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Archive for October, 2019

Toyota/Lexus Experience Day 1

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in automative, Social News

 


With Faza Suraj, a representative from The Bruneian. Thank you, NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd for this opportunity
 


With the bell ladies from Keio Plaza Hotel
 

It was definitely a great experience being invited by NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd to the Tokyo, Japan, for the recent Tokyo Motor Show. I could resonate to a classic movie, “Lost in Translation” because I could get truly lost whenever I was confused on which train line to catch for next destination. On a brighter note, the ground handlers from Toyota (Japan) and the logistics team were pretty awesome as they really took care of us from Day 1.

Faza Suraj from The Bruneian and I were privileged to attend the 3 day line up hosted by Toyota and Lexus (Japan). The first day was mostly a welcoming session for all the media delegates from Asia Pacific and the event took place at Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Japan.

There was a presentation on Toyota’s stance as mobility company and electrification strategy. It was followed up by a ride experience and exhibition tour to deepen the understanding of Toyota’s electrification. Finally, a car show presentation where we got a sneak preview of Toyota’s LQ and Toyota Mirai. The day concluded with a welcome party themed, “Start Your Impossible”.

The media were also privileged to meet the Toyota ambassadors who will represent their respective countries in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics 2020. I sat next to Singapore Paralympic swimmer, Toh Wei Soong who is only 21 years old and he’s a two time gold medalist at the 2018 Asian Para Games.

 

 


Some of the Toyota Ambassadors for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
 


With Paralympic swimmer from Singapore, Toh Wei Soong
 


The latest concept car from Toyota – LQ
 


The interesting i-Road from Toyota
 


The fuel celled powered Toyota bus – Sora
 

I was quite intrigued with Toyota’s vision and plan for the future. Toyota always have something exciting up their sleeves and this year, it’s no different. Toyota has been very active in producing Electric Vehicle and concept cars year in, year out and the trend may not be exploding but it’s slowly catching on. Toyota has identified that there is always a gap from advanced development and production vehicle development. The gap itself can be reduced with introducing concept cars. The way of the future will also be incorporating Artificial Intelligence Agent to humanize the car so the driver and passenger can feel more connected to a vehicle than ever before.

It’s no surprise that the President of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, believes that the people are the important subject matter even with the rise of technology. Technology is just to enhance the human experience.

Toyota is also one of the official partners for Tokyo 2020 (Olympics and Paralympics) and they have an impressive line-up for next year’s prestigious event.

The e-Pallete is one of them and it’s shaped like a self-driving modular store on wheels and it’s electric powered. The e-Pallete will be used during the Games 2020 and the public and athletes can enjoy the transport offered by Toyota. The e-Palette is in line with Toyota’s vision of “Mobility for All” and this modular is fully automated meaning autonomous driving. Now, it will be exciting to see how this plans out once the Games kick in next year.

Lexus also have a presentation on their concept car and it was the first ever electric car. It is called the Lexus LF-30 Electrified. Many have been asking for years on when Lexus will have their first electric car and here we are. The Lexus LF-30 is more than just a concept vehicle. It’s a bold new vision of vehicle electrification which I will share in my future post.

In the afternoon, we had the privilege to see up close on some of the electric vehicles of Toyota and also experience some drifting on the Toyota 86 and the Toyota Supra GR. For me, I was more excited on the drifting experience in the Supra GR. Though it was short, it was still a fun, adrenalin experience. Sadly, it won’t be out in Brunei but a few have been asking me on social media if this would be brought to our market. Who knows one day it will see it happen.

The day capped off with a welcoming party themed “Start Your Impossible” and we were treated to a very fine Japanese cuisine sponsored by Toyota at the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba. The audience were also being inspired by the two Toyota Ambassadors from the Paralympics who shared their inspiring journey as an individual and as an athlete and appreciating Toyota in making their impossible possible. I hope to see both of them competing in the Paralympics 2020.

Thank you so much to Toyota and Lexus team for organizing such an event for the media. They were very punctual and organized with their agenda and make sure all the media representatives were well fed.

 

 


The Toyota GR
 


The Toyota 86
 


The second version of the Mirai Concept from Toyota
 

 


The fully automated capable Lexus
 


The paralympic athletes sharing their journey during the welcome party
 


Enjoying the Japanese cuisine during the Welcome Party
 

Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience 2019

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in travel, automative, Social News

 

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With the customers from Jati Transport at the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience 2019 at Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur
 

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The Best Driver of the Day during the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience 2019
 

Recently Jati Transport Sdn Bhd brought a few of the selected Mercedes-Benz customers for the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience 2019 at Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur. As usual, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia hosted the event where the guests stayed at Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur while the driving experience itself was held at Sepang International Circuit.

This event is organized yearly to give a better experience to the customers of what the Mercedes-Benz can do. Thank you once again to Jati Transport Sdn Bhd and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia for hosting another successful event. Looking forward to next year indeed.

 

 

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Laneige turns 14

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in lifestyle, Social News

 

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Patricia Li, General Manager of Laneige Brunei giving her welcoming remarks
 

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Yoo Hyun-Bong, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Brunei Darussalam as the guest of honour (center) with the management of Laneige Brunei
 

I thought it has been 15 years but I am just way ahead of myself. Last weekend, Laneige (Brunei) celebrated their 14th year anniversary and currently they have 5 outlets in Brunei Darussalam. The celebration took place at their latest branch at Batu Bersurat.

Gracing the event was Yoo Hyun-Bong, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Brunei Darussalam as the guest of honour. Patricia Li, the General Manager of Laneige Brunei gave a short welcoming remarks and deeply appreciated the loyal customers of Laneige and she has been always wanting to enhance customer satisfaction and strengthen the stakeholders’ values.

Laneige Brunei has also been active in corporate social responsible projects where Patricia and her team believe in working with the community and also with NGOs. Laneige has worked closely with “Save the Children” to promote the sharing of the “Waterfall” experiences campaign. Recently also Laneige Brunei has collaborated with Sparkly Domestic Divas.

More than 200 attended the celebration where it was hosted by @gzulyusof and @rubyxchong There were some activities such as facial check and also unveiling the faces of Laneige Brunei. It can be said that Laneige Brunei is here for a long run because of the strong support from the Bruneians. Well done, Patricia and your team, for sustaining a reputable Korean brand in Brunei Darussalam. Keep up the good work 🙂

Do follow @laneigebn on Instagram for updates.

 

 

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The co-emcees of the night – @gzulyusof and @rubyxchong
 

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The enhanced version of the Audi Q5 – the SQ5
 

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BIBD SEED expands at MoFE

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in community, bank, Business, Social News

 

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Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy, with the BIBD SEED (Special Underprivileged Mothers Empowerment Entrepreneurship Development) at the atrium of the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE) yesterday
 

Participants of BIBD’s Special Underprivileged Mothers Empowerment Entrepreneurship Development Programme (BIBDSEED) will now have a new marketplace to offer their products to the public after being provided with a retail space at the building of The Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE).

Located at the Atrium of the ministry’s building, the marketplace will be occupied by participants of the current cohort 2 of BIBDSEED.

The new space will fit three businesses at a time and the participants will rotate to occupy the space on a monthly basis.

 

 

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The Minister officiating the launch of the new market place at MoFE
 

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The Minister handing out certificates to the underprivileged mothers under the BIBD SEED programme
 

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The Minister trying out the lok-lok stall
 

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The Minister trying out the spaghetti
 

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My favorite of the lot – the Rendang, cooked with no sugar and no salt. Oh yea, all vendors use QuickPay and Progresif Pay
 

BIBD’s Head of Government Relations and Special Projects, Haji Mohammad Yusri bin Haji Wahsalfelah, said: “This placement will provide first-hand and real-life entrepreneurship experiences to our BIBDSEED participants. Through this marketplace, they will now have a level playing field and face healthy competition from established businesses who are currently based there. This can also be a stepping stone for them to grow further.”

He added being based at the new retail space will be crucial and beneficial for the participants’ development as entrepreneurs as it will test their resolve to apply their knowledge and learning from the previous phases such as pricing, marketing, communications, sales pitching to customers and promotion of their products.

“We would like to express our appreciation to the Brunei Government for their strong support and providing the opportunity for us to further develop the BIBDSEED programme. The programme is already a multi-agency initiative actively supported by the government through the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport.”

“The provision of this new retail space symbolises the huge support of the Ministry of Finance and Economy in collaborating with BIBD to empowering the underprivileged to become successful entrepreneurs. This also reflects our commitment and dedication to become the nation’s partner in progress.”

The launch of the new marketplace was officiated by Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy, who also presented certificates to the ten participants of BIBDSEED cohort 2 to mark the completion of Phase 5 of the programme.

Also attending the launching ceremony were permanent and deputy permanent secretaries at MoFE, BIBD’s Deputy Managing Director Hjh Noraini binti Haji Sulaiman, as well as other senior management and officials from the ministry and BIBD.

 

Audi SQ5

Written by Rano Iskandar on . Posted in audi, automative, Business, Social News

 

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The enhanced version of the Audi Q5 – the SQ5
 

The popular Q5 is Audi Brunei’s top selling mid-sized SUV and now a performance enhanced version is available in the SQ5.

The 3.0 litre V6 TFSI high-performance engine with 260 kW hits the 100 km/h mark after a mere 5.4 seconds. Accompanied by the striking sound of the S-specific exhaust system with dual-branch twin tailpipe look. Underpinned by the turbocharger for impressive driving dynamics. Thanks to the quattro drive with self-locking center differential and sports suspension with damper control, the SQ5 is in top form even on bends and uneven roads.

Like every S model from Audi, the SQ5 comes standard with quattro permanent all-wheel drive. In normal driving conditions, its self-locking center differential distributes torque between the front and rear axle in a 40:60 ratio. When slip is detected, the majority of the power is directed to the axle with the better traction. Depending on the driving situation, a maximum of 70 percent can flow to the front or 85 percent to the rear.

The new Audi SQ5 offers a broad portfolio of driver assistance systems. The predictive efficiency assistant provides specific tips to help the driver save fuel. Audi side assist also enhance safety in everyday driving. The same applies to the pre sense systems; Audi pre sense rear comes as standard.

 

 

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Numerous exterior design details hint at the sporty character of the Audi SQ5. The bold bumpers feature strongly contoured air inlets up front and a diffuser insert with a honeycomb grille at the rear. The Singleframe grille features double aluminium slats and contrasting trim elements in twilight gray matt. The S logo with red rhombus is used in numerous locations to set additional accents.

The headlights and rear lights of the Audi SQ5 come standard in LED technology; the dynamic turn signals at the front and rear send unmistakable signals. The exterior mirror housings and the clasp on the diffuser sport a shining, aluminium-look finish. Door trim strips in the body color underscore the sportiness.

Standard equipment for Brunei includes 21-inch cast aluminium wheels in a 5-twin-spoke V design, Matrix LED headlights and suspension with S-specific damper control. The eight-speed tiptronic transmission, quattro permanent all-wheel drive, sport seats in leather/Alcantara and a three-spoke, leather-covered multifunction steering wheel are also standard equipment. B&O Premium is also standard.

 

Contact RA

ranoadidas (a) gmail.com
Instagram & Snapchat @ranoadidas
Contact: +6738677773

About RA

A blogger since 2002, using platforms from blogspot, joomla and now currently wordpress. A readership that stands on average of 20,000 visits per month. Also on active on social media platform on IG, Facebook and Snapchat (@ranoadidas)

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