The Audi Urban Driving Experience (AUDE) back in 2014

T.C.Y. Motors as the sole dealer/importer for the Audi brand will once again hold its Audi Urban Driving Experience soon; it will be the second event of its kind after last year’s inaugural launch in Jerudong.

The event is a platform for customers and guests to experience and learn safe dynamic driving techniques and at the same time discover the unique capabilities of various Audi models in real driving situations. As with last year a professional driving instructor from overseas will be invited to conduct the exercises in a safe controlled environment.

With the recent alarming rise in road fatalities, emphasis on safe driving is at an all time high. Through the event participants will be shown simple yet important skills that can be utilised on a daily basis during their daily commute. Participants will also be enlightened on certain active/passive safety features available on current Audi models in the Sultanate.

The second AUDE event will take place at the end of the month at the previously held venue. Information on participation is available by calling 2442333 ext.31 or by visiting Audi Kiarong which is now open on Sundays 10.00am to 2.00pm.

Coming soon. Information on participation is available by calling 2442333 ext.31 or by visiting Audi Kiarong which is now open on Sundays 10.00am to 2.00pm

Sam Koay is aiming for bigger success in Hollywood

Sam Koay with his equipment. Yay!! Canon 😀 and this was during his trip to Slovakia

Man, if I had that opportunity, I will grab it. I have always dreamt to be a film-maker since watching movies is my passion and I do appreciate all the efforts of the producers and directors to turn the movie into a final product for the benefit of the audience.

I just recently got in touch with Sam Koay whom I met during his International School Brunei days a few years ago and now, he has the opportunity to shine on a bigger stage and that is film-making and furthermore, it’s in Hollywood.. Yes, Hollywood. He is Malaysian but raised in Brunei, almost his entire life, and I’m more in touch with his mother, Cecilia Lee, owner of IA Salon and Fun Bee Park.

At a very young age, well comparing to mine *lol*, he holds a double major degree in Electronic and Theatre Arts and along the way he has notched several prestigious awards under his belt notably an award for an in-depth television feature into undocumented immigration into the US.

Currently he has signed with independent film-maker Greenstem Enterprises in Los Angeles. So his current project is a TV show with 21 episodes, the first season of “Basics of” and it’s basically an educational series where it gives the audience the know-how on taking on a career or a profession. This TV show will be aired on Discovery Channel in the summer of 2016. Now that is freaking awesome!!

In a very short span of time, he had hands on experience as he traveled to Slovakia while working closely with an award winning documentary film-maker Kelly Whelan. He had the opportunity to be involved in the Cannes International Film Festival 2014 as he worked as an intern in Meyers Media Group. Guess what? He had the privilege to bump into celebrities such as John Travolta and even my favourite director/producer Quentin Tarantino (envy…) Other accolades to his resume was as a camera operator and audio assistant for the Huffington Post during the Sundance Film Festival 2015.

Sam Koay at the Bradenton Film Festival

Sam Koay at one of his shootings at Slovakia

Sam Koay working on his short film at Puerto Rico as a cinematographer

A very good response from my Facebook followers as The Brunei Times article I shared garnered many “likes”

Being a graduate of University of Miami, he has also achieved numerous awards for his work on 30 minute documentary in 2014 on the immigration issue in the US (Society of Professional Journalism) and also for “Best Actor” award in the NOLA O Cinema screening in Miami. He also worked with an international brand Footlocker for a commercial.

Perhaps the highlight moment for me on Sam’s credentials will be his role as a production assistant for Warner Bros on Ben Affleck’s movie “The Accountant”. All these are good signs to come for a such a young talented individual. Apart from the current TV show he’s working on, he is working on a personal featured film, a story of struggles of a Malaysian man living in a Los Angeles. He hopes his featured film will gain interest and he is also raising funds for the production of the movie. Maybe you can try KickStarter, buddy 😀 I’m pretty sure many will support your cause.

For me, Sam can only move forward and I hope you reach the heights of being an accomplished director and actor. For the record, my favourite directors are Danny Boyle, Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan whereas my favourite actors are Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Scarlett Johansson.

Congratulations buddy and I wish you the best in the future.

Darren Chai the winner of the Hopper Warrior 2015 CrossFit competition in Kuala Lumpur last weekend. Image courtesy of @hybridmovement

Darren Chai really impressed me as an athlete and he has one great intention – to help Brunei achieve health and fitness at the same time. I know him before as a tennis player and he’s pretty good too. I even saw him taking part in basketball tournaments and he has both the skills and physique to perform on the basketball court too. Now why I think he’s the athlete of the year is because of his contribution as a sportsman in the country and also his dedication.

Now his journey focuses on fitness through his personal training programme Hybrid Movement @HybridMovement and it has been a successful journey for Darren.

He recently won the Hopper Warrior 2015 CrossFit competition in Kuala Lumpur which took place last weekend. Well done, buddy. I believe it was no easy feat as he had a few tasks to complete and the points will then be tallied. The one with the lowest points will win the competition and Darren Chai had the lowest with 10 points whereas his next competitors were 14 points and 16 points respectively. You can read more of the story here written by Yee Chun Leong of The Brunei Times.

This year alone, he also competed in CrossFit Asia Tournament and he finished 15th out of the 34 finalists held in Bangkok back in June 2015. Back in May 2015, he was also champion in the “Beast of The East” competition. He was also being featured in the People section of The Brunei Times. Keep up the great work, buddy!! Maybe we should have a hit on the tennis court one day *lol*

Darren Chai braved the haze which was pretty bad in Kuala Lumpur last weekend

Darren Chai with the crew of Hopper Warrior 2015

Darren Chai at the CrossFit Asia Tournament in Bangkok where he finished 15th

The news from Times.com today

It’s such a sad news when we hear celebrities pass away and today was another tragedy that one of the Hollywood icons Robin Williams passed away and it was reported that it could be related to suicide.

But it was noted by his publicist that Robin Williams have been battling severe depression as of late. It’s just tragic to listen to human beings taking their lives away as there is so much the world can give but they chose a different path instead, a darker one.

I remember watching the television hit series Mork and Mindy and I am pretty sure that not most of you have heard of this series because it was back in the early 80s which rose him to fame. I believe he was one of the few actors that made it through the big screen after successful outings in TV series.

I would say that I caught at least 60-70% of his movies and the best one that really touched my heart was his performance at Good Will Hunting which starred him and Matt Damon. I highly recommend that you watch this movie alone for his stunning performance. Of course, he was awesome in Dead Poets Society as well.

I will definitely miss his charming humour on screen. You can read more of his filmography here. May he rest in peace.

Robin Williams starring in Good Will Hunting