The new model is to be unveiled tonight. More stories soon.

This is an ongoing competition on my instagram. It’s an original item all the way from Germany. It is an original coat hanger and headrest hook so your clothes stay wrinkle-free and fresh even on longer routes. Bags and garments can be placed here securely. The “Snakey” headrest hook is made of flexible and resilient material. So check out my instagram and stand stand a chance to win this.

A hint on what is about to be revealed. Do answer on my IG post and who knows who will be selected.

Have you registered yourself?

What most of you will be looking forward to is the upcoming Canon Photomarathon 2015 which will take place on 27th September 2015 and the venue will be at Star Lodge Hotel. For more information, you can click here and don’t forget to register because the first prize is a Canon 7D and there will be a grand winner where you will attend a photo clinic in Japan.

Of course there will be other prizes for the three themed categories and the winner of each will win a EOS 7D Mark II (for 3 winners). I was fortunate enough to be a judge last year for the competition and it was a pretty tough process being one but a fruitful experience. I am amazed by the talents that we have in Brunei.

The slots are running fast and it’s FREE as well and opened to all the photographers in Brunei. The venue will be the same as last year – Star Lodge @ Jerudong, Sunday 27th September 2015 (8am to 5pm). This event is fully sponsored by Interhouse Company.

The winners of last year’s edition of the Canon Photomarathon

The grand winner of the photo clinic in Japan last year

The organiser of the Canon Photomarathon 2015 from Interhouse Company

The winners of the Canon Photomarathon back in 2012

The winning shot of the theme Surface last year

What we thought of Everest

Everest. I saw the trailers a few times but it wasn’t enough to capture my interest apart from the awesome cinematography. They have a great line up of cast too – Jake Gyllenhaal (a heart throb to many of female friends), Jason Clarke (a disappointing effort at Terminator: Genisys), Josh Brolin (who was awesome in Sicario), Keira Knightly (where has she been all this while) and many more. The movie had a positive review with over 70% on Rottentomatoes but it hasn’t picked up well in the box office.

Pros: Cinematography was great but only in patches. I was hungry for more but the director, Baltasar Kormakur, could have explored more. Secondly the quest itself is already challenging and to see the different characters braving themselves and unite as a group is please worthy. Lastly some dramatic scenes were quite tense at one point.

Cons: A plenty. Too many involvement of characters that I lost track of who’s who especially when they had their head gears on. Secondly yes, it teased me but not enough to reach that anti/climax moment especially when this is involving climbing mountains. A good example that I gave me that edge-of-the-seat feeling was Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit. It made me feel that I rather watch this on National Geographic or Discovery Channel. The development of the supporting cast could have been deeper. The movie itself is a 2 hours long and it seemed too draggy in the beginning and it didn’t pay off because it was nothing memorable to remember.

Verdict: A movie that I won’t watch again but it’s interesting that they made a 1996 historical event into a film. Refining the editing of the movie and more development of the cast would have made Everest more impactful. 7/10.

What we thought of The Intern

The Intern. I like the motto of the flick – Experience never gets old. The last comedy is directed by Nancy Meyers, popularly known for movies such as What Women Want and Parent Trap. I came to this movie with no expectations and I didn’t even catch the trailer but I am a big fan of Anne Hathaway (well, after Scarlett Johansson). This comedy is about a retired successful business owner and widower (played by Robert De Niro) who lands an internship at a fashion website run by a young, career-driven woman (Anne Hathaway). So just reading at the premise alone, I’m already hooked.

Pros: Totally enjoyable from start to finish. This is a feel good movie and I’m glad I caught this movie after Everest. Robert De Niro kinda stole the show for me and he has his ways to woo the audience with his charming effect. The humour was spot on most of the time and it wasn’t unnecessary like some comedies would do (learn, Adam Sandler, learn). Sharon definitely enjoyed it, judging by pitch of her laugh :p What’s not to like about this movie.. well, a few..

Cons: It seemed that the character of Robert De Niro as an intern had little challenges (a little spoiler) so I didn’t feel there was an anti-climax moment for him. The ending to many of us were below satisfactory. Of course, we all wanted a Hollywood ending (happy ending) but I guess this is how life does turn out in reality.

Verdict: I love it and despite its flaws, I’m giving this a high score. Love the chemistry also between the two engaging characters. I wished they had more drama so the story could have ended on a higher note and make it more memorable. If you ask me, I enjoyed this more than Internship movie. 8/10

Group photo with Deon Ong (3rd from left) and the students and instructors from Yippy Tune

Yippy Tune, the Music School in Gadong Central, today bagged a total of 13 medals at the 22nd KK Music Festival in the Shangri-la Rasa Ria Hotel. Over 500 musicians from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei gathered together to compete through a range of musical instruments and genres in Kota Kinabalu.

Yippy Tune, one of the schools representing Brunei, took part in the Piano, Violin and Vocal categories with a total of 8 participants. “They came back with a stunning result that surpassed the school’s wildest imagination.” Said Deon Ong, the Principal.

Some of the highlights of the day included performance by the youngest performer who stole the show, 6 year old Megan Lee won a Silver in Classical Piano category as well a stellar performance by one of the youngest diploma holder (14) at the competition, Zoe Ho who won Silver in Classical Piano category as well for Diploma level. According to the judge, it is an achievement by itself for Zoe Ho, by simply attaining a Diploma at such young age.

Other winners from Yippy Tune Music School at the contest include:

• Flora Ngu

o 3 x Gold Medals in Vocal in Classical, Popular and Broadway category.

• Evana Ong

o 1 x Gold in Vocal for Popular Category and 1 x Silver in Classical Category.

• Freda Ngu

o 1 x Gold in Vocal for Popular Category and 1 x Bronze in Classical Category.

• Janice Deborah

o 1x Gold in Violin for Popular Category and 1 x Silver in Violin for Romantic and Classic Category

• Vivienne Poh

o 1 x Silver in Piano for Classical Category

• Koh Wan Enn

o 1 x Bronze in Piano for Classical Category

Flora Ngu, 3 Gold Medal winner at the 22nd KK Music Festival in the Shangri-la Rasa Ria Hotel recently

Megan Lee, a Silver medalist in Classical Piano category and she’s only 6 years old

“As a first time contestant, I am very proud of our students’ performances and their results. It is a testimony that with enough hardwork, dedication and self beliefs, Bruneian can compete at a regional level.” Said Deon Ong.

Incidentally, one of their students, Flora Ngu was recently shortlisted as the final Top 10 candidates by Disney Channel to play the role Princess Anna in Disney’s Frozen Orchestral in Singapore.

Deon also added that she was very impressed with the quality of the participants and the standard of the competition put forward by the KK Music Society by involving independent judges from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom. She commented that the Piano category was especially tough, and was happy to see participants competing at such high level.

The school principal takes the opportunity to thank the dedicated teachers and parents who are as deserving to share the glory of the student’s success, and vows to expose more students to such competition. Press release and images from Yippy Tune.

A message from Royal Brunei Airlines

Dermot Mannion, Chairman of Abacus Distributions Systems (Brunei) with senior management of Abacus with partners for the Brunei Travel Fair

It’s the time of the year that people will flock in because of travel fair. I have been planning my final quarter of the year as I will be away for most of the time (and about time too).

As usual expect, some great fares from the Brunei Travel Fair at Royal Brunei Recreation Club (RBRC) and it’s organised by Abacus Distributions Systems (Brunei). This is the 12th edition and it’s good to see new partners in this travel fair too.

Leading the press conference yesterday was Dermott Mannion, Chairman of Abacus Distributions Systems (Brunei) cum Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and he is very excited of the upcoming travel fair in Brunei. He thanked all the partners involved in making this another exciting event especially for the potential customers.

There will be more than 40 terminals to the seven travel agencies participating at the fair to ensure they can efficiently meet the travel needs of visitors. Also for the first time, there will be participation from the Ministry of Tourism Republic of Indonesia (awesome). Other tourism vendors include Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Taiwan Tourist Bureau and Tourism Authority Thailand.

The official bank partner is Baiduri Bank and there will be also collaborations with other banks such as BIBD and HSBC with Royal Brunei Airlines.

Abacus Brunei General Manager Irene Soon said, “The fair provides an excellent opportunity for Brunei-based travellers to shop for both international and regional travel packages, making it an event on the travel calendar not to be missed.

The Brunei Travel Fair will be held this weekend 26th and 27th September at RBRC.

Joan Lim, Head of Commercial, Royal Brunei Airlines, addressing some promotion during the press conference

Check out the fare to the UK.. Read more below to find out

So what’s on offer?

For Royal Brunei Airlines, there will be a special fare to London. For an all-in price of BND 999, you can fly to London. The flying dates are from 23rd to 29th December (out of Brunei) and returning will start on 6th January 2016 with a one-month validity period. This is ideal for parents or family to visit their children in London during winter. There will be also attractive fares to Dubai, Shanghai, HK, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Melbourne and you can purchase them at the participating travel agents during the Brunei Travel Fair.

Royal Brunei will also have a daily lucky draw where winners can walk away with prizes such as a ticket to a mystery destination, Royal Skies miles or RB merchandise. RB customers can also test their paper plane flying skills at the Betterfly Game area where they win discount vouchers (5%) on your next travel.

Let’s not forget the the grand lucky draw for RB customers – flight to London or Melbourne or Bali or Ho Chi Minh City.

For Tourism Malaysia, it’s simple. Take advantage of the weaker Ringgit and explore Malaysia. During the fair, there will be invited demonstrators on Henna, Batik Canting and Nyonya Beaded Shoe. For those who purchase tickets or holiday packages or hotel rooms with regards to Malaysia, you will be entitled for a RM 20 Parkson shopping voucher.

There’s also a chance for a lucky dip to win travel accessories if you spend more than BND 500 for every purchse tickets or holiday packages or hotel rooms.

If you also have a BIBD card, you can swipe your purchases if you booked your flight to either KL or KK on Royal Brunei and you can stand a chance to win a lucky draw prize (3 days 2 nights at Grand Millenium Hotel Kuala Lumpur with a return ticket, return airport transfers and 100,000 Hadiah points) which is jointly sponsored by RB, BIBD and Tourism Malaysia. The winner will be announced at 8pm on 26th and 267th September. Awesome!

Now the official bank here is Baiduri Bank and they also have great promotions during the travel fair and it’s a great advantage if you happen to own a Baiduri Card (Debit or credit). For instance, for Prestige customers, if you fly to London, Dubai or Melbourne, you can redeem BND 200 at their booth (applies to the first 25 members). Another thing is when you swipe with Baiduri card, you will be entitled to 3 lucky draw coupons for the grand draw. Lastly, if you are a Smart Executive member, you can redeem BND 50 if you book your flights to Hong Kong or Shanghai (Limit to the first 20 members). There are more things that Baiduri are offering (refer to poster below for details).

I also read the papers that Pan Bright Travel Services are bringing back the “Travel and Win a Car” promotion since it was a great success last time round. You can also stand a chance to win a brand new Hyundai Accent from Pan Bright. The promotion is not just limited to customers who bought air tickets but also to those who buy any inbound tour package from Pan Bright. For your info, Pan Bright (KB) was the runner-up for Abacus’ travel agent award which was feted during Abacus Silver Jubilee dinner recently.

So mark your calendars for this weekend.

Three weeks ago, Abacus celebrated their Silver Jubilee

To all the Teachers out there in Brunei

The new bridge was officially opened this morning. After a few months, it’s ready for public usage.

This morning I covered an interesting ceremony – the official launch of the Chung Hwa Middle School Bridge in Bandar. This is a privately funded bridge with the objective of parents and students of CHMS to cross the road in means of the bridge. The project was initiated by Ong Tiong Oh who is the Chairman of CHMS Board of Directors and he is looking at a bigger picture – to ease the traffic congestion. Do you know that traffic congestion has been a recurring problem especially during lunch hours?

According to inside source, Ong Tiong Oh forked out approximately BND 850,000 for the construction of the bridge alone. If you ask me, that’s a lot of investment and you can even get two residential houses or even three. Now why is the CHMS bridge expensive? This is not just another bridge like you see at other places like the school bridge at SOAS. This bridge has a special design and the materials they used are of high quality.

Ong Tiong Oh engaged Bolton Hennesy Sdn Bhd (Consultant) and Pro Builder (main contractor) and yes, the total was BND 850.000 where the bridge cost BND 770,000 with an additional consultant fee of BND 80,000. The whole project is totally financed by Ong Tiong Oh, who is also the director of Low San Hardware Company (and Toolbox). I’m quite impressed that he stills remembers me as we met once during the opening of Toolbox a few years ago. Amazing memory!!

According to The Brunei Times article, Kho Guik Lan, principal of CHMS Bandar was very excited with the bridge as it will be quite convenient for parents and students to cross the road especially during rush hour.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman, Minister of Development, was very thankful to Ong Tiong Oh, for sponsoring the bridge near CHMS. All the bridges in the school in the capital have been identified as prone to congestions and this includes the CHMS bridge. The only difference is that the CHMS bridge is privately sponsored.

The Minister shared that the ministry will still continue to review the aspects of safety involving students and also road users from time to time. He will also monitor schools outside the capital if they would require bridges in the near future.

Now despite the bridge being built, the traffic lights for pedestrians are still active and the public can still use the pedestrian walk to cross the road. It’s soon to say if the majority prefer walk on the bridge (more effort required) or wait for the traffic light to cross the road. I do encourage parents and students to make use of the bridge for safety reasons and smoothen the road congestions during peak hours.

Before I end, I would like to give my full appreciation to Ong Tiong Oh for initiating this project and making it a reality. The idea was highlighted back at the Legislative Council meeting back in 2009 and to see the idea being materialised is awesome indeed. Furthermore, this is totally a generous offer of him to invest almost a million dollars in constructing this bridge. All I can say is “You’re the Man” 😀 and appreciate you remembering my presence a few years back #highlightoftheweek

Note: The high in school fees of CHMS Bandar is not affiliated with the construction of the CHMS bridge. It is fully sponsored by Ong Tiong Oh.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman, Minister of Development and Ong Tiong Oh (right) doing the honour of officiating the launch of the CHMS Bridge

The man of the moment – Ong Tiong Oh

Invited guests during the launch

Ong Tiong Oh and his family and friends

The event took place at the car park area opposite Radisson Hotel

City Neon making sure the event ran smoothly

Media frenzy trying to steal a good shot for the newspaper

Some of the behind-the-scene moments during the construction of the bridge

The CHMS bridge looks solid

Taking a photo on the bridge

The Minister being briefed on the journey of the construction

Good job by Bolton Hennesy Sdn Bhd, the consultant of the CHMS project

Group photo with the Minister with the CHMS Bridge

The view from the bridge with Radisson in sight

Guests heading for refreshments

The CHMS end of the bridge

Peng the photographer needed to improvise with the help of the engineering team from Radisson

Mark your dates this weekend and plan your travels 😀

[Edited]: Is Brunei going through a recession? It’s still early days to say for that but I know that some of my friends’ businesses are feeling the pinch(es). These are just from my observations as well as business environment shared by my peers. Let’s not forget some of the outside factors as well as policies that can influence the Brunei economy.

Let’s lay down some scenarios here from my knowledge. I know there could be more (factors) but I will just based them on my findings. First is the falling of oil prices. I remember once a top senior official said that such fluctuating prices won’t affect the Brunei economy earlier this year. However, I’m pretty sure it did (affect) in a long run as oil prices hasn’t been encouraging and it has a detrimental effect on the Brunei economy. Furthermore, at some point, Brunei’s export on crude and oil hasn’t been blossoming like the old days. Have the oil prices affected oil production in Brunei? Earlier this year, it was reported that Brunei’s exports went down by 39% (source: Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE).

It’s no big surprise that oil prices is a big factor here (weaker demand, higher supply). Imagine the previous year that the price of oil was at least USD $113 per barrel and now it’s averaging at USD $50 per barrel. It was also reported in Reuters that despite the improvement in prices, worldwide production won’t be producing last much as it’s “uneconomical” if oil prices are at USD $50 or below.

With low demand for export and also lower oil prices, this will mean that money flowing into the Sultanate will be lower than usual. This would also mean less activities or projects coming from Brunei Shell Joint Ventures or any companies relating to Brunei Shell.

Early in March 2015 during the Legislative Council, the Ministry of Finance that Brunei will be in the deficit in terms of spending (BND 1.58 billion) and this is related to the fall in oil prices. Did you know that 90% of the export of Brunei is oil and gas? So this is what we always mean when we say that we are relying too much on oil and gas.

Now I have touched on oil prices. How about other factors? One thing that has affected Brunei is the recent policy introduced by Authoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) – the total debt service ratio or loan cap (at 60 per cent for those earning a minimum net salary of $1,750). So who will be affected because of this policy? Not the consumers but the car dealers as sales has seen a drop of at least 15% and it keeps dropping every month ever since the introduction of the loan cap in June 2015.

If the car dealers are affected, this would also affect the finance companies such as Baiduri Bank and BIBD At-tamwil who finance the hire purchase of the cars. NBT (Toyota) used to sell an average of 300 units every month but recently the figures have gone below 200 units. Back in 2012, at one stage, cars sold in a month would break the 1,500 mark but recently it has lesser numbers (1,137 cars in July 2015 and 1,005 cars in August 2015). Last weekend, I even bumped into an NBT roadshow at The Mall (which is quite rare) and one of the representatives said that business wasn’t good so they needed to do more roadshow and promotion.

Yes, the business side of the automotive industry is feeling the pinch but the idea of the policy by AMBD is to ensure that the residents of Brunei will have enough savings and finances instead of using their disposable income for loan repayments. With the current situation of oil prices, such move (of the policy) has not benefited the local economy as loans are hard to come by especially those in the lower tier income group. In a long run, the TDSR or loan cap will be good for the country as people will have more disposable income than rather ending up using majority of their salaries to pay off loans. Remember the credit card policy? That really worked well, right? and this shouldn’t be a problem. It will just take time to adjust to the new financial environment. Car dealers will have to come up with better deals or promotions just like how Boustead are currently executing with their promotions with Suzuki and Nissan (tablets and smartphones respectively) to attract customers.

Another theory that cannot be discounted is the fact that the Malaysian ringgit has caught interest of Bruneians. The exchange rate now is BND 1 to RM 3 which is a real steal for us. For many Bruneians, Miri is still considered a shopping paradise. Just imagine this – It was reported that over two million arrivals from Brunei to Miri alone in 2013. I’m pretty sure the statistics will be even more in Year 2015 with the current weak currency of the Ringgit. Shopping will be cheaper and they will even buy their groceries across the border as it’s a cost saving measure.

So who are at the losing end? Of course, our local retailers and the department store owners. I interviewed two sources on how the supermarket business in Kuala Belait and Bandar and both gave similar responses – “people prefer shopping and spending across the border.” One commented that usually after Hari Raya season, their supermarket business is slower but this year, it’s even quieter and slower than last year. Even the extension of the opening hours across the border is not helping the Brunei economy.

Now that I have laid some of my findings based on reports and interviews, it’s not too premature to say that Brunei is undergoing a small recession – budget cuts, deficits, lower car sales and lower revenue in local supermarket as some of the effects.

Need action, less talking: I have attended many lectures, talks, keynote addresses, you name it,  for the past 10 years and the same topic remains – “Diversification” and we all have become accustomed to the over-abused word but it has only become a mere phrase than a means to an end. From the progress of Brunei, we have taken baby steps to diversify by creating new industries – pharmaceutical, the halal brand and also the Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals and Itochu Corporation from Japan for the methanol plant at the Sg Liang Industrial Park (SPARK). These are all good signs to come as it creates more job employment.

Even earlier this year, Brunei Economic Development Board and South Korean company DongYang GangChul, said that the BND 107 million project at the Bukit Panggal Industrial Park in Tutong will be a major boost to Brunei’s economy. The idea is the plant will produce billet and aluminium extrusion and export back to Sout Korea. I’m not really sure what are the status of this project as I have not seen any updates.

My biggest curiousity is the Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) project. There have been many mentions of the PMB project but as far as I know there is very little happening as the big players such as Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, a petrochemical firm, will only begin their refinery operations by early 2017. Of course, this is no easy project and it requires intensive homework and making sure all the criteria are met. This is perhaps the biggest project for the Brunei economy as the refinery will cost at least BND 4 billion. But now it’s more of a waiting game until early 2017.

From the looks of it, Brunei needs a good number of Foreign Direct Investment, just similarly like Hengyi Industries. It’s never an easy task to bring foreign investors to pump in money into the economy. I believe that Brunei is a very ideal hub for this kind of industries and of course, the foreigners will need our vote of confidence in order to succeed. The PMB project would have been talking point (with action) if nothing was delayed and the refinery plant up and running by now. Maybe I’m just tired listening to the same old phrase and the emphasis of “diversification”.

On a positive spin, what’s trending (and booming now) are the influx of food and beverage outlets such as Rack & Brew, The Library Cafe, Ner|Dee Cafe, Chatime and coming soon (end of the year), Cinnabon. If you are thinking of opening a business, then F&B is a better approach as we still have the culture to dine out or even limteh. And let’s not forget the upcoming travel fair by Royal Brunei and we Bruneians love to travel (so maybe, just maybe, people are saving to spend on traveling).

What’s my outlook on Brunei 2016? It’s hard to say. I just hope that we can help one another and let our egos down that Brunei needs a wake up call. Our voices can be a stimulus and hopefully the Government of Brunei and the private sector can work together to tackle a growing (bad) seed before it can turn to a plant.

This article doesn’t represent the opinions of others apart from my own. I typed this because I feel it’s very relevant to our community and I also want to help to contribute to the betterment of our Brunei economy. If you have any queries or comments, you can drop me an email ranoadidas gmail and I’m more than happy to hear from your end. Sources of facts: The Brunei Times.

The smiling faces of the volunteers at the beach clean up this morning

I wonder how many tonnes were collected at all the five beaches

We have seen all these familiar contribution to the community of Brunei Darussalam and beach clean up is one of them. This morning, Brunei Shell Joint Venture Companies, Shell Deepwater Borneo (SDB) and Brunei Gas Carriers (BGC), ran a beach cleaning campaign at five beaches in Brunei and this is to commemorate the International Coastal Cleanup Day 2015 (ICC 2015).

The five beaches today were at Silver Jubilee Beach and Lumut in the Belait District, Telisai-Danau Beach in Tutong and finally Muara beach and Meragang beach in the Brunei-Muara District. For your info, this is the second year that they are running the beach clean-up campaign.

The objective of this campaign is to keep the ocean free from trash and this is one way to make the ocean more resilient. This campaign will also help to cultivate the spirit of volunteerism and also the mutual cooperation among staff, youth and members in the local communities.

For these efforts alone, we can see that the stakeholders involved are keen to promote Brunei’s environmental sustainability. For instance, Brunei Shell Petroleum’s support goes way back to 2007 where BSP partnered with the Government of Brunei for the groundbreaking, tri-country Heart of Borneo biodiversity conservation initiative. The current progress of the research projects includes the discovery of new endangered species and breeding areas.

Brunei LNG has also been involved in the environmental sustainability project such as dealing with the degradation of the peatlands in Lumut. The same goes to SDB where there is a partnership with the Biodiversity Research and Innovation Centre through the Marine Biodiversity Centre (Ministry of Primary and Industry Resources) and they will monitor to see if our marine biodiversity is well maintained.

Today at the Muara beach, they had 179 participants involved and present were the Royal Brunei Navy, Brunei-Muara District Office, Royal Brunei Police Force, Head of Village, Cosmopolitan College, BSP associates and BSM retailers.

The total number of people involved in the beach clean up was 758 people. Well done on the organizers. Images courtesy of BSP, BSM.

Let’s hope the young ones can shape the future of our environment especially at beaches

This looks like a bbq grill… tsk tsk

The volunteer sign up sheet and some educational tip to dispose rubbish

 

Search for Coffee Bean Brunei on Apple Store or Google Play

A souvenir for all the attendees at the launch of the Blended App yesterday at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (Mata-Mata outlet)

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, officially launched their “Coffee Bean Brunei App” on Friday, 18th September 2015 by having a two hour private app launch event for their merchant partners at their Supa Save, Mata Mata outlet. The “Coffee Bean Brunei” app introduces their digital lifestyle magazine, “Blended”. The event was officiated with surah Al-Fatihah by Mudim Haji Suhaili bin Haji Kalong.

At the beginning of the event, registered guests were given an iphone or Samsung bookmark that displayed the blended app with a limited edition blended badge. Guest were also treated to some finger food including the very popular mini magherita pizzas and tropical passion fruit tea.

Doa selamat and surah Al-Fatihah by Mudim Haji Suhaili bin Haji Kalong

Invited guests and partners of CBTL

Amy Cheong was the emcee for the day

Nice bookmarks from CBTL

You can get your digital loyalty card on their app. They even have a special promotion until the 2nd October

Amy Cheong, popularly known as DJ Amy from Pilihan FM hosted and presented the App. “Blended” allows users to search outlets nearest to them and gives them updates on the latest The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf promotions and news. Users will also have access to the local events and happenings in Brunei. The app also allows users to pick up to 6 lifestyle categories of their favourite topics, which gets updated on a daily basis. One of the main highlights of the App was the digital pink card. The Digital Pink Card allows the user to collect 1 e-stamp with every drink purchase. When users reach 12 e-stamps, the user is entitled to a free small size beverage.

Local entrepreneurs were also invited to the event to display their products. They included Mairgix Fitness Centre – the first calisthenics gym in Brunei, Lokalground which is a local clothing design store owned by 8 Entrepreneurs, DIG Records – a record player and vinyl store, WallAtLarge that provides photography, video prints services and Wood Work Kendamas, and NeoClassic Music School.

The TV and TV stands were also sponsored by D’Sunlit in support of the event. The app was created by a local based company HIVE Digital.

I kinda love this outlet and also their pizzas.. Must try

There’s even a menu guide in the app

Check out the merchant partners of CBTL

Representatives from Mairgix Fitness Centre and Lokalground

 

Review of The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials with special guest Seng Yee

Summer prediction results and Top summer movies of 2015 with co-host Del Goh

 

Click image to enter website

 

Download SnapFeed app on your smartphones and check out the latest deals in Brunei and also get rewarded from respective merchants such as BurgerKing, KFC and Sushi Tei to name a few and also check out the new movie listings as well.

 

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (3rd R) speaking with Captain Sharifah Czarena Surainy Syed Hashim (L), as Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Dermot Mannion (2nd L) and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Captain Khalidkhan Hj Asmakhan (2nd R) look. His Majesty visited the newly renovated Brunei International Airport yesterday. He also took one of Royal Brunei Airlines’ Dreamliners for a spin. Image courtesy of Zaim Kasmat of The Brunei Times.

Minister of Communications Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar (L) hands over the cash prize of $7,000 to Institut Teknologi Brunei student Nurulhidayati Hj Mohd Sani (C) for winning the Tertiary Project Category of the Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA) 2015. Well done, ITB!! As for the ICT Industry Category, the first place went to D5 Innovation with BND 10,000 cash prize. Image courtesy of Abdul Aziz Ismail of The Brunei Times.

For the first time ever, there is a chance I will be joining this competition. Just for fun. Never knew they will have one for adults. This will be interesting indeed. Any takers (adults)? *lol*

Cooking competition coming up at Hua Ho Manggis Mall in conjunction with Hua Ho Health Awareness Month

The King Burger from Peppermint Cafe. I love the home made beef patties.

Congratulations to Progresif Cellular on the opening of their Seria Branch at Panaga. Image courtesy of @progresif_cellular

Now you can pre-order a copy of Yasmine. Too bad there won’t be a blu-ray copy.

I am so proud of my mentee, Heidi Rahman, who stole the show as the Toastmaster of the Evening last Tuesday. My biggest milestone to date as a toastmaster – to see other members grow especially my mentees. Keep it up, lady!!

@baiduribank updates breaks the ritual by getting out of the box. Something different coming from a bank.

Lunch treat by Winnie Sia and it was the first time I dined at Seafood Palace at Tanjung Bunut. Not bad the portion. Couldn’t finish my spaghetti.

Happening this Sunday at Fun Bee Park.

Dilys Chai and Denise Chai, co-owners of Rack & Brew

One word: Impressive. Congratulations to Dilys Chai and Denise Chai on the opening of your new cafe, Rack & Brew. Love the deco, love the atmosphere and most of all, love the food too. The cakes are amazing too – my personal favourite is the Red Velvet Cake.

The cafe is located above Paddington House of Pancake (Gadong) and the area used to be a boutique store (Deseo) and now the boutique store is located on the 2nd floor, just above Rack & Brew. You can follow @rackandbrew on instagram for updates.

According to Borneo Bulletin, Dilys Chai revealed that Rack & Brew was part of her dissertation project back in the UK. Dilys had some sampling of her desserts at Hua Ho Manggis Mall and the responses were pretty good.

Rack & Brew operates from 11am to 10pm daily at Abdul Razak Complex in Gadong. I’m definitely dining there next time.

Liking the atmosphere here at Rack & Brew

Soft shell crab florentine

Roulette Wings

I love their home made kolo mer

Hui Chiet love his dish. Not sure what it’s called.

My companions for lunch

Caramel latte

Jolene’s first time and she likes the cakes

My personal favourite – Red Velvet Cake

They have munchies such as nachos

Group photo with the media and the co-owners. Image courtesy of Kazimah (2nd from right)

Thank Denise for hosting the other day

Curry Pasta is not bad as well

Cakes, cakes and more cakes

I have yet to try the curry puff

This area is always busy as more customers trying out.

Associates from Concepts Computer and Boustead Sdn Bhd (Suzuki) holding an ACER Iconia Tab 8W. For those interested to buy a Suzuki Celerio A+, it now comes with the Acer tablet but for a limited time only.

The MoU signing last Wednesday at Concepts Computer conference room

This is the first time that Concepts Computer collaborated with Boustead Sdn Bhd in a joint promotion. For those interested in purchasing a Suzuki Celerio A+ from Boustead, then you will be entitled to receive a brand new Acer Iconia Tab 8W (from Concepts Computer).

This is another way to reward their loyal customers by giving an instant gift and also boost the image of both Boustead and Concepts Computer.

Just like the Acer Iconia Tab 8W, the Suzuki Celerio A+ has quality, reliability, durability and most important, affordability.

To the Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, this is a win-win situation for both companies and the joint promotion will be able also to attract new customers.

So what can you expect from a Suzuki Celerio A+? It has a 1.0 litre engine, comes in either MT or CVT, good storage space and also fuel efficient.

As for the Acer Iconia Tab 8W, it’s the top-selling tablet powered by Windows 8.1 and comes with Office 365 (one year subscription) and has a long battery life and one year warranty.

This promotion will start with immediate effect and is valid until December 31. Information about the latest joint promotion can be obtained at any Suzuki showroom or Concepts Computer showroom.

Suzuki will also be holding a roadshow at Citis Square from September 24 to 26, welcoming the public to stop by and try their luck with their ‘lucky dip’ activity.

Pao Jia Wan, Marketing Advisor of Concepts Computer, Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, James Wong, Branch Manager of Boustead Sdn Bhd and Alvin Kho, Marketing Manager of Boustead Sdn Bhd

The group photo shot with the Suzuki Celerio A+ and the Acer Iconia Tab 8W

Members of the media

Check out the Suzuki Celerio A+

 

Thank you to the Korean Embassy to Brunei Darussalam for the kind invitation for the recent showing of the movie “Secretly, Greatly” as part of the three day event of the Korean Film Festival. The event was held at the Lecture Theatre, The Core, Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

The movies being screened are free and it is open to the public. I was fortunate enough to catch Secretly, Greatly last night and I am a huge fan of Korean movies – (The Host, Old Boy, New World, Werewolf Boy). Now it’s good that the Korean Film Festival featured this movie because I was quite moved by the movie. This is maybe one of the Top 10 movies I have caught this year though this movie is released back in 2013. Last night, Korean Deputy Chief of Mission to Brunei Darussalam, Yi Chang-Hoon attended the movie.

The response was quite overwhelming and it was good to see a good crowd last night at The Core. This shows that we do appreciate the movies from Korea. Tonight will be the final movie to be screened and it’s entitled “The Face Reader”.

The Face Reader depicts a story where Nae Kyung is able to assess the mental state, personality and person’s habit by looking at his face. Interesting.. I am still 50/50 in catching this tonight but it is a high possibility.

The Korean Film Festival is organised by Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Brunei Darussalam and the Language Centre of Universiti Brunei Darussalam and supported by Korean Foundation.

Yi Chang-Hoon, Republic of Korea Deputy Chief of Mission to Brunei Darussalam, with movie goers last night at Korean Film Festival at The Core. Image by Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

My favourite drink of the month – a Korea drink Paldo (From Hallyu Mart) while catching Secretly, Greatly last night

A great crowd last night. I expect a similar crowd tonight for The Face Reader.

The lead actor of Secretly, Greatly was pretty good. I just bought this movie on Blu-ray 😀

The Face Reader that will be screened tonight – Thursday 17th September 7pm

Gerald Goh (Contest Chair aka emcee), Rahul Breh (Organizing Chair of Area K6 Contest), Pranika Lama (1st place Evaluation, 2nd place Humourous), Rozana Yunos (1st place Humourous, 2nd place Evaluation), Farhan Jaafar Ali (3rd place Evaluation), Supatra Lee (3rd place Humourous) and Allen Ang (Area Director, in charge of Brunei Toastmasters) during the prize presentation of the Area K6 Humourous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contest at OGDC yesterday

Whooaa!! After a few years of hiatus, Rozana Yunos showed she ain’t rusty after dominating the Area K6 Toastmasters Humourous Speech and Evaluation Speech Contest held at the Oil and Discovery Centre (OGDC) yesterday. She’s no stranger to the Toastmasters scene as captured the hearts of other members of Brunei toastmasters where she came runner-up twice in District Level for Speech Evaluation Contest.

Yes, the terminology might be confusing for many as what do you mean by District Level. Ok, let me explain briefly in a simplified manner. Brunei Toastmasters is under Area K6 and we are privileged to have four clubs in Brunei – 1) Brunei Speakers’ Club 2) Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club 3) Oil Town Talkers (OTTERS) at Seria 4) UBD Toastmasters Club. So the winners of the contest will proceed to Division Level (Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak) and then the winner will proceed to District Level (Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, Indonesia).

Ironically, Rozana will be contesting in the Humourous Speech contest in Division Level (early October in KK). The 1st Runner-up of the Brunei Area K6 went to Pranika Lama and 2nd Runner-up went to Supatra Lee. This is for the Humourous Speech Contest.

Rozana holding Challenge Trophy endorsed by Stuart Lee (District Champion 2013 in Humourous)

Rozana and Pranika will be representing Brunei in early October 😀

The role players yesterday with their poses

A special day for the audience. A double shot indeed. Thanks JK.

The colourful feather duster is so eye catchy. Nice speech, Elaine 😀

As for the Speech Evaluation Contest, it was a reverse of the other contest as Pranika Lama bagged first place and Rozana settled for second place. The youngest competitor Farhan Jaafar Ali came third. The test speaker for the day was Chan Seng Yee.

The contest was full of laughters especially during the Humourous Speech contest. Rozana stole the headline when she teased the audience with her speech title “The F.. Word” and set the bench mark for the rest of the speakers. Totally fun and yes, she is very animated as well. A well-deserved winner.

My personal favourite will be Pranika’s speech about her journey as a Nepalese living in Brunei. I am amazed with her fluidity as a speaker. She is a very composed speaker and her delivery especially with her pacing is something to be amazed about.

In other matters, the confessions (in their speeches) between our two toastmasters members (no names to be mentioned hehe) ruled the Club Contest two weeks ago. However, their similar repeated performance yesterday couldn’t earned enough points from the judges. But at least, we learnt some new information between the two 😀

I was also contesting for both categories but I entered with a different mentality – to enjoy and have fun. Yes, I was sharing my “crying episodes” and my love for my mom. The best thing out of this contest that I love is the growth of the speakers especially the newbies (Sandy, Phillip, Jidun, Aziman, Rahul, the Liyanas, Saiful, Val, Dalton, Hilman and many more).

So I will be heading to KK sometime next month to support our toastmasters members Rozana Yunos (Humourous) and Pranika Lama (Evaluation). Let’s hope for the best of our Brunei toastmasters representatives.

Jati Transport treated more than 90 of their employees together with their families to the Durian Festival held at Bintudoh Greenspring Resort in Kg Lamunin recently. Yes, it’s the Durian season and I ain’t a big fan 😀

The outing event was organised through Jati Social Club with the initiative to support the local farmers as well as to encourange social activities among colleagues outside the work place. Looks like they had a very fruitful time indeed.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, UBD Chancellor, braving the crowd and taking photos with the graduates and parents at the UBD 27th convocation last week

Taken from The Brunei Times youtube channel

A total of 1,125 students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s third batch of its GenNext programme received their certificates at the varsity’s 27th convocation last Wednesday.

This year’s graduates included 20 PhD students, surpassing last year’s record of 12, UBD said.

The total number of graduating students comprised 379 Masters holders, 664 Bachelor graduates and 62 Diploma recipients. These also include 73 international students at UBD.

During the morning session of the convocation held at UBD’s Chancellor Hall, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, UBD Chancellor, presented certificates to PhD, Masters and Bachelor programme graduates.

The monarch also attended the afternoon session, where he presented certificates to graduates of Education Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Diploma programmes.

This year’s convocation also saw the first cohort of 15 graduates for the Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM), consisting of graduates from East Asian Summit (EAS) participating countries – the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia and Brunei.
The MPPM is a joint programme with leading public policy schools in the United States.

According to UBD, the unique interdisciplinary programme focuses on policy areas that are distinctive to Brunei, namely Islamic Governance, Energy Policy and Management and Environmental Policy and Management.

“It is hoped this interdisciplinary-based programme will be able to contribute to the development of future leaders of high calibre, apart from providing a network for them to interact and directly or indirectly raise the competitiveness of the sultanate internationally,’’ said UBD Vice-Chancellor Dato Paduka Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hj Hanafi. Text courtesy of Rachel Thien of The Brunei Times.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah presented a certificate to my friend, Pranika Lama

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah presented a certificate to Alison

Hello Pranika 😀

Congratulations Gerald Goh

Maryam Rosli, Business Development & Marketing, Hj Mas Zuraime Hj Abdul Hamid, Head of BruCERT, Muhd Shahrul Fadillah Umar, IT Security Analyst. Shamsul Bahri, CEO of ITPSS and Caroline Ho, Business Development & Marketing during the briefing of the Cyber Battle: Capture The Flag recently

In the cyber sense, it’s a nicer way of saying penetrate the system or in our casual term, hacking.. I attended a press briefing on an upcoming Cyber Battle: Capture The Flag and it will be the first of its kind in Brunei. This is something very new and it will be interesting to see who participate in this competition. Of course, those who are showing interest would have prior knowledge of computing and programming as this is not those kind of console video games you will be playing.

The registration is already open and 10 tens will compete on the 11th October and their missions will be to exploit vulnerabilities on game servers, fix security holes, and defending their flags. The rules and regulations are already posted on their website and you can view them for any clarification.

So why this competition for the first time? Well, the main aim is to identify the winner from Brunei and represent for the ASEAN-Japan Cyber SEA Game which will be held in Jakarta this November. Only the top two teams will represent Brunei in Indonesia. This was announced by Shamsul Bahri, CEO of ITPSS.

The registration is open to Brunei citizens and also to permanent residents aged 30 years and below. You must enter as a team of 2 or 3 members. The closing date for the registration is 2nd October 2015. You can click here to register for the competition. You can also follow their IG for updates @brucert

The event is organised by IT Protective Security Services Sdn Bhd (ITPSS) in their role as Brunei Computer Emergency Response Team (BruCERT). This competition is also supported by Authority for Info-Communication Technology of Brunei (AITI).

Shamsul Bahri, CEO of ITPSS briefing the media on the competition

Caroline Ho revealed the prizes for the top 3 teams. Love the prizes too.

Check out the prizes for the top 3 teams

Muhd Shahrul Fadillah Umar explaining the flow of the competition

Representing Brunei – Lim Ao, Bridgette Ang, D-1 and What?!

They were happy to be on the international stage

They may have not won the finals but they stole the hearts of the audience. Last week, our local musicians belted it out at the ‘Be our Rock & Pop Soul’ Music Competition held at Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam. Two representatives from Brunei made it to the finals – Lim Ao and What?! band. All in all, there were eleven musicians that flew off led by Lily Chiam and also accompanied by their music instructors.

This was the first time that Brunei participated in the competition and they managed to impressed the judges. Tyler Smith, the Senior Vice President of Trinity College in London, also had praised Bruneian performers. “They rocked the house right there,” he said, amid loud cheers from the audience. “The drums were in my face. I liked it.”

It’s good to see that Bruneians are able to perform on the international stage at a very young age. Keep the great work and also credit to the mentors. Images courtesy of Arthur John.

D-1 wooing the crowd with their rendition of “Crazy in love”

The grand winner from Thailand

Evan Chiam rocking the stage

Lim Ao electrifying the crowd with his solo performance

It was a day to remember for 229 graduating students during the afternoon session last Wednesday of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD)’s 27th Convocation as they received their Masters Degree and diplomas yesterday from His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Chancellor of UBD.

The recipients in the afternoon included master’s degree and diploma students, who were clearly happy to be receiving the reward for their studious efforts.

One such recipient was Hajah Azratul Azrina binti Haji Md Zain, who was the only student in the Diploma in Education course this year to attain a Pass with Distinction.

Hajah Azratul is a Business Art and Technology teacher from Sayyidina Husain Secondary School in Jerudong with five years of experience. Speaking to the Bulletin, she credited her success to hard work, giving her best and good support from the people around her.

On the course itself, she shared, “It taught me how to better handle students, how to approach students with different learning styles, and focusing more on SPN21 and how to communicate and collaborate well.”

She highlighted that she now feels better equipped after having undergone the course, and that she is looking forward to continuing her service as a teacher and also hopes to continue upgrading herself with higher qualifications.

Hajah Azratul also expressed her thanks to her lecturers, her family, friends and colleagues for their support.

Another recipient was Haji Mohammad Redzuan bin Haji Botty, who received a Masters of Education by Coursework, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education.

“Alhamdulillah, for the past two years of undergoing Masters of Education in Mathematics I have managed to obtain a lot of knowledge, skill and experience from discussions, academic readings as well as research that I carried out last year, and Insya Allah I will be able to fully use all that in my profession as a teacher and an education officer at the Ministry of Education.”

Haji Mohammad Redzuan teaches at Saiyyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School, but also aids in teaching at primary schools and at the Brunei Darussalam Teachers’ Academy on some days.
Sharing some advice, he said, “To those still studying, always stay motivated and always make an effort to strive to get out of your comfort zone as well as to try things as long as you can try things.”
This, he said, includes carrying out research, having independent learning, and not relying solely on lecturers or other people.

“Importantly, always know how to divide your time,” he added.

Norhafiza Rabiatul Adawiyah Noorazmi was another to graduate yesterday, receiving a Masters of Teaching in Secondary Education.

She said that she was happy to know that her hard work has paid off and to have received her certificate.

Speaking with the Bulletin on her experience, she shared, “The course was year-long and we taught classes in the morning and attend lectures in the afternoon, so that was like every day of the whole year for two semesters, but I know now that with this it was all worth it.”

Sharing some words of wisdom, she highlighted, “People should just go out there and go for an adventure to look for opportunities, and not to let it slip away by waiting.”

“I’ve recently been accepted to the English apprenticeship under the Brunei-US English Enrichment Programme, so I’m very lucky that after this I will be heading to Hawaii next month and we’ve started our course last year, so Alhamdulillah. So just be independent, go out there and don’t be scared,” she added. Text courtesy of Danial Norjidi, Izah Azahari & Wani Roslan of Borneo Bulletin.