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His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah and Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Zariah at the launch of “Association” yesterday at the Balai Penghadapan, Bukit Kayangan. Their Royal Highnesses are accompanied by QAF CEO, Albert Lau (R) and Brunei Press Deputy General Manager, Hazizah Osman (L)

THE latest book authored by His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, titled ‘Association’ has been described as a film in the form of a book.

Association records the history of the Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) from the tentative meeting of its founding fathers in 1967 to its modern role under the Asean Charter of 2008, through His Royal Highness’ experience as the longest serving minister in the AMM and the only remaining minister who had worked directly with the Asean founding fathers.

The book also reflects on His Royal Highness’ personal memories and observations about the AMM, its role in Asean and His Royal Highness’ personal role in its development.

HRH noted that Association is not a traditional book. In many ways, it is a film in the form of a book with a director, a script writer, a cameraman, leading actors and a supporting cast of over six hundred million. That’s why there is so much visual content.

“The story is the AMM. The location is Southeast Asia and the setting is time… not the symbolic ‘t’ of scientific study but a short period of less than 50 years in real time.”

On His Royal Highness’ feelings about the publication of the book, His Royal Highness stated, “Great appreciation to my Asean ministerial colleagues down the years … to all my friends, colleagues and staff who have given me their personal and professional support. And, also to many of our own people who have contributed, especially some very talented young people.”

His Royal Highness has published several books before Association, namely, ‘Time and the River – a memoir,’ ‘Remember, Remember….the 8th of December,’ and ‘A Southeast Asian Community – more than a matter of Geography.’ All four books focus on two central themes, which is the universal and eternal meaning of ‘time’ and the specific moments that give time its reality for ordinary people; and the relationship between ordinary people and those who govern them.

HRH Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Zariah officiating the launch of "Association"

The book upholds that the Asean Ministerial Meeting is far more than a matter of slogans, abstractions and symbols. Events, places and even time itself are real and measured in terms of human action, human friendship and cooperation and human understanding.

The title stresses the importance of the meaning of ‘association’ as opposed to ‘organisation,’ proposing that ‘association’ is the essence of Asean policy to build a “Regional Community”. The theme of the book is inspired by the ‘Games’ or “shared fellowship” which binds Southeast Asians in groups and societies which form a “community” of nations.

The narrative is structured around six Southeast Asian games symbolising the classic values of Southeast Asian societies played across the region and the inspirations they offer to the people who form the community of Southeast Asia.

These portrayal of symbolism in each game is as follows: teamwork in Tarik Kalat; the daring leap of Lumpat Gatah; the skill that spins the Gasing; the knowledge and strategy of Congkak; the perseverance of Sepak Takraw Bulatan; and the beauty, vision and excellence of Seni Silat.

“Association” is published by Brunei Press Sdn Bhd follows the launch of HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah’s second book “Remember, Remember… The 8th of December” in 2007.

The book will be available at bookstores nationwide starting April 9, 2013. It retails at $68 for hard cover copies and $48 for soft cover copies. Those who wish to purchase a copy can contact 8777656 or 8160055. Source: Nazirul Hakeem and Hakim Hayat. Images by Azrol Azmi and Bahiyah Bakir of Borneo Bulletin.

Association now goes on sale at bookstores

 

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What will happen today? hmmmm

 

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This was taken a few days ago that spread on social media

It was a case of a chicken hung out to dry on a mop that alerted local authorities to temporarily shut down a local Chinese restaurant in Kg Kiulap for a blatant violation of hygiene practices.

The picture of the hanging chicken circulated in no time via WhatsApp and other social media platforms, prompting the Law Enforcement Unit of BSB Municipal Board to close down the restaurant yesterday.

The cook had explained that the chicken would be crispier if it is hung out to dry in the open and that it was not meant for customers, but rather the restaurant staff.

An investigation found that the restaurant had failed in a hygiene test, obtaining only 46 per cent. It will only be allowed to reopen once it has scored a certain percentage in terms of hygiene.

The Law Enforcement Unit wished to convey its appreciation to the public for highlighting the matter, and welcomed their input on unhygienic restaurants.

Restaurant owners are urged to maintain the cleanliness of their premises, especially when handling food. Meanwhile, enforcement personnel will continue to conduct inspections under the jurisdiction of the BSB Municipal Board. Text by James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.

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An illustration drawn, taken from CK's FB

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Two years ago, I did the fun run so I could take more photos. Last year, I joined the 5k run. This year, I took a step better in running for the 10K. It has been a meaningful run nonetheless and of course, I wanted to better my personal best of 77 minutes. However, I failed to beat my time but I still had fun and finished the race.

Once again, it was another successful event organised by Standard Chartered Brunei and I've always been a great support for SCB Half-Marathon. This year more than 6,000 runners participated and there were four categories: 21km, 10km, 5km and 2.5km.

The theme was "Run For A Reason" and everyone had his or her reasons for participating and running. There was a special tribute from a group of runners who dedicated their run in honour of the late Captain Ismael Dato Seri Setia Hj Samid. It was also great to see participation from cancer patients and also a blade runner from Singapore.

I'll just share some of the photos from last Sunday and enjoy!!! Thank you Nurul for some of the pictures.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah is always a great supporter for SCB's Half-Marathon

The starting point for the 2.5 fun run

And off they go...

YAM Pg Anak Abdul Momim wore a Super Mario outfit and ran the 21km

A stronger cancer fighter Redzky Fadzillah who ignored doctors' advice and finished the 10km run. What a great inspiration for others!!

The morning warm up before the run

The morning warm up before the run

The mascot for this year's event with representatives from SCB and Great Eastern Life

I still managed to take photos on the 6km mark :D

Now where did Shafiq get the apple?

The big event banner at the Hassanal Bolkiah stadium

The 10KM runners

The runners who dedicated the run in the memory of the late JJ

Some of the runners last Sunday

Representatives from AITI

Another 10KM finishers last Sunday

Rachy, Celia and Fakhrul were in energetic mood

The mascot for a reason

I parked my bag here. Thank you guys for taking care of it :D

The sea of blue last Sunday

One of the cheering squads

First up were this cheering group

Runners waiting for the prize presentation

It was tough to emcee in that outfit

It was nice to see their passion duirng the cheering

The Mexican wave

My jogging buddies.. Well done, ladies!!

Great choice of music for their performance

For me, the best performance of the lot

They were totally entertained

Best costume for female

He won himself an iPad

She won an iPad Mini.. :p

Lucky winner of the MacBook Air

The grand lucky draw winner of the MacBook Pro

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RB flies twice to KL

 

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Click image to enlarge. Courtesy of AITI.

The starting point for tomorrow's run!!

Radisson is one of the partner's of SCB Half Marathon Brunei 2013

A few exhibitors will be there tomorrow

Do check out the sign boards for directions

Now this is interesting.. A cheering squad and also a cheering competition :D

This is where you store your bags if any. Ideal for those carrying bags or cameras

The information counter

The portable toilets work wonders especially for me

The huge event logo though covered by the tree

Suci water in stock for tomorrow's event

The program for tomorrow. Click image to view.

See you at the finishing line

 

Zainol Amin Jaafar, Cards and Mobile Customers Management, E-Banking Channel of BIBD, Hj Minorhadi Hj Mirhassan, the Head of Institutional Banking of BIBD and Gyorgy Ladics, The Chief Operating Officer of BIBD at yesterday's press conference for eTunai

17,000 downloads of the BIBD mobile apps and the numbers keep growing. Yesterday an announcement was made that eTunai is up and running where you are able to pay your goods and services through your smartphones with the BIBD mobile app under eTunai option. This announcement was made by Gyorgy Ladics, The Chief Operating Officer of BIBD. Also present were Hj Minorhadi Hj Mirhassan, the Head of Institutional Banking of BIBD, Zainol Amin Jaafar, Cards and Mobile Customers Management, E-Banking Channel of BIBD and Kamarul Ajamain, Multimedia Communications Officer of BIBD.

BIBD is the first to come up a mobile app that can do transactions and now they have gone a step further by making it possible to pay using your smartphone. Of course, you will need to download the BIBD app first and also to have a BIBD account.

So far there are a few participating merchants and I won't be surprise to see an increasing number in weeks to come. The merchants so far is Excapade Gadong, Charcoal BBQ and Grill (Bandar), Cheezbox, Gripps Cafe, QQeStore and Ohso (the Mall). All these merchants are applicable under the eTunai.

Zainol Amin Jaafar conducted a demo on how to use eTunai and it was pretty straight forward. You just need to scan the QR Code of the transaction with your smartphone and the payment will be made, deducted from your BIBD account.

Gyorgy Ladics was delighted with eTunai and he hopes to see an increase of users up to 50,000 at least in the near future. BIBD customers don't need to worry about the cost associated with the service as it's free. He said that BIBD is committed to bring smart, convenient and innovative products to further improve the user end experience with BIBD.

The cool part with BIBD eTunai is that you can make use of your "Hadiah Points" for transactions. In a way, it's like redeeming your points. Want to know more how "Hadiah Points" work? Just click here to find out more.

So what are you waiting for especially those with BIBD apps? Try it out and you'll be impressed. This might just open up more opportunities for other banks to follow suit. BIBD are for sure the trendsetters when it comes to technology and social media.

Demo was done for the media on how it works

Kamarul Ajamain, Multimedia Communications Officer of BIBD using the tablet to show how the transaction is done. Every participating merchant will be provided a tablet for the eTunai transaction. Awesome!!

Just scan away using the QR Code to make your transaction. The process takes less than 15 seconds or even lesser.

I was trying to transfer some $$$$ to my BIBD account. Yeah right!! *lol*

At the press conference

 

Great dishes from the Amazing ASEAN Food Festival at the Airport Restaurant. However, the promotion is only on weekends (Friday to Sunday) and only available for dinner 6:30pm to 10pm until the 28th of April 2013.

Do try their popular dishes from 10 ASEAN countries - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mynamar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The menu will be cycled on different days of the weekend. There's also the ambuyat stall which will be served throughout the whole weekend.

The price of the dinner buffet is BND 29.90 for adult and BND 15 for children. There will be a 10% discount if you use the RBC Privilege Card. For reservation, do call 233 1853 and yeah, you can also park at the new parking area of the Brunei International Airport. It's humungous!!!

The two chefs behind the ASEAN dishes

The Vietnamese Lamb Stew

Laos Glass Noodle

Burmese Curry Chicken

Cambodian Amok Fish

Not sure what the label of the chicken is for this

You should try the chicken with the satay sauce

Ice kacang for dessert

You can request the chef to cook the veges to your liking

The noodle stall

 

Today's the last day of collection for your Race Entry Pack which is at the Indoor Stadium. We just collected ours yesterday and I bumped into Lai Pei-Si, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, and had a quick chat. She was quite excited about the event and tomorrow will see 6,000 participants running in SCB Half Marathon 2013 event.

The cut off time for Race Entry Pack collection is 5pm today. So make sure you bring yourself and the documents to collect your items.

For your info, there will be a few partial and full road closures from as early as 4.30am on the day until 8.30am. There will be 1,000 people consisting of volunteers, officials and uniform personnel tomorrow to assist the huge crowd. So it's best that participants and volunteers arrive early tomorrow.

For more updates of the event, do visit scbruneihalfmarathon.com and good luck to all the participants :)

Pg Aki Ismasufian, Head Corporate Strategic Initiatives of SCB, Jennifer Kang, Head of Corporate Affairs and Marketing of SCB, Lai Pei-Si, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank and Danial Phua, one of the pacers for the 21km at the Indoor Stadium yesterday

The area to hand in your donation cards

This watch is pretty cool for runners

Today's the final day of collection

Socks anyone?

The collection of the Race Entry Pack

Great Eastern is one of the sponsors of the event

My jogging partners for the past few months :D

Are you ready? Cos I am

 

Geylang International FC coach Kanan Vedhamuthu admitted that his side were second best in their 4-2 loss to DPMM FC in the Singapore League (S-League) at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on Wednesday.

"They were the better team and we were visibly second best. The boys will just have to work harder now," he said.

Portuguese striker Joao Vitor Rocha De Carvalho Moreira scored a brace for DPMM FC with Helmi Zambin and substitute Ak Fakharazzi Pg Hj Hassan scoring a goal each to help push Brunei's only professional football club into fourth place in the 12-team table with 11 points.

"They are a good team and moreover they are more experienced and we just couldn't match them," he told The Brunei Times following their loss.

"The average age of their team is 32, whereas ours is about 25.

"We defended better in the first half and managed to prevent some goals, but I think the first and second goals came too quickly and we lost our shape," continued Kanan whose team remained ninth in the table following the defeat.

The 34-year-old coach also admitted that his side had struggled to maintain possession in the game.

"We didn't have anyone to hold the ball and play... We definitely missed Stefan (Stefan Milojevic) and Shah Hirul (Shah Hirul Md Yussof), and will be waiting for these two to come back so we can have someone who will hold the ball," said the coach.

Their absence was definitely a factor in the game as Geylang were completely outplayed in the midfield area with DPMM FC's Mohd Hendra Azam Mohd Idris and skipper Rosmin Hj Khamis shutting down the Eagle's movement in the middle of the pitch.

DPMM FC, meanwhile have already turned their attention to their next game against Tanjong Pagar United who currently sit third in the table. The match will be played tomorrow at Hassanal National Stadium at 8:15pm

"They (DPMM FC player) are really tired, but we have four days before our next game, and it should be enough to prepare for the game. I am sure for the Tanjong Pagar game we will have double the fans after tonight's result," said DPMM FC coach Vjeran Simunic. Text by Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh and images by Ahmad Ajeeb.

DPMM FC vs Geylang last Wednesday

DPMM FC's Joao scorer tripped during a challenge

DPMM FC substitute Ak Fakharazzi Pg Hj Hassan scored a goal too last Wednesday

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 Colours of Malaysia


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RB flies twice to KL


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With the full support of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad (BIBD), Brunei’s first ever Marathon Des Sables (MDS) runners, Hamsul Sulaiman and Ahmad Fathi Junaidi, left today for their attempt to conquer the MDS, held in the Sahara Desert.

By strongly supporting the duo, BIBD, via its Corporate Social Responsibility, aspires to create and raise awareness on having a global community that cares, ultimately becoming an integral and strong partner of the community. This partnership is developed to encourage a positive influence and inspiration to the nation besides supporting both BIBD’s and CSR’s future initiative plans, which includes the Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future (ALAF) programme. The ALAF programme is specifically designed to provide educational progression for the underprivileged children through a systematic sponsorship scheme.

The MDS, touted as the toughest footrace on earth, held over seven days and six stages, where the participants in the Marathon des Sables will have to survive across 155 miles (250 km) equivalent to running 5 1/2 marathons. With them, carrying all their essential equipment such as gear, food, obey a laundry list of safety rules; sleep in communal tents and so on, as only water is rationed and handed out at each checkpoint.

Both Hamsul and Fathi hope that this high endurance expedition will inspire others to achieve their own personal milestones as they believe that with passion, determination and discipline, anything is possible. Press release from BIBD.

Brunei’s first ever Marathon Des Sables (MDS) runners, Hamsul Sulaiman and Ahmad Fathi Junaidi, at the Brunei International Airport, before heading off. Their dreams were made possible with the support of BIBD.

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) as one of the main providers of financial products and services in the market would like to share with the public and particularly its customers that the offering of all products and services including financing facilities are bounded by terms and conditions and regulatory requirements under the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD).

In the offerings of all these products and services, only BIBD employees that are assigned as Personal Bankers, Sales Executive and Senior Sales Executive shall be the authorised personnel to offer the products and process the applications. These personnel will be bearing a pictured Staff Identification Card and will have their respective Name Cards with the official Bank logo.

And in this regard, we wish to advise the public that BIBD does not appoint any agent or broker to sell the financing products and charge a fee. Anyone who deals directly with Non-BIBD Staff will do so at their own risks. If there are claims of non-staff individuals purporting to be the Bank’s agents or brokers, BIBD would urge the public to report the matter to BIBD by calling our Contact Centre at 223-8181.

Members of the public who wish to apply or know more about any of BIBD’s products & services are advised to contact our BIBD Contact Centre at 2238181.

 

Hjh Ardinah, Vice President of BELTA, Patricia Li, Marketing Manager of LANEIGE Brunei and Mr. Cheong Huat Joo, Senior Special Duty Officer, Department of School at the Ministry of Education during the press conference of the 3rd LANEIGE Broadway Musical Competition

It's good to know Laneige is bringing back the fun which was missing last year. The LANEIGE Broadway Musical Charity Competition is back once more and it's brought to you by LANEIGE and Department of Schools, Ministry of Education. What I love about this event is that the students are able to showcase their talents but it's also not about their showmanship but also it brings out other values in them such as leadership, confidence, appreciation, creative and many more.

For your info, there will 250 secondary students participating in this year's competition with 10 schools involved. The theme for the musical broadway competition is "Bruneian Life".

During the press conference, Patricia Li, Marketing Manager of LANEIGE Brunei, shared why she initiated this competition in the first place. The objectives are multi-dimensional. One major objective is to raise awareness on those who are less fortunate. This year the ticket sales will be donated to YASKA Children Cancer Fund and BELTA. The other objectives of this competition is to encourage the youth in Brunei to contribute to the youth development via charity events and also to expose their talents through understanding the Brunei culture and enhancing the English language.

Mr. Cheong Huat Joo, Senior Special Duty Officer, Department of School at the Ministry of Education, shared that this competition will foster better relations and awareness among the community on contribution to society. He said the 10 schools involved is part of the students' learning curve and also part of their curriculum activity from their respective schools.

Hjh Ardinah, Vice President of BELTA, said she's thankful for the support. She also announced that there will be prizes for the Most Creative Adaptation ($100) and Best Stage Management ($100) which will be sponsored by BELTA. This competition will allow the students to express their confidence and talent.

With the continuous generous support of Ministry of Education, HSBC, CFBT, Royal Brunei Catering Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Shalim (B) Sdn Bhd, Ranoadidas, Hua Ho Department Store, Red Dot Studio, JPMC Fitness Centre, Great Eastern Life Assurance and Brunei English Language Teacher Association. 

LANEIGE Broadway Musical Charity Competition 2013 to be held at the Hua Ho Manggis Hall on 28 April 2013 at 9am until 4:30pm.  Tickets are now available on sales at all LANEIGE branches (the mall 2428222, Kiulap 2232282, K.B. 3347217, Hua Ho Yayasan 2231122) and also CFBT. For you rinfo, there are only 700+ seats to be sold during the event. 100% of ticket sales would be donated to YASKA Children Cancer Fund and BELTA (Brunei English Language Teachers Association). To enjoy a meaningful afternoon of Broadway musical with good cause, get your tickets now for a wonderful afternoon with family and friends.

Group photo with the organisers, sponsors and volunteers of the event

Who will be the first to buy the No.0001 ticket?

Promotional poster of the event

Comedy Night Part 1 is organized by 1stopbrunei.com and the main partners are UBDFM and Ranoadidas.com

This comedy night will contain different mini comedic plays as well as a few singing acts by youths.The performers are Shavez, A'aqiil, Mathien and Kevin.They have had experience with SEEDs, BADs and their respective school clubs.

The aim of the comedy night is to provide entertainment to Brunei and make it affordable for everyone to view local acts and drama. And it is also to serve as a platform for Bruneians to show case their talents.

The show will be on April 6th, Saturday, 7:45 pm, at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, KKBS, Ground floor. 

The tickets are only $5 for students and $10 for adults. You can purchase the ticket at Lazeeza Restaurant at Hj Daud Complex, Gadong (same row with CA Mohd, the old branch at Gadong).

More information on the event and venue information can be found here.

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