Tourism Malaysia + AirAsia = Happier Bruneians

I knew one day this day will happen and yesterday it was made official. Tourism Malaysia and AirAsia joined hands to attract more Bruneians to Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur and together they both aimed to promote Malaysia as a premier holiday destination.

According to AirAsia Commercial Director, Jasmine Lee, “Although it is often thought that Malaysia and Brunei is similar, but Malaysia has a lot of unique offerings. Places such as Penang, Langkawi, Johor Bahru and Kota Bahru have distinctive attractions. There is definitly something new to discover in the country for Bruneians especially with the extensive route network that AirAsia has to offer our guests.”

While Kuala Lumpur serves as AirAsia’s main hub which connects guests to more than 16 destinations with 14 of them being local destinations such as Kuala Trengganu, Penang, Tawau and Sandakan. Those from Brunei can also head to Miri as AirAsia flies to Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore from Miri International Airport.

Additionally guests from Borneo can also make their way to Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Sabah as the airline connects guests not only to locla destinations but also to other parts of Asia including Clark (Philippines), Shezen (China), Taipei (Taiwan), HongKong, Singapore and Jakarta (Indonesia).

For more information on AirAsia, log on to airasia.com or you can visit their Facebook page –> facebook.com/AirAsia or Twitter @AirAsia.

Jamilah Abdul Halim, Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) Director, believed the collaboration will attract more Bruneians to explore Malaysia further. Brunei is ranked No.5 in the top ten arrivals to Malaysia for 2010. She also said that there was an increase of 5.2% from the period of January to June 2011.

Michelle Lee, Commercial Marketing of AirAsia, (right) flew down from KL with Cindy Choi, Station Manager for Brunei of AirAsia (center) during the the press conference

Exchange of momento between Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) and AirAsia

One of the lucky draw winners for the invited guests during the press conference

Most of the winners were from this row

AirAsia turns 10!!!

Did you know that AirAsia is also celebrating their 10th year anniversary and they have special deals in the next few days until 11th December? So do visit airasia.com and grab the opportunity for the great deals offer from AirAsia.

Click banner to enter AirAsia’s website and check out the great deals

Congratulations AirAsia for turning 10 today

b.mobile road show

Pizza Hut’s Crunchy Cheesy Bites

One Love, One Community

brunika the Official Instagramers Community of Brunei Darussalam successfully conducted the first ever Instameet among it members. Around 50 – 60 instagramers attended the event at Serasa beach, Brunei Darussalam.

It kicked off at 3pm starting with the introduction speech by Team brunika and follow up with the fun of getting to know each other, interact and ice-breaking session. They shared knowledge regarding Instagram, had a group photo and photowalk to capture every moment of Serasa beach until the sunset.

brunika Instameet 2011 limited edition T-shirt were also selling like hot cakes and they were sold out by the end of the day.

Oh yeah, for your info, Instragram is one of the most popular apps for iPhone, iPod and iPad and there are millions of users on Instagram. This is a popular culture in Brunei where users will post pictures to share with their followers. Do check out the hashtag #brunika for overall gallery & #brunika_instameet2011 to see other pictures being posted during the 1st gathering.

Congratulations to team brunika for making this a success and I’m sure there will be more gathering in the near future. Images are courtesy of @shahruddin

Private sector help for the differently-abled

The private sector could play a critical role in providing suitable employment opportunities to differently-abled people in Brunei Darussalam. It could be one of the main agencies helping the nation in efforts to dismiss discrimination, while promoting unity among every level of the society.

Highlighting this need was the Acting Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports, Datin Paduka Hajah Adina binti Haji Othman, who referred to the establishment of a committee spearheaded by the Ministry aimed at safeguarding the welfare of the differently-abled people in the Sultanate, including the implementation of legislation that allows fair access to health and education for such people. One of the many steps that the Ministry aims to achieve this, according to her, is to seek out employers who have more than 100 employees and encouraging them to employ at least one differently-abled individual as a means to break the barrier of stereotyping and opening new avenues for the demographic who have been recognised and commended as capable of performing tasks parallel to their fully-abled counterparts.

On the sidelines of a DST event to celebrate its official appointment of four of their differently-abled employees yesterday, the Acting Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports noted that such efforts are part and parcel towards ratifying the country’s membership with the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which translates to the “need to make changes to our system on a national scene”, including “decent employment” for the differently-abled who possess the mental and physical attributes to be part of the local human resource pool along with the construction of infrastructures that also caters to their needs.

“We encourage other agencies to be collectively responsible in overcoming the issues of the ‘differently-abled’ … We need to see them as individuals”, as opposed to judging them by any other measure, she said.

Whilst highlighting that there are other private and government agencies that have provided a living for the differently-abled, Datin Paduka Hajah Adina praised DST for playing a leading role, as “every country is going towards inclusive society, which means that everybody has a right to participate in the community”.

Addressing the general public, the Acting Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports said: “Play your role in society because to address the issues and problems faced by the disabled need the concerted effort of everyone including the community, employees and the government.”

Though challenges are expected such as communicating with other colleagues, Datin Paduka Hajah Adina pointed out that members of the public have the capability to make the effort and “learn sign language”, noting that the basic language of sign as being “powerful” considering its disposition that cuts across verbal language, which is more difficult to master.

She further shared that the Department of Community Development (JAPEM) under the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sports through its website – www.japem.gov.bn – provides the public with the means to learn sign language.

JAPEM has been actively training the differently-abled to prepare them for independent living and employment where they are educated in the honing of their skills including IT skills such as data entry.

The visually-impaired, she added, also have the opportunity to be employed and implement their computer skills with the right computer software and hardware that incorporates Braille. Corporations and businesses who wish to be part of this nation-building effort can contact JAPEM by calling 2380664, 2380667 or 2380678. Text by Siti Hajar and images by Dean Kassim of Borneo Bulletin.

Times Square 1st Anniversary Carnival

Rainforest Gallery Bazaar 27/11

Brunei’s first and biggest 48-hour event organised by Telekom Brunei Berhad (TelBru), which started December 2nd, has ended yesterday at 3pm at the Jerudong Park (JPCC) Amphitheatre in Jerudong.

According to press release, the first place winning team of Let’s Trek Challenge was team number 313, consisting of Mohd Danny bin Aimi, Harrisman Ashady and Mohammad Akif. The winners drove home a Daihatsu Terios 4WD sponsored by GHK Motors Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, second place winners, team 419 of Edie Zuriaddy bin Haji Zainal Abidin, Hjh Siti Fazriana Hairiani binti Hj Noordin and Ivey Ruziatty binti Haji Zainal Abidin won a five days and four nights package to Gold Coast, Australia, for three person, inclusive of air ticket, accommodation and transportation.

On the other hand, Tashry Zariaddy Haji Zainal Abidin, Hjh Siti Masyitah Haji Ainan and Noor Khadizah Haji Awang Abd Talip of team 122 won the third place, in which the prize was a five days and four nights package to an Auckland city tour in New Zealand, for three person, inclusive of air ticket, accommodation and transportation.

Fourth place winners, team 398 consisting of Hjh Ummi Athiyah Haji Awang, Justina binti Baharun and Hjh Siti Husniyah Hj Awang won themselves a four days and three nights trip to Shenzhen Safari in China for three person, inclusive of air ticket, accommodation and transportation.

Team 325 came out as the fifth place winner, and Faizulazmi bin Hj Suhaimi, Selvin Hart Lee Sagir anak Lesarut and Ak Md Khairol Azman bin Pg Abu Bakar won themselves a three days and two nights package to a Night Safari and Universal Studio in Singapore for three person, inclusive of air ticket, accommodation and transportation.

Special consolation prizes were also given to the 6th-30th place winning teams.

The gathering before the prize presentation last Sunday

Mohd Danny bin Aimi, Harrisman Ashady and Mohammad Akif are the grand winners of Let’s Trek

The 2nd prize winners of Let’s Trek

The 3rd prize winners of Let’s Trek

The guest of honour at the event was Awang Ahmad Jeffi bin Abdul Rahman, one of TelBru Board of Directors who also presented the prizes and closed the ceremony.

Also present on behalf of GHK Motors Sdn Bhd as the strategic partner of the event was Jake Goh Kiat Hing, Director.

A total of almost 200 teams – three trekkers in each team – drove for a duration of 48 hours in search of a series of clues and challenges in all the four districts – Brunei Muara, Tutong, Temburong and Belait.

In the challenges, the trekkers must cover all Telecom Business Centres or “camp site” areas in the four districts and strive to answer all questions and collect the highest points possible in order to win. Apart from the main questions, trekkers can also collect extra bonus points from other game challenges set up throughout the 48-hour challenge.

The 4th placed winners of Let’s Trek

The 5th placed winners of Let’s Trek

“We certainly have come a long way since the first “Let’s” event in 2005. With the challenges and triumphs we encountered, I can definitely say that the bridge to reach out to our customers has definitely grown stronger as this first 48-hour challenge in Brunei is the biggest customer event in TelBru’s history,” said by Lim Ming Soon, TelBru’s Chief Marketing Officer in his closing speech.

He also explained that this year’s “Let’s” main concepts were to promote local products, to explore the unseen sceneries of Brunei and to create awareness for Brunei’s tropical rainforest and ‘Go Green’ initiative.

He also said that there were a lot of familiar faces from last year, which shows that “we have certainly done something right, something that they all love and have passion for. The passion for adventure and a new experience”.

Apart from the event, members of the public were also present to join the fun during the three-day event at the JPCC Amphitheatre. Indoor activities included participating KNK Partners (Brunei Tourism), Privilege Card F&B Merchants, Merchants Games and Activities, Mini Games and many more. As for outdoor activities, there were GHK Motor Show, Horse Riding, Archery, Zorb Ball and Bouncers.

TelBru’s strategic partners for this event are GHK Motors Sdn Bhd and Mitsubishi; and Brunei Tourism, Kenali Negara Kitani in support of local tourism.

For this year’s event, TelBru is also supported by Youth and Sports Department, Brunei Darussalam Scouts Association, GTE Directories Sdn Bhd and Redbull. TelBru’s “Let’s” objectives are to create awareness on TelBru products and locations of Telecom Business Centres and Kadai TelBru, to improve customer rapport, to have the biggest customer event of the year and also to act as part of the customer appreciation programme and as part of team building exercise within TelBru to uplift team spirit. Text courtesy of Borneo Bulletin. Images courtesy of TelBru

The grand winners now have to split up the grand prize too – the Daihatsu Terios 4WD