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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.

 

Get Connected through ICONIA

BIBD’s latest promotion

Top up tia. Click image to enter website.

 

Click image to enter ICON Design Store website

 

Click image to enter Citroën Brunei 

 

 

 

A message from Lily Chiam, founder of Expression Music Academy: If you feel in your heart you would like to donate to another Charity, Expression Music Academy once again is doing another Mega Concert with the heart to expose our music talents to raise funds for DANA (Crown Prince’s Foundation- Funds for the orphans.) With sincere hearts of thanks to many of you who will be there.. May you be further inspired to greater heights when you watch our young talents.

 

YB Minister of Development Pehin Dato Hj Suyoi (L), in his capacity as the Acting Minister of Health, present at RIPAS Hospital lobby to examine the situation recently. Image courtesy of Yusri Adanan of The Brunei Times.

What are the chances of having two separate fire incidents happening in a space of two days? This happened two days ago at RIPAS hospital when a fire broke out at the Cardiology Centre and the fire caused damages to 12 treatment rooms. Fortunately there were no report of injuries or casualties so that’s a huge relief for everyone. A big kudos to the Fire and Rescue Department for bringing the fire under control within half an hour before it could get out of hand.

According to the press statement from The Brunei Times, The Ministry of Health said the fire did not affect the Specialist Block and all in-patient or ward services at the hospital, which opened in 1984.

I was aware of the incident as it was spreading on social media especially on Whatsapp. Yes, news in Brunei is pretty viral right now and the headline pictures that were used on The Brunei Times and Borneo Bulletin were identical and taken from Whatsapp.

Present during the examination of the site was Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Suyoi Hj Osman, in his capacity as the Acting Minister of Health.

We are still unsure what sparked the fire at the Cardiology Centre but let’s hope the investigation will sort out that matter. What is important is that no one was hurt during the incident.

The image that went viral on Whatsapp

One section of the Cardiology Department that is badly damaged by the fire two days ago. Image courtesy of Yusri Adanan of The Brunei Times.

Image courtesy of Yusri Adanan of The Brunei Times.

The view outside at RIPAS. Image courtesy of Yusri Adanan of The Brunei Times.

 

Fill Safe, Feel Safe

 

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office handing over the “Royal Patron Award” to Julian Johari of Teleconsult Sdn Bhd. He previously won the Royal Patron Award back in 2010. Images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

News feed: His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, last night graced the Brunei Info-Communication Technology Awards (BICTA) Gala Night held at the International Convention Centre in Berakas.

Also present at the event was His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik.

Upon arrival, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was greeted by the Minister of Communications Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar; Deputy Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Zhao Houlin; Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Toshiyuki Yamada; and other senior officials at the Ministry of Communications (MinComm).

His Royal Highness presented prizes to the various BICTA 2014 category winners.

Tying for third place in the “School Project” category were Chung Hwa Middle School, BSB and Chung Hua Middle School, KB. Meanwhile, another team from Chung Hwa Middle School, BSB placed second in this category. Although Seria Mulia Sarjana International School took home the “Young Developers Award”, the judges deemed no overall winner for the “School Project” category.

In the “Tertiary School Project” category, a team from Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB) took home the third prize. Another ITB team, and a team from the Nakhoda Ragam Vocational School, tied for second places. Winning first place in this category was a team from IGS.

Meanwhile, the “ICT Industry” category saw PHMD Publishing Company and MeSixty Sdn Bhd winning second and third places.

Teleconsult Sdn Bhd took home the first place in this category. The company was also awarded the prestigious biennial “Royal Patron Award” for their project.

Teams from Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College and ITB received the “Islamic ICT Award” , while Itsbytes Company received the “Community Services Award” for their e-learning project. Text courtesy of Amanda Yap of  The Brunei Times and images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

His Royal Highness presenting first place winner in ICT Industry category to Teleconsult for its project, SkyEye. It’s a project that utilises drons to develop high definition aerial capture and producing high definition videography of mobile cell towers. He walked away with a mock cheque of BND 10,000. Images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

His Royal Highness presenting second place winner in ICT Industry category, PHMD Publishing Company, for its project, Salam Halal and earned BND 5,000 for second place . Images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

His Royal Highness presenting first place winner in Tertiary School Project from IGS for its project “Virtual Watch Fitting” and earned BND 7,500. Images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

His Royal Highness presenting second place winner in School Project category to Chung Hwa Middle School BSB for its project “Heritage of South East Asia” . Images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

His Royal Highness presenting third place winner in School Project category to Chung Hwa Middle School KB for its project “HeDGes” . Images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

 

May she rest in peace

Firstly, my deepest condolences to Adrian Tan and the late family of Ms Chin Mei Fong. May she rest in peace. The burial took place this morning at the Berakas Cemetery this morning.

Her body was found in a ravine stretching 20m in depth at one of the hills at Bukit Shahbandar a day after she was reported missing on September 7. It was reported that the incident happened between 4pm to 6pm. Those who have information relating to the case are advised to either contact Assistant Superintendent of Police Pg Hj Abu Naba’a Pg Hj Yusof at 2322004, 2322005 and 2322006, Police hotline 993 or to report to any nearby police stations in support of the ongoing investigation.

It is also advisable for members of the public especially women not to carry out sporting activities alone and when out of their homes, they need to inform their family members on their whereabouts and to always have with them any communication devices for the ease of contact.

 

In today’s The Brunei Times

Yes, we all heard it from Social Media on incident where 37 students from Perpindahan Lambak Kanan Jalan 10 vomited and complaining of abdominal pain. This is a serious matter as it can be viral if not attended quickly. It was good to know that the school contacted the relevant parties and the paramedics responded promptly as well as getting in touch with their parents. The great news is that all the 37 students are in stable condition and that’s what is important. The students were treated in RIPAS and some went under observation as well.

It is yet to be known was the actual cause of the incident and the Ministry of Education urged the public not to spread speculations on the cause on the incident. I was alerted on Whatsapp that the incident was sparked from food poisoning after consuming a beverage. The strange thing is that the students only vomited and experience abdominal pain but no diarrhea. One of my friends also experienced the same case so it could possibly be a bug that is going around.

Let’s hope the doctors are able to locate the source of the bug and prevent such symptoms to spread to others.

 

TCY Motors is gearing up to hold its inaugural Audi Urban Driving Experience soon with an international Audi instructor invited to oversee the event to ensure the utmost safety for participants.

Among the models featured will include the Audi A4, A5, A6, A7 Sportback, and the all-new Audi A3 Sedan which was recently launched, participants can experience the A3 Sedan in the Road Drive exercise where the 5-mode Audi Drive Select will be highlighted. Other exercises will include ABS braking and gymkhana/slalom. These exercises will benefit Audi owners as it will showcase how their Audis can perform in normal and extreme conditions which can occur in everyday driving situations.

The exclusive invitation only event will only cater to Audi owners in the sultanate to show them appreciation and only limited spots will be allocated on a ‘first come first serve’ basis. Audi owners can call 2442333 ext28 or visit the Audi Kiarong showroom during office hours for further details.

Audi instructor during a previous Audi driving event in Sepang where Brunei customers participated a few months ago

 

Wu Chun donating blood at Fitness Zone last weekend

Every year Fitness Zone organizes 2 to 3 blood donations per year and they encourage their members to take part as well because it doesn’t only saves their lives but it’s also good for their health! Each time you donate blood, you get a basic check up where you will find out if your pulse, blood pressure and other vital signs are healthy or not.

Every time you give blood, you also lower your iron levels, which according to CNN can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the Miller-Keystone Blood Center (a non-profit organization that supplies blood products across the U.S.), regular blood donation can also reduce the risk of cancer in the liver, lungs, throat, colon, and stomach.  By being a regular donor, you help to replenish body by itself and this will allow your body to work more efficiently.

Fitness Zone gave out 2 weeks membership passes to all donors last Saturday. The next blood donation event is scheduled for October 2014.

Special thanks to Mr Baker and FZ Live Band for their support and of course, the RIPAS Hospital team who did a great job and they were willing to come over to FZ, making it more convenient for the 60 staffs of FZ and members to donate blood today.

According to Wu Chun, at Fitness Zone, it’s not only about Fitness and getting healthy. It’s about living it RIGHT! It’s about feeling good about your own life. When you exercise, its all about loving life because you are taking steps to improve your quality of life and you are making your loved ones less worried about your health condition.

The event had a tremendous response of 63 donors in the four hour window. For more information on your free trial session at Fitness Zone, please call 2448488 or log on to their website www.fitnesszone.com.bn or at Facebook FitnessZoneBrunei.

More than 60 volunteered to donate blood

Wu Chun having his blood pressure checked

The heart beat of Jonathan Bong of KFC Brunei

Dj Izan and Aliya supporting each other

Nasroul giving some support to Aliya

The media taking photos of Wu Chun 

 Wu Chun and his Fitness Zone members

 

Malppy having an appearance at Times Square till Sunday

Malppy.com will once again be making a public appearance at the Japan Festival hosted by Times Square from the 13th to 16th March 2014. There are a number of activities planned for this event. A special announcement will be made as part of Malppy.com’s continuous effort to provide the best customer service.

The public can experience online shopping first hand at the booth with an added incentive of 10% discount if you purchase on the day itself. In addition to that, there are a number of attractive prizes to be won daily by the public. One of which is a Misato dining voucher worth up to B$50. Additionally, the public is invited to Malppy.com’s booth for an exclusive look at Malppy.com’s newest fashion range, Mayuki Tokyo Fashion online.

Drop by Malppy.com’s booth at Times Square Shopping Centre from 13th – 16th March 2014 for a chance to win amazing prizes. Tune in to Malppy.com’s Facebook and Instagram page @malppybn for information updates on their event campaigns coverage.

Do drop by their booth at the ground level of Times Square