Brunei

THOSE seeking to correct short-sightedness completely will soon no longer need to travel overseas for laser vision correction as the necessary equipment of such procedure will be available in the Sultanate.

Optimax, a Malaysian eye specialist company, will soon be bringing its state-of-the-art equipment for laser refractive surgery to Brunei. The breakthrough All-Laser-Lasik (Laser Assisted In situ Keratomileusis) technology uses a high-precision Femtosecond Laser to treat common 'refractive errors' such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, and astigmatism.

"With the arrival of these machines, Bruneians no longer need to travel overseas for cosmetic eye surgery, which for many years, Bruneians had to travel to Malaysia to have their eyesight corrected," said Farris Hj Abdul Rahman, managing director of Optimax (Brunei Branch).

"Bringing the machines down here may be an expensive process, but will greatly benefit Bruneians in the long run as it is more convenient and cost-effective for patients to be treated locally," he told The Brunei Times.

Farris said that arrangements to bring the technology into Brunei is under way as legal procedures have to be carried out in order to operate the service in hospitals in the Sultanate.

He hoped that the implementation of the equipment will be available in the region sometime in the middle of the year.

During a public education seminar organised by Optimax Brunei yesterday, guests were presented with a basic understanding on modern refractive eye surgeries delivered by a guest speaker from Malaysia, Dr Norazlina Bachik, resident ophthalmologists for Optimax Shah Alam Branch and laser vision correction expert.

"The goal of any refractive surgical procedure is to reduce your dependence on corrective lenses. The overwhelming majority of patients who have had laser refractive surgery with Optimax over the years are fully satisfied with their results," said Dr Norazlina.

"Lasik is widely considered as the procedure of choice for correction of most cases of myopia (short-sightedness). Our 'All-Laser-Lasik' procedure uses a highly precise laser, the Femtosecond Laser which precisely delivers the laser energy directly to the outer surface of the eye."

She said that safety is the most valuable advantage of All-Laser-Lasik and the main reason why Optimax invested in this expensive technology.

"This procedure is completely blade-free, unlike the conventional alternatives. With the accuracy and safety checks offered by Femtosecond laser, major complications do not occur and surgeons can avoid the complications related to surgical blade problems."

"By having the technology here in Brunei, we are giving Bruneians the treatment options that have been available in the world closer to them, and freeing our patients suffering from refractive errors from glasses and contact lenses once and for all," she said.

Feeling strongly about contributing her expertise to the advancement of laser vision correction, Dr Norazlina serves as a part-time lecturer in Ophthalmology in the Medical Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She also has special interest in the subspecialty of cornea and refractive surgery and has performed more than 5,000 laser vision corrections and 3,000 cataract procedures.

RBA apprentice engineers graduate with flying colours

Tan Siow Phing (L), RBA's Executive Vice President of Engineering, presenting a certificate to one of the recipients, Md Nizar Hj Noordin, at a ceremony at the Royal Brunei Recreational Club.

EIGHTEEN apprentices of the Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) engineering scheme received their certificates after completing their training, during a ceremony held at the Royal Brunei Recreation Club, yesterday.

The recipients were the 25th intake of Engineers from Air Service Training (AST) in Perth, Scotland and the locally trained B2 Avionics engineers who have just completed the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 66 course.

"Of the 18 graduates here, six are from Intake 25 of our Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme trained at the Air Service Training in Perth, Scotland; three of them are B1 engineers and three more are B2 engineers," said Tan Siow Phing, Executive Vice President of Engineering, RBA.

"The other 12 recipients are B2 trainees who are locally trained by Lufthansa Technic together with four MH mechanics. They are selected based on their experience, knowledge and work performance," he added.

"We are proud to say that we have achieved 100 per cent success in both programmes. RBA will benefit greatly from this achievement because in a nutshell, B1 engineers are responsible for taking care of the aircraft airframe, engine and electrical while B2 engineers manage the aircraft Avionics system," he added.

The event also saw the signing of an agreement between RBA and the Scholarship Section of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the outstanding trainees from Intake 25, Mohd Alif Iftitah Morzuki and Dk Zanatul Iman Pg Jeffery.

"This is the first of such scheme where His Majesty's Government, through the Scholarship Section offers our outstanding trainees a chance to continue their studies to do a Bachelor of Engineering in aircraft maintenance. Their endeavours have offered young Bruneians a chance to build a career in the aviation industry which is in line with RBA's goal towards localisation," added Tan.

Present to witness the signing of the scholarship agreement and the certificate presentation ceremony was the ministry's Assistant Director of Scholarship, Hj Azis Hj Nayan.

One of the new graduates, Md Nizar Hj Noordin, told The Brunei Times that learning the technical aspects in ensuring the safety of an aircraft was a great challenge.

"The challenge of the technical work is always changing, so there's no denying that we will certainly face new challenges everyday," added Md Nizar.

"But one of the most important lessons learned from the course was that teamwork can help to overcome any difficulties," he added.

Another graduate, Dk Nordianah Pg Omarali said that she would be pursuing a degree in engineering as soon as she completed her current course, hoping for a better position in her career with RBA.

"You have to be humble in this line of work as there is no such thing as knowing everything. New challenges have to be faced every single day. In addition, it is even more challenging being one of the few female engineers, where you get tested further to see whether female engineers could do as good as their male counterparts," said the 21-year-old.

Expert hails HoB lead to curb degradation

BRUNEI'S Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative have spared lowland trees from further degradation which has already occurred in some parts of Borneo due to climate change caused by years of human activities.

This was indicated in a research by Ferry Slik, Associate Professor at the Key Lab in Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Gardens (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Yunnan, China which he represented during the second day of the Asem (Asia Europe Meeting) Workshop 2010 held at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), yesterday.

During the session, which primarily discussed on Biodiversity, Forest Ecosystem and Functions, Slik presented his research on Borneo-wide modelling of tree diversity, composition and biomass and their indication on possible climate change which impacts on tropical forests.

"We still have limited knowledge of how global climate change may affect tropical forests around the world, even though this information is crucial for designing conservation strategies that can counter some of its possibly negative impacts."

Slik's research is focused on tree species diversity and distribution patterns in relation to environmental variables in lowland rain forests of Borneo and Southeast Asia.

This includes investigating the amount of forest structural damage caused by drought, fire and logging and their effects on tree species diversity and composition, as well as species-habitat associations in old growth forests.

Slik has build up a large database of plant morphological traits, which in combination with a GIS environmental and tree species inventory database can be used to study floristic, diversity and plant functional traits in relation to the environment.

"One way of predicting possible impacts of future climate change on tropical forest biomass, tree diversity and composition is by determining the influence of current climate gradients on these forest properties."

He said that once these relationships are known they can be superimposed on maps containing modelled future climate scenarios to determine if and how forest biomass, tree diversity and composition will change in a spatial context. This in turn can be used for better spatial planning of conservation efforts for tropical forests.

In his study, Slik and his team used a large data of old-growth forest tree inventories from across Borneo and related their biomass, tree diversity and composition to eleven environmental variables including several climate related ones such as annual rainfall, rainfall seasonability, temperature seasonability, temperature annual range, drought stress and elevation (which is a proxy for yearly average temperature).

During his presentation, Slik related his findings to expected climate change models for Southeast Asia.

"Our results show that forest biomass, tree diversity and composition are all significantly but differentially correlated with climate variables. This means that future climate change will affect these forest properties in sometimes contrasting ways."

"It is likely that tropical forests will show changes in structure, composition and diversity over the next 100 years that are related to changing atmospheric conditions."

Tropical forests in Borneo are likely to show changes in structure, composition and diversity related to changing atmospheric conditions.

He went on to say that it is also likely that these changes will differ considerably between the main tropical forest regions due to regional differences in climate change.

"Models for Borneo seem to indicate increasing tree alpha-diversity due to increasing temperature, considerable shifts in tree species distribution due to changing temperature (elevational shifts) and changes in temperature and rainfall seasonality, and increasing biomass due to increasing rainfall."

"So the main question is not 'will tropical forests change due to climate change', but 'can tropical forest adapt to climate change given the time scale involved, existing land use patterns, forest fragmentation levels and tree dispersal capabilities?"'

Brunei is among the remaining countries that still has a lot of lowland forests, which is reasonably good. However, Brunei is surrounded by Malaysia where a lot of forest degradation and fragmentation has already happened, so if species need to migrate, they probably need to migrate to higher elevations.

"If the area surrounding Brunei is deforested, that's going to be a major problem for the species because there is nowhere for them to move."

"I think it's good that Brunei is in the Heart of Borneo initiative because Brunei has rich lowland forests still untouched.

"The most diverse and interesting but also threatened forests are the lowland forest, which is mostly outside the Heart of Borneo. At least some part of lowland forests get preserved."

Slik who obtained his PhD at the National Herbarium of the Netherlands, Leiden University, The Netherlands. is interested in theoretical and statistical problems with current diversity and ordination methods. He is also into new species identification techniques, such as DNA-barcoding and next-gen sequencing.

"I hope to expand my studies to include the whole of Southeast Asia, up to the most northern limits of naturally occurring Dipterocarp forests," he told The Brunei Times.

Bonus Day: All roads lead to ATMs

AS EARLY as dawn yesterday, queues had already formed at the front doors of ATM booths around the country as the sun rose to greet what Bruneians have come to call "Bonus Day", when civil servants receive their remunerative reward for a year of hard work and dedication to their profession.

Traffic jams plagued key commercial areas throughout the day, particularly in Serusop, Bandar Seri Begawan and Kiulap, causing minor gridlocks at some intersections and testing the patience of motorists in search of parking spaces at already full car parks.

An officer at the Fisheries Department who asked to be named only as Jafri said he had a hard time looking for a parking spot. He had to park two blocks away from the TAIB branch in Kiulap and walk, only to end up at the wrong end of a long line of people stretching all the way out of the building.

"I came all the way here from Muara as the ATM machines in my area were out of order. It was difficult to find a parking spot earlier and it didn't occur to me that Kiulap was going to be jammed," he said.

Asked what he will be spending his hard-earned bonus on, Jafri replied, "The new school term is just around the corner and, like every other year, my wife and I will prioritise buying books, stationery, uniforms and other school supplies for our four children."

Mohd Asri, a father of two, said that he had been waiting outside the bank since before it opened for business.

He explained that he chose to make his withdraw at the counter because the queue at the ATM spilled out all the way to the next shop unit.

He added that the ATMs had preset limits on the amount that could be withdrawn by the same person within 24 hours, and that since it was Bonus Day, he wanted to withdraw more.

"I promised my eldest son I would get him his first video game console as he had passed his PSR exams this year with flying colours," he said when asked what he was going to spend his bonus on.

"Other than that, I have some loans to settle, and the remaining will go into my emergency fund," he added.

Mohd Khairul, a security guard at the TAIB branch in Kiulap, said that he saw a long line of people even before the doors were open, and more people kept pouring in throughout the busy morning.

"It took less than two hours for our ticket counter to reach 200. On normal days we usually reach that figure at the end of the day," Mohd Khairul said.

He added that additional security guard was posted for the day to ensure the safety and smooth serving of customers. "So far everything is under control. Everyone is cooperating in queues," he said.


Some people were willing to spend more than an hour in the long queue, even in the hot sun, to withdraw their hard-earned money.

Fendi, who lives at Sungai Akar, came all the way to BIBD's Kiulap branch to withdraw his salary from the counter. He had been waiting for his number for almost an hour when he was interviewed by The Brunei Times.

"It is something we all expect. Whether people came early or late, they still have to wait in line. I prefer withdrawing from the counter instead of from the ATM because, in my past experience, the machines ran out of money too quickly," he said.

"Though I have to wait longer for the counter service, it's good for me as it keeps me from the temptation of entering figures on the machine higher than I really need."

Over the years, he has learned from past mistakes and learned to practise smart spending and budgeting, Fendi explained.

"I don't really owe anyone or the bank much and I'm always thrifty, so I will definitely be able to save more this year. I'm only going to spend some on basic necessities," he added.

"It is an unusual sight for me," said Dayanti, a fresh graduate who just started her career in the government early this year.

It was the first time in her life she had received a bonus, said the 25-year-old, adding that she became more and more anxious the longer she spent in the long queue for the Standard Chartered Bank ATM at Hua Ho Manggis Mall.

"The excitement is there as I'm about to receive my first bonus. Now, I finally understand the thrill experienced by my friends and family on Bonus Day," she said ecstatically.

"I've been advised by my parents for many years not to splurge my hard-earned pay, so I've decided to give both my parents half of my bonus as a way of giving back to them after all the sacrifices they've made in raising me and getting me to where I am now," she said.

However, she added, "Though a little treat wouldn't hurt. I know I've been working hard for the past few months, so I'm still going to use my money to go shopping, but I'm just going it to spend here in the country as I want to support the economy, too.

"Besides, new year is coming, doesn't that call for a little celebration?" she added.

A government teacher who declined to be named said that he saw all the cars heading to the banks and that traffic was congested, but that didn't stop him from coming for a quick withdrawal at BIBD headquarters' ATM.

"My obligations drove me to the bank today. Paying the bills and the car loan as well as spending for my children's new school year are what got me on my feet this morning.

"There is no time to lose. The school holiday is nearly over and we will be very busy by the time the new year kicks in," he said.

"I did enjoy the previous years when we received our salaries and our bonuses four days earlier, as it gave us more time to check bookshops for better offers and buy school items such as stationery for the children," he said.

US Ambassador hosts Christmas open house

US Ambassador to Brunei William E Todd (C) and his wife Ann Buckingham Todd (R) having a conversation with one of the guests, Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Brunei Mohamed JA Hashim during his Christmas open house at Kg Mulaut yesterday.
HOLIDAY spirits ran high as US Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam William E Todd welcomed guests to his home in Kg Mulaut yesterday for his holiday open house.

Ambassador Todd and his wife, Ann Buckingham Todd, welcomed guests, who included Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Ahmad Hj Jumat, Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) Acting Chairman Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Brunei Tourism Board CEO Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed and Pehin Kapitan Lela DiRaja Dato Paduka Goh King Chin.

Also attending the gathering were ambassadors and high commissioners of the diplomatic corps, government officials, business leaders and members of the American community living in Brunei.The Holiday Party and Open House is an annual tradition for the ambassador and his family and yesterday was the second time the event had been held.

In celebrating the holiday occasion, the ambassador's house was adorned with traditional holiday decorations, including a decorated Christmas tree with Todd family ornaments.

The function was held before the actual holidays as it was anticipated that most guests would be busy celebrating with their families during the coming weeks.

Guests were entertained by carolers from St Andrew's Church. As the choir sung Christmas carols, guests listened intently, embracing the holiday cheer in unity, bringing together harmony between the different faiths and beliefs.

"This is a special opportunity for my family to open up our home to our Brunei friends. I consider it a great honour to be the US Ambassador to Brunei, and I welcome the chance to give a little back to Brunei during the holiday season," said Ambassador Todd.

"My family and I look forward to continuing this annual tradition and spending another holiday season in Brunei," he added.

TAIB staff get fire marshal training

SOME 33 employees of the Brunei Islamic Trust Fund or Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB) received certificates after completing their fire marshal training courses last month, which was aimed to educate participants on basic knowledge in handling emergency situations.

The fire marshals consisted of staff and officers from various departments and branches of Perbadanan TAIB that previously took a three-day course conducted by the Fire and Rescue Department at its headquarters in Berakas. The training was held from November 16-18 for the first batch and November 23-25 for the second batch.

The fire marshal training course was led by Station Officer Noorzali Apong from the Public Relations Unit of the Fire and Rescue Department.

The training included theoretical, practical and fitness aspects, where participants had basic physical training and briefing on fire prevention, proper use of different types of fire extinguishers, fire hydrant drills, building evacuation and victim rescue procedures.

"The training course was aimed at educating the participating officers and staff with the basic know-how in handling emergency situations," said Muhd Hisyamuddin Mahmud, one of the participants and assistant officer (Sales) of Perbadanan TAIB Delima Branch.

"This knowledge would come in useful should an unforeseen incident happen at work, and knowing the basic procedures can minimise the impact of damage and save lives."

He added that the fire marshal's role is to ensure that all officers and staff in the building are accounted for and the information collected will later be relayed to the senior marshall and reported to fire and rescue officers.


A participant of the fire marshal training course (R) receiving a certificate from TAIB acting managing director Pg Hj Abdul Rahman (L)
"The most challenging part in our training was going through the 'Dark Room', where we had to overcome our fear and panic," said participant Pg Mohd Nazid Pg Mohd Karim from the main branch.

"The training has been beneficial to the participating officers and staff as it has helped build our confidence and courage."

"Overall, it has been a fun and exciting training course and the extra valuable knowledge we gained can not only be used at work, but in other places as well such as at home."

"I personally feel that the toughest part in our training was carrying and rolling the heavy firehoses. We never thought it would weigh that heavy when we saw the firefighters carry them during their operations until we had a hands-on experience on them during our training last month," said Hj Mohd Yakkub Hj Tuah from the Administration section.

"I believe this training should be practised by every organisation, government or private, as it will help save lives and reduce casualties in the event of fire in the building," he added.

"This is the first time such training was provided to our officers and staff, and this is by far the most effective way of ensuring safety in our premises. Previously, all personnel were only briefed by the Fire and Rescue Department by visiting our offices," said Noraidah Mohd from Customer Service section.

"We want to ensure that at least two members of staff from all our branches in the country have this kind of safety training," she said, adding that safety is one of Perbadanan TAIB's priorities.

The certificate presentation was held yesterday at the Tarindak d'Seni Restaurant at the Brunei Arts & Handicrafts Training Centre.

Hijrah a time for reflection, resolutions

The new Islamic year celebration was held yesterday by the Ministry of Communications (MinCom) and the departments under it.

The event was attended by Minister of Communications Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Hj Abu Bakar Hj Apong.

The highlight of the activity which was to reminisce the hijrah (migration) made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a talk by Ustaz Hj Noralizam Hj Aliakbar, from Islamic Da'wah Centre.

"We can learn a lot from the Hijrah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) which is still relevant today," he said.

"Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) hijrah along with his followers to the city of Medina was not because of fear of being tortured or killed by the enemies, but to uphold the religion."

There can be two agendas when performing hijrah, and that is either for Allah (SWT), or for personal gain. It was found that there were people who had other intentions contradicting with the true purpose of the historical event, such as marriage.

"Therefore, we need to have the right intentions when we migrate (hijrah). With the right intentions, Allah (SWT) will save the nation from any catastrophe. He said this coincides with this year's theme for the new Islamic year of 1431 Hijrah celebrations, Illahi Selamatkan Brunei Darussalam, which is a prayer to envoke the blessings from Allah (SWT) for the Sultanate to always remain a peaceful and prosperous nation.


He added that as a Muslim nation, we should always remember the Almighty and pray for His protection, guidance and blessings throughout our lives, and most importantly, always be grateful with the peace and prosperity which the country has enjoyed over the years.

"We need to be grateful of the luxuries that Allah has provided and in return obey His command and always be reminded of His presence thus bringing us closer to Allah (SWT)," he added.

Temburong comes alive with floral carnival parade

CITIZENS from Temburong District cheered enthusiastically as they witness for the first time, a float procession held in the streets of Pekan Bangar.

Organised by the Mukim Bangar Consultative Council, the Floral Carnival Parade was one of the programmes under the "Cuti-Cuti Temburong 2009", a four-week long holiday programme organised by the Temburong District Office that highlighted the cultural attractions of the district and aimed at attracting both domestic and foreign tourists.

People of all ages turned up as early as 8am to witness the floats procession which was held outside the Kompleks Utama Bumiputera in Pekan Bangar.


A total of six floats took part in the parade, of which five were from the densely populated Mukims in Temburong District: Mukim Bangar, Mukim Amo, Mukim Labu, Mukim Bokok and Mukim Batu Apoi, and one other float by the Temburong District Office.

The chairperson of the parade, Hamdan Hj Besar, who is also the Penghulu of Mukim Bangar said that the theme for the float procession was primarily on floral, to highlight the rich and colourful flowers in Temburong with the inclusion of "One Product One Village", where each mukim showcased their respective products designed on their floats.

He said that it was to coincide with the "Cuti-Cuti Temburong 2009" programme.

In addition, float participants were also entitled to compete for the best overall design.

The winning float was by Mukim Bokok which featured various plants and flowers unique to Mukim Bokok that were decorated around the vehicle, with the slogan "Cuti-Cuti Temburong" branded on its sides, a giant Sumpoi-Sumpoi plant crowned on top the float, and a mini-fountain nestled at its back.


The procession also saw Malay, Murut and Iban participants who walked along with the procession in their respective traditional attire.

Temburong Bikers with their motorbikes decorated with flowers, Long Bicycles and beca (three-wheelers) also caught the attention of the onlookers.

Present to witness the parade was the Temburong District Officer Matusin Orang Kaya Sura Hj Tuba. Also present were Dato Gulam Jalani Khanizaman, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Rural Development and Entrepreneurial Development, Sabah, Iman Ali, Papar District Officer as well as delegates from Papar, who were coincidentally in the district for a three-day visit.

"The teams that took part in the procession have shown a lot of hard work and creativity in making their floats as attractive as possible with the beautiful floral theme," said a committee member.

"We have plans to organise this yearly should there be an overwhelming public response, and increase the number of float participants for the next one," he added.