Curtin University Sarawak

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Golden Churn days have been numbered. MoRA has banned the sale of Golden Churn in Brunei until it gets the hahal certificate. Image courtesy of The Brunei Times

This is the third time that the relevant authorities have put a stop to the popular Golden Churn Pure Creamery Butter in the Sultanate. Why? Because the product is now deemed “syubhah” (of doubtful halal nature) and hence must be avoided by Muslims.

The Brunei Islamic Religious Council (Muib) has passed on the law – “Based on the fatwa Mufti Kerajaan Siri Fatwa Bil: (30/2011) dated 25 Syawal 1432 corresponding to 24 September 2011, and based on new information and current development of the issue regarding the butter product Golden Churn Pure Creamery Butter, manufactured by Ballantyne Food Pty Ltd, New Zealand, therefore the Brunei Islamic Religious Council has agreed to determine that the product is in the position of syubhah according to Syara’ (Islamic laws)” – as read by the Minister of Religious Affairs.

So now the product is no longer allowed to be imported to Brunei until it obtains the Brunei Halal Certificate and Permit.

Back in 8th August, MoRA advised Muslims to avoid Golden Churn only to be announced on 12th August that all Golden Churn products are deemed halal. Today’s press release made a u-turn that Golden Churn Pure Creamery Butter is not be sold because of its doubtfulness.

I’m quite bemused by the ongoing saga of Golden Churn and this have perhaps bring a lot of disappointments from the clients, consumers and most of all, the suppliers. If there was such doubt, why allowed it to be deemed halal in the first place?

Should Golden Churn gets the green light, the damage has already been done as the value of trust is in doubt as well. This is definitely one of the disappointing news in Brunei apart from the announcement of the iPhone 4s last night. For more info, you can [click here]. 

A bit disappointed that no announcement of iPhone 5 but the iPhone 4s stlll pack the punch

So much fuss about the iPhone announcement and I’m quite surprised a few of us (even Androids users) were up to catch the liveblog updates on the next iPhone gen. Though many would have predicted, an iPhone 4s, some were left disappointed thinking the iPhone 5 would have been unveiled.

Instead it was just an upgrade of the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4s which has better features than the current iPhone 4. What are the new features? Well, for one, they have an application call “Siri” which is like a voice assistant to your needs. So you can ask for the weather forecast or make a calendar appointment or do a search on Wikipedia (oo, oo, AskRobin…) I’m not quite sure if Siri is part of the iOS5 or is it an apps featured only in iPhone 4s.

One of the most impressive features is the camera. It is now 8 megapixels and it has advance optics too. The iPhone 4s also has iOS5 and iCloud integrated into the phone. It also has a dual-core A5 Chip which makes this the fatest iPhone to date and you can see the difference between the iPhone 4s and the current iPhone 4.

A few of my friends were pretty disappointed that the design and overall feel hasn’t change at all. So basically, you can still use the same casing for iPhone4 on iPhone 4s. I have to say I’m quite impressed with the battery life.

Will I be getting myself one? It remains to be seen. But I’m already in love with the camera :))

Apple’s iPhone timeline

July 2007 – iPhone was released
Juy 2008 – iPhone 3G was released
June 2009 – iPhone 3Gs was released
July 2010 – iPhone 4 was released
October 2011 – iPhone 4s was announced

It was mentioned that Singapore will have their stock by 28th October. So I wonder how much will Brunei charge (according to their market price + demand)? We shall wait and see :))

The iOS5 will be available for download by 12th October 2011.

Oh yeah, they also unveilved the new iPod in white and they will come with iOS5 too

Tons of activities and this is your one-stop wedding portal for the weekend at The Mall. More news on this later

Jade and Mandy were there

The ladies from BAG Networks

Caroline (left) won a lucky draw then.. Lucky you

I’m loving the set up and the ambience. The best Hari Raya Open House by far this year

Managing Director of Home Suite Home won one night stay at The Empire Hotel too

Ambassador of Laos (2nd left) was also there

The vain guys from BB *kidding.. lol*

Gavin (right) missed out on the one night stay becuase he left early

BAG Networks making their presence felt and they already have QR codes on their business cards.. Awesome!!

Siew Yi also won a one-night stay at The Empire

Mingling with them after the prize presentation of the lucky draw

The guys from RBTS

The guys helping with the ushering and gifts from RBTS

Curtin University Sarawak

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The fourth annual technology & entrepreneurship forum in Brunei THiNKBIG Innovate 2011 co-organised by iCentre and Asia Inc Forum, will take place at the Empire Hotel & Country Club on October 20, 2011. The forum is expected to bring together 250 delegates from the ICT industry, government, business community, educational institutions, students and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The forum themed “Innovation…Inspiring and Driving Change” will explore how innovation driven technology has inspired change and how entrepreneurs have used these innovations to bring value to businesses and society.

So what can you expect from the event this month?

1) Multi-track sessions
2) a TED style presentation (interesting)
3) networking lunch

Who are the invited speakers?

Derek Sivers, Founder of CDBABY – largers seller of independent music on the web.
Ann Burgraff, Mentor Advisor at NUS Enterprise & Former VP of Corporate Marketing at Salesforce – 15 years experience of marketing innovative software andr marketing services
Hew Joon Yeng, Co- founder of PigeonLab Pte Ltd – a Singapore based company which designs and develops conference question and answer tools on the mobile web.

This year’s THiNK BIG Innovate 2011 boasts a fresh outlook and it is hoped the rebranding will encourage people who are less tech-savvy to attend and benefit from the forum. Hadi Shafie of the iCentre said that “we had in mind to spur the development entrepreneurship in Brunei when we crafted the programme. This year, we have rebranded the event as Innovate 2011 as this is NOT just another technology forum, this is a platform for inspiration, for learning and for ideas in building better businesses, markets, a stronger industry, a firmer framework for encouraging entrepreneurship, and understanding how the world is moving towards different emerging technologies.”

This is a highly recommended event for students, innovators, enterpreneurs, and perhaps those who are participating in the Think Big Ignite competition.. well, you will definitely learn something from this forum and I shall be covering this event as well.

For more information visit asisincforum.com or contact Asia Inc Forum at 222 6555 or you can follow @icentre_brunei for updates of the THINK BIG Innovate 2011 and even win seats or get a discount on the seats for the forum.

The promotional poster for ThinkBig Innovate

The invited speakers for THINKBIG Innovate speakers

Hadie Shafie briefing the local press for the upcoming event

THE government will be carrying out research on lung and breast cancers to focus on causes, prevention and survival trends of Bruneian patients.

Dr Hj Mohd Syafiq Abdullah, head of the National Cancer Centre (NCC), yesterday said the NCC is working closely with the Universiti Brunei Darussalam as part of a UBD research cluster group to look into two types of cancer: lung and breast.

“We want to look at the epidemiology of lung cancer, what causes lung cancer in Brunei and the risk factors(involved) and the survival rates of lung cancer in Brunei,” he said during the launch of the Cancer Awareness Day 2011 at the Mall. He added they would be looking at the causes of cancer in Brunei and what can be done about it.

“In terms of breast cancer, we want to look at the genetics of it. We know that ten per cent of cancer can be created through genetics. UBD has set up a lab for us so hopefully we can do our study there. The funding of the research is not automatic, he said, adding that it is based on “competitive funding. We had to compete with other research as well, so Alhamdulillah both breast and lung cancer research has been approved so now we are just finalising everything,” he said.

You can read more [click here]. Text by Hana Roslan of The Brunei Times.

The mini roadshow at The Mall last weekend

The mini roadshow at The Mall last weekend

The mini roadshow at The Mall last weekend

The mini roadshow at The Mall last weekend

Curtin University Sarawak

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The new iPhone should be announced by Wednesday 1am-2am later Brunei time.. The wait is almost over!!! Are you guys ready??

The fourth annual technology & entrepreneurship forum in Brunei THiNKBIG Innovate 2011 co-organised by iCentre and Asia Inc Forum, will take place at the Empire Hotel & Country Club on October 20, 2011. The forum is expected to bring together 250 delegates from the ICT industry, government, business community, educational institutions, students and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The forum themed “Innovation…Inspiring and Driving Change” will explore how innovation driven technology has inspired change and how entrepreneurs have used these innovations to bring value to businesses and society.

So what can you expect from the event this month?

1) Multi-track sessions
2) a TED style presentation (interesting)
3) networking lunch

Who are the invited speakers?

Derek Sivers, Founder of CDBABY – largers seller of independent music on the web.
Ann Burgraff, Mentor Advisor at NUS Enterprise & Former VP of Corporate Marketing at Salesforce – 15 years experience of marketing innovative software andr marketing services
Hew Joon Yeng, Co- founder of PigeonLab Pte Ltd – a Singapore based company which designs and develops conference question and answer tools on the mobile web.

This year’s THiNK BIG Innovate 2011 boasts a fresh outlook and it is hoped the rebranding will encourage people who are less tech-savvy to attend and benefit from the forum. Hadi Shafie of the iCentre said that “we had in mind to spur the development entrepreneurship in Brunei when we crafted the programme. This year, we have rebranded the event as Innovate 2011 as this is NOT just another technology forum, this is a platform for inspiration, for learning and for ideas in building better businesses, markets, a stronger industry, a firmer framework for encouraging entrepreneurship, and understanding how the world is moving towards different emerging technologies.”

This is a highly recommended event for students, innovators, enterpreneurs, and perhaps those who are participating in the Think Big Ignite competition.. well, you will definitely learn something from this forum and I shall be covering this event as well.

For more information visit asisincforum.com or contact Asia Inc Forum at 222 6555 or you can follow @icentre_brunei for updates of the THINK BIG Innovate 2011 and even win seats or get a discount on the seats for the forum.

The promotional poster for ThinkBig Innovate

The invited speakers for THINKBIG Innovate speakers

Hadie Shafie briefing the local press for the upcoming event