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A sneak preview of what’s to come for the Spark

This morning, EPL Masters Legend – Faustino Asprilla, Paul Jones, Ian Pearce, Stephane Henchoz, Rob Jones, Fraser Digby, David May, Clayton Blackmore, Ben Thornly, Quinton Fortune, Lee Martin, Andy Ritchie, Carl Muggleton, Rufos Brevett, Michael Thomas and Kevin Gallen.

They will be participating in the upcoming EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2012 brought to you by B-Mobile Communications. I shall be doing live coverage on the event (through Twitter) though I will be slightly late on the first hour due to some commitment that I have taken.

The images below are courtesy of Cooltones and eplmastersbrunei.com

Arriving at Brunei International Airport

Good to see Viv Anderson back in Brunei. He’s such as a top bloke.

Can you see Stephane Henchoz?

The crew and the players checking in at The Empire Hotel

Quinton Fortune is here in Brunei

Wanna catch four superstar icons from Malaysia – Zainal Abidin, Sheila Majid, Jamal Abdillah and Amy at KK in two weeks’ time? Well, it’s just 30 minutes away (by air) and S-Team, the Brunei Sole Ticketing Agent, have created a package for the Brunei market.

The venue will be at UMS, Chancellor Hall, on the 5th May 2012. For more info, you can click on the link – http://legendary.gbs2u.com – or call 2345 999 or 2342 999 for more details.

Catch all the legendary singers in one night. Click image to see more details

This was one of the official dinners for the earlier batch of EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2012 players – Andy Cole (Manchester Utd), Patrick Berger (Liverpool), Vladimir Smicer (Liverpool FC) and Steve Black (Masters). Also in attendance were members of the Royal Brunei Airlines Board of Directors and Senior Management. The dinner took place at Mutiara Ballroom at Radisson Hotel.

Royal Brunei Airlines also invited 10 winners of RBA’s social media competition “EPL Masters Challenge” on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram which allowed participants to post an image that represented their passion for football.

In his welcoming speech, Royal Brunei Airlines Head of Corporate Services, Mr. Aji Puteh, said, “It’s an honour to be working alongside ADSEM as a a sponsor to bring some of the finiest footballers in the world into Brunei to promote excellence to our community.”

He added, “Brunei have also embraced the English Premier League wholeheartedly which is greatly evident when you pass by local coffee shops. We are grateful to meet some of the finest athletes in the world into Brunei who are here as advocates of sporting excellence to our community promoting that game we Bruneians love so much – football.”

The EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2012 is organised by Adsem – Ad Sports Event Management, Masters Football Asia and Football Focus Asia, as is presented by B-Mobile Communications. The EPL MAsters Challenge competition on Instagram was in partnership with Brunika.

There were a few cultural performances during dinner

Smicer and Berger were given the opportunity to “joget” with the dancers. They were stiff alright *lol*

Jefri Rahman of the Board of Directors of Royal Brunei Airlines took a photo with the EPL Stars

With the Senior Management of Royal Brunei Airlines

With the members of Royal Brunei Airlines

The EPL Masters players with Brunika management and winners

I managed to get a photo with the Liverpool legends

Remember the idea is not cross sign jerseys with your rivals

Mr. Kurapak and Wandi are Liverpool fans, smiling towards camera with Patrick Berger

Nadz was the emcee and also the entertainer as he produced his brilliance of magic. Image courtesy of EmmaGoodEgg

Thank you, RBA, for hosting and I love the t-shirts too 😀

Click image to enter official website of the EPL Masters Brunei

Jog, jog, jog!!! That have been the common word that we have been hearing ever since SCB “Run for a Reason”. With WalkRunCycle2012 around the corner, the Pusat Ehsan Charity Run 2012 will be on 8th of July instead of 24th June. The statement was officially made by the organising committee of the Pusat Ehsan Charity Run 2012 at the BSB Waterfront last Tuesday.

The venue and other programmes will remain the same except for the cultural performance that will be replaced with a variety of game.

Mr Raja Segaran, the Chairman of the event, announced a new category has been included which is the Corporate Category. This category is open for a team of 10 people. Under the Corporate Category, a special rate will be given to a minimum of 30 participants in one organisation. Goodie bags and the logo of their organisation will be included in the back-drop of the banner.

The organising committee and Prism Works Event Management during the press conference. Image courtesy of Pusat Ehsan

The organising committee at the BSB Waterfront. Image courtesy of Pusat Ehsan

Members of the public especially runners may register and get the forms at every BIBD counter, Pusat Ehsan in Bengkurong and also in Belait, and at Fitness Zone. The forms can also be downloaded at www.therun.com.bn.

In conjunction with the run, a bazaar will be held starting Friday, July 6 from 5pm until 10pm. On the day of the run, the bazaar will be opened as early as 7am. In achieving the goal to promote Brunei as a hub for sports tourism, on the day of the run, Prism World Event Management will be providing a 90-minute walks and sightseeing tour for tourists.

The sightseeing includes a walk across Brunei’s iconic landmarks such as Kampong Ayer, Bandar Seri Begawan and the Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Mosque. For more details on the Pusat Ehsan Charity Run 2012, the public may visit their website and search ‘the run’ in Facebook. Source: Rokiah Mahmud of Borneo Bulletin.

Click image to see more details

There was an early preview for interested customers of the much awaited Audi Q3 which is not available yet in the market. The guests saw the new Audi Q3 compact premium SUV at its new new 2-storey Audi showroom in Kiarong. Some would call Q3 is the baby of the Q5.

For your info, the special unit of Q3 showcased is a left hand drive from Audi AG Germany and the unit has been on an Asia Tour since late last year which includes Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. So last week it was at Brunei’s turn to showcase the sneak preview of the Q3.

The Q3 showcases Audi’s expertise in all aspects of engineering: from its lightweight body through strong and efficient drive trains and a dynamic chassis to its state-of-the-art assistance systems and multimedia systems. Many of its features are straight from the luxury class.

Despite its coupe-like styling, the Audi Q3 is clearly recognizable as a member of the Q family. Its wraparound tailgate is similar in design to those on its larger siblings, the Q5 and Q7. The Audi Q3 is 4.39 meters in length (14.4 ft), 1.83 meters in width (6.0 ft), and 1.60 meters (5.25 ft) in height – roof rail included.

For more info, you can call 239 0725 for more details and the price is estimated in the region of BND 60,000 plus. Not bad at all 🙂

Many customers have their eyes on the much awaited Audi Q3

This is how the back view looks like on the Audi Q3

Some of the guests trying out the Audi Q3

Yesterday I attended a quick briefing from the Airport Restaurant as they are having a special promotion until the end of the month (April). Basically during dinner buffet, if you happen to bring a group of 4 or 8, the fourth person in the group only pays $1 for the buffet. Awesome, aye? This means that if you split up the bill, you will be enjoying 25% discount on the buffet with a minimum of four people.

There’s also a good catch for diners at Airport Restaurant as they will be able to get a rebate on the parking. You can enjoy a $2.00 Airport parking rebate for every $25 spent in a single receipt at Airport Restaurant. For more information, you can call 233 1853.

With the Airport Restaurant managers, chef and the waiters and waitresses

Check out the promotion

See how you can benefit dining at Airport Restaurant

So among the four friends, who will be the lucky one that only pays $1? *lol*

The B-Mobile Football Fiesta final road show ended in style after a jubilant Ruzaini bin Mahadi clinched the top spot in the B-Mobile Football Kick-Off Challenge at the Airport Mall last sunday.

The football fan retained pole position, which he accomplished in the semi-final rounds, after clocking a time of one minute and 18 seconds ahead of Ak Md Hilme Ahtirahpuddin bin Pg Jufrizar in second place and Abdul Rahim bin Haji Muhammad in third place. Pg Hj Yasrizam bin Pg Hj Yaakub secured fourth place.

Md Basri bin Hj Md Mansor emerged as the champion of the PS3 Cyber Games after recording a convincing 4-1 win in the final at the expense of Md Ridzuan bin Awg Kamal. Experienced gamer Mohd Hilmi Shah Mohd Sahri settled for third place. The football Kick-Off challenge was a crash course where the top 10 participants had to beat the fastest time of the round by coming across five inventive obstacles.

The winners of both events earned themselves two golden tickets, Meet the Players’ dinner session, EPL T-Shirt, B-Mobile’s PURE handset, certificate of participation and Fes Retro Goodie Bag worth $100. The prizes for second place were a $59 EPL ticket, EPL T-shirt, B-Mobile’s PRISTINE handset, $30 top-up card, B-Mobile’s certificate of participation and Fes Retro Goodie Bag worth $75. The third place winner won himself $39 EPL ticket, an EPL T-shirt, modem, $20 YES! Zoom top-up card, certificate of participation and Fes Retro Goodie Bag worth $50. Each golden ticket won gave the customer 10 times more chances to win the grand prize – a Lexus CT200, which will be announced at the Football Masters on April 21 at the National Indoor Stadium.

The road show, which was billed a success given the strong response from the public, was also filled with other activities suitable for all ages such as “Spot the Sticker” for the grown-ups and drawing and colouring contests for the kids and teenagers organised by B-Mobile loyalty merchant, Rainforest Gallery. There was also a 3 aside football tournament organised by Adsem where 12 teams participated.

The winner of both events received a voucher from Rainforest Gallery and goodie bags from B-Mobile. Second and third place winners won goodie bags from B-Mobile.

The final road show also featured a T-shirt lucky draw where anyone who purchased the EPL T-shirt stood a chance to win a golden ticket. Five golden tickets were up for grabs.

The final road show marked the end of a series of activities, which began last February and concluded with a prize presentation in the Football Kick-Off challenge event and the PS3 Cyber Games.

Mr Lim Ming Soon, the CEO of B-Mobile, presented prizes to the top three finishers in the B-Mobile Football Kick-Off Challenge and the PS3 Cyber Games. Text courtesy of Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

The Football Kick-Off Challenge drew many participants during the 3 day roadshow

One of the consolation winners of the Football Kick-Off Challenge

Ruzaini receiving his 1st place prize of B-Mobile Football Kick-Off Challenge from Mr. Lim Ming Soon, CEO of B-Mobile

Md Basri receiving his 1st place prize of B-Mobile Football PS3 Cyber Games (FIFA 2012) from Mr. Lim Ming Soon, CEO of B-Mobile

The second and third place of B-Mobile Football PS3 Cyber Games (FIFA 2012)

The top three winners of B-Mobile Football Kick-Off Challenge and PS3 Cyber Games (FIFA 2012)

The management of B-Mobile had some fun playing 3-aside after the event

Click image to enter official website of the EPL Masters Brunei

Titanic 3D. I can’t believe I actually caught this movie again *lol* For one, I was pretty impressed with the trailer of Titanic in 3D a few months back and I told myself I’m gonna catch this movie again. There have been mixed reviews on 3D movies as the benchmark is still Avatar though Hugo was an exception.

I won’t go too much details on the movie itself since …. come on, who doesn’t know or haven’t seen Titanic? But I must say give this movie another go in 3D. Yes, I’ve watched Beauty & the Beast in 3D but it was just a so-so 3D effect. I re-lived the experience of the Titanic and it seemed refreshing. I won’t say it’s one of my favourites of all time but it’s good enough for a notable mention. James Cameron has done it again. Verdict: 8/10 on movie and 3D display..

We Not Naughty. Jack Neo the guy who never lacks controversy. For your info, Jack Neo is one of the top directors in Singapore and he does write too. His popular hits “I Not Stupid” and “Money No Enough” were iconic movies in Singapore where cultures and social issues were raised in the movies. Hence it’s quite relevant to Singaporeans with a taste of humour as well.

We Not Naughty is another follow up where it examines the relationship between parents and rebellious children in Singapore’s current society. The movie itself was amusing and entertaining but I thought the direction could have been better. The final 30 minutes seemed unnecessary and the movie felt quite long. I didn’t enjoy it as much as “I Not Stupid”. The moral and the value of the story are quite evident but with some cut off scenes, it would have been properly executed. Verdict: 7/10.

Battleship. Hmmm I don’t get it why U.S. will only release Battleship in May while in other regions, Battleship are raking in huge numbers in their debut last weekend. I wanted to catch this movie badly after seeing people’s response on their ratings of Battleship.. Well, it was an average of an 8 which is surprisingly high. So I booked for a Saturday evening show with my gang with high expectations already.

Now here’s the thing.. I’m still trying to figure out where the 8s, the 9s or the 10s come from (as in from my peers). Don’t get me wrong though because the movie seemed to make less sense or lose that sense of credibility as it progressed. Action sequences were entertaining at least but a huge question mark remains on why Peter Berg (the director) fell flat on ideas in terms of the plot. A believable one at least.

I didn’t realise the lead actor is played by Taylor Kitsch who had big roles such as the flop John Carter. From the looks of it, he had a better showing at Battleship and I’m pretty sure once it opens in the States, Battleship will outperform John Carter in the box office. So much promise and even my buddies think I’m too generous with my ratings. RA’s Verdict: 7/10. Del Goh’s verdict: 3/10. Winnie’s verdict: 2/10. Sophia’s verdict: 4/10.

Click image to enter official website of Baiduri Masters

Since its inception in 1995, the Baiduri Masters Charity Golf Tournament has grown tremendously, to the extent it is now acknowledged as the biggest and most prestigious annual golfing event in Brunei Darussalam. The 2012 Baiduri Masters Golf Tournament is set to kick off over two weekends, from 25th to 27th May and from 01st to 03rd June 2012 at the RBA Golf Club. This will be Baiduri Bank Group’s 17th annual fundraising golf tournament.

Thanks to the support of the strategic partner – the QAF Group of Companies, the much awaited hole-in-one prizes for this year’s Baiduri Masters was confirmed this morning at the Partnership Signing Ceremony. Held at the QAF Centre, the signing of MOU between Baiduri Bank Group and QAF Group has provisioned three luxury cars worth around BND300, 000 for the event’s hole-in-one prizes, i.e. a Porsche Boxster, a BMW 520and a Mini Cooper.

Besides the three cars, this year’s participants will also stand the chance to win two cash prizes of BND20, 000 each plus numerous other tournament prizes.

At this morning’s event, two other MOUs were signed. An MOU between Baiduri Bank Group and Brunei Press was signed appointing the Borneo Bulletin and Media Permata as the exclusive print media partners, while an MOU between Baiduri Bank Group and RBA Golf Club Sdn Bhd was signed appointing the club as the event partner for the event.

Mr Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank thanked the partners for their continued support of the Baiduri Masters Charity Golf Tournament. He said, “The main objective of the Baiduri Masters is to raise funds to be channelled to a number of charities and welfare bodies. We believe in supporting programmes that offer educational opportunities and assistance to children with special needs. This support is crucial in helping them embark on a brighter future.”

“Our partners’ support and the keen participation of golfers have been instrumental in achieving this goal, where we have managed year after year to raise funds that were donated to local charities. We look forward to yourcontinuous support again this year,” said Mr Imhof.

Pg Md Joanda, General Manager of RBA Golf Club Sdn Bhd exchanging documents with Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank

Reggie See, General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd exchanging documents with Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank

Albert Lau, CEO of QAF Brunei exchanging documents with Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank

Group photo with Baiduri Bank and its partners for Baiduri Masters

Mr. Albert Lau, Chief Executive Officer of QAF Brunei, Mr. Reggie See, General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd and Pg Md Joanda Pg Hj Hidop, General Manager of RBA Golf Club Sdn Bhd signed on behalf of their organizations respectively while Mr Imhof signed on behalf of Baiduri Bank Group. Also in attendance were senior executives from the Baiduri Bank Group, the QAF Group and Brunei Press.

The upcoming golf tournament is divided into three divisions: Men’s, Ladies’ and Junior’s. The Men’s division will be further divided into Men’s Open and Senior Golfers categories. The Junior Golfers category is open to golfers aged 13 to 18 years old.

Registration fee for the Baiduri Masters 2012 will be at BND120 for adults and BND60 for juniors. The registration fee is inclusive of green fee, buggy, buffet breakfast and lunch. Players may play more than once to improve their chances of winning. Adult players will enjoy a 10% discount on the registration fee on their second and subsequent rounds. The best score of any round played will be taken.

Registration deadline for the first weekend’s tournament is 23rd May 2012 while for the second weekend’s tournament is 30th May 2012.

The tournament schedule and registration details will be available at the RBA Golf Club, Berakas. The public can also log onto www.baiduri.com for full details, where they can download the registration form.

Adib Noor posing with one of the cars for the hole-in-one

Another hole-in-one car is the Porsche Boxster

Who’s gonna win the Baiduri Masters this year?

The BMW merchandise does match Baiduri Bank’s corporate theme colour

Click image to see the rates

Malaysia Airlines’ wholly owned subsidiary MASwings is offering its ‘Awesome April Getaways’ online promotional fares through www.maswings.com.my for travel on its network in Sabah, Sarawak and beyond into the newly introduced BIMP-EAGA region.

A total of 130,000 seats are up for grabs with discounts up to 80% off the normal fares. These offers are available online from 14 April to 20 April 2012 and valid for travel effective 16 April till 11 August 2012.

True to its name, “Awesome April Getaways” is an attractive and affordable deal for customers as they will be able to purchase one-way fares from as low as RM39 from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan and Labuan, RM49 to Lahad Datu, Bintulu, Tawau and Miri and RM59 to Sibu, Mulu and Kuching from Kota Kinabalu.

Customers from Miri will also be enjoying fares from as low as RM39 to Bintulu, Mulu, Limbang and Labuan as well as RM49 to Sibu. Similar low fares from Kuching start at RM39 to Sibu, RM49 to Bintulu and RM59 to Miri and Mulu.

MAS Wings is not a bad flight actually

International promotional fares are also available on MASwings’ BIMP EAGA routes starting from as low as RM39 per way to Brunei from Kota Kinabalu, RM49 from both Kuching to Pontianak and Tawau to Tarakan, and at RM69 from Kuching to Brunei.

“As an airline that provides extensive air links in Sabah and Sarawak and now spreading its wings across borders into BIMP-EAGA routes, we are very delighted to offer this awesome deal for our customers especially to those who take the opportunity for a break during the coming Harvest and Gawai festive holidays,” said MASwings Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Capt Mohd Nawawi Awang.

“We intend to continue with such on-going attractive fares and offers to allow more people especially foreign tourists to travel and savour the various attractions and beauty of these destinations,’ he added.

These offers, excluding taxes, fuel and insurance surcharges are subject to terms and conditions. More information on the above fares and flight schedules are available on MASwings website www.maswings.com.my.

Call 222 6111 now for Pizza Hut awesome Double Tuesday Deals

Over 100 over fans had the privilege to catch superstar Aaron Aziz during an exclusive hi-tea session at Tarindak D’Polo yesterday. Aaron Aziz came with his beloved wife Diyana Halik whose birthday fell on that day too. It was a great experience for the fans as they got their money’s worth as Aaron was pretty entertaining during the the Q & A sessions with the fans.

There were also some scenes re-enacted from the million dollar hit “Ombak Rindu” which brought some delights to the fans. After refreshments, the silver ticket fans had the opportunity to take photos and signatures from the celebrity.

Also present were local artistes Maria, Lily Chiam, Shian Li Chiam and Zul Faden. The event was organised by El Ricco as part of the Bliss Wedding Showcase 2012..

Recently Aaron Aziz was voted the Most Famous Actor at the Berita Harian Award and also won the Most Popular Male Film Actor award. However, his victory rose some controversies as he is a Singaporean.

Perhaps the best question answered was “Suci” when he replied to one of the fans’ question – “What’s your room number (at The Empire Hotel)?”

It was sweet that Aaron Aziz came along with his wife Diyana Halik who is also his manager

DJ Zureen was the emcee of the day

One of the fans made some cakes for Aaron Aziz

Trying to re-enact one of the scenes with Aaron Aziz

The fans were all smiles during the Q&A session

Seri Wee had her heart racing when she was asked to re-enact one of the sweetest scenes in Ombak Rindu

This is the scene I was talking about, taken from a clip of Ombak Rindu

And boy, did Seri Wee enjoy that scene with Aaron Aziz.. *lol*

A fan asked a very controversial question but it was cool of Aaron Aziz to answer it professionally

Another fan was so excited yet nervous to up close and personal with Aaron Aziz

Ak Danny asked Aaron if he is any fan of the Premier League and sadly he doesn’t support any club

His fans kept on screaming whenever Aaron replied with a witty answer

It was quite a crowd yesterday during the Meet the fan session

Some of the families had a group photo with Aaron Aziz

Zul Faden asking some advice from Aaron with regards to acting

Fina and Tisya are big fans of Aaron Aziz

Tisya was so proud that to get Aaron’s signature on the silver ticket

Click image to enlarge

This is the first of its kind from AITI and they have collaborated with iCentre’s Think Big Immerse Challenge 2012. The motive for AITI is to create a new field for innovation and multimedia for the ANIMASI Challenge 2012.

The purpose of the “Brunei Stories Scriptwriting and Storyboarding Challenge” is dedicated to discover and support emerging writing talents in particular to create a script and a storyboard. The script and storyboard should be based on the common title Bruneian Folklore. This Challenge is also aimed to encourage aspiring, emerging and established scriptwriters with originality and promise in work.

So who’s eligible?
1) Citizens and PR of Brunei Darussalam.
2) Scripts and storyboards – Standard Bahasa Melayu or English Language.
3) All participants relate to the theme of “Bruneian Folklore” which includes legends, myths and Brunei elements such as places of interest, cultural values and history

Deadline? —> 4th June 2012.

First prize winner of the iMMerse-ANIMASI Scriptwriting and Storyboarding Challenge will walk away with a grand cash prize worth B$3000 and a trophy. Second and third place winners of this Challenge shall receive B$2000 and B$1000 and trophies. Four consolation prizes worth $500 will also be given. That’s a cool incentive and I’m sure a lot of students will take up this challenge.

Scriptwriting and Storyboarding Challenge was launched last Friday and the guest honour was Tuan Hj Yahkup Haju Menudin, Cheif Executive of AITI. For further enquiries, you can email farihah.said(a)aiti.gov.bn or call 232 3232.

Tuan Hj Yahkup, Chief Executive of AITI (center) recently attended iCentre’s 4th year anniversary

I’m sure not many of you know of Chatworthy but it’s something that will be a big hit on the Apps world (for IOS users) and furthermore, it was developed by our own Brunei, Keeran Janin, the founder of MeSixty. As you know with the an increasing number of people interacting on social network platforms, a huge amoung of geo-tagged is being uploaded all the time. Hence MeSixty is able to geo-tagged content that are posted and they can display items that are revelant to your preference. Now that is awesome!!

As for Chatworthy, this is an app for the iPad and iPhone that lets you discover interesting social network based on locations. For instance, you select a location in any part of the world and it will automatically rank the posts by how relevant they are to you. The bonus part is you will be able to chat with that particular person who posts up those pictures and of course, both parties must download Chatworthy to make this possible 🙂

So last month, Keeran Janin represented Brunei in the inaugural DEMO Asia which is a launchpad for emerging technology and trends which was held at Matrix @ Biopolis, Singapore. So at DEMO Asia, a hand-selected group of new products will make its public debut to global press, savvy investors, corporate acquirers, strategic partners and buys.

At DEMO Asias 2012, a total of 44 Asian startups launched their products and 32 alpha stage companies pitched their products at the event. In the past five years, DEMO companies have raised over USD 4.5 Billion after their debut at giants like Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec, Yahoo! and Cisco.

So it’s quite a privilege and a honour to have MeSixty to be shorlisted as one of the companies that qualified to pitch at the DEMO Asia 2012. They had to go through an audition process among hundreds of other startups internationally.

For now, we will be waiting when “Chatworthy” app will be available for end users. You can check out the Youtube video of Keeran’s presentation during the DEMO Asia 2012.

Keeran Janin of MeSixty had a six minute pitch at DEMO Asia 2012 in Singapore last March

The audience during the DEMO Asia 2012

Click on image to see the video of Keeran Janin’s presentation. The “Chatworthy” App is worth a look.

The shortlisted startups from different countries and it’s nice to see one representative from Brunei

Dato Paduk Hj Ali Apong, Chairman of BEDB, looking a demo from Keeran Janin’s Chatworthy at the iCentre recently

Now this is one awesome work. Done by iDesign Concept. Image courtesy of @idesignbrunei on Instagram and image edited by myself

Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 777-200 flight number BI098, from Dubai to Bandar Seri Begawan, on 15 April 2012, made a precautionary landing in Mumbai, India following an aircraft system alert ‘AFT Cargo Fire’ that necessitated the flight to be diverted to the nearest airport at that time.

BI098 landed safely at Mumbai at 19:24 (GMT +5:30). Royal Brunei Airlines can confirm that no passengers were injured. Royal Brunei Airlines is focusing on re-routing its passengers to ensure that they arrive at their final destination.

Royal Brunei Airlines takes pride on its safety records in which the safety of our passengers is our utmost priority.

More details will be released in updates to follow. Family members can make inquiries at Royal Brunei Airlines Friends & Family. Call Centre at +2333333.

You can also access their Facebook page for updates as well. Press release courtesy of Royal Brunei Airlines.

Eighteen-year-old Hamdani bin Yudin, who only passed his driving licence four months ago, won the biggest prize in his life after his name was picked out in the “Win-a-Car” Grand Draw.

He won a brand new Ford Fiesta in the grand draw organised by Cool-Tones, B-Mobile’s exclusive Ring Back Tone Service and B-Mobile Buzz at The Airport Mall last night.

Hamdani overcame with emotion after his name was called out followed by loud cheers from the crowd. It was a cherished moment as the grand prize-winner celebrated his moment of glory with his family members.br />
Second prize went to Zulkhairi bin Hj Ali who won an Apple iMac. 3rd prize winner Pg Radin Abd Amzuri bin Pg Hj Abd Kahar won a Huawei Mediapad tablet, while Zainury bin Zainal Abidin walked away with a brand new PS3 in 4th place.

The consolation prizes on offer were BIBD savings, A/C vouchers, E-Speed plus modem package, meal vouchers from KFC and Secret Recipe as well as a box of Mee Sedap.

Only Cool-Tones Unlimited and B-Mobile subscribers were eligible for participation, in which a series of mini lucky draws was held since July last year.

The main sponsors in the Win-a-Car promotion are B-Mobile Communications, Premier Automobiles, Syarikat Perniagaan Malar Setia, Aewon Brunei, Secret Recipe Brunei, KFC Brunei, Cityneon Brunei, EZY Printing Services, QQeStore, Cheezbox Cafe & Restaurant, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, MVision Brunei, Huawei Technologies (Brunei), TelBru Sdn Bhd, BIBD while Pelangi FM is the official radio for the promotion.

For more details, members of the public can visit Cool-Tones official website at www.3g.com.bn or via mobile browser at wap.3g.com.bn. Text courtesy of Fadil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

Eighteen-year-old Hamdani bin Yudin is the lucky winner of the Ford Fiesta

The top winners of the Cooltones promotion with Mr. Lim Ming Soon, CEO of b.mobile communications

One of the consolation winners

Mr. Lim Ming Soon (2nd right from) with the management of b.mobile

Some of the great prizes from Cooltones competition

While it is encouraging to note that Bruneian brides-to-be are showing an interest in the booming wedding industry, they should not neglect traditional Brunei Malay weddings.

In this regard, the Ministry of Industry & Primary Resources is working closely with the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sports to keep the tradition alive by conducting workshops for Small-and-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) involved in the wedding industry so that they will have a better understanding of Brunei Darussalam’s customs and traditions.

To provide more assistance to these SMEs, both ministries concerned will ensure that whatever they plan “will be what SMEs want”.

This observation was made by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry & Primary Resources, Hajah Normah Suria Hayati binti PJDSMDSU (Dr) Haji Awang Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, during yesterday’s launching of the Bliss Wedding Showcase (BWS) 2012 at the Indera Pura Lounge of The Empire Hotel & Country Club.

“There is no denying that the wedding industry is a very lucrative business in Brunei (but) there is still more that can be done,” she said, adding that this was evident, as she herself receives three to five wedding invitations on a weekly basis. This is why the ministry is taking the initiative to hold more discussions on how to promote local weddings with help of experts from the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sports, she explained.

“We do not want the customs and traditions to die,” she said, emphasising that Brunei’s Malay weddings are a “highly valuable heritage” that can be used to promote tourism. Text courtesy of Aziz Idris of Borneo Bulletin.

The promotional poster for Bliss Wedding Showcase

Masamichi Studio is located near Indera Pura Lounge

Candid Syndrome took a big space at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom

Check out White Room Studio near the entrance

SinahBisc makes awesome cakes for all kinds of occasions

This is one of the cakes on display. Do click the image to find more amazing cakes and most of them are custom made!!

Check out Mustaqim booth at Indera Kayangan Ballroom

Apparently Laily’s Bridal have been around for 20 years

Tanjong Pagar United FC only won once so far in the Sleague and many would have predicted an easy win for DPMM FC. Well indeed earlier in the match it was when DPMM FC had a healthy cushion of a three goal lead. However, Tanjong Pagar fought back with two goals for a nervy 3-2 finish and DPMM FC are back on the summit again in the S.League.

“This grass … It’s special,” smiled the DPMM FC head coach while pointing to the field. “We have never lost in the S-League playing at home. I don’t consider that 6-1 loss to Home United in 2009 (when the team were down to eight men) as a defeat. “The fans have brought us on top and they have kept us on top. We are doing this together,” insisted the Croatian after a rain-drenched match. Images below are courtesy of S.League Facebook.

It was drenched night alright

Shahrazen just can’t stop scoring

They are always united in celebration after every goal

DPMM FC substitute was heavily marked

Next match will be against Home United in Singapore. Do check out the special packages offered by Royal Brunei Airlines but not sure of the pricing right now as this advert (below) was posted more than a week ago.

So do call 221 2222 for reservations.

Do check out the packages if you are interested to catch DPMM FC against Home United

Football Kickoff finals, Win a Golden Ticket, FIFA PS3 Finals, 3-a-side Football showcase and many more at b.mobile final roadshow at The Airport Mall this weekend

b.mobile finale roadshow and the last day is tomorrow (Sunday)

It’s not easy as it seems using the binoculars

In one of the obstacles, you need to do the juggling trick

It’s not easy to maintain balance after spinning a couple of times on one spot

There’s also an elimination knock out for PS3 FIFA gamers though registration is already closed

The 3 aside football was organised by ADSEM and the responses have been overwhelming too

This can be tiring even though it’s only a 10 minute game

The official jerseys for EURO2012 are now available in-store. Many more to come soon. FES Retro also have a limited selection of Authentic TechFit jerseys (which are worn by the players) and these come with an exclusive EURO2012 bag.

The official numbering for the countries are also available for customers to choose from.

Their pricings are as follows:

Official Jerseys – BND85 nett
Official namesets – BND48 nett (with free heat pressing)
Techfit Jerseys – please visit Fes Retro for the price

Click banner to find out more

Click image to enter website and start shopping

A sneak preview of what’s to come for the Spark

Congratulations to the BEDB LEAP recipients of April 2012. LEAP stands for Local Enterprise Applications and Products and this is one of the babies of Brunei Economic Development Board where it helps to promote innovation in the country.

The guest of hounour was Dato Paduka Hj Ali Apong who is also the chairman of Brunei Economic Development Board congratulated the new recipients of the BEDB LEAP Grant scheme 2012. He shared how innovation is a key to high economic growth and he gave a few examples using Apple and instagram that have raked in billions between them. He also quoted a famous inventor Thomas Edison – “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

For your info, LEAP is a grant where it helps to cover the costs of the development of the prototypes or proof-of-concepts. The funds also goes to hiring manpower, the purchase of hardware/software and equipments and if necessary to cover the cost of protecting “Intellectual Property”. All of this is capped at BND 150,000 per company. So if you are interested, do watch out for the next opening by this year where you can apply and who knows your idea can be materialised through means of the grant scheme.

So far, according to Vincent Cheong, CEO of BEDB, around 15 companies have been awarded the LEAP Grant and he revealed that there is an additional BND 3 million being approved for the next batch of LEAP grant which is definitely a good sign.

he seven companies – Bru Innovedu Services, M&G Sustainable Aquaculture, Originfilms Sdn Bhd, Roz Floraculture Enterprise, SilverWings Services, SocialBuzz Advertising and The Rumbian Nation – are the second batch of recipients of the LEAP Grant awards.

The new recipients of the BEDB LEAP Grant at the iCentre yesterday

Dato Paduka Hj Ali Apong presenting a certificate to Sophia Siu of SilverWings Services

Dato Paduka Hj Ali Apong and Vincent Cheong (left) with the BEDB LEAP Grant recipients

Former chairman of BEDB, Dato Timothy Ong, came to support the new recipients

Dato Paduka Hj Matsatejo Sokiaw, Managing Director of Brunei LNG, was shown the latest apps on iPad called Chat Worthy by Keeran Janin of MeSixty. The company is one of the first batches of the BEDB LEAP Grant recipients and I shall talk more about Chat Worthy next week

Nicky Wong of Infindo Technology showcasing his latest IOS apps known as Bloapps which is a simplified version of bloggers or any websites that runs on RSS. This is very handy especially for my site for those who just wants to read my updates and nothing else. I shall explore more into this as well.

This is one of the new recipients from BruInnovEdu Services who also won the recent ThinkBig Ignite Business Plan 2011/2012. Congratulations guys!!

Last Friday, Total held an open day session at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Times Square, for potential students to apply for the Total scholarship. The Total Education Scholarship Scheme 2012 is a cooperation wieth Total E&P Deep Offshore Borneo BV and the Energy Division at the Prime’s Minister Office and supported by PetroleumBRUNEI.

Also present that day was Ambassador of France to Brunei Darussalam, Mr. Louis Le Vert, who also spoke to the students during the interview.

Now you have two days left before the deadline for the submission. The requirements are 3 Grade A’s in ‘A’ Levels, Brunei Darussalam citizenship, and Credits in Bahasa Melayu and English Language. Those successful will be pursuing petroleum courses and related fields such as Geology, Chemistry and Engineering.

Applicants should send in their Form 4, 5, 6 school transcripts (in English), birth certificates, ‘A’ Level results (or provisional results for 2012) and send them to: Organisation and Human Capability Unit, Energy Corporate, Energy Division, Prime Minister’s Office, 5th Floor, Bahirah Building, Jln Menteri Besar, BB3910, Bandar Seri Begawan. The closing date for the application is on Saturday, April 14 before 3pm.

The Ambassador of France to Brunei, Mr. Louis Le Vert, talking to students

There are some interests for the scholarship during the open day

They also have openings at Total

More students turned up in the evening

FREE registration for ADSEM 3-Aside Football Tournament this Friday, Saturday & Sunday at the Airport Mall. Registration starts at 10 am. Teams that reach the Quarter Finals will receive a set of higher tier ticket for the EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2012. Any team who registers for FREE willl also be entitled to purchase the EPL Masters Football ticket for $20 off. FREE to join. More to gain, nothing to lose.

So turn up to the Airport Mall this Friday and it will be part of the b.mobile Final Roadshow event too.

The venue for the 3-Aside Football Tournament this Friday

Football Kickoff finals, Win a Golden Ticket, FIFA PS3 Finals, 3-a-side Football showcase and many more at b.mobile final roadshow at The Airport Mall this weekend

Check out the latest Audi Q3 at T.C.Y. Motors new showroom at Kiarong

Not sure where is the new T.C.Y. Motors showroom? Look at this map for directions

Alliance Francaise de Brunei (AF Brunei) raised the curtains on the much-anticipated French Film Festival 2012 last night, bringing hopes of providing a platform and inspiring local film enthusiasts in the Sultanate to explore the beauty of French films through various activities during the week-long event.

The launch of the French Film Festival 2012 was held last night at The Bare, The Empire Hotel and Country Club with a short film promo called “ST.A.T Episode 10” by local film director, Adam Groves of Visual Dimensions Production.

The ceremony continued with the screening of five critically acclaimed short films from different genres – The Little Dragon (Le petit dragon), It’s Sunday (C’est dimanche), Madagascar – Diary of a Journey (Madagascar – carnet de voyage), Master Plan (Schema directeur) and Ten (Dix).

For more information, follow AF Brunei on all social media or visit their website at www.afbruneidarussalam.com.

Interested members of the public may also call their headquarters at Jalan Dato Ratna, Kampong Kiarong at 2654245. Admission is free for all public screenings. Text courtesy of Aziz Idris of Borneo Bulletin.

This was a pretty nice set up at The Baze

Some of the guest attended the opening of the French Film Festival at The Baze

The Guest of honour giving his speech with the Director of Alliance Francaise (Brunei)

They screened a few short films for the guests

Only two more days left for French Film Festival in Brunei

A sneak preview for tonight’s (Thursday) event which is the CSI Investigation Role Play which will take place at the Alliance Francaise and it’s $10 upon registration. This should be interesting 🙂

Epicenter of earthquake off the coast of Northern Sumatra. Image taken off CNN website

A massive earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday afternoon, triggering a tsunami alert for the Indian Ocean.

The quake struck about 434 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s Aceh province, and had a magnitude of 8.6, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It took place at a depth of 23 kilometers.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it had issued a tsunami watch for the entire Indian Ocean, and the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said it had put up a tsunami warning.

To read more, click here.

This is another milestone for Concepts Computer as it celebrated the release of the Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 retail pack with a ribbon cutting ceremony at its headquarters in Kiulap last Monday.

SMB Lead of Microsoft (B) Sdn Bhd, Andrew Tan and Account Executive of Tech One Global Limited, Ahmad Tarmizi DP Hj Yusoff were the guests of honour at the event, and they joined Concepts Computer General Manager Vincent Pao to officially cut the ribbon, which was placed in front of a large replica of the Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 box. Vincent Pao said that “as the first company retailer recognised as a Microsoft Reseller, Concepts Computer has always put great emphasis on making Microsoft Genuine software easily available to the public at a highly affordable price so as not to exclude a large portion of potential customers who are willing to use genuine software but are unwilling to spend lavishly.”

The Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 includes Microsoft Word 2010, Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft Powerpoint 2010, and Microsoft One Note 2010.

“It is very cost-effective and affordable because the Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 retail pack will provide three licenses for three PCs at only $160. It also includes a half-day training session conducted by a Microsoft Certified Trainer at Tech One Global and a free Microsoft sling bag,” said the general manager.

Zul Abd Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer said that a large portion of customers who have problems with personal computers stems from having used non-genuine and pirated software. For more information on any products from Concepts Computer, visit their nearest showroom or call 2233551/2/3 or 2448102/3. Text by Anwar Rosly of The Brunei Times.

Officiating the launch of the Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010. Image courtesy of Vince Hong.

Vincent Pao and the invited guests signing on the replica of Microsoft Office Home and Student box. Image courtesy of Concepts Computer

And so did the media…. Image courtesy of Concepts Computer

You can see this huge replica by the road side near Kiulap Roundabout

Click image to enter website and start shopping

Football Kickoff finals, Win a Golden Ticket, FIFA PS3 Finals, 3-a-side Football showcase and many more at b.mobile final roadshow at The Airport Mall this weekend

Click banner to find out more

I attended the session called UBD Local Flavours which was held at The Cord, UBD last Saturday. The local gig was organised by Sociology-Anthropology Class of 2012 with the collaboration with UBD FM. It was part of their final project and their theme is to promote youth humanitarianism through means of music.

It was an event that acts as a bridge for better understanding of how the music scene is in Brunei. This gave a platform for local artists to showcase their talents and at the same time to expose Brunei’s youth-defined music culture to UBD students.

As mentioned before, the event is part of the final assignment for the 4th year Popular Culture and Mass Media class supervised by Professor Dr. Wan Zawawi who also performed in front of the audience to a warm reception.

The event was sponsored by Artly Design and supported by UBD Corp., Projekbrunei.com and RA. Also present were Anakbrunei, Cooltones and a look-a-like Mr. Kurapak aka Anwar Rosly of The Brunei Times.

Notable mentions: Director – Amalina. Floor Manager – Areena & Nur Sheha. Sound Technicians & logistics – Nazmi, Nagib & Zulina. Event Coordinator & Marketing – Khalil, Areena and Amalina. Information Manager – Ziah, Alina, Khalil & Zulina. Security Manager & Ushering – Nagib, Zawanah, Nora & Nana. Refreshment team – Hidayati, Nora, Zawanah & Aloh.

The official poster of last weekend’s gig

Hans Anuar kicked off the gig

Another local talent Ina, a student of UBD

Erwan, a student from UBD, performed an acoustic melody

Former P2F winner Dayat showcasing his talent

Erne Zainal, another UBD student, entertained the audience

Harm & Qielah belted a duet

Another popular artist Zul Faden brought some smiles from the crowd

This is one interesting music from Prof. Dr. Wan Zawawi.. Impressive

UBD students, Zulina and Alina known as The Lins

Juju sang two songs for the audience

Rara, former UBD FM, is a big fan of 5.10am

Fakhrul Razi is such a great entertainer

Perhaps the most unique performance of the day by Aliff and Edabrig

UBD FM and the local artist thanking the audience

Sociology Anthropology Class of 2012 were behind this project

UBD FM deejays Jordine and Jaz were the emcees

The group photo with the organisers and the artists. Click image to read more from UBD FM’s entry.

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) recently announced their AITI Next Innovation and Multimedia Award for Sustainable ICT Industry (ANIMASI) Pro-Digital Animation Challenge 2012 as one of its latest initiatives to support the development of local ICT industry in the field of digital media.

The ANIMASI Pro-Digital Animation Challenge is aimed to identify and support local businesses’ creativity in producing Brunei-made digital animations, as well as to facilitate the growth of the local digital media industry by recognizing and nurturing our Bruneian talents. This program is in line with one of AITI’s roles and functions to encourage, promote, facilitate, invest in, and assist in the establishment, development and expansion of the local ICT industry.

According to the Chief Executive of AITI, Tuan Haji Yahkup bin Haji Menudin, the ultimate outcome of this Challenge is to have the local talented digital media businesses to collaborate with international players in digital media co-productions in the near future. Last year, AITI signed an MOU with Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) to work hand-in-hand in developing Brunei’s creative digital media industry.

In addition to this, the Challenge also offers the best overall winning entry an AITI grant of B$25,000 minimum to further develop its winning animation clip. The best winner will also be eligible for a mentorship program with well-renowned international players in this field. The top three best entries will also be given a prize money of B$10,000 each.

This Challenge is only open for ICT businesses and production houses registered in Brunei Darussalam. Interested participants of this Challenge are required to submit two different entry forms – the Phase One Entry Form (for pre-production and production phase) on 21st May 2012 and Phase Two Entry Form (for post-production and pitching) with the final animation clip on 28th June 2012. Challenge participants are also required to present their submission works to a panel of industry professionals and experts for the two phases on 28th May 2012 and 9th & 10th July 2012 respectively.

Interested participants are encouraged to attend a briefing and workshop on Creative Digital Animation on Wednesday, 18th April 2012 at 8.15am at Seri Kerna Hall, Block B13, AITI Office, Kg. Anggerek Desa. Amongst the topics covered will be Guidelines for the Challenge Submission, Fundamentals of 3D Animation Design, International Collaboration Opportunities, International Benchmarks and Experience, and Broadcasting Standards. The public are also welcome to attend this briefing and workshop.’ Text courtesy of AITI

It was a successful event last Sunday. The Brunei Times, Prismworks Event Management and Filipino Association organised the Tulong Mindanao Charity Auction and Bazaar held at the Indoor Stadium.

The guest of honour to grace the event was HRH Prince Haji ‘Abdul ‘Azim. Thousands of dollars were raised last Sunday for the victims of the Typhoon Washi.

I love their concept of the auction of the donated items from private companies. Royal Brunei Airlines, The Brunei Times, Toys R Us, Fitness Zone, Interhouse Company and TheFaceShop to name a few sponsored their products and services and the price list will be shown to interested parties where they can start at a minimum bid.

For instance, The Brunei Times annual subscription is $174.20 but the minumum bid starts at $20 or $30. Now ain’t that just a great deal and plus the money earned from the bidding goes to charity.

Perhaps the one of the highlights of the auction was Royal Brunei Airlines’s business class for two to Melbourne. The minimum bid began at $1,200 and there were only two bidders and they were so fortunate to get the tickets for only $1,450 for two business class tickets.. Awesome!!!! For your info, the estimated value is $8,000 for business class tickets.

Now the other interesting part of the auction was a special session with Wu Chun for a 30 minute gym session and also an one-on-one basketball session with the celebrity. Read further on for the actual price bidded for Wu Chun’s session.

HRH Prince Haji ‘Abdul ‘Azim (C) taking a tour of the venue with Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Datin Paduka Hjh Adina Othman (R). Picture: BT/ Quratul-Ain Bandial

Did you know that The Brunei Times have video feeds on their website to make the news more interactive? Interesting.. Click image to see some of the videos

Quratul-Ain Bandial is one of the faces of The Brunei Times’ TV

The settings at Indoor Stadium last Sunday

Cosplay gathering also took place that day

Sheikh Jimmy was targeting the Toys R Us voucher

The bidders taking their seats

The guy who won the bid of BND 1,450 for the business class tickets to Melbourne but his tickets were eventually bought by another party at a higher price

Guest what?? Two fans spent USD 6,500 on Wu Chun’s 30 minute gym session and one-in-one basketball. On top of that, Alis Lau, an online bidder from Hong Kong, donated USD 1,010 after she lost the auction

A note from Wu Chun: I really appreciate MCYS (Brunei’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports), the Philippine Embassy and The Brunei Times because such charity event always becomes more influential when there are big names coming in and it’s such a blessing to see so many charity events coming up in Brunei.

I was influenced by my mother since I was young to help others and be involved in charity work. Right now, I want to use my own ability to influence more people to be involved in charity. Internationally, I do such projects with my fans and in Brunei, I try to get Fitness Zone involved in more charity and community projects with a big help from my very supportive members.

Honestly, it doesn’t have to be cash contributions. As long as you have the heart and desire to help others, a word of mouth action can be very influential too. I always tell my fans not to give me presents even during my birthday and advised them if they really want to buy me presents, the best gifts will be a charity donation receipt or a certificate of their involvement in charity work.

It’s just a two-day auction and a total of close to BND10,000 for two 30-minute workout sessions with me is just too expensive! I really feel guilty but at the same time I’m hoping that this amount can really help those in need in the Philippines.

With the help of my knowledge on health, nutrition and fitness, I am going to make use of these 30-minute sessions to try and change the life of the persons who have made the donation worthwhile because I always believe prevention is CHEAPER than cure.

I bidded for a Canon printer after learning some tips on bidding from the rest earlier on… and I won the auction in the end *woohoo*

After a successful event of the 3-on-3 basketball challenge, there was no doubt that KFC and Fitness Zone working together for future projects. Last Saturday, KFC (Brunei) and Fitness Zone signed a Memorandum of Understanding for their partnership in promoting a well-balanced and healty lifestyle together. This is also in conjunction with the upcoming World Health Day.

Del Goh, General Manager of KFC Brunei signed the MoU with Wu Chun, Managing Director and owner of Fitness Zone. Present also during the signing were Jonathan Bong, Marketing Manager of KFC and Mike, Fitness Zone’s Operations Manager.

In the MoU, both KFC and Fitness Zone will be organising fitness classes between Fitness Zone and KFC. That’s not all as KFC will be looking into developing a healthy meal. KFC Brunei also announced that Wu Chun is the KFC Brunei’s “Sogood” Will Ambassador *Awesome*

Mike, Operations Manager of Fitness Zone, Wu Chun, Managing Director of Fitness Zone, Del Goh, General Manager of KFC Brunei and Jonathan Bong, Marketing Manager of KFC at the press conference last Saturday

Wu Chun is appointed as KFC Brunei’s “sogood” WIll Ambassador

Wu Chun and Del Goh exchanging documents of the MoU

During the Q&A session for Fitness Zone and KFC’s collaboration

After 6 years into the project, Red Bull Rookies Racing 2012 will get a new look. Previously an all-female drivers team, this time a battle of sexes will be introduced to bring in the male drivers. All Bruneians (Yellow and Red IC holders) between the age of 18 and 25 years old are encouraged to participate.

The audition will be held at Times Square from 18th to 20th May 2012. Anybody born between 31st December 1994 and 1st January 1987 is eligible to take part. Valid IC’s are to be presented during the registration process. The male team which is to be spearheaded by Mark Darwin, a Malaysian, as the anchorman while the female team will be led by Melissa Huang of Singapore.

Red Bull Rookies Racing was introduced to Brunei Darussalam in 2010 where Noradzlianayati Abdul Razak (Liana) and Melline Jaini (Mel) made their debut and last year Fauziah Haziz (Ogy) made history as she was the first Bruneian to start the Sepang 1000km Race in Red Bull colours. And she did exceptionally well combining with Puteri Ayu Yasmin of Malaysia and Emmiline Ang of Singapore. The team came home in 15th placing out of 28 teams that started the race. It was a remarkable result considering the drivers were rookies and the only all-female team.

Mr.Raymond Lee, the Area Sales Manager (Brunei Darussalam) said that Red Bull introduced and continued this legacy project in the hope to provide the opportunity of a lifetime to potential young champions who have the dream to excel in racing industry. Many times it is very costly for one individual to prepare and race.

Come the 20th May 2012, 3 female and 3 male qualifiers will be announced to take part in the multi-stages and stringent elimination process to be conducted by the team led by Team Manager cum Trainer, Mr. Kenvin Low. Mr Low possesses an impressive resume in terms of racing and coaching. This will be his fourth year handling the team.

This is how the seach for the drivers will look like and the time line.. A bit confusing but you will understand soon

Mr. Wong, representative from Red Bull, at the press conference yesterday

So to make it easier for you guys… There will be 66 spots during the initial stage (56 candidates from normal selection + 10 candidates from wildcard FB selection online). However, there will be six drivers driving in the finals where there will be one car driven by male and the other by female.

Then again, since Mark Darwin (Malaysia) and Melissa Huang (Singaporean hot nurse) will be the anchors on their respective cars. So this means the 66 candidates will be fighting for four spots (2 male and 2 female). Now let’s hope Brunei will get selected especially in the Wild Card Facebook Selection Online. It’s open to anyone and of course, there’s an age grouping criteria to make you eligible.

For more info on voting or putting your photo for voting purposes, you can click here. So what are you waiting for… The RED BULL Rookies search 2012 has just began. I hope to see some Brunei representatives.

This was the team of Red Bull Rookies 2011 and they all did quite well

So who will be the chosen ones??

Click image to find out more :))

This morning, Alliance Francaise De Brunei (AF Brunei) held a screening of 2 short films – The Little Dragon & Madagascar – A Diary of a Journey at the Pusat Ehsan. This is one of the programmes under the French Film Festival (FFF) 2012.

More than 70 students saw the movie and apart from the movie, the students and representatives from AF Brunei participated in activities such creating moving pictures devices or toys called the Zeotrope, Thaumatrope and Flipbooks. All these types of activities are related to the ancestors of the animation and cinema.

After that, AF Brunei hosted another movie session as part of the FFF and the movie screened was “A Cat in Paris”, a movie nominated for the Oscars Cesar 2012 and European Film Awards 2012.

All activities organised at Pusat Ehsan is sponsored by KFC – The Official Sponsor for Pusat Ehsan Activities.

For further information about the French Film Festival 2012, the public can follow Alliance Française de Brunei on all social medias and their website www.afbruneidarussalam.com or call them at +673 265 4245 or drop by at their headquarters at Jalan Dato Ratna, Kampong Kiarong. Images courtesy of AF Brunei.