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.

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.

Comedy Night

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.

Brunei joins the world with 'All You Need is Love'

LOCAL artists last night joined other performers from around the world as part of a global choir performing The Beatles' classic All You Need is Love live online at the same time as part of a massive charitable effort to aid The Global Fund in its fight against HIV/Aids in Africa.

Joining spirited voices at precisely 1.30pm GMT (9.30pm Brunei time) were local artists Hans Anwar, Fakhrul Razi and Putri Norizah of Phuturephase Production, Feez Madea and Juju of Projectunes Records, Fau P2F and A Band Once in an event that united individuals, communities and cultures through the universal language of music.

The artists, along with local production crew Megabond Productions, volunteered for the (RED) Love Project, set up three years ago by U2 singer Bono and Bobby Shriver.

Under the project, companies dedicated large portions of profits from particular (RED)-branded products to go towards The Global Fund.

The simultaneous global live-stream performance last night was organised by Starbucks, which in just one year has generated enough money through the project to buy more than seven million days of medicine to help those living with HIV in Africa.

The performance in Brunei was held at the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Shopping Complex with Brunei's famous Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque as the backdrop.

The performance lasted five minutes, as the song was sung once, coinciding with performers around the world.

Billed as a historic technological breakthrough, the event received enormous worldwide media coverage and is expected to be written into the Guinness World Records.


Live feeds from the event were streamed to a central location where people in 200 countries were able to view the performance simultaneously.

"This first-ever global event will leverage state-of-the-art technology to stream the live feed of this performance on www.StarbucksLoveProject.com," said Sharifudin Hj Zainuddin, Megabond Productions' assistant producer.

"Anyone with access to a computer and video camera will have the opportunity to submit their own version of All You Need Is Love for the world to see and hear," he said.

"We need to educate the youngsters to connect globally, and not just locally, when doing something for a good cause such as this," said local artist Fakhrul Razi Ibrahim.

"Although we are a small country, we do make a huge impact. I believe that small things can actually make a great impact, especially when we do it in a community rather than just personally."

For every video submitted to the website, Starbucks will make a donation to the Global Fund.

Yean

Epic Frequency Debut

BRIDEX 2009 Conference Today

This is a great week for Brunei this year as the highly anticipated BRIDEX Conference 2009 kicks off today. I'll be covering for the afternoon session. This international event is perhaps the biggest the nation has ever held, organized in a large scale. It's gonna be a long exciting day for journalists.

Live in Studio 4

No weekend off this week, as I've to cover a few events around the district. This morning kicked off with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Robot Contest 2009 at the new RTB studio in Sungai Akar. It was my first time to be there, and during live broadcasting too.

41 Youths Compete in Quran-Reading Preliminary Round

FORTY ONE participants from the Brunei-Muara District competed in the preliminary round of this year's Al-Quran reading competition organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Held at the Youth Centre in the capital last week, the Musabaqah Tilawatil Al-Quran or the Al-Quran Reading Competition for Youths saw 15 qari and 26 qariah from different schools, colleges and institutes competing in the preliminary round. Ten qari and 11 qariah have competed on Friday's session and the remaining half of the participants competed yesterday.

Six judges appointed by the organiser assessed the participants based on proper pronunciation and speed during recitation (tajweed), technique (fashahah), vocals and tune. The objective of the competition was to raise the quality of Al-Quran reading amongst the younger generation in Brunei Darussalam and to cultivate an interest for participating in religious activities, in line with His Majesty the Sultan's titah during the Al-Quran Reading Competition for Adults in the National Level on October 13, 1996.

Click here for further reading on this article.

Sorrowful Tales of The Abandoned

Senior citizens represent a highly precious asset who have contributed so much to the new generation today. Their contributions be it in the form of education, economy, social, culture, etc, have given so much positive impact to the global development. However, even in the rising economy and higher education achieved by today's generation, there are still senior citizens who have been abandoned and currently living on their own without the watchful eye and care from their children.

Organised by volunteers for the home-care programme with the support from the Department of Community Development (JAPEM), a Day-Out Activity with the Senior Citizens was held earlier this morning at The Stadium Restaurant in Berakas, where 4 elderly women aged between 60 and 90 were invited to participate in the fun and games.


According to Hjh Norgayah Hj Dulah, a volunteer for the home-care programme, the senior citizens who attended yesterday's activity are registered under the Department of Community Development who live all by themselves with no children or immediate family to look after them.

"Our role is to support them in any way we can, such as helping them with their groceries, taking them out, keep them company and in the end, be a part of a family to them".

A full-time housewife, Hjh Norgayah took the initiative to volunteer for the home-care programme since 2006. "I enjoy doing this for a good cause, and I even encouraged my children to participate in volunteering to encourage them to learn the values of social responsibility programmes such as this."


One of Hjh Norgayah's clients is Masbah Mohamad (pictured above), a 70 year old elderly from Mentiri. She was given the opportunity to share her life experience to everyone during the activity. Masbah wept into tears when recalling her children who she have not seen for many years, and she hoped to reunite with them as she missed them dearly.

Let this be a lesson to all, especially to the younger generation. Love your parents, for they have sacrificed so much for you since you were born. Don't abandon them or send them to retirement centres when they're old, that would be cruel. If only the children knew how their parents felt from such actions. Imagine if we're in their situation right now.


I'm saddened to hear the tragic story of the elderly this morning. These are mothers who used to take care of the children who have abandoned them. Where are their children gone? And why did they simply abandon them and left them living all alone, with no one to talk to and assist them with daily chores, particularly in their state right now?

I praise the volunteers, young and old, who have lend their hands to take care of these senior citizens. They have shown to me that even at the fast pace of modern times, there are people who still care. We sure need more people like them.


Dk Siti, one of the young volunteers for the home-care programme.

The Ultimate Foodie Bloggers Challenge

The Ultimate Foodie Blogger Challenge was held at the lovely home of Seńor Pablo in Rimba last Sunday 26th April. The local bloggers showcased their finest cuisines and let the guests be the judge. When it comes to food, who could resist? We came, we saw, we conquered (and we voted, of course). More info of last weekend's feast at Seńor Pablo's blog.


The winner, Reeda Malik of Anakbrunei.org, garnered the highest vote for his Quick & Dirty Lamb.

A Night With A Band Once

It was pretty brief, but the mini-concert exclusively featuring our local entertainers A Band Once which lasted for only less than an hour was worth it. The mini-concert was held last night at the Jerudong Park colonnade (formerly the old simulator ride). The band performed their hits as well as a few popular numbers that entertain the crowd who came to watch their favorite band perform live.

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.

Syazwi's Silver Jubilee

On February 26th, Syazwi turned 25. He and his family organized a big birthday gathering at his home on a fine Sunday afternoon yesterday to mark his 25th Silver Jubilee. I wish Syazwi a happy birthday and wish him a lifetime of happiness.






A birthday gift from big brother Syafiq

Sunday In Business School

Apologies for the lack of pictures. I'm currently occupied with packing up my stuff tonight for my trip to KL, and my flight is tomorrow. Anyway, these were taken earlier today as I was invited as the guest vocalist for the band Epic Frequency to perform at the funfair at The Business School in conjunction with its 4th anniversary. More pictures and details will be updated as soon as I get back from my trip. Thanks to Es for taking over my camera while I was on the mic.




The Ex-Business School Students












With the committee

What's Up at ICC This Weekend

Rehearsals in session






One of the trophies on display








That's the queue for the ghost house entrance.