Darren Tay Wen Jie accepting his award as he was crowned the 2016 World Championship of Public Speaking last weekend. Image taken off Darren’s Facebook Page.

2016 World Champion of Public Speaking, Darren Tay Wen Jie

I’m still amazed the fact that the past three winners of the World Champion of Public Speaking have come from Asia. Amazing feat!! First we have the charismatic Dananjaya Hettiarachchi (from Sri Lanka) who won in 2014 and he will be invited for the Brunei Conference in October. The following year was Mohd Qahtani from Qatar in 2015. Two days ago, Darren Tay, was crowned the 2016 World Champion of Public Speaking in Washington DC and his story revolved around bullying.

Looking at his resume, I’m pretty impressed for a man of his age (only 27) to achieve many things. According to his website, he is a prolific public speaker, debater and professional trainer. He founded the Public Speaking Academy in 2009 and has led the Academy to scale great heights in the school and corporate domains; including the successful organization of the annual National Public Speaking Competition since 2010.

He even won the Toastmasters International District 80 Speech competition in 2009, 20012 and 2014 for Speech Evaluation and Table Topics. Amazing feat indeed. He has also published his best-selling public speaking guidebook “Express to Impress” in 2012 and looks forward to subsequent publications in the future.

I do hope he will be able to make it for the upcoming Brunei Conference as a guest speaker and hoping for a favourable response from him. If it is a yes, then we will three world champion speakers for the Brunei Conference this October. Wouldn’t that be awesome? 😀

The top three winners of last weekend’s contest

Shawn Cassidy Narcis was there to experience the contest and this is a photo opportunity with all top three winners

 

Adam Groves with the cast and crew of Primaja at KBSentral last weekend

One of the lucky winners for Primajaya t-shirt during one of the quiz session

It’s less than a month away. The another locally produced movie Primajaya will make it to the local theatres on 15th September 2016. The movie was in production two years ago and I had a privilege to see some of the scenes during the shooting back in 2014. Back then, the good friend Seng Yee was one of the camera operators and I was interested to know how the scenes were shot and all. It was really good to know and appreciate what went behind the scenes and it was never easy since most of them were not full time actors and have other commitments. All of them from the crew and cast volunteered to be part of this project.

I remember two years ago that Adam Groves, the main man behind Primajaya (formerly known as Bahlol), shared with me that he has this project that one day it will hit the cinemas. He finally almost make that dream come true 😀 as it just weeks away before it’s being launched.

Adam Groves recently had a session with the public at KBSentral last weekend to share his experiences in producing his first feature film under the film production company Visual Dimensions Production.

Primajaya tells the story of a local teen who turned his life around after assuming a superhero identity named ‘Bahlol’ in order to fight crime in a fictional city. According to The Brunei Times, Groves reminisced his childhood years in Kuala Belait before moving to the capital where he found his calling for making films. He also shared with the audience the ups and downs he faced in the film industry before offering tips and wisdom to aspiring filmmakers.

Mind you, his upcoming feature film will also mark his 10th year anniversary in venturing into videography. The talk session also saw three lucky winners from the audience as they won Primaya t-shirts.

Good luck bro and see you when the movie hits the screen. All the best. Images courtesy of Visual Dimension Production.

The trailer of Primajaya

Adam Groves speaking to the public on Primajaya’s journey

Finally it has passed the censorship board earlier this year

 

Photo session for the students of Kumon Diligent which was held at Radisson Hotel to mark Kumon Diligent’s one year anniversary. Image courtesy of Kumon Diligent.

Yosuke Sagawa, Deputy General Manager of Kumon Asia and Oceania, officiated the event. Image courtesy of Azmi Zainal of The Brunei Times.

I was always curious how Kumon runs its session to their students and there are many institutions that help to educate young students. So what makes Kumon stands out? So I visited the premises, well their first outlet at BT Complex (near Times Square) and I met the owner Caley Lim as she shared on how Kumon Diligent works and I found it very interesting.

Kumon Diligent is a franchise from Japan and it has been a popular and also effective in grooming young children in improving their math and English. Let’s just say it’s an after-school enrichment program. The last I heard from Caley back in January, she has around 100 over students enrolled under her care and now it hs shoot up over 200 students. That’s quite a lot but she is assisted by her trained staff. It’s quite interesting the fact that the students were given tasks to answer on their own and only when required the trained staff will assist or guide them so the students can answer the questions.

Yesterday, Kumon Diligent celebrated its one year anniversary by holding an award ceremony for its students at Radisson Hotel. According to The Brunei Times, a total of 23 students across three categories — advanced student honour roll one, two and three — receiving awards acknowledging them for their efforts in tackling study material, which are above their current school grade level.

Caley highlighted that the event was also the eve of the school’s one year anniversary, and it represented the culmination of hard work and love for her team. She also expressed her gratitude to the students’ parents and the students themselves for their support throughout its first year.

In under one year, Kumon Diligent has seen over 200 student enrolments. As of June this year, 33 per cent of its students, who have been enrolled for seven months or more, are studying above their current school grade level.

Kumon Diligent is open on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday and is located at Unit 31, Ground Floor, BT Complex, Kg Jaya Setia, Bandar Seri Begawan.

The school can be contacted at 7193231 or by email at kumondiligent@outtlook.com and congratulations once again, Caley and her team, for making Kumon Diligent a successful centre for young students. You can also follow on their Facebook page for updates or instagram @kumondiligent

The assistant in blue apron assisting the students with their work. The students, however, will do their own tasks and only ask for assistance if required. This helps them to be more independent on answering tasks given and also building their confidence along the way.

After their session, the students will clean their own area before another session by other students. It teaches them to be responsible too. Pretty good.

The different level of modules catering to different skills of the students.

Caley Lim, the chief instructor of Kumon Diligent, is truly proud of the students’ growth and appreciates the parents for trusting Kumon’s methods of enrichment. The numbers do speak for itself. Keep up the great work!!

(From L) President of Kumon Asia and Oceania Atsushi Yamada, Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Noriko Iki and Chief Instructor of Kumon Diligent Brunei Caley Lim during the launch of Brunei’s first Kumon Diligent Learning Centre in Kg Jaya Setia last August 2015. Image courtesy of Amanda Yap of The Brunei Times.

 

Wu Chun, managing director of Fitness Zone with the management form AOX Natural (Brunei).

Press release form @aoxbrunei. From month of August onwards, Fitness Zone members can enjoy Natural Antioxidant-rich Alkaline water from AOX Natural. DescGroup Enterprise is the sole distributor for AOX Natural in Brunei Darussalam. AOX Natural was founded with the vision of helping many improve their health and has been awarded as the Asia Pacific Super Health Brand 1st Winner in Singapore Alkaline water industry.

AOX, the champion award winning brand ionises your water through the generous infusion of hydrogen, oxygen and negatively charged ions. This gives your water millions of powerful antioxidants which is highly effective in preventing free radicals damage. Antioxidants works just like Vitamin C! They strengthen your immunity system and promote anti-aging, keeping you looking and feeling fresh and youthful.

AOX mineralises water with health-sustaining minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium and silica to promote healthy cells, bones, joints, organs and skin.

AOX removes dust, sand, rust and other forms of sediments in the water. AOX removes harmful chemicals and cancer causing substances such as chlorine, THM, pesticides and carcinogens. It also eradicates odour in the water, making it smell and taste great!

AOX showroom is at Unit 12, spg 1080, Lot 27772, kg Kilanas, Negara Brunei Darussalam. For details, contact 8289089 or 8739948

“I strongly feel there is a huge synergy between Fitness Zone and AOX as we share the same vision that is to provide healthier lifestyle to our members,” said Wu Chun. He added: “Our members deserve the best that’s why I choose AOX because they are a trusted brand in Singapore supplying water dispenser to thousands of households, offices, hospitals, clinics and government offices including Prime Minister office, 365 Cancer Prevention Society, Kidney Dialysis Foundation, Crossfit boxes, Momentum Lab, etc.”

Sam, the Sales Manager of AOX Natural highlighted, drinking AOX Natural can help the body to eliminate acidity and detox more effectively, thereby preventing many of the diseases which are caused by a diet high in acidic substances. Other benefits includes Daily-Aging, improves metabolism, improve immune system, improves blood circulation, etc.

He continues, AOX also reduces water molecules to smaller water clusters which mean that your body is able to hydrate more effectively than normal water. Any protein drinks make with AOX become immediately more effective, simply because more of it is getting into your cells.

You can follow updates on their IG @aoxbrunei

 

Juffrydin with his family enjoying dinner at Wayback Burgers last night

It was pretty busy behind the counter in preparation for the huge crowd in the coming weeks or so

Wayback Burgers, an international franchise is now in Brunei with their grand opening scheduled to take place on 21st May 2016. Days prior to the official opening, members of the media and social media influencers such as @bruneifoodies were treated to a Wayback’s Snack-Review-Sneak-Preview session at their Setia Kenangan II outlet.

They were introduced to a brief introduction of Wayback Burgers by U.S. Wayback Burgers representative Mark Biccum, Director Of Training, Jake Wayback Burgers LLC and Brunei Wayback Burgers representative, John Burgos, Managing Director, JonRidge(B) Sdn Bhd, followed by a treat to some of Wayback’s signature products prepared for the occasion.


Wayback Burgers is a U.S. franchise serving burgers to Americans for more than twenty years, operating in 26 states with more than 100 locations nationally and internationally in Argentina. Wayback Burgers, through its executed master franchise agreements, plans to open in 33 countries which include the Middle East, Northern Africa, Argentina, Pakistan, Canada, India and Brunei.

The good news is that Brunei is the first in ASEAN to have the franchise in the region. Awesome, huh? Furthermore, the Brunei franchise is hoping to expand its market outside Brunei. The second outlet has already been announced at Giant Rimba while the third one will be known to the public soon. I also liked the idea that Wayback Burgers Brunei has a training centre where staff and the newer ones can undergo training. The training centre is still undergoing renovation but I like the idea of the partners where they are already thinking ahead.

I met the man behind JonRidge (B) Sdn Bhd, the chairman of the company. A very humble local guy who wants to help to give back to the economy by creating employment and also bring more revenue to the economy by expanding locally and internationally. He also owns other companies and this is the first time experience in handling F&B franchise. I truly admire his vision as an entrepreneur and thank you, Juffrydin, for your hospitality last night.

I also would like to thank Jon Burgos for sponsoring some vouchers for the winners of my Snapchat competition last night. I was amazed by the responses I had on Snapchat through the quiz I had. It looks like Snapchat could be the next in-thing for future quizzes apart from the already routined Instagram. Congratulations to @aimananas and @ayeshah on Snapchat for guessing the right answer – 9 layers of patties on the Triple Triple 😀

Prior to Wayback Burger’s official opening this coming Saturday, the restaurant has already received birthday dinner reservations. The business is already in operation so you can head now to their first outlet.

For more information on Wayback Burgers, interested parties can follow them on their instagram; @WaybackburgersBrunei and their hashtag #waybackburgersBrunei

The star of the night – BURGERSSSSS….

The buns have a distinctive colour and texture as compared to others and the patties are something to look forward to

For hot dog lovers, what are you waiting for. Do you also realise the newspaper type they use in their food presentation. Not to worry, it’s not the usual newspaper texture you feel everyday. It feels like a plastic wrapper but more unique.

Mark Biccum, Director Of Training, U.S. Wayback Burgers representative, is in town for intensive training for the local associates. He also shared the different types of burgers that were being displayed for the media.

I had more than 20 entries on Snapchat and one of the first winner was @aimananas who happened to be around the area when he answered the quiz.

Definitely the highlight of the night – The Triple Triple – 9 patties with 9 slices of American Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato. Don’t worry, Sandy. You’re also the highlight :p Btw, no one has accepted the challenge yet to finish off a triple triple solo.

 

Photo opportunity with props for the public at the Belait Fair 2016

The Belait Fair 2016 has been ongoing for the few weeks and it continues until the 5th June (before fasting month kicks off). It is in collaboration with the grassroots community, with 68 groups of vendors taking part, two of them from the Village Consultative Councils (MPKs) of Kg Mumong and Kg Lorong 3 in aim to promote local products especially this under the One Village, One Product (OVOP) initiative.

Besides food products, the vendors are also selling goods ranging from electrical appliances to fashion products. Another section of booths is dedicated to exhibiting cats, reptiles and rare birds.

So far they had a bicycle expedition during the opening two weeks ago and also the Tamiya racing, a four-wheel drive car show, cooking contest, speedboat race and car show organised by NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd scheduled during the Belait Fair 2016.

Some 152 vendor spots have been allocated at three areas connected centrally at the roundabout where Jalan Panglima, Jalan Tengah and Jalan Sungai meet in Kuala Belait.

The event was also in collaboration with RYS Entertainment and Mizswan Company. You can check more updates on IG with the hashtag #belaitfair2016 Images are courtesy of RYS Entertainment unless stated.

Third time was the charm for Wina, a two-year-old domestic short hair (DSH), that won the Best of the Best title during a cat show at Belait Fair recently. Image courtesy of Ikhwan Salleh of The Brunei Times.

Hello Seng Yee 😀

 

Billy Lim Soon Sin, President of Malaysian Hair Association, (5th from left) with Cecilia Lee, IA Salon Artistic Directress (4th from left) with IA Salon stylists

Billy guiding the stylist on Vivi’s hair

Billy Lim Soon Sin was in town for a few days to conduct a special training/workshop for IA Salon. He is quite popular in the hair industry, being known as the Malaysia’s Top Hair Director and also a consultant in terms of advising businesses for the hair salons in the region. He has been in the hair styling industry for three decades and Cecilia Lee, IA Salon Artistic Directress, was so overwhelmed in having his presence in the Sultanate because it’s never easy to catch him for appointments due to his busy schedules.

For Billy, his passion is also to help others in the hair industry to grow collectively. He strongly believe that everyone have to work hard not to only improve oneself but moreover, to emphasize professionalism on and off work. Billy shared that he is still in the learning stage.

During his short visit, the trained 11 hair stylists of IA Salon and they are all now MHA certified under Billy’s guidance. MHA stands for Malaysia Hair Association. He provided consultation and techniques on haircut hair colouring, scalp and hair treatment.

He was recently on the national radio to promote the awareness and the responses have been positive. Meeting him in person was an honour and you are such a down to earth person, Billy. All the best in your vision and I hope many salons will benefit with your vision. Keep it up!!!

One of the transformation done on the young model

Did you know that you can use foil just to get this effect? Cool

Ikhwan likes the outcome of his hair after the service

 

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 

 

Free labour charge on repairs for Peugeot

Click image to enter

 

KFC had its monthly draw last Sunday at KFC drive-thru Sengkurong which saw 10 winners walking away with prizes worth $300 each. Yes, each!! The KFC drive-thru anniversary lucky draw started from 19th September and lasts until 31st dec 2014 where 10 winners will be chosen each month to win $300 worth of prizes each.

There is also a grand draw taking place on 11th jan 2015 where 5 lucky winners will win the following:

5th prize-movie tickets worth $700

4th prize-petrol purchase rebate worth $1,000

3rd prize-supermarket/department store shopping vouchers worth B$1,500

2nd prize-furniture/electronics purchase vouchers worth B$3,000

1st prize-return tickets for 2 pax to Melbourne with tour and accommodation included worth B$5,000

With more than $20,000 worth of prizes in total to be won, members of the public, who are interested in participating in the lucky draw, need only to make a purchase at any KFC outlets in Brunei, attach their receipt to a form and fill it in and drop it into the lucky draw boxes provided from now until 31st dec 2014.

In addition, customers with the KFC Drive-Thru car sticker making purchases at their drive-thru in Sengkurong during the promotion period will drive away with awesome KFC freebies, which will end on December 31.

Azmi the Branch Manager of KFC Gadong Central with the 10 lucky draw winners walking away with $300 worth of goods and services!!

1) David Leygei Tinggi – Samsonite Luggage Bag

2) Saadiah Hj Said – Paloma Home Fashion Store Voucher

3) Hjh Siti Hairani – The Empire Hotel Cash Voucher

4) Kipli B. Hj Othman – Diamond & Platinum Voucher

5) Noorhayati Binti Zaini – Chan Ein Hong Voucher

6) Pg Mohd Khairol Ahmadani – SocialDeal Shopping Voucher

7) Mohd Afindi Bin Mustata – Toys ‘R’ Us Voucher

8) Muhammad Noramin Hakeem – The FaceShop Voucher

9) Noraines Hj Rosli – Hua Ho Shopping Voucher

10) Dr M. Kamil Shiekh – Philips Air Fryer

 

Happy 40th birthday Royal Brunei Airlines #RB40 #Royalbruneiair

 

Shawn celebrated his birthday a few weeks ago at Radisson Hotel after the Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club meeting

I believe he is slightly older than Royal Brunei 😀

A surprise plan that failed for Seng Yee’s birthday few weeks ago

We had a great dinner gathering at iLotus

It was a hat theme night and it was weird to see Hazwan, Shawn and Ruey wearing a cap 😀

 

Azeemah Zaki trekked to the summit of Mt. Snowdon (highest mountain in Wales) and it was part of her fundraiser to donate to the Human Relief Foundation for the children of Syria affected by the war.

The trek was organised by University of Sheffield’s Islamic Circle and she managed to raise £643 for her cause as she needed at least £150 to trek the mountain. The University of Sheffield’s Islamic Circle raised a total of £8,279 in the end. Awesome!! Below are the pictures shared by Azeemah during their trekking journey at Mt. Snowdon.

 

Yesterday, Maju Motors, the authorised dealer for Volkswagen (VW), held a customer’s day. Lots of Volkswagen customers showed up with their car and posed for the camera. There was also free BBQ food being provided and music for entertainment. This was one way of appreciating Volkswagen customers from Maju Motors for their continuous support. You can view more photos here from their Facebook Page.

 

Zul-Fadly (Happy Birthday bro)  with the Jae of Chaps & Rebels

Movember Brunei this year will feature, for the first time ever in Brunei, a ‘Mustache’ competition called The Sh’Mo’ Down. The competition is divided into three categories; the Thickest Mo. the Hippest Mo and the Innovative Mo.

Currently there are a handful of ‘MoBros’ who have registered and it will be very interesting to see the quality of mustaches being ‘groomed’ seriously in Brunei. It’s a growing trend here as the men are slowly becoming more aware of how they present themselves in the public. Registration is still open and all you have to do is email your name and contact number to our email, movemberbrunei@gmail.com

This year we have the support of Chaps & Rebels, a local barber shop owned and run by our own local guys who have paved the way for those seeking the ‘gentleman’ look. An online entrepreneur who sells beard oils on instagram and goes by the ig account, @DreamBeardBWN. Armtirx enterprise who has agreed to print the limited edition MovemberBrunei Tees. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Brunei for agreeing to become our official venue for the Sh’Mo’ Down.

Movember Brunei also has amazing support from the social media like Facebook and Instagram. The hashtag #movemberbn is getting new feeds everyday. Huge thanks to everyone and anyone on the social media platform who has repost, retweeted and shared all things related to Movember Brunei, Thank you very much!

Growing a mo in Movember is not just a fashion statement but the true message and responsibilty that comes with it. The ‘Mo’ represents the awareness. If someone asks why go through all the trouble of growing a Mo in November? One can say because we care! Its not a trait of a Man to share that they are ill/sick. However, the number of men affected by cancer is as many if not more than women. Movember does not just highlight testicular cancer or prostate cancer, it covers depression as well and men’s health in general. Do it for the grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, sons, nephews and grandsons who have been fortunately survived or sadly, unfortunately, did not make it through.

If you believe that prevention is better than cure, then go get checked! Grow that mo because you care! We grow it because we want the future generation of men to be confident and be able to remove the stigma that men do not get or rarely get sick. Press release and images courtesy of Zul Fadly.