Posts Tagged ‘KK’
It has been told
A new travel agent in town
Ultramar brings cheers at Children’s Ward at RIPAS
Happening this Friday and Saturday
Synopsis of Jong Sarat: Each struggles between duty and desire: pragmatic Razak, who wants to support his family; dreamy Nur, who is torn between her father’s wishes and her own yearnings; frustrated Asmali, who always feels like second best; and loyal Salmah, who wants only to nurture the friendships around her as carefully as she nurtures her parents’ Jong Sarat business.
One more until their second original production ‘Jong Sarat’! Get your tickets *TODAY* for either of these production nights:
Friday, 22nd January 2016, 7pm
Saturday, 23rd January 2016, 7pm
Tickets are available at SM Yayasan SHHB Primary School Hall this week from 4pm – 9.30pm. You’ll also be able to grab them at The Library Cafe @thelibrarycafebwn and Caffé Verve @ Alliance Francaise de Brunei @vervespresso. You can view more on their info at their website
Check the map for our venue and ticket collection point! Kindly contact for more information (via message only).
Telegram:telegram.me/seedsjongsarat
Whatsapp: +6738678673 for tickets updates.
Some of the cast of Jong Sarat. Image by Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times.
One of the many characters in Jong Sarat, the second original production by Seeds Brunei, during a rehearsal held recently. Image by Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times.
Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim highlighted and acknowledged that the country needs to stimulate economic growth through SMEs as the current oil prices have impacted the Brunei revenue stream during the launch of the Enterprise Open Day for Small and Medium Enterprises at Design and Technology Building located in the Anggerek Desa Technology Park
The Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (“EIDPMO”) organised an Enterprise Open Day for Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”). Today (Thursday) will be the final day for the event.
The Enterprise Open Day event is aimed at increasing awareness of the various enterprise support services available as well as identifying issues faced by existing and upcoming by entrepreneurs in Brunei Darussalam.
Held at the Design and Technology Building located in the Anggerek Desa Technology Park, the event opened on Tuesday, 19 January 2015 and will continue on Wednesday and Thursday from 8am to 5pm. The Enterprise Open Day is based around the theme, “Leading Economic Growth and Contributing to GDP for Brunei Darussalam” and was officiated by the Guest of Honour, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance at the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim.
Also in attendance were Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Kolonel (B) Dato Seri Setia (Dr.) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hamdan bin Haji Abu Bakar, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Mohd Roselan bin Haji Mohd Daud, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Hisham bin Haji Mohd Hanifah, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finance, Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Permanent Secretaries from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as directors of all the participating agencies.
After a brief opening ceremony, Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Rahman took a tour of the booths set up by both government agencies and financial institutions as well as the ‘Enterprise Issues’ log in desk and Business Advisory Clinics.
Businesses planning to utilise any of these services, should bring their form 16 and 17 and company chop.
Also in conjunction with The Enterprise Open Day, is the launch of the business.gov.bn website and the Central Payment System (“CPS”). The business.gov.bn is a portal providing a single source of information of business-related government services across various Ministries and agencies. The CPS is a payment module under the E-Government Platform enabling customers to pay via online for Government e-services.
One biz will be the first e-service to use CPS with the long term goal of expanding this payment service to other Government e-services. The ‘Enterprise Issues’ log in desk is made available to collect information on any issues or challenges met by local SMEs in Brunei Darussalam.
There will also be presentations by Wawasan Secretariat, Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam (“AMBD”) and Brunei Intellectual Property (“BruIPO”) conducted on Wednesday and Thursday to provide insights and information for those attending Enterprise Open Day. Business advisory clinics will also be made available by various agencies including EIDPMO, various banks, BruIPO and LiveWire. Enterprise Open Day saw the participation of agencies both from government and financial institutions setting up support service and information counters to assist enterprises to better understand the assistance provided by the sultanate.
These include Wawasan 2035 Secretariat, Ease of Doing Business, FDI Centre, Registry of Companies and Business Names from Ministry of Finance, Revenue Division from Ministry of Finance, BruIPO, E-Government National Centre (“EGNC”), Labour Department, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Tabung Amanah Pekerja (“TAP”), AMBD, BAG Networks Sdn Bhd, Authority for Building Control & Construction Industry (“ABCi”) and banks.
Borneo Insider’s Guide (BiG) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with The BiG 10th Anniversary Picnic Festival at the Jerudong Park Colonnade this Sunday, 24th January 2016, from 2pm – 10pm. There will be open-air picnic spots; 8 live music performances by Maria ‘Eia’ Grace Koh, Kala K, with support from DIG Records Preservation Blues Jazz Hall Band and friends; lucky draws, an adult colouring competition and a photo competition with prizes to be won, great food and creative crafts on sale by 50 local and regional vendors. The BiG anniversary event is not just a celebration of BiG magazine’s 10th year in print, but it is also to raise money for two local charities: Majlis Kesejahteraan Masyarakat (MKM) and Care and Actions for Strays (CAS).
It’s always fun traveling in groups because it gives a different sense of fun and bonding. This time, 20 from Brunei Toastmasters (BSC, UBD, BASC and Otters) traveled to Kota Kinabalu for a joint meeting with KK toastmasters, its first ever to be conducted. The toastmasters meeting followed the Brunei agenda and format to share experience with the KK toastmasters on how it is being conducted in Brunei.
I noticed some differences from Brunei and KK in terms of the agenda. Firstly, the table topic speeches take place in the first half of the meeting. Brunei toastmasters had this practice for many years until they change the format a few years ago and it has been very effective for speech evaluators and time management.
Secondly, the KK toastmasters have an invocator to kick off the meeting, toasting to Yang Di Pertain Agong and Yang Di Pertua Negeri Sabah and lastly to Toastmasters International. Interesting. We don’t practice that in Brunei.
Lastly, just a few things such as a Humour Master for KK side for a max of 5 minutes to entertain the audience and the different role of the Table Topics Evaluator where he or she focuses more on the Table Topics Master then briefly on the Table Topics speakers.
On Sunday, we had a leadership training on how to improve the clubs and also to retrain the executive committees (Exco) of the various toastmasters club from KK and Brunei. This training is normally carried out at least twice a year in hoping the Excos that attended can share their knowledge to their respective clubs.
Overall, a fruitful weekend I had and a big thank you to my KK friends, Phylicia, Laurence and Jerry, for bring me around last weekend. I’m also glad that Brunei Speakers’ Club has two new members now – Satra and Alfa. Our club is definitely growing but let’s not forget the older members who have played an important role in sustaining the club.
Netcom associates with a Hua Ho staff (in red) at the new Netcom IT department located at Hua Ho Manggis
Razer products at discounted price until 8th February
In a partnership to better serve their customers, Netcom have opened their 2nd IT Department collaboration with Hua Ho Department Store. Situated at Hua Ho Manggis, the new IT Department is a strategic location to serve the residents of Jalan Muara.
This collaboration is an extension of the business partnership between Hua Ho and Netcom, with the success of the IT Department in the Hua Ho Yayasan Branch.
The Hua Ho Manggis IT Department is open daily from 10am – 10pm and is located on the 2nd Floor. It features a full range of Razer and Dell products, as well as gaming gear such as Kingston, HyperX, Logitech and Prolink. Other available products include networking solutions, pen drives, cartridges and also a full range of consumer printers from Canon.
Mr. Vincent Goh, Managing Director of Netcom, said ” We deeply appreciate the trust and the strong support from our business partner, Hua Ho. We are thankful to Netcom customers for supporting us all these years, and we are committed to providing excellent services, quality products and competitive prices to the public.”
To celebrate the opening, Netcom is offering slashed prices for Razer and other selected products until February 8th. For every purchase of $100 and over in a single receipt, customers will receive an exclusive Dell umbrella.
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Still hope
Podcast review of Bridge of Spies with special guest Thedoric
Hjh Nurul Akmar Hj Mohd Jaafar BIBD’s head of consumer banking division and concurrent head of the bank’s CSR unit, Vivian Tie Suk Kee, Head of Rehabilitation Department at Jerudong Park Medical Centre, Wu Chun, director of Fitness Zone and Ak Danny, Marketing Officer of Jerudong Park Medical Centre during the press conference of the the musical broadway “Sebuah Perjalanan”
The Rehabilitation Department at Brunei Neuroscience, Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre (BNSRC) together with The Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) and supported by BIBD, will be organizing a musical broadway, “Sebuah Perjalanan” as part of the stroke and cancer patient’s therapeutic group activity programme. The musical is scheduled to be held on 1st November 2015, which coincides with the commemoration of World Stroke Day that is celebrated by countries around the world every year on 29th October.
The objective of the project is to create the best situation and environment, to help patients overcome their disabilities through meaningful rehabilitation that kindles sheer determination, states Vivian Tie Suk Kee, Head of Rehabilitation Department at JPMC. A total of 53 patients started practising to prepare for this event since 21 September 2015 which will last for 6 weeks, although about 20 will perform along with staff of the department. The whole process helps patients focus on a task for a good cause through rehabilitative strategies to help them recover their function and not on their disability. We hope to encourage and motivate the stroke patients to continue working hard towards further reducing their disabilities and achieving a more enriched life after a disabling stroke condition, she added.
With their previous TGA performances receiving positive feedback and positive clinical outcome, the department decided to take the next performance further by organizing a musical play, involving stroke patients and staff of BNSRC and JPMC. The story of the performance was written by a stroke patient based on real events together with staff of the Rehabilitation Department that aims to enhance the public’s awareness about stroke, the disability following stroke, its rehabilitation involved and the important elements for a successful recovery journey, stressing the importance of having fast medical attention.
Wu Chun urged the public to support the event
Vivian Tie whom I have so much respect for believing this project and she has so much passion and dedication to bring hope to stroke patients. Keep it up!!
The media of the partners and media
Wu Chun, Event Ambassador of “Sebuah Perjalanan” has previously shown his support by participating in preparations for the above event. “This Therapeutic Group Activity is very creative and helpful for patients, in working their brain and muscles. Through supporting this event, I can only do so much. We are here to create awareness and let the public know about how they can give a helping hand to those in need. Hopefully, they can spread the kind words and let others know more about this very sincere, yet meaningful event.”, stated Wu Chun previously. Live music will be supported by the amazing Uniq Band from Pusat Bahagia who are all visually impaired and also talented musicians from Expression Music Academy.
Meanwhile, Ak Danny Pg Tajuddin, Head of Marketing of JPMC stated, “The event will be held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) and is open to public with a ticket fee of BND25 (Balcony seats and free T-Shirt designed and autographed by Wu Chun), BND15 (Front row) and BND10 (Back row). All proceeds from this event will be donated to a charity organisation, BIBD ALAF. This initiative is fully supported by BNSRC’s Management. Stay tune to find out more about this event by following JPMC’s Facebook Page, The Jerudong Park Medical Centre, and Instagram Profile, @JPMCBrunei and @BNSRC_musical.”
Rehabilitation Department offers treatments available that includes Falls Prevention, Geriatric and Pediatric Rehabilitation, Back and Neck Pain, Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury, Orthopedics and Sports Injury. For more information, please visit their website at www.jpmc.cm.bn.
Wu Chun showing during the practice session and giving the stroke patients motivation for the upcoming musical event
Wu Chun with Michael Jordan and other celebrities in Shanghai
Wu Chun’s a big fan of MJ
As the host city for a lavish celebration of the 30th anniversary of Air Jordan, Shanghai went all out, even going so far as to adjust the city’s skyline with bright emerald lights. Highlights from the festivities included a conversation with Michael Jordan and Tinker Hatfield, as well as visits from Roger Federer, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Liu Xiang, Li Na, and Jordan signature athletes Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The Jordan House of Flight space also showcased experiences like the Last Shot of MJ, which allows 12 specially chosen TEAM 23 which consist of sports star such as Li Na and Liu Xiang together with super stars from the entertainment industry such as Wu Chun, Will Pan,etc to choose one of MJ’s breathtaking game-winning shots, complete with scene reproduction through LED screens that simulate defensive players and the expectant fans watching in the stands.
Although it’s hard to believe, it’s been three long decades since a young, high-flying, gold chain wearing Michael Jordan first entered the NBA as a member of the Chicago Bulls in 1985. His inaugural season with the team, which happened to end with Rookie of the Year honors, set in motion all that we know today. And by that we refer to Jordan Brand – the groundbreaking company that has revolutionized footwear both on and off the court. A cultural staple as important as any with a 30 year history, celebrates its pearl anniversary with one of its more celebrated components in mind – its fans.
Jordan‘s 30th anniversary festivities in Shanghai kicked off with a bang, highlighted the unveiling of the amazing Jordan House of Flight. The coda wasn’t shabby either, as Michael Jordan himself — along with Nike design legend Tinker Hatfield in tow — sat down with Ahmad Rashad for a free-flowing conversation. Making his first appearance in China after an 11-year absence, MJ reflected on the evolution of his game during his playing career, as well as the collaborative nature of his partnership with Tinker.
Michael Jordan at the Air Jordan 30th anniversary celebration in Shanghai
With Tinker Hatfield, Nike Design Legend
With Liu Xiang and Li Na
Wu Chun with Liu Xiang
The Air Jordan showroom
So how did Wu Chun feel after meeting his idol?
Wu Chun: I actually flew to USA 12 years ago to watch his last few games in his NBA career. I even waited outside his restaurant for hours and managed to take pic with him but this meeting is different because it was such a privilege to be selected as a member in the Team 23 in this Air Jordan 30th anniversary and it’s one of the best birthday gift for me this year! It’s a dream come true and my next dream is hoping to have the opportunity to play one on one with him. I know it might sound impossible but miracles do happen and like what MJ said, ” Never say never because limits like fear, are often just an illusion.”
So what were they (Wu Chun and MJ) conversing about?
Wu Chun: After the event, we went to a michelin-starred restaurant to have a 4-hour dinner. To me, it’s once in a lifetime opportunity to get up-close and personal with MJ so i really took out the courage to intro myself to him. Ironically I was so surprised to know that he actually screened through the list of TEAM 23 and he knew who I was. I shared my excitement that I am such a big fan of him and how much he had inspired me since the day I became his fan 25 years ago!”
How MJ inspired his life?
Wu Chun: If you read my book – Ignite Courage or if you are a member of Fitness Zone, you will notice how much admiration I have for this super legend. I admire him so much not because of how well he had played the game of basketball but it’s more towards his unbelievable work ethic, charismatic leadership skills, philanthropic responsibility and the strong desire to make his weaknesses into his strength. I thanked him for coming into my life as a great role model and hope I can follow his footsteps to be a good role model for others as well.”
Wu Chun attending one of the exhibition matches from NBA
The Brunei Toastmasters with Datin during the Division K contest at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Reuben Chin, Division Director of Division K, Rozana Yunos runner-up in Humourous, Kamalia Kamaruzaman Division K champion in Humourous, Aaron Division K champion in evaluation and second runner up in humourous, Laurence Dumling, runner up in evaluation, Pranika Lama, second runner up in evaluation, Arthur, Contest Chair of the contest and Suzana the Chief Judge of the contest
Two weeks ago, I was in Kota Kinabalu with my fellow toastmasters buddies to support our representatives from Brunei Darussalam (Area K6) in the Humourous Speech and Evaluation Speech Contest in Division K (Brunei, Sabah, Labuan). The representatives were Rozana Dato Paduka Hj Yunos for Humurous Speech and Pranika Lama for Speech Evaluation.
The competition was pretty tough as it could have been anyone’s game especially the top three. Rozana’s idea of the F word caught us with laughters while Aaron shared his experience with the dentist and survived to share in the Humourous Speech contest. However, both couldn’t earned enough points as the judges chose Kamilia’s journey as a single lady. Yes, she was by far the most animated lady and she deserved the prize for her humourous delivery. Last year, she just missed out the first spot as Allen Ang (from Brunei) was the champion. This year, she came back stronger and she will now represent Division K in the Semi-Annual District which will happen in Bali, Indonesia at the end of October. Congratulations Kamilia Kamaruzaman.
As for the Evaluation Speech Contest, when I saw the line-up, I was only aware of three speakers and I knew it will be among them three – Pranika Lama, Laurence Dumling and Aaron. When Laurence was competing last year in Kota Kinabalu, I was already captivated by her presentation. She was just phenomenal and owned the stage then and she was the defending champion in Division K for evaluation. This year, it was a different story.
Aaron who has such a humourous personality, showed his flair and analysed the “how to collect your debts” speech where others have missed out on specific points. Pranika Lama did her very best as she struggled with the audio which distracted her flow of delivery but she still managed to come third. Laurence had another good run but she admitted that she wasn’t at her best that day but I really thought she did quite well and placed as runner-up. The winner was Aaron who was previously the Contest Chair last year. He is the only person to be placed in both categories – Winner in Humourous Speech and second runner-up in Speech Evaluation Contest.
The results mean that Kamalia and Aaron will represent our Division K in the final competition to be held in Bali, Indonesia. Nonetheless, I’m still proud of Rozana’s and Pranika’s journey in the competition and both have inspired me in many ways.
I also enjoyed the educational sessions in the morning though we only had a few hours of sleep *lol* Even those in attendance were very pleased that the sessions weren’t dry and quite engaging. So well done to the speakers (Reuben, Allen, Shane and Ruey) and also to the organising committee for the successful event overall. Now I can’t wait to fly to Bali and support both Aaron and Kamilia. Though my KK trip was less than 48 hours, I had a blast and mostly thanks to the people around me.
I love this token 😀
Shawn Cassidy-Narcis the District 87’s Club Growth Director saying a few words
Reuben Chin in his opening delivery to start off the educational sessions
The university students are full of passion for toastmasters 😀
Representing toastmasters from Sabah
Our flight to KK
Our first pitstop before shopping
It was Pranika’s first time at Nando’s :p
The biggest story after our toastmasters convention – the opening of Uniqlo in KK
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That Maroon Jacket
Be Proud Of Your Style! Join Malppy’s IG video & slogan contest now and stand a chance to win Malppy’s shopping spree. There are 3 categories where you could walk away with the attractive prizes.
Categories:
• Best slogan $300
• Most like male video $200
• Most like female video $200
Details:
• The best slogan category will be judged by Malppy.com
• The other categories will be judged based on the most likes.
• Judges decision is final.
Requirements:
• Record yourself with your most stylish outfit
• Come up with a short slogan that best describes Malppy. ‘Slogan must not be more than 7 words’.
• End the video by saying “Malppy.com”
• Post it and tag @MALPPYBN with the hashtag #ILOVEMALPPY #OOTDBN
• Follow us on IG & you have to open your account to public.
Video Upload: 21st January – 7th February 2015
The WINNER will be announced on 8th February 2015
5 lucky winners monthly and you can enjoy exciting holidays when you swipe with BIBD cards
Maroon jacket mode on with inspirational speaker Robin Sieger
I’m always pleased when we have guests coming in and they learnt of a toastmasters through means of my social media updates and blog post. And to see them turning up to our meetings (every Tuesday) show thats that we are doing something right for the community. We have broken the stigma that toastmasters is just about being a great speaker or just being a leader of your own but it’s the synergy and the positive conducive environment that allows an individual to lower down his/her shield, ego and fear. It’s not just about public speaking and hence I’m not surprised by the increase of new members notably Derby Teo, Rahul and Pooja.
Last weekend, we had a great time at Kota Kinabalu as we embarked in a training session conducted by toastmasters club in KK. Though I can’t comment much about the training session but the evening session with Robin Sieger paid off our dues and what a fantastic character he is. I saw him spoke last year at the Toastmasters International Convention in Kuala Lumpur and I was amazed then. The recent session was more intimate and I managed to catch up with him and talked about life. I do hope he does come to Brunei or perhaps we can invite him to speak to schools and our younger generation because he is a great testament and role model for success.
A big thank you to all my friends in toastmasters and especially to Shawn Cassidy Narcis and Ruey Narcis, the pillars of toastmasters in Brunei Darussalam, for their continuous support and guiding the young team to greater heights. 2015 will be an awesome year for Brunei toastmasters members and I’m very privileged and honoured to be part of the team and contribute back to the community.
If you want to know more about toastmasters, you can reach me at ranoadidas gmail.com and I can guarantee you is that toastmasters is a fun, enjoying learning experience. Below are pictures from our recent trip in KK.
The Brunei team with the inspirational Robin Sieger
Our superhero Amran at Manukan Island
Giving a toast to Agong and toastmasters international
This was our first joint meeting with KePKAS Toastmaster Club and Toihaan Toastmasters Club from KK at Manukan Island
The President of KePKAS Toastmasters Club, Dr. Maklarin Lakim, given a badge as a birthday gift from District Governor Sukarno
I had the privilege to be the Table Topics Evaluator that day
Group shot after the meeting at Manukan Island
Shawn, Pius and Chloe
Chloe, another blogger from Sabah, who also works on the tourism side for Sabah
Trying out Derby’s sunnies
But it suits her best despite looking huge on her face
The natural pose
Craving for chicks.. food wise 😀
Mohd Riza Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yunos, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications (2nd from left) with Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank sharing a light moment at “It’s A Grind” coffeehouse after the launch of the Baiduri Bank Muara branch yesterday. Image courtesy of Azli Azney of The Brunei Times.
Delicious aroma of coffee permeated the air as Baiduri Bank’s CEO Pierre Imhof and Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, Mohd Riza Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yunos toured the newly opened, relocated Muara Branch of Baiduri Bank yesterday morning.
Mohd Riza was there as the guest of honour at the official opening of the branch, which was previously located at Bangunan Tiga Tingkat, at the ground floor of Al-Warasah Commercial Centre in Muara Town.
The relocation was due to the increasing number of customers and with it the demand for products and services from Baiduri. The new branch is twice as large and has twice the number of staff, and is now able to provide a full range of banking products and services to cater to individuals as well as businesses, and this includes complimentary financial planning consultation.
“The upgrading of this branch is part of Baiduri Bank’s branch network configuration project where we redesign each branch to suit the market segment and its surrounding area and demographics. The modern layout is designed to allow customers to carry out their banking transactions in a relaxed and comfortable setting. In addition, the bank seeks to craft a workplace that promotes work efficiency and employee wellbeing,” said Pierre Imhof in his speech at the opening.
He added that Baiduri made significant investments to the new branch — greater customer experience and accessibility — and he was proud to add that the Muara Branch is the first of its kind to offer the café banking experience with the adjoined “It’s A Grind” coffeehouse.
After the speech, the guest of honour toured the premises, lead by the Regional Manager of the Brunei-Muara District Alvina Chung, and the Branch Manager Alice Lee before retiring to the adjoining coffeehouse to enjoy a cup of “It’s A Grind” coffee and some brunch. Text by Azli Azney of The Brunei Times.
The officiating the launch. Image courtesy of Azli Azney of The Brunei Times.
Pierre Imhof delivering his welcoming remarks and happy belated sir 😀 Image courtesy of Azli Azney of The Brunei Times.
The Temburong Adventure
Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, officiating the opening of the Rainforest Lodge.
Freme Travel’s new Adventure Course and refurbished Rainforest Lodge are set to welcome more visitors to Temburong National Park. Both these new facilities promise exciting activities and all the modern comforts of home in a pristine rainforest environment for both overseas tourists and local residents to enjoy while also creating more job opportunities and playing a part in boosting the local economy.
Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, officiated the launch.
Freme Travel’s Chairman, Pg Dato Sharifuddin Bin Pg Metali asserted that safety and environmental issues were uppermost on the agenda of making Temburong National Park a ‘must visit’ tourist destination, and that special attention will be paid to sanitation, waste disposal, risks of water pollution and safety.
Built in 2002, Rainforest Lodge has seen a surge of tourists from China, Hong Kong, and Japan, and was upgraded and refurbished recently in response to the growing demand of tourists. The lodge now accommodates 40+ tourists in new wooden bunk beds and a further 15+ in tents. It also has new terrace dining area and kitchen.
The lodge now employs 10 full time local Temburong staff, including guides, boatmen and a local caterer.
The Adventure Course highlights include a 15 meter flying fox, the high rope bridge, the hanging bridge across the river and a canopy tower for birdwatching.
This will give more vibrant and healthy competition with Ulu-Ulu Resort which has been around for many years and I love that place too. With many things developing in Temburong such as the Games Village and the much talked about bridge, there are many potential opportunities with the district.
The Executive Chairman of Freme PM Dato Shariffuddin (right) donating $20,000 to District Officer Hj Abd Hamid Dato Paduka Hj Abdullah on behalf of Tabung anak-anak yatim dearah Temburong.
The means of transport to reach the Rainforest Lodge
The rooms at Freme Travel’s Rainforest Lodge
Flying Fox available too
Group photo with the Minister
Good to see the former Director of Tourism Board Development being invited for this occasion
Reworking needed to be done after the flash flood caused the bridge to collapse a few days ago
Hj Hidop Hj Salleh the winner of the brand new Mazda 3 during the grand draw at Grand Motors last weekend
A winning luck for Hj Hidop Hj Salleh who managed to unlock his brand new Mazda 3 1.5 (A) Sedan. This was part of the ‘Purchase a Mazda to Win a Mazda’ grand draw last weekend. In attendance was Japanese Ambassador Noriko Iki who came as in the capacity as the guest of honour and she presented the mock key to the grand winner.
Meanwhile, second prize winner Hj Reduan Hj Rosman met with thunderous claps as he opened the door of a Mazda 2 1.5 (A) Sedan while Hj Muhaimin Hj Mohamed walked away with a cash prize of $5,000.
The consolation prizes were also attractive. 10 of them received returned tickets to Bali for two while the other ten walked away with an Apple iPhone 5C. Furthermore, a cash prize of $300 were given to 40 lucky participants.
For your info, the draw was part of the promotion by Grand Motors as part of their 30th anniversary.
Teng Chin Ying, Chairman of Grand Motors, Hj Hidop the grand winner and Japanese Ambassador Noriko Iki
Consolation prize to another winner winning the iPhone 5C
Hj Hidop with his brand new car
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Allen shines in Division K
Allen Ang produced another masterful performance as he was crowned champion of the Humourous Speech Division K contest. He received the trophy from Division Governor Joanna Liew. He also came 2nd in the Speech Evaluation Contest yesterday.
Allen Ang with his wife HuiFen Kong
Allen Ang did three steps better. First he won on Club Level for OTTERS Club a few weeks ago. Then he went on to beat six other contestants on Area Level (against two top other club winners) for Brunei Darussalam two weeks ago. He competed in both Humourous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contests. Of course, the bigger of the two was the Humourous Contest. I can tell you that it’s not an easy feat to prepare for a humourous speech because of all the preparation and of course, the punchlines and the funny moments that must be receptive among the audience.
After winning on club level, he was given a ticket to compete on a bigger stage which known as Division Level, consisting of 7 Area K. I know it’s a bit confusing to understand when it comes to Toastmasters territories because they don’t go by states or countries but instead they use terms such as Club, Area, Division and District. The District Level is the highest accolade you can go for Humourous Speech and Speech Evaluation. This also goes for Table Topics contest.
So our friend from Brunei, Allen Ang, who represented three clubs (OTTERS, Brunei Speakers’ Club and Brunei Advanced Speakers Club), reached District Level after winning Division K Level in the Humourous Speech Contest yesterday at Menara Petronas SBO, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. He almost did a double but settled for second in the Speech Evaluation Contest and I have to say his competitor Laurence Dumling was simply outstanding in her evaluation of the Test Speaker Gopi Murandi who presented an interesting topic entitled “Bluff About It”.
I’m kinda glad that Allen Ang did the honours of retaining the Division Title to Brunei where Stuart Lee from Brunei was the previous winner. It was such an irony to see Stuart Lee packing and unpacking the Division Trophy for the next competition only for the trophy to return back to Brunei Darussalam. The priceless moment was when the 1st runner-up name was announced and Stuart (Allen’s mentor) was already celebrating because it wasn’t Allen’s name and he was certain that Allen was a clear winner even prior to the winner’s announcement.
Allen shared his experiences and he had been practising his speech over and over and it was being refined numerous times to give the delivery more impact with the help of his mentors. He shared that not being placed (top three) especially in Humourous will be a disappointment but little did he know he was deservedly crowned the Division Humourous Champion. He was also glad that he was the first speaker for evaluation so he could learn more from the other evaluators. He was so impressed with Laurence’s evaluation (the winner) and he learnt many things to improve on to reach that District Level of evaluation. He dedicated his win to his wife and his mentors as well to those who flew all the way to KK to support him.
Now his next step is District Level, the highest accolade that one can achieve for Humourous and Speech Evaluation. The competition will take place in Miri on the 8th and 9th November which sadly I will miss because of my trip to Bali *boohoo* So good luck to Allen for the upcoming competition and just enjoy the ride for now. It has been a fruitful journey indeed.
Overall, the Division K contest held at Menara Petronas SBO, Kota Kinabalu, was pretty good and well organised. I’m glad I made that trip to KK despite having to sacrifice one night of WWE in Kuala Lumpur (See, Allen, I’m your bro :D) and it was good to catch up with some of my toastmasters friends from KK. Also a great job to the organising committee and the Organising Chairperson Georginni Labadin. It was also the first time that I saw co-Contest Chairs – Aaron George and Wynnie Jong and I have to say both their chemistry worked and Aaron, you are one funny guy with all your well executed humour especially during the interviews of the contestants.
Winners for Evalutation Speech Division K
1. Laurence Dumling
2. Allen Ang
3. Jamie Chieng
Winners for Humourous Speech Division K
1. Allen Ang
2. Kamilia Kamaruzaman
3. IR Azmer Shamsuddin
The top three winners of the Humourous Speech (Division K)
The top three winners of the Speech Evaluation Contest (Division K)
All fingers pointing to the champ
The toastmasters from Brunei Speakers’ Club posing with the Humourous Champion
Emylia Marianne Philip opening up the contest as SAA
The audience yesterday
The group photo after the contest. Click to enlarge.
Allen being interviewed by the Contest Chair Wynnie Jong
Kamalia with her toastmasters from her Area K
A heartfelt moment when both husband and wife hugged each other before he received his championship trophy
Humourous Division Contest: Of course, Allen focused more on the Humourous Contest and he had great mentors Stuart Lee (current District Humourous Champion) and Zainal Bostaman (1st Runner up Humourous District Level) to guide him to the top of Division Level. I wasn’t aware of the level of the other Area champion speakers and I rather not know their skills and experience prior to the competition which gives more excitement and unpredictability of the contest. Below are just my own evaluation and interpretation of the humourous contestants and not from the ballots of the judges.
The first speaker Jamie Chieng shared her experiences about superstition and I could relate to her stories because we were always being advised by the elders on taboo things to avoid superstition. She’s a great story teller but the content who have been tighter because such superstitions have many opportunities to entertain the audience and there were a few missed opportunities for better punchlines. She has the confidence (I admire her confidence) as a speaker and definitely more room for improvement especially with her content. It wasn’t a bad start to the Humourous Competition. Humourous Level: 6.5 (No placing)
The second speaker was hilarious to the max. Kamailia Kamaruzaman was so flamboyant and colourful in her delivery. Her experience was about fitting into the right clothes and not being judged. Again, another relatable topic especially for the ladies. She reminds me of my friend Huwaida actually – bubbly and cheerful and it’s good to see Kamalia’s persona being displayed during her delivery. Oh she also reminds me of my bubbly friend Lai Ling Ling who is just simply hilarious to begin with. I was already nervous about Allen Ang when the audience reacting with laughters and giggles through the seven minutes. The only letdown I felt was the underlying message that could have been more effective and impactful and also the structure of her speech. It was a close call between Allen and Kamilia. Humourous Level: 8.5 (2nd place)
Next up was IR Azmer Shamsuddin who was also quite humourous and animated. He shared about how “Life Begins at 40” and I could feel the pressure because I’m not far off that mark *lol* I believe he was the only one that made full use of the stage and he was simply enjoying himself with nothing to lose. His punchline about having difficulties to hug your loved ones is hilarious and even to this moment, it is still fresh in my mind. He actually inspired me to be just a confident with no-holds-bar speaker and the way he speaks, he doesn’t even look in his 40s. Kudos to his courage and humour but sadly, the usage of English needs a bit more polishing and the structure could have been better. Humourous Level: 7.5 (No placing)
The fourth speaker was our very own Allen Ang and I have heard his speech twice and that makes it three times including yesterday’s. His speech title was “Confession of a Married Toastmaster”. However, it doesn’t mean that I won’t have a good time because of the spoiler alerts but his segment reminds me so much of stand up comedies where we will be entertained over and over again by replaying their gigs. The same applies here and Allen Ang doesn’t look like someone who can pull off laughs in general and in person but don’t be deceived my friends. His delivery was quite impactful because of not just the laughters but also of the underlying message. I was a bit worried when the giggles appeared more often than the laughs in the beginning but wooww, Allen raised the momentum and had a strong finishing with laughter and claps. I’m proud of where he is and his mentors have done well to groom him up. The humour were spot on and great body structure. Definitely District level material. Humourous Level: 8.5 (Champion)
The fifth speaker was Saverinus P. Kitingan who shared about the idea of being “confused” which became part of the theme in the later session of the contest. He was quite entertaining as well and it’s always wonderful if the topic can be relate to our daily lives. He shared his experiences with his wife when it comes to decision making and he will be caught in this web of confusion whenever his wife argues. There were many small laughs and giggles along the way but he managed to pull off one punchline that stole the show about “being fat” and it was the best execution of a punchline among all the speeches. There were some things I felt that could have improved on because I felt his content was all over the place. This potentially could have been a winner if the laughs were more than the giggles with a better structured delivery. Humourous Level: 7.5
The final speaker was Munyaradzi Chigiga and her topic was about accidents. The great thing about Munya is her confidence and voice projection. She hails from Zimbabwe (Africa) and she was considered a dark horse as many of the toastmaster members in Division K level haven’t seen her perform. She shared a vivid account of her car accident but there weren’t many subplots to support her story. Yes, she’s a great storyteller but there weren’t many punchlines to begin with and she had used many jargons which reduced the quality of her speech. They weren’t much laughs to carry the momentum of her delivery. The plus points from her speech was her body language and facial expression. It was such a pity that her content was lacking the ingredients of a humourous speech. With more experience and practice, she can give all the contestants a run for their money. Humourous Level: 5.5 (No placing)
The handing over of Division Trophy from former champion Stuart Lee to new champion Allen Ang
The emotional hug after Allen was officially announced the winner
Stuart Lee holding a boxed Division K trophy before heading for the contest
The gang in high mode prior to the contest
Zainal Bostaman getting ready for the event yesterday. His best achievement was being 1st runner up in Humourous Speech competition in Division K back in 2010. He missed out on Area K6 Level and he is glad to mentor Allen Ang in refining his speech and delivery. Awesome toastmastership from Zainal!!
By the way, Donna and I will be emceeing for this dinner event this coming Saturday. Tickets are available and I’ve got some friends to come along too. It’s open for public and it’s a good avenue to learn more about toastmasters 😀
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