Click image to enter Facebook page

INTERNATIONAL School Brunei (ISB) promoted cross cultural awareness and fostered close community ties between staff, students and parents during its recent International Day celebrations. This annual event is in line with the school’s mission to encourage students to be caring and tolerant global citizens.

The morning began with a parade of children clad in a vast array of colourful national costumes, representing over forty nationalities in the school community. The parade was led around the school campus by ISB’s racially diverse Hadrah Team, showcasing Brunei Darussalam’s vibrant musical heritage.

Darren Sibley, Primary Principal said, “At ISB, we pride ourselves on ensuring our students feel part of a global community that respects the many different heritages they come from. International Day is one of the main events of the school year where we, as a school community, come together to celebrate the many different cultures and countries that both our students and staff represent.”

“We have had a range of fantastic events today (yesterday) and that I feel very privileged to have been part of this wonderful celebration. I would also like to thank the many people who worked tirelessly to ensure the great success of today’s event,” he continued.

Various cultural activities were held in classrooms and numerous national dishes were sampled during the ‘Taste of Nations’ Food Fair. There were also performances to entertain the audience and celebrate the diversity of the student body, including a traditional Malay dance, Chinese dance, Indian dance, ballet, violin performance and a performance of a sape, an indigenous tribal instrument from Sarawak.

“At ISB, we pride ourselves on developing our students their global citizenship, and the rights and responsibilities that go with this,” Matthew Savage, Secondary Principal said.

“With nearly 40 different nationalities, heritages and cultures represented within the rich tapestry of our student body, we are uniquely placed to do so, and today (yesterday) has been an indescribably positive experience.” Attending the event was HRH Princess Sarah who accompanied her son HRH Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Muntaqim. Text coutesy of Anway Hj Rosly of The Brunei Times.

The articles came out in the papers (TBT and BB) and both grabbed the headlines last Saturday. I was invited to attend the Brunei Shell Joint Venture (BSJV) Vendor Forum but I wasn’t able to make it. Most of the findings are taken from Deno’s article in TBT last Saturday and he did an intensive coverage which appeared on the front page.

In the article, The Minister of Energy, Pehin Dato Hj Yasmin the guest of honour during BSJV Vendor Foum, raised some issues about local big companies winning the same tender every time. Hmmm I wonder who.. but he said there are five companies that are monopolising the contracts/tenders from BSP.

The Minister also criticized Brunei Shell’s website for not updating it when it mattered the most (during tender periods). He highlighted the level of penetrations of other potential SMEs is weak due to the existence of big players.

Last year, BSP was under investigation for fraud cases involving 10 senior officials as well as a company that won a contract from BSP. Though that case was last year’s, the Minister hinted that an investigation is being carried out to see the “Supply Chain Management” process.

Another item that Pehin Dato Hj Yasmin raised was the integrity of owners and managers hether or not they have advised staff to deplore any form of corruption and lobbying, and how many have a clear policy of no gift, no entertainment, no golfing holidays, for example, “trips to Eastwood Golf club, or having drinks in Miri pubs or other holidays and entertain the BSJV’s staff to lunch. He asked, “”How many of you have a system in place to prevent corruption, monitor and investigate if there is an allegation?”

Contract info leaks. This is where other companies who are tendering for projects will have first hand knowledge as they are able to access to information of the tender/contract.

No penalty/action? For instance, a company had contractual obligations but when they are not met, no actions were taken on the defaulters.

Integrity. Pehin said it doesn’t feel right that Contract holders and Technically Authority holding the same positions year after year. There are also cases where BSP employees retire and straight away join the contractor in the same area of work.

Energy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Pehin Dato Hj Mohd Yasmin (R) officiating at the BSJV Vendor Forum 2011, themed “Expanding Local Capability”, at The Empire Hotel and Country Club as Ken Marnoch, Managing Director of BSP, looks on. Picture by Rudolf Portillo of The Brunei Times

Brunei Shell Petroleum Managing Director Ken Mornach responded (to @denogoh of @TheBruneiTimes) on the issues highlighted by The Minister but I do feel sorry for him though as most of the damage (highlighted by The Minister) was under the previous leadership of Dr Grahaeme Henderson who was the Managing Director then for many years.

Ken Mornach said that they are currently working “very hard” to increase transparency and address some of the issues raised by the Minister. He highlighted during his speech that “safety and business integrity” are two fundamental principles and they will not compromise on those core values.

BSP has also has committed to ensure that the registration process will be done within a month and that only during any tendering will the assessments be made. BSP said its website with tender information is currently up to date.

He also suggested for a “cooling period” especially for retired employees of BSP who retire as contractors in the same field. This means that they can’t be associated with BSP’s businesses for a few years or so.

So far, BSP is going through a “pretty good process” where they are on a road to “more transparency and more openness”.

I have yet to make acquaintance with Ken Mornach.. In fact, I’ve never really talked to the previous Managing Director. Perhaps, I will have the chance to meet Ken Mornach in person as I’ve covered his event once (BSP UBD Green Debate Finals). Oh, I didn’t know you have a blog though it’s only accessible to BSP Intranet users.

The BSJV Vendor Forum must have been a constructive session and it was also a learning experience for BSP and their vendors and the potential ones. We know for sure BSP is heading to the right direction. Source: Deno Goh of The Brunei Times

Related articles

Zero Tolerance on Corruption. The Brunei Times [here]
Where are the locals? The Brunei Times [here]
Oil players told to toe the line to earn licence to operate. The Brunei Times [here]
Beach Bunch – BSP Kuala Belait Beach Cleanup. Jan Shim here]

Two weeks ago, Ken Marnoch, Managing Director of BSP, witnessed a heated debate between UNISSA and UBD in relating to green issue. He handed a mock cheque to the runner-up UBD in the BSP UBD Green Debate Finals. BSP is also concern of the green issue and hence, the Green Debate is a great platform in educating and creating more awareness

Ken Marnonch was involved in the recent Beach Bunch Clean up at Kuala Belait. In the picture also is Rizan Latif, the President of the Beach Bunch. Ken mentioned during his speech that these activities are part of BSP and BSJV’s contribution to the local community. Click image to see more pictures. Image courtesy of Jan Shim.

Click image to enter Facebook page

Notebooks and printers are headlines for Concepts Computer this weekend. Already have they announced their Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook, the slimmest yet powerful notebook which is practical for high users. It combines the power and productivity of notebooks and essential features of the smartphone and tablet PC, such as fast startup and Internet connectivity.

The Acer S3 is already selling well at TechXpo 2011 and they have an ongoing promotion as well for buyers of the Acer S3. Concepts Computer brought in the i5 and i7 models. The price starts at BND 1,188 which is pretty competitive

HRH Princess Hjh Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah holding the new Acer S3 Ultrabook as Richard of Acer explaining

By the way, Concepts Computer is also selling cheaper PCs for the seniors. Do check it out!!

Recently Concepts Computer also unveiled their new printers from Epson. One of them is the EPSON ME 340 which is the latest inkjet printers designed for small offices/home offices. According to Zul Abdul Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer, the Epson inkjet printers are loaded with Epson’s own innovative Epson DURABite Ultra Ink (water, smudge and fade resistant). It is capable to print 28 A4 pages per minute (monochrome) and 15 pages per minute for colour.

By the way, be wary of counterfeit products especially non-genuine ink or MISS/CISS ink system floating around in the Brunei market. These so-called inks can compromise the quality of Epson printers. If you do have any queries, you can send to Concepts Computer as they are “Epson Authorized Service Provider”.

Zul Abdul Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer, Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer and representatives from Epson Malaysia during the launch of Epson printers at Concepts Computer outlet in Kiulap

Zul Abdul Rahman highlighted the better quality printing on one of his photos he printed out on the Epson ME 340 printer

One of the printers that I’m targeting is Epson Picturemate PM 310. Why? Because it’s portable and I can print my shots instantly.. I know this would have been perfect for the Social Media event two weeks ago. The printer comes with pre-loaded with cartridge and also it comes with a remote control. Perhaps another great catch is that it has multiple slots to cater different types of memory cards for instant printing. Oh yea, you can also use this for printing out passport photos.

All in all, I just love the fact is so portable and convenient and you can view your photos on the 7″ screen and it works for both Windows and Mac 🙂

Now that looks pretty portable to me – The Epson Picturemate PM310 printer

It’s convenient to carry and it’s plug and play once you insert the memory card – CF and SD versions

You can control the functions via a remote

The price of the Epson Picturemate PM310 and I should be getting mine soon

Twenty-eight young ambassadors for the Sultanate left for Yokohama, Japan, to participate in the 38th Southeast Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) last Tuesday. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Paduka Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah handed over the national flag to Hj Mohammad Noor Hj Hamid, leader of the Brunei youth participants (BPYs), at the Departure Hall of Brunei International Airport.

The minister offered words of encouragement to the participants saying that the trip was an opportunity for them to display Brunei’s culture to participants from Southeast Asian nations and Japan, and also enhance relations among the countries.

“The SSEAYP gathers the young people for networking where there is an exchange of ideas, promote understanding and cooperation,” said the minister adding that the participants will return as individuals with fresh new ideas, knowledge and image.

The BPYs will join the other 291 participants in Japan before embarking on a 53-day journey to various ports of call, namely the Philippines, Brunei (November 16-19), Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, before sailing back to Japan. They will return to the country on December 16. Text by Azamri Zainal and Wardi Buntar of The Brunei Times. For more write-up, you can click [here].

Click image to enter Facebook page

Once again, AITI is supporting Brunei Darussalam’s premier ICT event, TechXpo 2011, which is held from 27th to 30th October 2011 at the International Convention Centre, Berakas. The AITI pavilion, on a larger scale than last year, promotes the functions and roles of AITI as a telecommunication industry regulator, national radio frequency spectrum manager and developer of Brunei Darussalam’s ICT sector.

The pavilion consists of a gallery whereby the public can get an insight of the functional groups of AITI which are responsible for AITI programmes and initiatives. Among the successful initiatives profiled are AITI’s Grant Scheme, ICT Competency Programme and the recently concluded Brunei ICT Award 2011 competition. The public can also learn about Radio Frequency Spectrum Management in Brunei Darussalam, licenses issue by AITI, type approval for radio and telecommunication equipments, consumer information such as International Mobile Roaming Rates when traveling overseas and others.

A live demonstration on how unauthorized radio and telecommunication equipment can affect normal TV broadcast was also showcased. Another section of AITI pavilion hosts the products and services from AITI Grant Scheme and Market Creation Scheme recipients. These companies are Mars Enterprise, John Harith Technology Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Indah Sejahtera Development Services Sdn Bhd, Crescent Sdn Bhd and MEXT-G communication services.

AITI is also holding a quiz whereby members of the public could stand a chance to win the top prize of an iPad 2. The 2nd and 3rd prizes of the quiz are a 1TB and 500GB hard disk respectively. The public only need to tour the AITI pavilion to learn more about AITI and participate the quiz. Correct entries of the quiz will be channel to the Grand Draw which will be held on 30th October 2011, Sunday at 5pm at the AITI pavilion.

HRH Princess Hjh Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah visited the AITI pavilion yesterday at TechXpo 11

HRH Princess Hjh Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah being briefed on AITI’s role in Brunei

The Minister of Communications also paid a visit at AITI’s pavilion

Hadi Iskandar explaining the visitors on AITI’s role in Brunei

Oh yeah, if you happened to be at their pavilion, do answer some raffle quiz.. Who knows you might win yourself an iPad2 😀

You can randomly pick one of the questions but you need to get the questions right

The answers are all here… So make sure you can get them right 😀

Even representatives from BEDB gave it a shot

One of the AITI Grant Scheme recipients, John Harith, explaining to the visitors on RFID

You can also read testimonials of AITI employees

This month and the following month, the topic on iPhone 4S won’t be about its specs and of course, Android fans especially Samsung fanatics would like to battle this out in terms of specs (yawn, yawn!!)). The hot topic would be the price tag of the 4S. Interested parties are more concerned of the price of the 4s and the hunting season begins for the best price available at their own convenience.

My friend and I have decided to source one from Singapore as it would be economically cheaper given the time frame (at least November). Of course, if you were to get one now in Singapore of phone vendors, the price tag is still quite high unless you actually pre-ordered from their Apple official store or you were one of the few hundreds to queue up at M1 (first-come, first-serve basis).

My friend’s shop MegaFoto at Far East Plaza is selling 4s 64G at BND 1850 with GST and they do have stock in hand and due to the shortage supplies of 4S, hence the mark up price for 64G which has a difference of at least BND 600 if you were to order from Apple (Singapore) website (BND 1,238) and currently all the stocks for 16, 32 and 64 are not available.

Last Thursday midnight, hundreds queued up to get hold of the 4s. Some were willing to work in shifts and one of them became the first M1 Customer to own an iPhone 4S. Images of the queues are taken from Singapore Yahoo News.

A screenshot from Singapore’s Apple website

The prices at Singapore’s Apple website. However, there’s no stock to pre-order just yet. The waiting game begins.

A good way to kill time by reading Steve Jobs autobiography

The long queue last Thursday at Singapore

Did you know the 4S made it to Brunei last 18th October? Though I have to say it was an unofficial launch and hence the price was staggeringly high.. The first batch of 4S for 16G was selling at BND 1,888 and units were sold out in a matter of days.

Now it’s almost end of the month and for sure, the price has dipped slightly. QQ estore is selling 4S 16GB for BND 1,688 (a 200 dollar drop from a week ago). Incomm price is still higher than QQ with a price tag of BND 1,738. I’m not sure how much DeeJay Home Video is selling though. But this goes to show the level of demand of 4S against the shortage supply of 4S in Brunei.

These have been a debatable issue where “tweeps” were complaining on the super high prices set on 4S at local vendors. The only rationale that I can think of is the price you willing to pay while there’s stock. The longer you wait, the cheaper it gets. Simple!!! Give it till December or January 2012. I’m pretty sure the prices will be competitive and way cheaper.

Screenshot of QQ estore. Click to enter website

Screenshot of Incomm. Click to enter website

Royal Brunei Catering (RBC) is hosting the sixth Malaysian Food Festival; a multi-cultural showcase of traditional culinary delights. The official launch of the festival, which took place at the Airport Restaurant in Berakas, was attended by the guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Finance, Dato Paduka Awg Hj Bahrin bin Abdullah, in his capacity as the Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines. Also present was the Acting High Commissioner of Malaysia to Brunei Darussalam, Mr Agus Salim Haji Yusof.

During the ceremony, RBC General Manager, Awg Hj Omar Ali bin Hj Mohd Daud, in his welcoming remarks, conveyed his gratitude to RBC’s loyal partners, the High Commission of Malaysia and Malaysia Tourism for working closely with RBC to make the food festival a reality yet again.

Furthermore, in his speech, he said that RBC will continue their food promotions over the next couple of months by featuring Middle East cuisines and an International Dim Sum Food Festival, which are scheduled to take place in November, 2011 and January, 2012 respectively.

Dato Paduka Awg Hj Bahrin then officiated the festival by striking a gong, which was followed by the exchange of souvenirs between Mr Agus Salim and Awg Hj Omar Ali. The ceremony was enlivened with a performance by the ‘Raja Teh Tarik’, Meor Razali.

Deputy Minister of Finance, Dato Paduka Awg Hj Bahrin bin Abdullah gracing the Malaysia Food Festival

RBC General Manager, Awg Hj Omar Ali bin Hj Mohd Daud, delivering his welcoming remarks

Satay Kajang (from Kedah), Udang Masak Tumpoyak (Perak), Baked Chicken in Bamboo (Sarawak) and Crab Chilli (Sabah)

Malaysian Sushi

Mr. Jack the caricaturist is back by popular demand

The festival, which runs between October 27 and November 9, will see various popular signature dishes from various Malaysian states such as Briyani rice from Johor and sour and spicy fish from Melaka among many more. During the two-week promotion, patrons will have the chance to enjoy the lunch (12pm-2pm) and dinner (7pm-10pm) buffet at the Airport Restaurant daily at BND19.90 per adult and BND10 per child as well as BND 29.90 per adult and BND15 per child respectively.

In addition, the Malaysian Food will also feature at the Season’s Restaurant where it focusses on ala carte menus. In conjunction with the festival, two Malaysian – the ‘Teh Tarik King’, Mr Meor and Caricaturist, Mr Jack – were flown to the Sultanate from Kuala Lumpur to entertain all diners during the lunch or dinner buffets.

Patrons are also eligible to win 12 lucky draw prizes sponsored by Tourism Malaysia, Ri-Yaz Hotels & Resort Sdn Bhd and Century Travel.

Exclusive discounts will be made available for BIBD cardholders during this promotional period with MasterCard Gold owners enjoying 10 per cent discount, while MasterCard Classic and debit card owners can enjoy eight per cent off their dining bills. For reservations and information contact the Airport Restaurant at 2339207 or 2331853 and Season’s Restaurant at 2422291/2. Text by Rokiah Mahmud of Bornoe Bulletin

Teh Tarik King, Mr Meor will be showcasing his teh tarik skills

Team work counts and all of them making a difference to make Malaysian Food Festival worthwhile at Airport Restaurant

Final day is 9th November

Royal Brunei Catering organized a prize presentation for the “KENALI MAKANAN KITANI (KMK)” and RBC Courtesy Campaign at The Airport Restaurant on 28 October 2011. A joint effort with Brunei Tourism and Royal Brunei Catering, the “Kenali Makanan Kitani” (KMK) was brought to Seasons Restaurant started from 27 September till 10 October 2011.

Diners for the KMK were entitled to Special Draw with great prizes during the promotional period. Three winners won the 2 days 1 night stay at Matan Homestay. The winners were Fauziah binti Haji Ahad; Hajah Azamah binti Dato Haji Mohd Salleh (on behalf by Lilibeth Arabani) and Harina binti Haji Abas (on behalf by Haji Ramli bin Haji Abas). Prizes were presented by RBC General Manager, Haji Omar Ali bin Haji Mohd Daud .

One of the winners – Fauziah binti Haji Ahad

After the KMK prize presentation, there was a prize presentation for RBC Courtesy Campaign. Royal Brunei Catering Sdn Bhd (RBC) has successfully started its Courtesy Campaign, “Serving with a Smile” from 27 September 2011 at various outlets including The Airport Restaurant, Seasons Restaurant, Emperor’s Court, Dynasty Restaurant, Poolside Café, RBC Express Fast Food outlets, Ministry of Finance Cafeteria, The Airport Cafeteria, Coffee Garden, Goldstone Ballroom at Centrepoint, Manggis Ballroom at Hua Ho Manggis Mall, Hospital Catering Services, Outside Catering, RBC Laundry & Dry Cleaning Services and RBC Aircraft Catering Centre.

During this campaign, dining customers are invited to fill in the campaign forms and nominate the most courteous staff upon paying at the cashier counter. Customers who have submitted the completed nomination forms will get a chance to WIN WEEKLY PRIZES such as Dining Vouchers and RBC Dining Privilege Card.

One of the winners for RBC Courtesy Campaign – Datin Hjh Norsham bte Hj Ahmad Yunos

There were 20 customer winners for the month of October. Each of them won one Buffet Lunch voucher for one person of Malaysia Food Festival which is now being held at The Airport Restaurant from 27 October to 9 November 2011.

The RBC Courtesy Campaign customer winners who won prizes from the respective outlets were:

Click image to enter Facebook page

Minister of Communications officially launched Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam’s latest product – BIBD Online (Banking anytime, anywhere!). Click image to check BIBD Online

Minister of Communications looking at projectors at Netcom booth at TechXpo 11

Minister of Communications checking out b.mobile’s promotion

The Ideos S7 Slim.. 7″ Touch Screen, 720p HD, Android Froyo. Selling at BND 469 at b.mobile booth at Techxpo

Minister of Communications was introduced by Teledirectories on their latest product which is YP online and it can be access through smartphones soon

Shamsul Bahri Kamis, CEO of ITPSS (IT Protective Security Services) explaining the Web Quest competition to the Minister of Communications

Minister of Communications at Ten Ten booth

Richard of Acer showcasing the latest powerful Acer S3 Ultrabook

Minister of Communications still hunting for the right printer

Sunlit staff queueing up for food vouchers and they have worked very hard in setting up the booths

The iCentre booth was located quite far away

KFM having their own gimmicks where you can win prizes so stay tune to Kristal FM to find out how

Wanting your ideas to materialised? Then apply for the LEAP Program

This is ideal for start-up companies. If you are seeking capital or lacking the financial backing for your potential viable ideas, then I highly recommend you to apply for the Brunei Economic Development Board’s LEAP grant and the deadline of submission for new applicants will be on 21st November 2011.

This is the second of its kind after BEDB have successfully granted 8 companies (7 IT related) for the grant scheme. The requirements are pretty reasonable especially that you only need to have a registered company (which one takes a few days to create). The rest of it depends on your concrete business plans and ideas and the final straw will be the presentation to the panels of the evaluation committee on your business plan.

Oh yea, mind you that the business idea that you have must be of something new as the LEAP grant scheme only focuses on “prototype” stage. In other words, the grant only covers the initial stage of the business which does not cover marketing, sales or expansion of business.

Nurul Ain Jaafar, Senior Business Development Manager of Local Business Development at the BEDB, said that the idea of LEAP is to generate more intellectual property, to be a commercial entity, to create spin-offs and to be more innovative.

So what kind of businesses is BEDB looking for? According to Diana Ramli, Project Coordinator of Local Business Development, BEDB, they are seeking for ICT, agriculture and aquaculture and engineering related products.

The grant will be capped at BND 150,000 per applicant so you can submit a business plan and play around with figures (well, of course be realistic). Successful applicants will get 25% of the initial fund or what they call mobilization funds to keep start your business. The rest of the funds will follow a reimbursement system.

So interested applicants, the workshop for LEAP program is on Monday, 31st October at 8:00am at the iCentre. Good luck!!

Diana Ramli, Project Coordinator of Local Business Development, BEDB and Norsuzielawaty Abu Bakar, Assistant Manager, Innovation & New Initiatives Divisoin, BEDB at the press briefing last Wednesday

Keeran Janin (right), founder of MeSixty, who successfully applied the LEAP grant in the first batch and used the funds to create his prototype – MeSixty – which should be launched in November/December.

Click poster to enter Facebook page to find out more

Improvements in the government services completed between 2010 and 2011 resulted in a 29 ranks improvement which pushed Brunei Darussalam’s ranking to 83 from 112, according to Doing Business 2012: Doing business in a more transparent world, the ninth in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank that measures the ease of doing business among 183 economies.

Specifically, this year’s report highlighted significant improvements in 2 indicators, namely Registering Property which improved by 76 ranks to 107th; Trading Across Border at 35th improving by 17 ranks compared to the previous report. Two indicators showed modest improvements, namely Enforcing Contract which improved 8 ranks to 151 and Paying Taxes, improving by 2 ranks to occupy the 20th rank worldwide. The report also published the adjusted 2011ranking for Brunei Darussalam (86) taking into consideration the additional topic (Getting Electricity) and reflecting data corrections.

Brunei Darussalam also ranks well in Getting Electricity (28) a newly re-introduced indicator for 2012 report. However 5 indicators slide from the 2011 rankings namely Starting a Business from 133 to 136; Dealing with Construction Permit sliding 9 ranks from 74 to 83; Protecting Investors down by 2 ranks to 122 and Resolving Insolvency (Closing a Business) also down by 2 ranks to 44th.

As the Chairman of the Ease of Doing Business Steering Committee, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya Bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources welcomes the overall improvement on Brunei Darussalam’s overall ranking and reiterated that the improvements recognised in the Doing Business 2012: Doing business in a more transparent world report are the results of concerted efforts of all agencies responsible for regulating business environment in Brunei Darussalam. He further stressed that various reforms and improvements are work in progress and the results will only be reflected in future reports.

The Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Pehin Yahya, spoke of the Ease of Doing Business in Brunei during the Brunei Business Forum 2011 back in September

The formation of Ease of Doing Business Steering Committee and Working Committee earlier this year is testament to the commitment of His Majesty’s government to continuously address business fundamentals in the country. It has enabled and will continuously provide a platform for a more focus and coordinated efforts among government agencies to improve the doing business environment in Brunei Darussalam, and convert reform plans into effective, measurable and practical actions that benefit the business community and the SMEs.

Brunei Darussalam is now 4th among the ASEAN countries behind Singapore which holds the top ranking for the 5th consecutive years, Thailand (17) and Malaysia (18). The Doing Business 2012 report also highlighted that for the period of 2010/2011, 125 countries implemented 245 institutional and regulatory reforms, 13% higher than previously and this seems to be the trend for the future. Therefore at 83rd Brunei Darussalam need to continuously strive to improve its business regulatory environment as guided by the proxy indicators used by the World Bank if it wants to provide a highly conducive environment for local and international businesses to operate in, as well as create competitive and respectable position in the ease of doing business.

Ultimately the real impact of ease of doing business can be best shown through constant growth in businesses and foreign direct investors from international companies who successfully started and thrive in a pro-business environment. Implementation of regulatory and institutional reforms also showed better results and wider impacts with full engagement of the stakeholders, in particular the private sector/ business community. Therefore the Ease of Doing Business Working Committee in collaboration with the World Bank will be conducting a World Bank Workshop on Doing Business in Brunei Darussalam from 15 – 17 November 2011, at the Empire Hotel and Country Club.

The following are the tabled summary of Brunei Darussalam individual indicator rankings attainment compared to 2011 report and position compared to other ASEAN countries. Text courtesy of Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.

@Mujahidjohar @thewheat and @zulfadly will be organizing an event called ‘Movember BN’. Movember is an event which originated in Adelaide, Australia. The event is a fund raising event for male cancer patients. However, in Brunei, they are not going to raise any funds but they want to create awareness about Men’s health issues in general and highlight cancer as our main issue. For this event, they have the support of the National Cancer Center, NCC.

Currently there is no association that supports Men’s cancer awareness / support group. Even if there is one, it is not active.

What happens during Movember BN? On the eve of 31st October 2011, Monday night 6-9 p.m, they invite interested participants to register with us at the Mall, Gadong. A registration booth will be set up and participants will have to come clean shaved above the lip region, moustache area. Participants also have an option to shave their heads. Photos will be taken as proof of a clean shave at the start of Movember.

A minimal registration fee will be asked upon registration. Money will be used for the end of Movember event which will be held on 5th December, Saturday night. Tentative meet up, Waterfront, BSB, pending approval.

Catch them on Facebook page – http://Facebook.com/movemberbn
or follow them on Twitter @movemberbn

Minister of Communications officially launched Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam’s latest product – BIBD Online (Banking anytime, anywhere!)

Minister of Communications was one of the first few who signed up for BIBD Online

Minister of Communications visiting the Netcom booth at TechXpo 11

Minister of Communications looking at projectors at Netcom booth at TechXpo 11

Minister of Communications checking out b.mobile’s promotion

The b.mobile booth at TechXpo 11

The Ideos S7 Slim.. 7″ Touch Screen, 720p HD, Android Froyo. Selling at BND 469 at b.mobile booth at Techxpo

Will she be getting the Android tablet?

Minister of Communications was introduced by Teledirectories on their latest product which is YP online and it can be access through smartphones soon

Minister of Communications paying a visit to ITPSS booth

Shamsul Bahri Kamis, CEO of ITPSS (IT Protective Security Services) explaining the Web Quest competition to the Minister of Communications

Minister of Communications at Ten Ten booth

Richard of Acer showcasing the latest powerful Acer S3 Ultrabook

Minister of Communications still hunting for the right printer

Sunlit staff queueing up for food vouchers and they have worked very hard in setting up the booths

The iCentre booth was located quite far away

The KFM chilling area at DST booth. I think DST have the biggest space at TechXpo

KFM having their own gimmicks where you can win prizes so stay tune to Kristal FM to find out how

3G mapping at DST booth. Pretty cool stuff

Tele-live conference…. Hmm.. I stick to Skyping 😀

The crowd at ICC this morning

The crowd at ICC this morning

KFM have their own mini-studio at TechXpo. Cooliess!!!! And congratulations on the re-launch

A crowd puller for the kids definitely

Check out the highlights for this year’s TechXpo

Apparently BIBD will be launching their BIBD Online tomorrow. It was hinted during the Think Big Innovate 2011. Now the time has come. Follow @BIBD on Twitter for updates

DST have quite a big space at the TechXpo. They are going aggressive with their branding – The Future. Now

This is a cool design and they are expanding their wings to other areas

ITPSS will also be participating at TechXpo

ITPSS is also running a website design competition and you can find more about it during the TechXpo. Click image to see more details

The AITI booth will be showcasing the companies that have been given grants for their ICT projects

Oh, guests can also participate in a raffle quiz and you can stand a chance to win fantastic prizes

b.mobile will be unveiling their own Android tablet at TechXpo

The worker is rushing to be on time for the TechXpo opening

This is the first time Concepts Computer taking a huge space to showcase their latest powerful notebook – Acer Aspire S3

Richard from Acer talked about the power of the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook. Price will be BND 1,188 and there will be mystery gifts given while stock last and you can also purchase Acer Ext HDD 500G for BND 39 only if you get the notebook. This deal is only applicable at TechXpo.

Mel from DST holding the Angry Birds sign for the upcoming contest at TechXpo

You can pre-register by printing this out and there will also be walk-in registration at TechXpo. There will be daily prizes from Thursday to Sunday for top scores. Click image for bigger image to print. Good luck!!

Taiwan exhibitors are here too and there are a few companies from Taiwan

EGNC have a massive booth as well. You can learn about the e-darussalam portal

Comms Harris & Co will be showcasing their touchscreen and targeting corporate companies

There’s a section called “Incrediworld” inteactive theme park where you have to pay $3 to enter and there will be a mirror maze, some optical illusions and many more.

The STEP Centre of Ministry of Education will be taking care of the Robot competition which was quite popular last year

The much anticipated N9 will make its debut at TechXpo. Price unsure yet.

Mid-October 2011

For enquiries, call 2453666 or fax over your queries to 2453777or email them totechxpobrunei@sunlitadvertising.com. For more information on the TechXpo you can go to the website at www.techxpobrunei.com.

Guests witnessing the signing ceremony between the partners and the organisers of TechXpo 2011

Guests witnessing the signing ceremony between the partners and the organisers of TechXpo 2011

Step Center from the Ministry of Education is one of the partners of the TechXpo 2011

Monica from The Brunei Times signed on behalf of the official media print for the TechXpo 2011

NR of TelBru signing on behalf of the official Telco for TechXpo 2011

Mr. RA will be updating posts on TechXpo 2011 from time to time

Arjuna Ranasignhe, GM of TechOneGlobal exchanging documents with Pengiran Abd Ghani Pg Hj Metusin, Chairman of IFB. TechOneGlobal and Microsoft will conduct free IT training sessions for the public. A state-of-the-art computer laboratory with 100 PCs will be available for hands-on training.

Group photo with the partners and the event organisers

The gorgeous ladies from Sunlit Advertising. They will be super busy during the event.

Gavin of Sunlit Advertising enjoying his refreshments

Maira was one of the Deseo Talent Search Contest and she had more than 2,000 likes (or votes). This picture was posted on Deseo’s Facebook

Maira preparing for photoshoot this afternoon. Image courtesy of Deseo

Click image to enlarge

Earlier this month, Belinda won the Proton Savvy from Times Square’s lucky draw

Click image to enter Facebook page

The crowd at ICC this morning

The crowd at ICC this morning

KFM have their own mini-studio at TechXpo. Cooliess!!!! And congratulations on the re-launch

A crowd puller for the kids definitely

Check out the highlights for this year’s TechXpo

Kempen Barakah BIBD was launched in conjunction with the three religious months of Ramadhan, followed by Syawal and then finally Zulkaedah. Its main objective is mainly to express BIBD’s appreciation to its valued customers. Launched on the 18th August 2011, the campaign today announced ten lucky winners who walked away with B$500 credited into their BIBD accounts.

Fauzidah bte Haji Awang Sijun, Hj Md Jani @ Abdul Jabbar bin Hj Abd Majid, Siti Hamidah Hj Sarbini, Ak Md Mu’izzudin bin Pg Ismail, Kelvin Tan Jun Jie, Ak Salleh Pg Hj Mohammad, Masli bin Hj Radin, Ganti Anak Gamow, Dina Hairunisa @ Mona binti Tajuddin and Hj Adi Noh bin Tinggal couldn’t believe their luck when they received a call last week informing them that they have each won B$500. This is the second batch of winners announced and the first one was held on September 26, 2011.

Present as the guest of honour to present the cash prizes was Head of Corporate Banking Division Mr Koh Swam Sing. The presentation ceremony was held at the BIBD’s Tanjong Bunut Branch.

According to Mr Koh, more than 14,700 entry forms poured in over the last month alone and more are coming in. “We now have a total of over 22,300 submitted entry forms to participate in this campaign. The number is overwhelming. There’s only less than three weeks left before the campaign ends on November 15 and I hope those who have not signed up for our products will take this opportunity to do so soon, before the campaign ends” Mr Koh said.

Much of the entry forms came from our customers who signed up for our newly launched Debit Card. It is encouraging to see so many of BIBD’s loyal customers signing up for BIBD’s products and services. We hope to continue serving our customers to the best of our ability,” he added.

The promotion will run for three months until November 15, 2011 and will give one lucky BIBD customer an opportunity to drive away in a brand new luxury Lexus CT200h car. Text courtesy of BIBD.

Head of Corporate Banking Division Mr Koh Swam Sing handing to one of the lucky winners

Group photo with BIBD associates and the winners

Who will win the grand prize this November?

Critics gave this an average score of 8.5

Netballers were treated to a day packed with action and excitement.

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad (BIBD) held its 4th Invitational Netball Tournament yesterday, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with government agencies and private organisations at the Multipurpose Hall of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, in Berakas.

Some 90 participants from several organisations made up nine teams, according to a press release. BIBD’s CSR committee members were also present at the event. The participating organisations involved yesterday were the BIBD Sukuk Team, BIBD Barakah Team, BIBD, Kauthar Team, HSBC, SCB, Takaful Brunei, Sankaran Halim, DST and the Ministry of Finance (MOF Investment Division).

BIBD’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Hajah Dayang Normah Haji Ismail officially kicked off the tournament that saw the teams battle it out from 9am onwards.

Towards the end, it was Team HSBC that was named champion of the tournament after defeating BIBD Barakah Team, 12-10 in the final; which means BIBD Barakah Team settled for silver while Team DST were awarded third place.

Among the aims of the annual BIBD Invitational Charity Netball Tournament was for BIBD to foster close relationships with other organisations through sports and at the same time encouraging the women of the organisations to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Through the tournament, BIBD also hoped to edify teamwork among peers both internally and externally with opportunities to strengthen their networks.

In conjunction with this event, BIBD also presented mock cheques with total donations of $2,355.42 to two charity organisations. The mock cheques were presented by Hajah Dayang Normah bte Hj Ismail to the representatives of the Believe Youth Association (BYA) and to Nur Zakiah Hussin, the wife of the managing director of BIBD; both of them received $1,177.71 each. Text by Dennis Lim of The Brunei Times. For more, [click here].

Click image to see more

Hush Puppies opened its first-ever store in Brunei and it’s located at Rizqun Hotel (1st floor). Brought in by Le Steadfast Lifestyle Company, the Brunei branch of the popular brand saw many customers who have waited long enough for the brand to break into the local market make a beeline to its store in Gadong.

The Hush Puppies store is conveniently connected to The Mall in Gadong and offers a wide range of footwear along with socks and accessories. From dress shoes to casual shoes and phylon sandals, Hush Puppies is set to cater to your needs for good-looking, comfortable shoes. 

There is not enough choice for men’s footwear in Brunei, according to Hush Puppies representative Poh Na, therefore with the introduction of Hush Puppies here, men will have the chance to purchase comfortable as well as stylish footwear for themselves.

Poh Na said that the reception for Hush Puppies had been encouraging even before the launch, as many Bruneians are familiar with the brand. She also addressed the concern of the religious community regarding the acceptance of their shoes as being halal in terms of the leather component, as well as the issue of the basset hound logo. 

“We want to ensure our customers that the shoes, even the lining, are made of cow leather and sheepskin leather, so there is no need to worry about it.” (You want to be more assured, you can click here).

Apart from footwear, Hush Puppies also carries a range of accessories such as handbags and shoe care products. The brand’s “bamboo socks”, which absorbs perspiration and odour, are also available at the store. Text by Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times [Click here for more stories].

You can find this at Hush Puppies, The Rizqun Hotel (1st floor)

You can buy vouchers or even have a privilege card (admin fee $10) for one year and it’s valid for Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. On non-sale period, you’re entitled to 10% discount

Apparently BIBD will be launching their BIBD Online tomorrow. It was hinted during the Think Big Innovate 2011. Now the time has come. Follow @BIBD on Twitter for updates

DST have quite a big space at the TechXpo. They are going aggressive with their branding – The Future. Now

This is a cool design and they are expanding their wings to other areas

ITPSS will also be participating at TechXpo

ITPSS is also running a website design competition and you can find more about it during the TechXpo. Click image to see more details

The AITI booth will be showcasing the companies that have been given grants for their ICT projects

Oh, guests can also participate in a raffle quiz and you can stand a chance to win fantastic prizes

b.mobile will be unveiling their own Android tablet at TechXpo

The worker is rushing to be on time for the TechXpo opening

This is the first time Concepts Computer taking a huge space to showcase their latest powerful notebook – Acer Aspire S3

Richard from Acer talked about the power of the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook. Price will be BND 1,188 and there will be mystery gifts given while stock last and you can also purchase Acer Ext HDD 500G for BND 39 only if you get the notebook. This deal is only applicable at TechXpo.

Mel from DST holding the Angry Birds sign for the upcoming contest at TechXpo

You can pre-register by printing this out and there will also be walk-in registration at TechXpo. There will be daily prizes from Thursday to Sunday for top scores. Click image for bigger image to print. Good luck!!

Taiwan exhibitors are here too and there are a few companies from Taiwan

EGNC have a massive booth as well. You can learn about the e-darussalam portal

Comms Harris & Co will be showcasing their touchscreen and targeting corporate companies

There’s a section called “Incrediworld” inteactive theme park where you have to pay $3 to enter and there will be a mirror maze, some optical illusions and many more.

The STEP Centre of Ministry of Education will be taking care of the Robot competition which was quite popular last year

The much anticipated N9 will make its debut at TechXpo. Price unsure yet.

This was taken by @Jo8bean and it posted on Twitter this evening. Apparently this was at Jangsak area and it caused a lot of traffic congestion. It was not known what was the cause of it.

Another picture by @Jo8bean. Imagine if it was crude oil *lol*

Image taken from Midz’ FB. A close-up view of the water bursting from the road.

Click image to enter Facebook page

Get your tickets now and enjoy our local talented students

LANEIGE Broadway Musical is back again this year to be held on 26 November 2011. The responses from secondary schools have been very encouraging. There are 20 secondary schools that are going to compete in this charity competition performing some famous scenes from popular Broadway musicals like The Lion King, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, The Sound of Music, Mama Mia, Oliver, Wicked, Grease, High School Musical, etc.

This is the 2nd year that LANEIGE co-organizes the competition with the Department of Schools, Ministry of Education. It was a remarkable, educational and meaningful occasion in 2010. There were great opportunities in discovering young peoples’ talents, energy, imagination and leadership skills. These were recognized in their contributions to each performance. There was a variety of development and creativity in music, communication, teamwork and culture exchange. Students were able to be part of and enjoy a number of musical performances within the local arena and this had never been experienced before.

On another level, LANEIGE and the Ministry of Education wishes to emphasise that the main objective of organizing this charity competition within schools is really to raise the awareness in the public to look after those who are less fortunate. Through this charity competition, LANEIGE and the Ministry of Education wants to particularly encourage a wide spectrum of our youths today on the need to be more caring and compassionate. Our youths are our future: they would be the ones to continue to look after and manage the country. This charity competition is at the same a way to provide a platform and to expose students’ talents and creativity.

Another important reason is we to give an opportunity to students to communicate, perform and develop artistically in English language. With the continuous support of Ministry of Education and generous sponsors including: HSBC, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Jasra Harrisons Sdn Bhd, Milo, Royal Brunei Catering Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Shalim (B) Sdn Bhd, Nyuk Lian Printing Company, Ranoadidas, Red Dot Studio, CFBT, Studio Scene and Brunei English Language Teacher Association.

In addition, there will more to explore during the event, delicious irresistible foodies will be available on the day at the event like Bunny’s Yummies, Scoop Frozen Yogurt, Chicken pie by RBC, and many more food surprises to be arranged by the kind support of Brunei Food Bloggers.

The LANEIGE Broadway Musical Charity Competition 2011 will be held at the ICC Main conference Hall on 26 NOV 2011 at 1pm. Tickets are now available on sales at all LANEIGE branches (the mall 2428222, Kiulap 2232282, K.B. 3347217). 100% of ticket sales would be donated to KACA and Pusat Bahagia. To enjoy a meaningful and enjoyable afternoon of Broadway Musicals,for a good cause, get your tickets now for a wonderful afternoon with family and friends.

At the press conference last Monday held at STPRI

The coaches and teachers also attended the press conference

The media wants to be part of it too? :p

Patricia, Marketing Manager of LANEIGE holding the poster

Group photo with committee, sponsors, judges and coaches

Images from last year’s Musical Broadway at OGH

Images from last year’s Musical Broadway at OGH

Royal Brunei Catering will launch the Malaysia Food Festival at The Airport Restaurant on 27 October 2011 (Thursday).The multi-cultural, multi-colours of life with its traditional culinary delights such as Nasi Lemak, Satay, Roti Prata, Penang Fried Kway Teow, Sarawak Laksa, Asam Laksa and Tea Tarik and many more choices. According to Chef Izan, the food will be represented by 14 States of Malaysia so you will get a variety of dishes and they have 5 cycles in a week.

Also “Mr Meor, the Raja Tea Tarik / Raja Canai specialist” and “Mr Jack, the Caricaturist (Cartoonist)” specially flown in from Kuala Lumpur is back in town to serve and draw your portrait throughout the promotional period.

This is a joint effort with all RBC promotion partners for Malaysia Food Festival 2011. They are namely Tourism Malaysia, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Berhad, Cyberview Resort and Spa, Kuala Lumpur, Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa, Pulau Duyong, Kuala Trengganu, Belum Rainforest Resort, Pulau Banding, Gerik and Century Travel Sdn Bhd.

During the promotional period, there will be Buffet Lunch and Dinner available at The Airport Restaurant. The Buffet Lunch served daily from 12:00 noon to 2:00pm at B$19.90 per adult andB$10.00 per child. The Buffet Dinner served daily from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm at B$29.90 per adult and B$15.00 per child. For reservations, please call 2339207 / 2331853.

On the other hand, the Ala Carte menu for the Malaysian food is available at Seasons Restaurant during the Malaysia Food Festival from 27 October to 9 November 2011. Dishes include Sup Ekor Lembu Bangsar, Prawns with Cereal, Lamb Shank Beryani, Satay Kajang and Assam Laksa Penang. For further details, please call 2422291 / 2.

There will be exclusive discounts for BIBD cardholders during the promotional period. BIBD MasterCard Gold 10%; BIBD MasterCard Classic and BIBD Debit Card 8%.

Plenty of dishes to choose from such as briyani and satay kajang (bigger in size) and the satay sauce is different. The Kueh are Nyonya ones

Sambal prawn petai, one of the Nyonya dishes, available during the Malaysian Food Festival

Chef Mohd Izan and Noramizah will be serving you with a smile

There will be 12 Lucky Draw Prizes to be won in this food promotion which is the 1st time they have the most lucky draw prizes in one promotion. The prizes are sponsored by Tourism Malaysia, Ri-Yaz Hotels Sdn Bhd and Resort and Century Travel.

Lucky Draw Prizes sponsored by Tourism Malaysia.
1) One return air ticket with Hotel Package to Penang.
2) One Hotel Package to Kuala Lumpur.
3) One Hotel Package to Malacca.

Lucky Draw prizes sponsored by Ri-Yaz Hotels & Resort Sdn Bhd
4) One Voucher of 2 days 1 night stay in a Deluxe Chalet with breakfast for two persons at Cyberview Resort and Spa, Kuala Lumpur. See pictures below of the Resort.
5) One Voucher of 2 days 1 night stay in a Deluxe Chalet with breakfast for two persons at Cyberview Resort and Spa, Kuala Lumpur.
6) One Voucher of 2 days 1 night stay in a Serambi Deluxe Chalet with breakfast for two persons at Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa, Pulau Duyong, Kuala Trengganu.
7) One Voucher of 2 days 1 night stay in a Serambi Deluxe Chalet with breakfast for two persons at Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa, Pulau Duyong, Kuala Trengganu.
8) One Voucher of 2 days 1 night stay in a Superior Room with breakfast for two persons at Belum Rainforest Resort, Pulau Banding, Gerik.
9) One Voucher of 2 days 1 night stay in a Superior Room with breakfast for two persons at Belum Rainforest Resort, Pulau Banding, Gerik.

The Deluxe Queen room and this room looks pretty cozy and ideal for a getaway. Click image to enter their official website and find out more

The view of the pool waterfall.. Fantastic scenery at CyberView Resort & Spa

The Sembunyi Spa at CyberView Resort & Spa

Lucky Draw prizes sponsored by Century Travel
10) B$100 century vouchers which customers can use to purchase tours/ hotels/packages in Malaysia.
11) B$50 century vouchers, which customers can purchase either tours/hotels/packages in Malaysia.
12) B$50 century vouchers, which customers can purchase either tours/hotels/packages in Malaysia.

Minister of Communications YB Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah delivering his keynote address at ThinkBig Innovate 2011 last week. He was talking about innovation and holding a classic cassette tape. Image by Sim of Media Permata.

“Being a relatively small populated country, Brunei does not as yet have a critical mass of local ICT talent that is able to fully leverage and offset ICT related jobs, professions and positions in the government, as well as the private sectors. Hence we are now seriously looking into further building a pool of local ICT talent as such. The new talent pool will become ‘the foundation for our home grown base of ICT experts,’ professionals that will eventually meet and aspire to meet worldwide standards in ICT competency.” – Quote from The Minister of Communications. For more story, click here, courtesy of Izam Said Ya’akub of The Brunei Times.

Speaking of cassettes, I thought this caption is hilarious

There are lots of positive comments from Sri Lembayung, a new authentic Padang Food Restaurant in town and it is located at Kiulap (Behind HSBC Kiulap and this place was also formerly known as Seafood Paradise). The official opening was last Saturday and it was officiated by Datin Hjh Maimoonah Hj Omar, spouse of the Minister of Home Affairs.

According to Farah Abdullah, there are more than 40 different dishes to choose from and of course, there is also a choice to be spicy if you want. They will have a karaoke section upstairs which is still not opened yet.

The last day of promotion is 27th October, Thursday and the current promotion is 50% of the current menu. For bookings, you can 223 – 1788 and you can [click here] for more pictures.

Guest of honour officiating the opening of Sri Lembayung. Click image to see more photos

The media trying out the delicious dishes at Sri Lembayung. Click image to see more photos

The different dishes to choose from.. One of them is Cow’s Brain *lol*

The waiters will be there to serve to your table

Hilarious, fabulous, 3 thumbs up. These words werent enough to describe the JUMP event. They were so much buzz about the event ever since the advert came out in the papers. The tickets were FREE so most of the tickets were snapped up within a few days. I was fortunate enough to get some formal invitation from the Korean Embassy (Thanks, Kim). However, there was a moment of panic because the crowd just kept on coming and there weren’t enough seats to cater the rest.

So the organisers had no choice but to allow the remaining guests to stand up during the show. I actually spent the whole time standing up and there was a moment where I had a toe cramp from standing too long *lol* I had to take off my shoes to wiggle and relax my toes. Great thing the lighting was low and plus the audience were glued to the stage.

Back to the show…. JUMP… Ok, this musical/martial art show is a non-verbal performance. Who says you need verbal communication to get the message across? Most of the performance were based on body movement/language and sound effects. There were many great “spots” and it was so difficult to recall because there were plenty. But once I recalled it, I would just laugh with my mates, recapping the funny moments.

I believed most of the audience really enjoyed the show. Even those standing won’t mind a single bit while watching the whole show. According to the organisers, almost 2,800 people turned up last night and it was probably the biggest crowd I’ve seen at the Grand Hall, The Empire Hotel. Even parking was a hassle. But all those tiny hassles didn’t stop us from enjoy the show.

I thought it was only a few hundred people turning up. I was wrong

He was nice enough to address the crowd situation and funny too

I think someone spotted me taking a shot

Sometimes I wish the screen was at a certain angle

Jefri and Lisa really enjoyed the show, judging from their expression

Anais Maro and Mark sawers were there too

I’m glad I brought these ladies over

I managed to interview one of the casts, Yoongab Hong (who plays the father role). He shared his experiences and he has been a cast for JUMP for seven years already. Sometimes I wonder how much they get paid since it’s a full time job for them. Their only break is during summer vacation and the rest of the year, they will be touring to different countries. To date, they have traveled to 40 countries and performed 8,000 shows… Wow!!!

Actually, having martial arts skill is not necessary as they will be trained over-time. For Yoongab’s case, he loves acting hence you can see why most of the funny gestures came from him last night. He does have some background in taekwondo to start off with. Before JUMP, he joined another martial arts show and he was proud that he was accepted a cast member of JUMP later. He loves the heart of Bruneians and he talked about the peacefulness of the country.

I do hope they get invited back again to Brunei and thank you once again to the Korean Embassy for inviting the crew of JUMP to Brunei. These guys really rock and even my buddies Sophia and Winnie were so into them and we managed to take some shots with the casts. This was definitely one of the highlights of the year – Awesome!!!

Ash Sha, did you spot me again? haha

Korean Ambassador addressing a short speech

The audience were truly entertained by the performance

…. and the laughter couldn’t even stop

It was so packed that some of them sat on the floor

It was happening at The Grand Hall last night

Great speakers, great learning experience. That’s what I gained from Asia Inc Forum Think Big Innovate 2011. Inspirational speakers such as Derek Sivers and Ann Burgraff and I’m super impressed with Joon Yeng Hew, a technopreneur who developed the Pigeonhole Live (a progam ideal for Q&A especially in big conferences).

This was one of the best Think Big forum that I’ve attended in recent years and I enjoyed almost all the sessions. The final session on Social Media, Brand and Entrepreneurship capped off a great day which of course led on to the first Brunei Online forum the following day.

Now I’m already looking forward to next year’s Think Big Innovate 2011.

Big crowd at Asia Inc Forum/iCentre Think Big Innovate 2011

Shaun asking a word or two for Derek Sivers’ advice

A few students were also invited to the Think Big Innovate 2011

The Pigeonhole software that I was talking about earlier on

Birthday boy Keeran Janin asking the panel

Hello ladies from the Asia Inc Forum and a cool guy from Borneo Bulletin *lol*

Ann Burgraff (in pink) was one of the attendees at Think Big Innovate 2011

Delwin aka @bruneitweet talked about the impact of Social Media

Derek Sivers, Joon Yeng Hew, Azhani Daniel and Delwin Keasberry during the final session

I asked this question through Pigeonhole and the reply was “Yes, it did affect the newspaper advertisement print as RBA also made use of social media to market themselves”

Hiro of Social Deal, Reeda Malik of AnakBrunei, Jayden Sia and Marul of BIBD

THE Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011 ended with a bang for QAF FC ‘B’ last night in more ways than one. The hosts were down 3-2 to Malaysia’s LTS FC in the last 30 seconds of the final match and needed a draw to finish as champions.

The tension in the air was palpable, and in a series of controversial events which turned the game on its head, Mardi Mirza Abdullah was fouled by LTS FC’s Mohd Fahmi Mohd Yusoff.

Twin brother Hardi Bujang retaliated with a punch, and needless to say, it soon turned into a fracas involving both teams. When met later the referee surprisingly claimed he just saw Mohd Fahmi’s misdeed which was why he only sent the Malaysian player, and not Hardi, to an early shower.

Long story short, Mardi went on to equalise through the ensuing free-kick and steal the title at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas. Text by Jason Thomas of The Brunei Times [Click here].

HRH Prince Hj Sufri, the Honorary President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam with QAF FC the champions of Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011

HRH Prince Hj Sufri, the Honorary President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam with LTS team from Malaysia, 1st Runner-up of Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011

LTS scored from penalty for the lead but only for QAF FC to score the equaliser with 30 seconds left to play to win the tournament

It was a tough match with a LTS player being sent off in a heated final

QAF FC coach trying to calm his players down after the final whitsle

Hardy was the top scorer of the tournament

The winner of the Samsung II of the lucky draw from Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011

The winner of the flight ticket of the lucky draw from Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011

Some of the ladies that helped out during Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011

This is what I see in Brunei.. There is a lot of fear whenever she senses something physically wrong with her body especially relating to breast. I attended the Jerudong Park Medical Centre Public Breast Cancer Awareness Forum to learn some pointers about “Breast Cancer” last Sunday.

Dato Dr. Babu Sukumaran talked about the risk factors and getting the early detection of breast cancer. He shared that there is a higher risk among Asian nations lately due to our changes in diet (more Western intake) and this can be a factor that lead to cancer and heart diseases.

He advised the ladies if you notice anything unusual. Check out the changes you should be aware of:-

a) Change in size – one is bigger than the other
b) Nipple inverted
c) Rash
d) Discharge from one/both nipples
e) Puckering or dimpling of the skin
f) Swelling under the armpit or around the collarbone
g) A lump or thickening in the breast
h) Pain in one part of the breast or in the underarm

So if you have any of these changes, I suggest you pay a visit to the National Cancer Centre, JPMC or call 261 0222/ 261 1433 ext 2510/2515. It was mentioned by Dato Dr. Babu that some women are shy when it came to this and they rather try traditional methods which is the wrong move as the cancer can spread as it wasn’t treated properly when detected earlier.

I was moved by Ms Masjuwita, President of Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group (BCSG) and she has been very active in promoting awareness in Brunei with the help of her friends in the support group. She shared her experiences as a breast cancer survivor and how she dealt the situation when when she found out that she had breast cancer. It was her strength, determination and will power that made her through the pain and fears. She is a role model for many and don’t be afraid to ask her anything as she’s very open-minded about this issue 🙂 You can join their facebook [Click here]

Also present during the Public Breast Cancer Awareness Forum were Dr. Hj. Muhd Syafiq, Executive Director of National Cancer Centre, Dr. Chitra Karat, Head of Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department, JPMC and Mr. Todd McPherson, Psychologist, JPMC.

The forum was part of Breast Cancer Awareness month which falls in October. Lots of the attendees were wearing pink to create awareness of such cause.

Want to know more? Join them on Facebook.. Click image to find out more

Dato Dr. Babu talked about what you need to know about breast cancer

The attendees that attended the forum last Sunday

The attendees that attended the forum last Sunday

Ms. Masjuwita, a cancer survivor and the President of Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group

I should be trying this out for once 😀 More on the LEAP program and it’s highly recommended for start-ups

Click image to enter Facebook page

Are you fan of CNBlue? or for this case, any Korean band? I watched some of their music videos and they are pretty good. Now you guys get a chance to watch CNBlue at Bangkok in mid-November and the catch is you have to purchase Holika Holika’s Garden Recipe Set and fill in the form for the lucky draw.

Did you know that the Brunei partner Braun On of Holika Holika will be bringing 30 WINNERS…. Yes, 30 winners to Bangkok to catch CNBlue… Now that’s a big sum and it’s a good chance for shoppers to stand a chance to fly to Bangkok.

The entry forms are available at any Holika Holika branch at Times Square, Hua Ho Yayasan, Hua Ho Kiulap and The Mall and the last day of entry is 6th November 2011. The draw itself will take place on 8th November 2011.

The 30 winners will be awarded to a three-day two-night trip to Bangkok, along with hotel accommodation, concert tickets, spending money, and a chance to meet the band in person. Now that’s what I call an awesome promotion.

Will both Denise and Sim Yuan win a chance to fly to Bangkok?

Some of the products at Holika Holika

Denise sending her form for the lucky draw

The lucky draw box will be drawn on 8th November

Carol also tried her luck to catch the Korean band

So do shop at Holika Holika at The Mall, Times Square, Hua Ho Yayasan and Hua Ho Kiulap

Convergence 2011 is a start-up event in Brunei. Convergence 2011 will take place at the BMW Brunei Showroom, Beribi on Saturday 12th November 2011 from 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. It will be a sponsored dinner event, and will feature three speakers who will engage in dialogue to the theme “From Success to Significance”.

It will be a private by invitation-only event purposed to Inspire, Challenge and Motivate the following segments of Brunei’s Next Generation: Students, Fresh-Graduates, Entrepreneurs, Visionary Executives, Start-Up’s, Members from the Local Creative Industry and the Innovators of Brunei.

About 100 of Brunei’s Next Generation will hear from three speakers: Nor Alizulrainee Ali Yusop, an education officer at the Special Education Unit (Ministry of Education); Dato Hamdillah, a local entrepreneur with interests across a number of industries; Lai Pei-Si, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Consumer Banking for Standard Chartered Bank Brunei.

According to Lai Pei-Si, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Consumer Banking for Standard Chartered Bank Brunei: “We are extremely delighted to be part of this brand new initiative. At Standard Chartered Bank, we believe in making a difference to the communities in which we operate and we hope that we will make a positive impact through this opportunity to share inspiring stories alongside other key speakers.”

This start-up event will also allow for lively networking opportunities set in the backdrop of the BMW Brunei Showroom, Beribi. Convergence 2011 is hosted by the people behind ProjekBrunei.com and is proudly sponsored by BMW Brunei, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei and The Brunei Hotel. The event is also supported by the Brunei Halal brand.

For more information, please email Delwin Keasberry at convergence@projekbrunei(dot)com [Text courtesy of @bruneitweet]

Delwin speaking to the media yesterday at the press conference

Delwin Keasberry of projekbrunei.com, Lai Pei-Sei, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Brunei and Roger Fletcher, General Manager of QAF Auto

CITIBANK kicked off its sixth annual Global Community Day on October 22, 2011 where more than 45,000 volunteers from Citibank around the globe are coming together to make a positive difference in their respective communities.

Here, the event kicked off at Ward 3 of Ripas Hospital. Citibank Managing Director, Terence Cuddyre gave an opening speech where he spoke about Citi-volunteer events that are going on in the Asia-Pacific region today. The guest of honour, Hjh Siti Mariam Hj Md Jaafar, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health, then presented a certificate of appreciation to Cuddyre.

The highlight of the event was the official launching of the Child Protection Facility in Ward 3. It is hoped that it would help to facilitate and care for the children’s needs and welfare. One of the wards that was visited as well was the new Paediatric Haemato-Oncology Unit where Cuddyre and the guest of honour gave toys and gifts to the children.

Citibank also collaborated with International School of Brunei (ISB), where 35 students including their teachers volunteered to spend time. Text by Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times

There was mascot entertaining at Children’s ward

ISB students playing with the children

The facility that Citibank contributed at the children ward at RIPAS

Yenny talking to Furqan about his hobby

Furqan has this room since he was 1 years old. He is now 8. I really like his room

Singing to the kid at the Children ward

Citibank taking photo opportunity with Mickey and Minnie

Terrence Cuddrye, Managing Director of Citibank Brunei, with the ISB students

So if you have encounter problems with acne or dry skin or even the sun ray, you can call the skin therapists from Dermalogist Beauty Therapy 234 2928 or 871 6680and yes, consultation is FREE too.

The products from Dermalogica. Do find out which one suits you

Get your skin analysied and try their facial treatment

It’s open from Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 6:30pm