AirAsia turns 10

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