I’m always impressed with the younger generation nowadays because of their creativity and logic when it comes to providing solution for the betterment of the environment using technology in the recent Brunei Robotics Olympiad 2015. Well, in this case, the students were using Lego Mindstorms (series of kits contain software and hardware to create customizable, programmable robots) to come up with possible solutions and tasks.

Last week, the competition among schools concluded and the winners were feted for their creativity and efforts. Sarah Abu Bakar, Acting Head of the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, shared that there weren’t any outstanding solutions and still lacking that consistency and satisfactory level. However, overall there is an improvements as compared to last year’s entries.

For your information, one of the Brunei team made it to the Top 10 in last year’s World Robotic Olympiad 2014 in Sochi, Russia and I had a great experience, covering the event (Thanks Bluebox Services and STEP). Let’s hope for a similar feat or perhaps a better placing for this year’s WRO 2015 which will be held in Doha, Qatar.

A total of 177 students from 35 schools competed in the Regular Category, which required participants to build robots for challenges titled Pearl Diving, Treasure Hunt and Mountaineering. The competition was organised by the STEP Centre in collaboration with Bluebox Services and supported by Brunei Economic Development Board together with Sasbadi Holdings Bhd. The guest of honour was Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) Acting CEO Hjh Hasnah Hj Ibrahim.

I was also happy that St. Andrew’s School won in both categories that it participated in (Open category for Primary and Secondary) since it was my former school 😀 Even my friend Heidi is a proud parent as her daughter bagged first place.

The winner of Open category (Year 10 to Year 12) – Team Wise – St. Andrew’s School with Hjh Hasnah Hj Ibrahim, Acting CEO of Brunei Economic Development Board (2nd from right) and Sarah Abu Bakar, Acting Head of the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre (right)

2nd place of Open category (Year 10 to Year 12) – SAMSUA Technobot 2.1 – SM Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab

3rd place of Open category (Year 10 to Year 12) – Unknown Paradox – SM Pg Isteri Hjh Mariam

The winner of Open category (Year 7 to Year 9) – The Oracle – Sekolah Menegah Berakas

2nd place of Open category (Year 10 to Year 12) – SAMSUA Technobot 2.0 – SM Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab

3rd place of Open category (Year 10 to Year 12) – Robokids – Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Husin

The winner of Open category (Year 4 to Year 6) – YOLO – St. Andrew’s School

2nd place of Open category (Year 4 to Year 6) – Banaatal-Jazari – Sekolah Persedian Arab

3rd place of Open category (Year 4 to Year 6) – Nafaha Explorer – Sekolah Rendah Junjongan

Winner of the Pearl Diving Category (Primary School) – Srat Diver – Sekolah Rendah Ahmad Tajuddin

Creative award for Pearl Diving – Deceptikons the 7th – Sekolah Rendah Muhammad Alam, Seria

Winner of the Treasure Hunt Category – SMSB’s Huntress – Sekolah Menengah Sufri Bolkiah

Guest of honour inspecting the team from Yayasan School

A demo from Sekolah Menengah Berakas

A demo from SOAS student

Team W.I.S.E from St. Andrew’s School

Julian Fung, BEDB’s Assistant CEO and Head of Infrastructure Development with students from Sekolah Rendah Sengkurong

From Sekolah Rendah Muhammad Alam, Seria

From Sekolah Rendah Sungai Tali

The #McWhopperProposal

Press release from Miami, USA: It’s official. Burger King is extending an olive branch to McDonald’s, calling for a one-day ‘burger wars’ ceasefire on their longstanding rivalry. Burger King proposes that on Peace Day, September 21st, 2015, the two restaurants set aside their differences and unite to create the ‘McWhopper’ – a burger that combines all the tastiest ingredients from their signature sandwiches, the Big Mac® and the WHOPPER®, in one delicious, peace-loving burger.

A detailed exploration of Burger King’s proposal to McDonald’s can be found at www.mcwhopper.com. The ‘McWhopper’ would be available for one-day, a t one location in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A, with the objective of raising awareness of Peace Day. As with any proposal, McDonald’s is free to accept or decline the offer. If they choose not to participate, no harm done – after all, peace isn’t always easy to achieve. Should they say yes, burger fans will get to experience the culinary mash-up of a lifetime, and walk away inspired by the mouthwatering taste of peace.

“Our proposal is designed to generate the most attention and awareness possible for Peace Day and the work of the non-profit organization Peace One Day,” said Fernando Machado, Senior Vice President for Global Brand Management at Burger King Corporation. “We’re being completely transparent with our approach because we want them to take this seriously. It would be amazing if McDonald’s agrees to do this. Let’s make history and generate a lot of noise around Peace Day. If they say no, we’ll hopefully have, at the very least, raised much-needed financial support and consciousness for the great cause that is Peace One Day. And both are well worth the effort.”

Peace Day, September 21st, is a United Nations-recognized annual day of global unity, successfully advocated by the non-profit organization Peace One Day. “Our short term goal is to expose three billion people to Peace Day by 2016. It’s a big target but it’s very possible, particularly with the support of the corporate sector – they have the resources and ability to raise awareness on a massive scale. That awareness creates action, and that action saves lives,” said Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day.
“This proposal from Burger King is the corporate sector at its best – coming together, putting their differences aside and saying: ‘come on; let’s do something to manifest a more peaceful, sustainable world’.”

For more information, visit www.mcwhopper.com and www.peaceoneday.org. End of press release.

On that note, it’s up to Makan Ceria Sdn Bhd (the business operator of McDonald’s Brunei) to respond on this particular press release (since Burger King is not allowed to approach). We shall see if such proposal will be materialised and it will definitely be a win-win situation for the consumers 😀 Now it’s just the waiting game from McDonald’s Brunei. Let’s make history. Furthermore, let’s make history in Brunei.

The McWhopper Packaging Proposal

EasyWay with the guest of honour and members of the Brunei Basketball Association

The prize giving ceremony

Easy won the hard way. What an intense final!!! I missed the commotion where a few players were ejected. I came right after half time of the finals between defending champions Fu Zhou and favourites EasyWay. Mike Pilgrim of EasyWay was ejected out for landing a punch on Narcisco Llagas (also ejected) and it led into a mini brawl where another official from Fu Zhou (Erwin) was also ejected after his punching efforts on EasyWay’s Ah Giap face.

There has been a huge question mark on the match officials in controlling the match and this also boils down to the Brunei Basketball Association. The standards of the officials and the discipline still needs some fine tuning. Yes, there will be reasons for having low budgets to provide appropriate training from the officials. I still find it ironic that some teams are able to fork out loads of monies to lure in import players but some are closely related to the BBA and having good relations, they would see this as an important growth for the country for the sports of basketball. You will see tons of banners here and there and corporate companies fork out monies to be part of an event. I seriously am not sure how the BBA works in Brunei but judging from the commotion last Wednesday, it gives the association a bad after taste. Something must be done to stop this from repeating.

The guest of honour was the Acting District Officer of Brunei-Muara and it was such a shame that he had to witness it. Players will take action (and play vigilante) if referees fail to make obvious foul calls and that’s where things can get really, really ugly. BBA members, officials, referees and even the policemen will turn peacemakers when things get out of hand just like last Wednesday. There were even signs of provocation from other teams to incite more heat and I thought that was unnecessary and unprofessional.

Even the venue at the Batu Bersurat Basketball Court is not ideal to hold such a large number of crowd. The players don’t have any allowance outside the boundary of their court zone and bystanders can turn into human cushions to stop the momentum. I mean, I was excited for the huge turn out but feel conflicted due to the safety of the people inside the basketball court. I believe the human count exceeded more than 200% and sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The memento for the guest of honour from BBA

There was a delay during the third quarter due to a brawl

Mike Pilgrim with his fans

Just look at the Batu Bersurat Basketball Court

Wow, I can’t believe I’m ranting on all these instead of posting how cool the match was. Anyway, let’s talk about the match itself. Yes, it was absolutely thrilling and it was end to end stuff. EasyWay was on top form and even star player Geve Leones wasn’t featured due to a sprained ankle. But EasyWay had the depth in squad. They have the likes of three impressive imports – Charlie Bolias, Robert Hite and Mike Pilgrim and not forgetting Elvin Requintin. The local players are also made up of competitive players (captain Ben Sim, Md Zainul, Yap Chun Ping, Choo Yung Jian and Jamri Ramlee. Now that’s what you call #strengthinnumbers

Defending champions Fu Zhou put up a great fight but only came close when they stole the lead in the third quarter. It didn’t last long as they suffered from the ejection of their key players. With three minutes remaining, EasyWay increased the gap and deservedly had the victory over their opponents in 89-77. EasyWay became the only team to be undefeated in the tournament.

Mike Pilgrim did wrote an apology on his Facebook Wall, “Last night was a great experience to win a Championship with a Class A organisation but I would not be correct if I didn’t take the time to apologize for the part I played in the brawl last night. As we all know there was a lot of dirty playing taking place last night and I have been more than patient with the referees and the teams as well, but I don’t blame them for my actions of retaliation to the dirty play. So to all of you especially the kids in attendance, I sincerely apologize for my actions and no matter how annoyed or frustrated I should have never let it take me out of my game or my character, so the Fu Zhou players and fans, I sincerely apologize.”

The same went for Erwin Velez who wrote on the Brunei Basketball Facebook Page, “Congratulation to Easyway for winning championship 2015 Sultan Cup, you guys deserved it, you guys put in a lot of dedication. What happened last night was much regretted, we don’t take it personally, we hope you guys don’t too. Just like your team, we are very passionate about basketball, for me personally eventhough I was not able to play this year, I still flew back to support my team in the finals. Sometimes, in the heat of our passion, we do things beyond our control which we regret later on and last night was one of those moments. My sincere apology to you guys, Specially Boss Ah Giap, I’m sorry It was a random swing and unfortunately I hit Boss Ah Giap. I hope that I can talk to you personally to apologies on my action. To Coach K and Wira Pori my sincere apologies on this matter. To Easyway family and friends my sincere apologies. Sincerely yours, Erwin Velez.”

The schedules for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-14 Regional Festival of Football 2015

His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) with AFC Festival Manager Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad

For the development of football. This is such a great idea that Brunei Darussalam is hosting the ongoing Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-14 Regional Festival of Football 2015. This is the first time that Brunei is also hosting an AFC event of this magnitude. For the country, this is a great milestone as this gives confident that Brunei Darussalam is confident in running this non-competitive event for the development of football for the youngsters locally and internationally.

The launch of the event took place last Tuesday and the football festival was officiated by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD). Also present was AFC Festival Manager Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad who shared a welcoming remark and praised Brunei Darussalam for hosting the 5-day event.

The match kicked off with Brunei Darussalam the host bowing down to the improved Philippines team with a 3-0 score line. The first two goals came less than 10 minutes into the game as the host lost concentration. The visitors were very solid in midfield and bossed the pitch, making it difficult for Brunei to win possession. The Philippines sealed the deal after the break with a sublime finish as Captain Van Vincent Nico Quintana scored a curler to add to Brunei’s misery.

However, it was a much better outing for Brunei Darussalam in the second match despite going down to Myanmar 3-2 last Wednesday. This shows that Brunei is still capable to score upfront but just need more composure when it comes to defence. They have conceded six goals so far in two games.

Brunei still have hot favourites Malaysia and the rising star Timor Leste tonight and tomorrow evening respectively. Malaysia had scored 10 goals in two games and they have been very strong upfront. Despite playing earlier this morning with a 8-0 victory over Myanmar, they will have their second match tonight against Brunei Darussalam at Belapan Sports Complex. Will Brunei able to contain the attacking prowess of Malaysia?

Do refer to the poster above for the schedules and there is also lucky draw for every match. The closing ceremony will be at 9:30pm on Saturday, 22nd August at Belapan Sports Complex.

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah launching the event

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the match officials

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the host nation

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the team from Myanmar

Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad delivering his speech

The fans from the Philippines

Head coach of Brunei working extremely hard for the past few months

It all starts from grassroots level

The working committee for the football festival

It’s great to see Thailand’s participation despite the sad news of the bombing in Bangkok

Brunei in action against the Philippines. Brunei lost 3-0 in the opening game.

Brunei in action against Myanmar but lost 3-2. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times.

Brunei in action against Myanmar but lost 3-2. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times

Earlier this morning, Malaysia dominated as they beat Myanmar 8-0

One of the saves from Myanmar keeper from a Malaysian attack

Timor Leste looked solid against the Philippines and won in a thrilling 4-2 victory

An own goal from Timor Leste to make in 3-2 but Timor Leste scored a minute later to restore the cushion for a 4-2 victory

Timor Leste’s Rivaldo Dos Santos Periera scored the final goal

Good sportsmanship shown after the match against Timor Leste and the Philippines

The customary handshake after every match.

Click image to enter register

BIBD with the sponsors and corporate partners of BIBD CE-ALAF during the press conference last week

After missing out on last year’s calendar, BIBD has brought back the BIBD Charity Expedition where the main objective is to raise funds for the ALAF participants. ALAF means Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future and now it has been rebranded as CE-ALAF. Every year, there will find ways to collaborate with strategic partners in ensuring that it’s not just about raising funds but to synergise the strengths in enhancing the study programmes for the under privilege students until they graduate with a degree.

I totally love this idea when they introduced this a few years ago. The progress and success rate have been encouraging as well for the students selected under the CE-ALAF program. The funds raised are allocated for tuition fees and counselling services. The applicants will be screened by government agencies from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs and despite being given 100 students per year quota, only 50 students and 34 students met the requirements for year 2014 and year 2015 respectively. Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar, Head of BIBD Corporate Social Responsibility, did hint that the criteria will be reviewed once again with the relevant agencies and stakeholders. It was good to highlight that some of the students from the program achieved distinctions in the PSR examinations. Giving education to under privileged student is a thoughtful gesture but for them to go beyond the expectations such as passing with flying colours is an awesome bonus indeed.

Javed Ahmed, Managing Director of BIBD, explaining to the press on the CE-ALAF program and how it has benefited the students

Members of the press and partners were present

Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar, Head of BIBD Corporate Social Responsibility (2nd from right) briefed more on the BIBD CE-ALAF initiative

The medals for this year’s event

Check out the categories

That’s the gist of the background for CE-ALAF. Now it’s the actual event of the BIBD CE-ALAG event which will take place on 25th October 2015. The registration is already open and it will close on 20th September 2015.

The only one missing from the running + cycling event is the full marathon (42km). There will be a 21km, 10km and 5km competitive categories with the addition of the fun-run of 3km. Let’s not forget the cycling category as well.

You can now register at their website link – www.bibdalaf.com – and it’s also required that you present with with a donation card which can be deposited into any BIBD branch counter via Cash Deposit Machine (CDM), ATM, online banking or CE-ALAF account number 1018181811.

Let’s hope with the funds raised that it can hope to help reduce poverty, leading the country towards a more prosperous and peaceful future where Brunei is populated with educated, highly skilful individuals on par with internationally set standards.

Every donation counts for the betterment of our future leaders. Thank you, BIBD, for making noble cause a lasting one and I’m pretty sure that the Brunei Government are happy with your initiative.

It’s fun to juggle between wedding celebrations.. First up were my friends’ wedding (Azeez and Nisaa) followed by the sister’s wedding. Sorry for the late post but here are the pictures I took for Azeez and Nisaa’s Bersanding and Berbedak ceremony. I didn’t take much pictures as I was busy on Periscope and Snapchat. I highly recommend you to download those apps and add me @ranoadidas and it has been useful for my viewers who could catch the events live as well.

In attendance were His Royal Highness Pengiran Digadong Sahibul Mal Pengiran Muda Haji Jefri Bolkiah, His Royal Highness Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Mateen, for Haji Abdul Azeez and Najidatun Nisaa’s Bersanding event. They were accompanied by Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Pahlawan Mejar Jeneral (B) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Md Jaafar and Datin Hajah Salbiah, parents of the groom last Saturday

Also in attendance were Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah and Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri Fadzilah Lubabul Bulqiah with Puan Hjh Mariam

Also in attendance were Her Highness Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Norhayati (2nd from right) , Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna (3rd from left), Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Nor’ain (3rd from right), Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Amal umi Kalthum Al-Islam (2nd from left), Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Amal Rakiah (1st from right) and Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Amal Nasibah (1st from left)

Invited foreign guests at the Bersanding event

With the relatives from the bride

With the females from the SF group 😀

Serious mode expression from SF family

Now the serious face

With Nisaa’s former colleagues during her Royal Brunei days

With Nisaa’s colleagues at HSBC

It’s feeding time

Nisaa getting ready for the event

With Mimi.. Nisaa’s good friend

Puan Hjh Mazuin at the Berbedak ceremony of the newly wed

Azeez and Nisaa during the Berbedak last week

The guest in attendance

Pose the camera ladies 😀

The sweet parents of the groom. Always taking care of guests and even us. Appreciate it 😀

The groom and bride with the “Pengangun”

Aaah, matches my attire

Putting up the head gear for Nisaa. Very tedious and quite heavy as well.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Regional Festival of Football 2015 is set to hold its Opening Ceremony, 4:00 pm, on Tuesday, 18th August 2015, at the Track and Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex.

The first match to be played will be from Group A, Philippines against Brunei Darussalam kicking off at 4:35 pm. This match will be played at the Track and Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex straight after the Opening Ceremony. At the Berakas Sports Complex, Group B will kick off its first match seeing Vietnam playing against Singapore kicking off at 4:40 pm.

Members of the public are welcome to come and watch all the matches of the festival, which will be held at Track and Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex and Berakas Sports Complex. The ticket entrances for the Festival matches are free and there will also be some lucky draw prizes to be won during half time at every single match throughout the festival to the first 50 people who come to the matches.
The AFC U14 Regional Festival of Football 2015 held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam is supported by the Department of Youth and Sports of the Ministry Culture, Youth and Sports and sponsored by Kuang Wei Advertising and Display Sdn Bhd, Ideal Group Holdings Sdn Bhd, NBT (B) Sdn Bhd, Orchid Garden Hotel, Superwater Marketing Sdn Bhd, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Brunei Times Sdn Bhd, Aewon Brunei, Magic Media, Kingston Beverage and Creamery Sdn Bhd and Ranoadidas.

With the support from the government and local companies, NFABD would like members of the public to continuously support the National Under 14 team, the Tabuan U14, led by Head Coach Takao Fujiwara that will be participating in the festival.

For more info on the festival, please visit www.nfabd.org

NFABD welcomes team from Timor Leste

NFABD welcomes team from the Philippines

NFABD welcomes team from Thailand

Nuraziemah Hj Zulkifli winning the Kia Caren EX, the grand prize of the Kia Hari Raya Promotion last weekend

Masnah Hj Sabtu, winning the Kia Cerato Sedan for the 2nd prize

Previously Grand Motors Sdn Bhd gave away a home and a few cars as part of their 30th anniversary. Last week, Grand Motors presented four cars from KIA for the lucky winners of the “Kia Hari Raya Promotion” and also “Cerato for the Young and Young-at-Heart” promotion.

So who won the grand prize of the Kia Caren EX? It now belongs to the new owner – 23-year-old Nuraziemah Hj Zulkifli. Second prize belonged to Masnah Hj Sabtu, winning the Kia Cerato Sedan; the third prize went to Harun Hipnie who won Kia F/L Rio and the fourth prize (another car) went to Norasikin Aslan who won Kia Picanto M/T. The other remaining from the short listed winners of 10 walked way with cash vouchers.

Another shortlisted winners was for the Cerato for the Young and the Young-at-Heart promotion and there were 10 people who were drawn. Chan Siang Wei walked away with one unit ASUS Ultimate Fighting Machine Laptop 8gb and Hjh Mahani Hj Dagang won herself one unit ASUS Ultimate Fighting Machine Laptop 4gb. The third place winner, Iskandar Hj Alias won himself one PS4 Gaming Console 500gb and the fourth place went to Maimun Hj Serudin who brought home one XBOX 360 with Kinect Console Bundle.

The remaining winners won themselves a GoPro Hero 4 each. Awesome consolation prizes I must say.

All in all, it was a successful campaign as Grand Motors had 500 eligible customers who bought a car from 1st May to 31st July and 200 customers for the Cerato for the Young and the Young-at-heart promotion which ran from 1st April to 31st July. Present during the draw were Frankie Ho, Managing Director of Grand Motors Sdn Bhd, Hj Shaiful Rizal Bin Pehin Dato Dr Hj Ahmad, Executive Director and Jacqueline Koh, Kia Sales Manager.

Group photo with the winners and the management of Grand Motors and representatives from the financial institutions

Harun Hipnie who won Kia F/L Rio as third prize

Norasikin Aslan who won Kia Picanto M/T as fourth prize

Hjh Mahani Hj Dagang won herself one unit ASUS Ultimate Fighting Machine Laptop 4gb

GoPro Hero 4 winner

Another GoPro Hero 4 winner

Irwan bin Lamit, Managing Director of BIBD At-tamwil drawing the short listed customers few days before the actual draw

Representatives from BIBD At-tamwil and Baiduri Finance with the management of Grand Motors

During the Berinai ceremony last night

The beautiful Nisaa

Nisaa and her SF buddies

The car for tonight

Don’t forget to tune in to my social media updates for tonight’s Azeez & Nisaa’s Bersanding event

During the launch of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referee Preparatory Course for the AFC Under-14 Regional Festival of Football

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Referee Preparatory Course for the AFC Under-14 Regional Festival of Football was launched at the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) headquarters in Berakas earlier this week.
Fourteen young referees from Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part in the five-day programme that will conclude today.

The course aims to prepare and assess the participating referees for the festival that will be held at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports and the Berakas Sports Complex from August 18-22.

The course will be conducted by two referee instructors; Mohammad Rodzali Yacob and Michael Hanania.

NFABD General Secretary Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani in his welcoming speech highlighted the importance of having the course for the upcoming festival.

“I understand that prior to the AFC Festival, an AFC Referee Preparatory Course is to be conducted first whereby the referees are from the participating countries,” said Hj Muhd Zamri.

“I believe this course will be beneficial to all participating referees as part of their individual development as well as for the development to their respective countries.

Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam are the among the countries that will compete in the tournament.

Among the aims of the festival are to provide a continuous player development pathway from the grassroots at the school level to the elite level and ensure a smooth transition for elite players to the national team.

Sanctioned by AFC, the festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and other related government agencies.

Admission is free and a lucky draw will be held during the event.

The referees for the upcoming AFC Under-14 Regional Festival of Football

Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani, NFABD General Secretary (centre) with the organizing committee and referees

Yves Grosjean, General Manager of Total E&P Borneo B.V. in green attire hosting guests at Total Hari Raya Open House

Recently Total E&P Borneo BV celebrated their Hari Raya Open House for their clients and guests. It has become an annual event as they host a corporate open house. The host was Yves Grosjean, General Manager of Total E&P Borneo B.V.

Total has been have very busy this year alone. Earlier in the year, Total has achieved 15 years in recording zero Loss Time Injury (LTI) and they have operated at least millions of man-hours in several operation sites, drilling campaigns, repair and modification operations, oil platform operations, logistical operations – including the use of helicopters – and other kinds of operation. Good job to the staff and contractors of Total.

Also recently last month, Total launched the jacket of the third platform of the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam (MLJ-3) field. Jacket I am referring to is a steel frame fixed to the seabed, forming the support structure of an oil production platform. . The jacket was on the Muara Yard in just one year. It is 100% Brunei made and it required around 500 000 man hours of work. Great work by Petrovietnam Technical Services of Vietnam (PTSC M&C) with the assistance of Sahid, Adinin, Megalift, Teca, Velosi and Petrokon.

Keep up the great work, Total.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office during the launch of the Load Out of the MLJ-3 Jacket last July

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (C) in action during yesterday’s His Majesty’s 69th Birthday Polo Cup at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club in Jerudong. The monarch’s Black Team is through to today’s final after defeating Yellow Team 11-4 in the first day of the four-team tournament yesterday. Image courtesy of Ridhwan Kamarulzaman of The Brunei Times.

It’s never easy when you have a lot on your hands. One reason why I had to forgo my traveling trips for this month especially Denmark. Two big weddings and a Toastmasters competition coming up and not forgetting His Majesty’s birthday celebrations in all the districts. It’s a month that will test my endurance in my late 30s *lol* I still feel I have much to offer (physical and mentally). Oh yea, there are still some corporate Open House invitations before end of August. So I need to squeeze in for that too.

Everyone keeps asking me “How’s the (Brunei) economy?” If someone asks me that particular question then it could be implying that the local economy is going through a transition. Spending power has been lesser than usual. It was evident during Ramadhan where bookings for restaurants didn’t top their benchmark of last year’s. Well, this could be down to another reason (too many new cafes and restaurants). Even purchasing of cars lately have been mediocre to say the least. How so? Because of the new directive from Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) that consumers have less flexibility in applying car loans. If you look at it in a positive way, there are good points to why this can benefit the end users in a long run. For me, I am very grateful of our stability in many areas including the economy in Brunei and not forgetting the harmony and peace. After reading what other regional countries are experiencing, it gives me a higher level of gratitude to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan and His Majesty’s government.

I kinda enjoyed Hjh Normah’s presentation. She’s the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and she gave an insight on the current business environment in Brunei at a different perspective. We shouldn’t just use excuse such as the size of small population or the size of the country as Brunei have untapped opportunities through means of natural resources and culture. It’s never a disadvantage as well being a Muslim country as Brunei can be one of the international hub for the halal market where she highlighted the presence of Bruneihalal brand in the UK, specifically their distribution centre in Birmingham. The other big opportunity is Bio Innovation Corridor (BIC) which serves as base for manufacturers of halal products including food, cosmetics and medicinal and health supplements. She kicked off her presentation by saying Brunei is a good place to detox (mostly from entertainment).

Tonight I will be busy with my gadget(s) taking live feed and snap chatting on Azeez Jaafar and Nisaa Suresh’s Berbedak ceremony tonight. I have been having lack of sleep for the past two weeks or so but it has been fun.

Hari Raya celebration at BIBD Open House with Hj Rozan Yunos and his spouse

The Brunei Robotics Olympiad on the Regular Category. The Open Category will be on 29th August. I shall be covering that event.

Hjh Normah Suria Hayati Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (3rd from left) was the guest of honour at LBD forum yesterday, hosted by Asia Inc Forum and Baiduri Bank and Brunei Press as partners

The DJs from Pilihan at BIBD Open House. It was indeed a very packed event.

Finally the BBA got rid of the dirty mattress. Just a note though that there isn’t any cushion to soften the impact in case a player runs too fast.

Ah, the mini Zinger from KFC. I’m glad they released this as part of their ongoing menu.

Our toastmasters club at Brunei Speakers’ Club is growing week by week. Last night we had the strongest in terms of numbers and it was a wunderbar experience. Keep up the great work, lads!!

My favourite dish of all the Open Houses I’ve been 😀

Always inspired to know a passionate barista/entrepreneur

After my posting on IG, her green tea creme brûlée has been one of the popular items in her cafe. Must try.. Love the texture. Available at Piccolo Cafe (bandar)

My toy, Slyer, watching Minul and I in action on the court. I’ve been losing five straight times against him. What gives?

At Royal Brunei Airlines Open House

Check the new facelift for the Citroen DS3. The price is slightly higher. However, now the current DS3 is selling at $25,750 and it will be sold at that price until all stock is sold.

Now the Acer Iconia Tab 8W is back in stock and it also comes with Microsoft’s new Office 365 (one year subscription). Teachers and students will be able to enjoy the privilege as they will be given a special discount. Now available at Concepts Computer.

Two inspired runners who ran the Sundown Marathon 2015 in Singapore recently and both are using Polar watches. Do follow @polar_bn for updates. More stories on Polar (Brunei) on the sponsorship of local athletes.

Good thing about Snapchat

Thanks AB for the hospitality last week.

A Marvel adaption movie ruined by Fox. How could they?

The logo of my sister’s wedding

Best part of family weddings is gathering and reunions 😀

Now our inside driveway has been transformed into temporary tents

My siblings 😀

My chubby lil sis in her excusable pyjama

Been busy preparing with invites and the protocols for the upcoming events at home. September please come sooner 😀