New ministers and deputy ministers sworn in. Video by The Brunei Times.

Brunei’s new Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers were sworn in for a five-year term at Istana Nurul Iman this morning, October 26, 2015.

The swearing-in ceremony was held three days after His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalamm, announced the Cabinet reshuffle on state television.

A total of 21 office-bearers took their oaths before the Sultan during the hour-long ceremony, including His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister ‘s Office.

His Majesty retains the posts of prime minister, defence minister, finance minister and took over the foreign affairs and trade portfolio from His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah.

Five new faces are also included in the Cabinet line-up. Source: The Brunei Times.

So what flavour are you?

It was great to see Richard To (in Superman tee) and his mother at Chatime last weekend. I do miss my Power Ranger days *lol*

The well known bubble tea franchise is here in the city. The first one was opened in Kuala Belait. Now the Taiwanese tea franchise, Chatime, opened its second branch in Citis Square. I only noticed of Chatime when I was traveling to Kuala Lumpur and apparently, it’s quite big in KL and to my surprise, a few of my friends kinda know of Chatime and they prefer the drinks from Chatime. The soft opening was last Saturday and the responses were great to begin with.

Grace Chen, the master franchise of Chatime for Brunei market, was happy that the second outlet was ready to serve the customers. The grand opening is slated soon and it will tie with some promotion as well. So what flavours are the popular ones? Do try the QQ Passion Fruit, the Maccha Red Bean or the Chocolate Milk Tea or the usual Pearl Milk Tea. My personal favourite is the blend mix of maccha and red bean.

Chatime can also cater to your sugar level and even ice level and you can enjoy a selection of 8 toppings.

Chatime in Citis Square is located not far from Burger King. Enjoy!!! You can follow on their IG @chatime_brunei

Sin Yi and Ming Rui enjoying their Chatime. However, Ming Rui is craving for the taro flavour which is not available just yet

The interior of Chatime at Citis Square outlet

It’s gonna be a busy month at Chatime

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar, the Minister of Home Affairs was the guest of honour during the BIBD CE ALAF’s prize presentation last Sunday.

BIBD CE ALAF became another hit among the locals. Thousands showed up last Sunday for another edition of BIBD CE ALAF programme. It stands for Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Charity Expedition for Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future. The event took place at the usual Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium.

The guest of honour was the Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong presented prizes to the winners.

It was also nice to see former Minister of MIPR at the cycling category. Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar cycled during the expedition accompanied by Javed Ahmad, BIBD’s Managing Director and both of them are cycling enthusiasts.

Javed was quick to point out the volunteers for their great contribution to the community. Did you know they have roughly 900 volunteers in helping out the BIBD event to be a success? Amazing feat.

Great job to the BIBD team especially to Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar , Head of BIBD’s Corporate Social Responsibility, in leading the team to greater heights and also making the event another success.

Below are the winners of the respective categories.

Stephen Mungathia Nikubitu 1st place, Charles Munya Njaki 2nd place and Bernard Muthoni 3rd place in the Men Open 21km

Sefli Ahar 1st place, Abdul Malik bin Hidup 2nd place and Mohammad Samsul Zamri bin Muhammad Samsul Zam 3rd place in the Brunei Male 21 KM category

Tarus Gladus Jep Kechei 1st, Cheptoeck Careen 2nd and Esther Wambui Karimi 3rd in the Open Female 21KM category

Jenny Tan Feng Ling 1st place, Marnie Ahmad 2nd place and Jalquirey Cheng Nee 3rd place in Brunei Women 21 KM

James Cikunga Karanja 1st , Charles Kipkorir Kipsang 2nd and Titus Kipngetich 3rd in the Male Open 10Km category

Mastani Yussof 1st, Razali Sabli 2nd and Mohd Shah Azahar bin Abdullah 3rd in the Brunei Male 10Km category

Isabelan Kigen 1st, Valentine Jepkemoi Serem 2nd and Sarah Powdrill 3rd in the Female Open 10Km category

Nice t-shirt

Nurul Amirah Kariml 1st, Nurizyenny Muslim 2nd and Liza Hamid 3rd in the Brunei Female 10K category

Nikmatul Fatinah Haji Ismail 1st, Shazana Hamiroldzam 2nd and Dawn Lovell 3rd in the Female 5Km category

Kamau Kamau 1st (amazing feat of almost 16 minutes in the 5km run), Muhd Qamarul Ariffin Hifn 2nd and Lim Wei Kuang 3rd in the Male 5Km category

The winners of the Brunei Travel Fair feted two weeks ago

Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei thanked all the stakeholders involved in the Brunei Travel Fair and also their customers

Late post: Well done to all the 13 winners of the recent Brunei Travel Fair as they won from the lucky draws organised by Acabus (B) Sdn Bhd which was held at Royal Brunei Recreation Club. The prizes were sponsored by Abacus Brunei, Royal Brunei Airlines (RB), Nautilus Diving Bali, Holiday Inn Express, Pathumwan Princess and Tourism Authority of Thailand and the official bank, Baiduri Bank.

The biggest winner was Nor Liyana Naqibah Bahren as she won one return air ticket to London and it was an anti-climax moment when new born Siti Nurzafirah Abd Azim won two air tickets to Melbourne. Maggie Sim won four return economy air tickets to Ho Chi Minh City and the fourth prize went to Kok Ngean with three return tickets to Bali. All the prizes were sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

Holiday Inn Express (Thailand) sponsored prizes as well. Both Mohammad Hajatul Nazri Roslan and Mastura Kalong won a two night stay at Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Sathorn and Siam while Morsidi Haji Damit won a three-day-two-night free accommodation at Pathumwan Princess Hotel.

My friend @marul69 had one in five chances to win the GoPro Hero 4 but the Abacus grand prize went to Tan Meng Gueh, who purchased a ticket from Freme Travel Services. Instead Marul and the other consolation winners won a handy power bank. This category prizes were sponsored by Abacus Brunei.

Abacus Brunei also awarded prizes to the top travel agencies who registered the highest incremental bookings during the Brunei Travel Fair. It was no surprise that Pan Bright Travel won first place (as they have a good marketing gimmick) and this was followed by Darussalam Holdings Sdn Bhd and Freme Travel Services Sdn Bhd.

Present during the prize presentation were the representatives from the organisers and partners. Handing the prizes were Joan Lim, Head of RB’s Commercial Service; Pengiran Azaleen bin Pengiran Dato Haji Mustapha, Head of Baiduri Bank Retail Banking and Branch Network; Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei and Abd Halim Haji Abd Rahman, Senior Manager (Sales and Marketing) of Abacus Brunei.

According to Abacus Brunei, they have an increase of bookings compared to last year. This shows that the travel industry is a lucrative market because we love to go on holidays. I managed to buy tickets to Kota Kinabalu and Bali but unlucky not be shortlisted in the lucky draw. Maybe next time 😀

The winners of the flight to London, Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali

The winners of the hotel accommodation in Thailand

Tan Meng Gueh won a GoPro Hero 4

The winners of the Abacus Brunei lucky draw

It was a packed occasion during the Brunei Travel Fair

The top three travel agents during the travel fair – Pan Bright Travel, Darussalam Holdings and Freme Travel

BIBD today announced new partners into the 2015 BIBD CE ALAF (Charity Expedition for Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future Programme). Fajr Capital (Dubai) and Silverlake (Malaysia) has come on board as Platinum Sponsors to the ALAF Programme, while Kristal FM and Radio Television Brunei have signed on as the Official Broadcaster Radio and Official Broadcaster Television partners to help raise awareness on CE ALAF as well as other efforts related to the event.

BIBD also welcomes new partners, Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd (PCSB) who has agreed to contribute a one year subscription plan and a Vivo Y22 as a lucky draw prize, along with a co-branded runner t-shirts for the first one hundred participants who have raised at least B$100. At the same time, PCSB will also be providing support via providing volunteers for the ALAF event.

Happening this Sunday. Are you ready?

The Brunei Neuroscience Stroke Rehabilitation Centre (BNSRC) together with the Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) are also on board as sound supporters of the programme whereby they will also be organizing the a Musical Broadway titled ‘Sebuah Perjalanan’ as part of the stroke and cancer patients’ Therapeutic Group Activity. Proceeds from tickets sales will be donated to the BIBD ALAF Program.

Meanwhile, as the Official Airline Partner, RB (Royal Brunei) will be providing a business class return ticket to Melbourne and Bangkok each for winners of the 21kM and 10km, Men and Women Bruneian category. BIBD also welcomes support from government agencies such as the Department of Electrical Services along with the Customs & Excise Department towards the Charity Expedition.

Yang Mulia Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Ja’afar, in her capacity as Head of BIBD’s Corporate Social Responsibility commented “Alhamdulillah for the overwhelming support gained for not just the charity expedition, but also the ALAF programme. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved, from all partners, volunteers and supporters for their kind support for the programme.

This is it!!! I’m looking forward to this but I’m not too sure if I have the time just yet. It’s happening this coming Saturday. This is a FREE workshop (Adult Colouring Workshop) for customers who purchase “LOST OCEAN” colouring book from any Best Eastern store in Brunei.

The seats are limited so it’s a good idea to register. The workshop will be conducted by full-time artists at Jo-Art Gallery – Nabil, Fikri and Haronli.

This will be the first time a colouring workshop will be held. It will be a comprehensive workshop ranging from the materials of the colour pencil to the techniques of colouring (shading, rendering, colour scheme, blending and even discipline.

The venue will be at Mabohai Shopping Complex this Saturday 24th October and it’s co-organised by Best Eastern and Jo-Art Gallery.

Oh one more thing, don’t forget that there will be another colouring competition for adults on 1st November. Sadly I won’t be in the country then. Let’s hope for more participants in the second round. Good luck!!

Acer Aspire V Nitro. Another end to end stuff from Concepts Computer who are one of the biggest vendors at the TechXpo 2015 happening today at the ICC until this coming Sunday.

There will be having many good promotions and firstly is the Aspire V Nitro notebooks. There are two specs of the Aspire V Nitro on promotion but the one that caught my eye is the Aspire V Nitro the “17 inch one because it’s fast and it’s quiet too. The attention to detail is just spot on for this version and they have many ports available. Check out the posters below for more details.

When you purchase any of the Aspire V Nitro, it will come with 3 years warranty and especially if you buy now (during the TechXpo,) you can save up to BND 400 and even get FREE gifts worth BND 200.

Acer projector. Now if you are looking for projectors, look no further. The prices now become affordable and it’s the newly improved Acer projector. This is ideal for presentation and also perhaps for your in-house theatre screen.

It carries a 2 year warranty and the lamp also has a 1 year warranty or 1,000 hours whichever comes first. It’s powered with 3,200 ANSI Lumens with HDMI port and dual-VGA. This BND 398 deal is also offered at TechXpo today till Sunday. So look out for the Acer P1185 or just check the poster below for more details.

Epson printers. For all the heavy duty printer users out there especially students and teachers, this is one of the fastest selling brand in Brunei – Epson – because of you all. If you want to talk about efficiency and also cost savings, then target for the Epson printers. These printers have high recommendation even among our peers (my media friends) who are also active users of Epson printers.

Imagine with just four colour ink bottles that you will be able to print up to 6,500 colour pages. Now that’s a plenty and I like the new concept of having the ink cartridge being placed outside the printer so it will be convenient should you want to refill.

It’s no surprise that Epson have sold 2 million units alone in Southeast Asia and Brunei is one of the growing market leader in terms of growth per capita. So do check out their Super Deals at TechXpo today till Sunday.

In collaboration with UnionPay, the fastest growing card brand in the world, Baiduri Bank is currently having a 3-month campaign where Baiduri UnionPay Debit Cardholders will earn freebies and stand a chance to win shopping sprees when they use their cards at participating outlets each weekend till December.

Aptly named “Take me Shopping with Baiduri UnionPay Debit Card”, the promotion which started on 25 September 2015 will run every Friday to Sunday till 13 December 2015. During the promotion, Baiduri UnionPay debit cardholders will receive a free shopping bag when they spend a minimum of B$50 at participating supermarkets during the designated weekends, while stocks last.

The promotion will cover 14 different supermarket outlets, including supermarket chains Hua Ho, Soon Lee, Jaya Hypermart, Supa Save, Sim Kim Huat, Freshco, First Emporium and Utama Grand. Each weekend, a different outlet will be featured so that customers residing in the different districts will have a chance to participate.

Besides receiving shopping bags, shoppers also get a chance to win monthly shopping sprees worth B$150 each at selected supermarket throughout the campaign.

An Instagram competition is also being held back-to-back with the shopping campaign. Customers who post creative photos of themselves with the “Take Me Shopping with Baiduri Union Pay” shopping bag will get a chance to win shopping vouchers worth B$20 each week. Terms and conditions can be viewed on the Baiduri Bank website or through Baiduri Deals mobile app.

The “Take me Shopping with Baiduri UnionPay Debit Card” campaign was organized to create public awareness on the card’s user-friendliness and other benefits of owning a Baiduri UnionPay Debit Card.

Unlike conventional signature-based payment cards, the Baiduri UnionPay Debit Card requires a personalized identification number or PIN to be keyed in by the cardholder for any transactions to be approved, thus, giving cardholders a high level of protection from fraud or misuse of the card. This unique feature also allows cardholders to use the debit card as an ATM card too.

The Baiduri UnionPay Debit card is accepted at over 2,000 local merchants and more than 26 million UnionPay merchants in over 150 countries and allows withdrawals at all Baiduri ATMs, other local ATMs, and over 1.9 million ATMs worldwide.

More information about Baiduri Bank’s current promotions can be obtained from the Bank’s website at www.baiduri.com, ‘Baiduri Deals’ mobile app or their Call Centre at 244 9666. To be in the know of Baiduri Bank current promotions and events, the public can also follow Baiduri Bank Group on Facebook or @baiduribank on Instagram and Twitter.

 

BIBD announced its Race Entry Pack for the 2015 CE ALAF (Charity Expedition for Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future programme). The pack includes a runners’ shirt and a CE ALAF backpack. Additional merchandise is also available on the CE ALAF website such as Polar running watches, which can be purchased during the registration of the CE ALAF.

Registrations for CE ALAF can be completed via the ALAF website at www.bibdalaf.com or at CE ALAF Kiosks at Aewon outlet in Kiarong, Seria and Airport Mall.

Payment for registration along with merchandise purchases can be made directly via the website using any Debit or Credit cards or via cash payments through BIBD online, BIBD Mobile, BIBD CDMs and counters at BIBD Branches to the BIBD CSR Raised Fund Account at 1010400011.

For all participants opting to register their participation via cash payments, participants are required to keep their proof of payment in the form of deposit slips for payments via BIBD counters and CDMs, or printed online receipts or screenshots for payments made through BIBD Online and BIBD Mobile platforms. These proofs of payments must to be presented at the Race Entry Pack Collection weekend, together with their donation proceeds slip.

The closing date for registrations will be on the 30th of September 2015, whereby the first 1500 successful registrations will also be entitled to free limited edition CE merchandise.

The running kit for this edition of BIBD CE ALAF

BIBD is also inviting interested persons to register their interest as volunteers, where they will receive official CE ALAF 2015 volunteer t-shirts. Slots for volunteers are however limited and contact details of each volunteer has to be submitted to the BIBD CE ALAF team at csr@bibd.com.bn by the 25th September 2015.

This year’s CE will include a new competitive 5km Open Men and Women’s category. Other categories include an Open and Bruneian 21km and 10km, Men and Women’s category along with a non-competitive 3km fun run and cycling expedition. Fees for the respective categories vary starting at B$25. Participants will also stand a chance to win prizes of up to B$2,000. BIBD would also like to inform the public that a designated area will be provided for Subuh Prayers.

The CE is one of the imperative strategic ideas for fundraising in order to sustain ALAF as a long term initiative. ALAF is BIBD’s flagship CSR programme. This year’s CE is hoped to build on its previous successes with more than 6,000 participants all contributing to raise a total amount of over B$ 665,000, an illustration of Bruneians as a caring society.

The complete sponsors and partners of the BIBD CE ALAF

The ALAF programme, launched in May 2013 by Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah, was developed in close partnership with the Ministry of Education which will lead to constant efforts and close collaboration between both parties to ensure the successful implementation and provision of assistance to the ALAF programme. At the same time, The ALAF programme is also supported by the Islamic Studies Department from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The ALAF programme currently has almost a hundred students under its care.

The ALAF programme provides the selected students with provisions for school and tuition fees, educational materials and welfare, as well as mentoring and counseling necessities amongst others. All this is to help ensure the absolute commitment of these students towards the development of their education, and not let them be bothered by the other commitments that come with. The ALAF programme will also continue to provide support and assistance to these students until the end of their respective educational requirement needs.

Through ALAF, BIBD hopes to align its support to His Majesty’s 2035 vision of obtaining a 100% level of education to everyone, which in turn is hoped to help reduce poverty, In Shaa Allah, leading Brunei towards a more prosperous and peaceful future, making Brunei populated with educated, highly skilful and successful individuals, in line with internationally set standards.

Apart from contributions during the CE, members of the public wishing to contribute into the BIBD ALAF fund may do so with a minimum donation of B$1.01 into the BIBD ALAF account at 1018181811. Contributing is further made easier as the public can utilise existing BIBD channels such as the BIBD Online website, BIBD Mobile app, BIBD ATM and CDMs, and BIBD branch counters. The public can also set up a BIBD Standing Instruction to ensure a monthly donation into the ALAF fund. As an added benefit, BIBD account holders can also use their accumulated BIBD Hadiah Points for cash conversion into contributions into the ALAF fund account.

A few weeks ago BIBD launched their third expedition to support ALAF

Cool medal for this year’s edition

 

Click image to enter register

Registration is still ongoing. Organised by the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, BIBD Charity Expedition 2015 is our 4th initiative in their sporting calendar to raise funds for donations.

Let’s rewind for a bit. Back in 2011, their 1st initiative in the BIBD Charity Expedition was held to raise funds for the victims of the Tsunami in Japan. Now, as an extension towards BIBD’s ALAF initiative, the contributions will play a pivoting role in the importance of early childhood education. ALAF is the abbreviation for Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future.

Do check out the number of categories available. The only one missing is the full marathon. The 5km run will be a competitive one with the regular categories. Of course, let’s not forget the 3km fun run.

Registration closes by 31st September 2015 but if you sign up now, you will stand a better chance of being the first 1,500 registrants and you will be entitled to a FREE limited edition Charity Expedition merchandise from BIBD.

Do follow them on instagram @bibdcealaf for updates as well.

BIBD CE ALAF in 2012

BIBD CE ALAF in 2012

BIBD CE ALAF in 2012

BIBD CE ALAF in 2013

BIBD CE ALAF in 2013

The categories for this year’s event

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

The prize giving ceremony

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

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

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

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

The memento for the guest of honour from BBA

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

Mike Pilgrim with his fans

Just look at the Batu Bersurat Basketball Court

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah launching the event

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the match officials

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the host nation

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah greeting the team from Myanmar

Dr Shamil Kamil Mohammad delivering his speech

The fans from the Philippines

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

It all starts from grassroots level

The working committee for the football festival

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

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

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

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

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

One of the saves from Myanmar keeper from a Malaysian attack

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

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

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

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

The customary handshake after every match.

Click image to enter register

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

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

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

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

Members of the press and partners were present

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

The medals for this year’s event

Check out the categories

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

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

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

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

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