Review of Mad Max: Road Fury. Oh What a Day. What a Lovely Day 😀

Review of Pitch Perfect 2 with co-host @delgoh

 

Congratulations to my friends, Major Pengiran Mohammad Shamsul Reza bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Hj Tengah and Tara Abdullah Teo @ Tracey Teo Lee Ying on their wedding function last weekend. My friendship with Reza began during our student life in St. Andrew’s School. We were big fans of figurines such as M•A•S•K and He-Man to name a few. We kinda lost track after we headed off to different countries for future studies and I totally lost contact with him. So after two decades of knowing you, you are now a married man 😀 All the best in your new chapter with Tara and may Allah bless your new journey.

 

I’m currently in Kuching with buddies from Brunei toastmasters (Brunei Speakers’ Club, OTTERS and UBD Toastmasters) and we are all attending the 5th Annual District Convention. I shall be here until the weekend and I hope to learn something valuable from the trip apart from bonding with my friends. It’s good to be back in Kuching.

Rediscover the true taste of home..bruneihalal’s latest home range is perfect for gifts on your special occasion. They have got a wide range of selections for you and its available for pre-order now! For orders and further inquiries, contact bruneihalal at +6732384533 or drop an email at information@brunei-halal.com

Royal Brunei Airline’s first batch of female cabin crew; Puan Hjh Zainoon DP Hj Elias, Nadirah Irene Abdullah Tan, Roslyn Teo, Hjh Latifah Hj Tudin, Rosnani Hj Hamid, Hjh Jemilah Hj Md Ja’afar, Dk Susilawati DP Pg Damit and Hjh Aisah Hj Abd Rahman, were all smiles earlier this morning as they recreate their group photo from 1975, when they came back home to Brunei after finishing their training, ready for RB’s first ever commercial flight. Congratulations RB for reaching the 40th year milestone. Image courtesy of RB.

A new gym in town located at Lumut (Unit 11, Spg 72, Jln Kg Lumut) called JC Muscle Building and Fitness gym. The gym opens from 8.30am to 8:30pm and you can follow them on Facebook “JCMB & Fitness – Gym” and also on instagram @jcmbfitness. Image courtesy of Hafiizah Maideen of The Brunei Times.

A new notice that has been given to food and beverage vendors and businesses. Wonder what the reaction will be from the businesses and the public.

The best movie for me this year, hands down. Though it’s a not a perfect ten, this movie excels in many areas and do listen to my podcast review for now. You can click on the image to listen. Verdict: 9/10

DPMM FC lost their second match of the season and their import player McLead was sent off as Albirex Niigata benefited from the foul and sending off and they scored from the penalty for the winning goal. Albirex is back on the summit of the S•League. Albirex Niigata 2 DPMM FC 1.

 

Check out our latest review of Furious 7 featuring Rano and his co-host Del Goh on The Popcorn Panel

 

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Download SnapFeed app on your smartphones and check out the latest deals in Brunei and also get rewarded from respective merchants such as BurgerKing, KFC and Sushi Tei to name a few.

 

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BIBD held its annual dinner for staff under the Islamic bank’s group of companies at the Grand Hall, Indera Samudra of The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Jerudong last Friday.

Themed ‘Nostalgia’, the dinner honoured the hard work of the bank’s employees that had contributed to numerous achievements in the past year.

The dinner started with a recitation of the Doa, which was then followed by welcoming remarks by BIBD Managing Director Javed Ahmad. This then proceeded with presentations for Long Service Awards to around 70 employees from the BIBD group.

Among those present to witness the special occasion was the guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Finance Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin Abdullah, who is also the Chairman of the BIBD Board of Directors. Also present were other BIBD board directors and members of the Shariah Advisory Body amongst some 700 personnel from the bank along with its subsidiaries; BIBD At-Tamwil and BIBD Securities.

The annual dinner caps off another milestone year in BIBD’s rich history in Islamic finance, earmarked by notable efforts such as the launch of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, BIBD Advocating Life-Long Learning for an Aspiring Future (ALAF) Programme, along with its first batch of students receiving the programme’s support, among other charitable activities. The programme, now in its second year, aims to help bring more educational opportunities to underprivileged children.

The guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairman of the BIBD Board of Directors Dato Paduka Hj Bahrin Abdullah (L), hands a certificate to a BIBD employee while BIBD Managing Director Javed Ahmad (C), looks on

Last year also saw the bank’s involvment in several key projects such as the relaunch and rebranding of its Perdana Privilege Banking arm with a new lounge and image, which is located on the first floor of the Kompleks Setia Kenangan, and the organising and chairing of the 4th China-ASEAN Interbank Association (CAIBA) Executive Meetings, held for the first time outside China.

The bank also managed to retain its international recognitions such as the Best Retail Bank in Brunei (The Asian Banker), and the Best Bank in Brunei (Global Finance), and Bank of the Year in Brunei (The Banker).

Also in the year, BIBD has been ranked 42nd in terms of Soundness (Capital Asset Ratio) and 697th overall in the top 1,000 World Banks by “The Banker” in 2014, and 14th Strongest Bank among 500 Banks from Asia pacific by balance sheet by The Asian Banker. Image and text courtesy of BIBD.

 

Photo opportunity with the owner of L’Orient, Sabrina Wong

Late post. A friend of mine Sabrina Wong has finally found a more permanent place for her boutique. Ironically all the different locations that she has tried are all in Kiulap. I kinda prefer her new location of L’Orient and it’s located near Regent Square (newest building) and from the looks of it, her boutique is the first tenant officially operating business in that new building.

So what to expect from L’Orient? If you are into fashion especially the female, you will enjoy the stylish collection designed by Sabrina Wong the owner herself. Now she has upped her game by collaborating with Wilson MC Lau by designing new art fashion collection called the “reach in and stretch out”.

Her shop also sells accessories and bags apart from the interesting range of clothes. The prices may be too high for some but you will know where the dollars are spent. Sabrina has really built her reputation as one of the top designers in Brunei and she has traveled across the world to share her passion and creativity in terms of clothes design.

If you are into a stylish and modern feel look, do consult with Sabrina because she’s really good at it. Do check out her ‘Sab Five Five’ label too. That has been a big hit for her.

Also, keep up to date with the store by visiting its Facebook at www.facebook.com/sabfivefive or its Instagram @sabfivefive. For any enquiries, please contact 2239988 or 8989132.

Quite a good turn out during the official launch

Keeran Janin among the invited guest

Refreshments outside Sabrina’s shop

Josie Abdullah with Sabrina

Sabrina and her friends

 

Hj Azhar bin Hj Ahmad, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence as the guest of honour during the recent dinner meeting of the Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club.

Normally the meeting for Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club happens on the final week of the month. So recently it was held at the usual place – Mutiara Ballroom at Radisson Hotel. The meeting is different to that of Brunei Speakers’ Club, OTTERS Club and UBD Toastmasters Club. It is done in a formal dinner setting but with the inclusion of toastmasters meeting.

The dinner meeting from Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club is always open to guests and it’s good to see different guests every now and then. The guest of honour then was Hj Azhar bin Hj Ahmad, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence. He was very impressed with the toastmasters meeting and he gave one a good advice that fear will always be there but it’s how we see fear as opportunity.

This month of April, another dinner session will be held but I’m not currently sure of the dates. If you are interested, you can email me at ranoadidas (a) gmail

Fatin won Best Table Topics that evening

Anyati sharing a laugh with the audience

Deno Goh talked about finance during his table topics session

Group photo with the attendees

Delwin Keasberry playing the role as the Timer

Noting relating to the dinner but click image to see last week’s Brunei Speakers’ Club session. Image taken by Reuben Chin.

 

The Brunei Music Society is presenting the 6th biennial Young Musicians recital on April 10 at 7.30pm at the Arts Centre of the Jerudong International School.

A total of 24 items will be presented by aspiring musicians between the ages of eight and 25, all of whom were selected from over 70 entries.

According to a press release, the final selection includes an exciting array of instruments from violin, cello and piano to saxophone, trumpet and clarinet. In addition, there are three string ensembles.

Applicants, who were required to play at a Grade 6 level or above, submitted an audio recording which was reviewed by a panel of judges from the committee of the Brunei Music Society.
Students who will be performing on April 10 learn music at several local music schools and at the international schools. They are all students who know the importance of persistence and hard work and have spent hours practicing to reach their current level of skill.

Tickets can be booked via SMS (no calls) to 8820014 and via email at bruneims.tickets@gmail.com.

Or via this online booking form http://goo.gl/forms/ERdATcH7cC

 

Triple H’s entrance promoting the Terminator: Genesis blockbuster movie at Wrestlemania. Image taken from WWE website

Wow, wow, wow!!!! What a Wrestlemania!!!! One of my bucket list is to watch Wrestlemania live in the US. This year it was held at San Francisco at the Levi’s Stadium and it had a WWE Wrestlemania record attendance with more than 70,000 fans. Crazy!! I watched the PPV with Jason Rumpun and we were exchanging predictions on the matches.

I won’t be spoiling the results as Wrestlemania is still one day old and some of my friends will be watching it tonight on their computers. My favourite matches are Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns surprisingly and also Sting Vs HHH. Well, the ladder match was also great and so was Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins. The in-ring promos were awesome and okay, I just almost love everything about it. Royal Rumble sucked bad time and the Fast Lane PPV was a bit of a redemption but Wrestlemania 31 was a huge improvement. I didn’t expect much initially but it exceeded expectation.

I’m definitely buying the blu-ray for this Wrestlemania. I give this a 9/10 and one of the best Wrestlemania I’ve seen in many, many years. Highly recommended.

Brock Lesnar was dominant last night and it’s not surprised that WWE offered him a new contract. Image taken from WWE website

Rusov has been giving the US title more value than before. Image taken from WWE website

One of the best matches – the ladder match for the Intercontinental title. Image taken from WWE website

Is that DX I saw last night? Image taken from WWE website

 

Follow @icentrebrunei on IG for updates

Innovate “Talking Technology & Entrepreneurship” Forum is a platform to promote a future of innovation and Entrepreneurship with a global perspective in Brunei Darussalam. The forum explores topics like emerging trends in technologies, insights on successful startups, opportunities and challenges in securing investment funding.

Over the years, iCentre has brought in international and regional speakers from recognized organizations to share their expertise and knowledge in hope to inspire others.

The speakers are Marcus Tan, co-founder of Carousell, a mobile app marketplace in Singapore, Azlan Ahmad, founder and Excecutive Creative Director of Mixmediaworx. and Wayne Chia, CEO (SE ASIA) and co-founder of Techsallor.

The event will take place on Tuesday 7th April at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. It will be a morning event and it will be concluded with a networking lunch.

 

Reuben Chin, a dedicated Toastmaster member from Brunei, earned his dual awards in both Table Topics and International Speech in Division K Contest in Labuan last Sunday. He was runner-up in both category.

What a great weekend!! I missed the cricket world cup tournament where Australia won. I missed another Earth Hour event in Brunei. I missed a few activities. It wasn’t that bad after all since I spent my weekend in Labuan to support my toastmaster buddy Reuben Chin who was eyeing for a victory in the Table Topics and International Speech Contest. Only the winner will have the ticket to the District Level to be held in Kuching.

Reuben has already mastered his speeches in Area level (Brunei) and he was the cream of the crop. I’m amazed how the numbers showed up from Brunei toastmasters (from 4 clubs) to witness to conference and supporting Reuben in Labuan. Our attendance alone showed why the toastmasters clubs in Brunei are pretty strong in Division K. The majority in attendance was mostly from Brunei toastmasters. Amazing!!

Reuben may have not won first place but it didn’t let him down. He remembered last year coming third place in Area Contest and now reaching a step higher, finishing 2nd in Division Level. Yes, we noticed the pattern and I hope he will bettered himself and I know he will because his passion is to grow as a community leader through the tools of toastmasters. You did your very best buddy and you have improved not just a speaker but as a role model leader to many including me.

Good luck and I shall see you in Area Contest perhaps 😀

Intan receiving her honors as the Division K Champion in International Speech and her speech touched the audience and great delivery as well.

Celebrating both birthday celebrants including our very own special guest Grace who joined us during the Convention trip in Labuan

Group photo of toastmasters from Division K. Click image to enlarge.

The Brunei Toastmasters attending the conference as well as supporting our Brunei representative, Reuben Chin

Allen Ang trying out Seng Yee’s cactus hat

I’m not sure how to caption this picture

The Brunei entertaining the guests during dinner

Derby and Julius during our popular Wolf game. I was labeled as the professional wolf.

The Brunei gang on the ferry on the way to Labuan

 

Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah the Royal Patron for International School Brunie’s Borneo Global Issues Conference with the deputy ministers from Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Education, the management, the Executive Principal of ISB, the Secretaries-General for BGIC and representatives from the local participating schools of BGIC 2015

After two years of hiatus, the ISB’s Borneo Global Issues Conference is back but sadly there were no international school involved as compared to previous years. Nonetheless this will give more opportunities for the local students to be involved with the current issues facing around the world.

the 11th Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) at the International Convenction Centre (ICC) was graced by Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah the Royal Patron for BGIC. The theme for this year is to “Combat World Diseases” and Her Royal Highness urged our Brunei youth to take a healthier lifestyle and hopefully it will reduce the demands on the healthcare system. Her Royal Highness also stated how information has become more accessible to the youth through internet for them to learn of diseases such as Avian Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and the newly known Ebola.

Her Royal Highness presented a mock cheque on behalf of ISB to the JUMP! Foundation, a non-profit youth empowerment organization and it was received by Tara Yip-Bannicq of UNICEF Haiti and the JUMP! Foundation.

The event ran for four days and today is the final day of BGIC. The only surprise was the non appearance from the Ministry of Health as this theme relates to health.

Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah in the group photo

Her Royal Highness handing out certificate of participation to a student representative

Her Royal Highness speaking to Beatrice, one of the Secretaries-General of BGIC

Her Royal Highness handing out certificate of participation to a student representative

Her Royal Highness attending the opening of BGIC

Her Royal Highness handing out a mock cheque to Tara Yip-Bannicq of UNICEF Haiti and the JUMP! Foundation

Tara’s presentation

The regular invited guests of BGIC

The welcoming party

It was a pleasure to have met Tara and apparently she was a classmate of my friend from Brunei. What a small world!

 

Happening later 9am, 9th March at Mabobai Shopping Complex

 

Reuben Chin to carry the torch for Brunei Area K6 in Labuan end of March. His journey begins here after winning both International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest last night. He won’t be limiting his challenges and bro, you have control. Congratulations yesterday. More pictures to follow

 

The LegCo is coming. Mobile wars are heating up while AITI makes sure it’s a win-win situation for consumers! New rates of TelBru’s broadband testing the new waters. Another run (Tongkat Puith) happening this weekend. DPMM FC and also Brunei National Team will take sports headlines for the S•League and Brunei’s qualifying match against Taiwan. The Area K6 Contest to select the best toastmasters speaker from Brunei this Sunday. Poppins the Musical by Relentless Entertainment end of March. The upcoming International School Brunei (ISB) Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) And of course, my pending stories to be posted on my blog. March, indeed, has become a busier month than I anticipated.

I’m still not sure if I will be flying to Singapore this month. But I definitely have two places to visit – Kuching and Labuan. Singapore will be in my pending list of destination for March. Then again, I will be heading to Lion City in April for Russell Peters’ gig. Will he impressed like before? My previous take of him in Notorious gig in Singapore was just okay. It’s never easy to be funny because it needs a lot of spontaneous creativity. I also have been attending Zainal Bostaman’s Bruhaha workshop, a local comedy workshop, that hopes to aspire that comedy is a social art and it can be learnt and practice. The workshops have been fruitful and last Sunday we saw a new batch of attendees and this shows that there are people out there who want to learn to be a “comic”. Good job, Zainal, and you have my support!

Zainal Bostaman, founder of Bruhaha Comedy, having his 2nd Bruhaha Comedy Workshop last Sunday

After missing out last year, ISB is back with their BGIC this weekend. I have always love how they run their show every year. This year there will 23 local schools participating and ISB had conducted two days of training by having simulation for the local students to be familiar with the conference. This concept is similar like the United Nations conference where representatives from each country will raise points, concerning issues faced by different countries and how they will come into a consensual solutions and agreements. This is a great platform for students to show their leadership skills. This year, the conference will be run by five experienced students, serving as the Secretaries-General; namely Dean Benavidez, Ha Kyeong Kim, Adam Busko, Marianne Laming, and Beatrice Horas. The main speakers for BGIC are Professor Dr. David Koh, Chair of Occupational Health and Medicine, PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah, Institute of Health Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Ms. Tara Yip-Bannicq, Programme Officer (Social Protection)/Resilience Focal Point, UNICEF Haiti.

The recent training session held at ISB

I shall be busy this week as I will be fine tuning, my script for my speech for the upcoming Area K6 Contest which will take place this Sunday. Basically this is a toastmasters competition among Brunei local clubs – four of them (OTTERS, Brunei Speakers’ Club, Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club and UBD Toastmasters Club). I did an OK job during the International Speech category but flunk in Table Topics as I went off topic talking about relationships and ports *lol* I have definitely improved as a speaker when I looked back at my Humuorous Speech Contest last year. Now I have been given a luck of entering Area level despite finishing 3rd.

Competition will be tougher this time with the likes of Melati Yusof, Reuben Chin and Pranika Lama. They are just hot favourites for me after listening to their speeches last week though I missed Mel’s and I was already impressed with her CC speeches during OTTERS meeting. Seasoned speakers including the likes of Chris Woo, Stuart Lee and Allen Ang have been playing the mentor roles in helping the contestants to reach their goals. So peeps, the time is real soon and it’s happening this Sunday at Multipurpose Hall, UBD at 1:30pm. Entry fee will be at $5 and you will witness all the awesome speakers from the local toastmasters club. The winner of each category – International Speech and Table Topics will represent in Division K Level in Labuan by end of March.

I finished 3rd in Brunei Speakers’ Club International Speech Contest. I am given another opportunity to represent Area Level to compete against the other winners in other clubs.

Relief to all the contestants after delivering their speeches

The heat is on!! Good luck to all contestants

SMARTER Brunei has located a new centre. Yes, it will be one time huge investment of BND 150,000 but it will be more cost effective in a long run. It was nice to see corporate companies and government bodies helping SMARTER for a good cause in helping building new classrooms for autistic students in Brunei. The President of SMARTER Brunei Malai Hj Abdullah shared that the SMARTER branch in Sengkurong will be relocated to Kg Mata-Mata once the renovation is completed (hopefully by May). With the new look and feel, SMARTER Brunei will be able to accommodate more students than before and reach the capacity of 140 students (morning and afternoon session). The private NGO has been struggling financially to cope with paying the teachers but Malai is always grateful that the teachers are tolerable and understanding of the current situation.

So far the classrooms have been sponsored by Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah (five classrooms), D’Sunlit Sdn Bhd, Kingston Creamery and Beverage together with the LKY Charity for Autism, DST Communications Sdn Bhd and an anonymous donour. LSL Metal Sdn Bhd will be constructing work on the said centre. Malai Hj Abdullah said he is still open for donors for new establishment and it will also help to pay for the operating costs of running SMARTER Brunei. It’s never easy to run an NGO and this story of financial troubles has become a common issue in the media. I salute to Malai for his perseverance and dedication to make SMARTER Brunei a sustainable institution for the benefit of students.

Malcolm Lim, Managing Director of Kingston Creamery and Beverage, Malai Hj Abdullah, President of SMARTER Brunei, Low Ser Yew, Managing Director of LSL Metal Sdn Bhd and H Mohd Noor Hj Salleh, D’Sunlit’s Public Relation Officer during the signing ceremony of sponsorship for the new centre. Awesome!!

Did you know that SMARTER has a small bakery? They have been doing some business for quite some time and in this picture, Malai’s son was helping out with making chocolate cookies

Just like my IOS, it needs to be updated to keep up with technology. Same goes for anti-viruses for computers. Today Concepts Computer unveiled PANDA Anti-Virus Pro 2015, PANDA Security 2015 and PANDA Global Protection 2015. Each has its specific functions. PANDA Anti-Virus Pro 2015 will give you a peace of mind from viruses, spy wares and online fraud, for instance. It will be available for $18 a year for 1 PC license. For the PANDA Security 2015, this is ideal if you are regular usage of the internet especially buying things online. This is available for $28 a year per 1 PC license. If go for the PANDA Global Protection 2015, it covers all the aspect given plus the option of improved Parental Control and also encrypt private folders. It’s available for $38 a year per 1 PC license. Also Concepts Computer will be participating in the Book Fair 2015 at the Indoor Stadium, please visit our booths for other great promotions. And for more information please call 2233551, 2233552 or 2233553 or visit your nearest Concepts Computer showroom.

Recently also Concepts Computer celebrated the Year of the Goat with an open house for members of the media and invited guests. Present were Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer and Alice Chan who greeted the invited guests. The event started with the traditional Chinese Yee Sang for a prosperous new year. Thank you once again to Vincent and Concepts Computer for continuously giving the best product and services to the consumer.

Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer with Alice Chan and members of the media at Concepts Computer Chinese New Year Open House

Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer with Alice Chan and members of the media at Concepts Computer Chinese New Year Open House

Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer with Alice Chan and members of the media at Concepts Computer Chinese New Year Open House

Unveiling the new PANDA softwares at Concepts Computer

Ever heard of the Shell Eco-Marathon? This is an annual event where Brunei Darussalam has been participating in the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia. This year four teams participated represented by 20 young students recently in Luneta Park, Manila, the Philippines. How did Brunei go? The hurdle most participants always face is to make the cut for the final race. GenNext Pejuang from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) had two successful official runs by the weekend. GenNext Pejuang’s female driver, Dide Nurulaswani binti Haji Mohd Saidi, a 21 year old Bachelor of Science student majoring in Biology at UBD，described today’s achievement for the Brunei contingent, “Today, we had our third race attempt in the morning and successfully completed the full 10 laps in 27 mins. We then completed the fourth attempt, at 28 mins with more efficiency. So, we are very happy and relieved!”

Didie added that it has been a tough journey for everyone, “The most challenging moment for me was during practice runs. It’s been a while since I’ve driven Nakhoda, and it has been shipped (around) over the last couple of months. So, there was a lot of pressure on me. Thanks to my team, friends, supporting staff and volunteers as well as our Team Ambassador, who supported and motivated me, I got over it and here we are. After SEMA, I feel that I’ve grown to become a more responsible person, more dependable, and as someone people can trust.”

Well done to team Brunei for the efforts in the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia competition. The most important part is the experience factor and being in a team and I believe all of them had a blast in Manila. The head of Delegation was Pg Hj Sofhrin Pg Hj Ibrahim from Pusat Latihan Mekanik (PLM), who was also a supervisor for one of the teams. Funny thing was I was also in the Philippines during that time but for a FitFlop invitational event.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr Hjh Anita Binurul Zahrina Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Hj Awg Abdul Aziz presented the Brunei Flag to Head of Delegation Pg Hj Sofhrin Pg Hj Ibrahim from Pusat Latihan Mekanik (PLM), who is also a supervisor for one of the teams

Group photo before departure

GenNext Pejuang from UBD

 

Check out our review of Kingsman: The Secret Service starring Rano Iskandar and his co-host Del Goh

 

Acer Aspire

Free labour charge on repairs for Peugeot. Click image to enter website to find out more.

Promotion from Pizza Hut. Click image to enter website.

 

Travel with agoda

  

Click image to enter ICON Design Store

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office graced the DPMM FC / S League Football Fanfare 2015 at the Jerudong Mini Stadium last Sunday.
His Royal Highness, who is also the Chairman of DPMM FC, joined the junior participants and the new import players for a group picture.

Among those participating was His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Muntaqim, who joined more than 100 junior participants in the technical training session during the DPMM FC / S League Football Fanfare 2015.

HRH Prince ‘Abdul Muntaqim also received a certificate of participation for the completion of the training session, which was conducted by DPMM FC’s head coach Steve Kean.

Also participating in the training session were the grandsons of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, YAM Pengiran Anak ‘Abdul Raqiib bin Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Rahim and YAM Pengiran Anak ‘Abdul Haseeb bin Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Rahim.

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office greeting the young players during DPMM FC / S League Football Fanfare 2015 at the Jerudong Mini Stadium. Image courtesy of Khairil Hassan of Borneo Bulletin.

HRH Prince ‘Abdul Muntaqim also received a certificate of participation for the completion of the training session. Image courtesy of @WSRBrunei (White Room Studio)

HRH Prince ‘Abdul Muntaqim in the group photo. Image courtesy of @WSRBrunei (White Room Studio)

YAM Pengiran Anak ‘Abdul Raqiib bin Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Rahim also in attendance. Image courtesy of @WSRBrunei (White Room Studio)

Fresh from completing the foreign quota with the arrival of new imports Craig Fagan, Brian McLean and Rafael Ramazzoti, the club is in its final week of preparation ahead of their first home game this season against Harimau Muda this Sunday, March 1.

The open training session attracted the participation of more than 100 junior footballers the majority of whom were from various schools and clubs that encourage youth development and promotion with the likes of Sports School and International School Brunei (ISB).

Kean revealed that he sees the young participants as potential players in the future adding that it only takes few hours to identify talent.

“We see these children today as potential players for us in the future. It was always nice for them to spend some time with the current players. We had a good response last year and this year was even better,” Kean said. “Certainly, in the few hours, you can identify some players that has potential to be professional players. It doesn’t take long to see the ones that got something special and we’ve seen lots of them today.”

The S League ‘Coach of the Year’ 2014 nominee was fairly impressed with the conduct and attitude shown by the junior players adding that the participants would return after a water break to learn about the other components linked with the technical aspects of the game.

“It was very warm today and the players asked that if they can have a little water break and after 10 minutes again they want to go back out and do something else. They were asking how this warm up, how we should warm down, and what type of stretching you should do. We mentioned a lot of injury prevention and they were asking if we can show them something. We showed that in the end and hopefully they can learn something”.

“It is about participation. If the young players can get enthusiasm and excitement today and wants to play football, it is not just about watching on TV. Hopefully they get what I would call the bug to play and that excitement never leaves you. If they can get a ball and practice at school, practice with a friend at school, after school, when they get a break at the weekends and as much contact with the ball and keep their skill level up, I’m sure they are some of those players who are here today that in the years to come would say that was the first time I decided to be a professional player”.

The objective of the training was to further comprehend the technical elements of the game for instance by controlling the ball not just by the stronger foot but also to work on a weaker foot. You’d never stop learning. Even the senior players like Joe Gamble, Craig Fagan and Bobby our captain, they’re learning and improving everyday”, added the head coach.

Meanwhile, Lim Chin, the Chief Executive Officer of S League commended DPMM FC’s initiative of building a fan base and encouraging active community participation and education through football.
“It is like a family concept and this is where we should build a fan base for each club through the children. The children can get to see up close and personal with the stars and besides just shaking hands and getting autographs, they are playing with the football stars”, Lim said.

“I think it is great to build up a fan and player relationship and DPMM FC did the right thing to hold a football fun fair on a beautiful Sunday morning”.

“I know the training is very short but I think what the children would remember that they learn the art of heading from this Brazilian player or he learnt dribbling from Azwan Ali. So when they see these players in action he remembers the half and hour sessions with them on that particular day. And maybe in time they (the club) can do more of this to engage with the fans”, Lim concluded.

Shortly after a certificate presentation to the participants, a souvenir was presented to the CEO of S League, Lim Chin as a token of appreciation by YAM Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Rahim bin Pengiran Indera Mahkota Pengiran Anak Dr. Kemaluddin Al Haj, the Vice Chairman of DPMM FC. Text courtesy of Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

 

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

Image courtesy of @haqimie267 (Fazizul Haqimie Photography)

 

This will be another interesting contest. I remember last year I covering the Area Contest of Brunei Toastmasters where Chris Woo, a member of Brunei Speakers’ Club and Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club, made a name for our local club when he came top 9 in the International Speech Contest amongst 30,000 competitors. It was a huge milestone for Brunei Speakers’ Club. Reaching the world’s finals meant that he had to win in all six contests to reach to the finals – at club level, at Area level (to determine who will the Brunei representative), at Division Level, At District Level, then the semi-finals before they chose the top nine to the finals. So Chris Woo experienced to all those stages last year and it was something he didn’t expect.

Now the contest is back. However, Chris Woo decided not to contest but opted to mentor and guide other members especially for members in the newly chartered toastmaster club, UBD Toastmasters Club.

Tonight there will be an International Speech and Table Topics Contest for members of Brunei Speakers’ Club. The top two of each category will proceed to Area Level to be held at Multipurpose Hall, UBD on 8th of March.

I will be competing in both categories tonight and it’s one of the those nights where I normally get butterflies because I want to improve as a public speaker. I learnt so much from toastmasters as a speaker and as a leader and I am abided by their vision. Toastmasters gave me the perfect platform for my contribution to the community. I wish to all the contestants best of luck and the most important is let’s have fun and support one another. That’s the beauty of the contest.

Last Sunday, we witnessed great quality speakers especially from UBD students during the UBD Toastmasters Club’s International Speech and Tables Topics Contest. I am so used to young adults (generation) from Brunei Speakers’ Club but now because a new club has been chartered, what makes it more interesting and refreshing is that it’s a university club. This would mean young and energetic speakers and they had the most participants among all the clubs in Brunei Darussalam. Simply amazing!!

I applaud the president and founder of UBD Toastmasters Club, Reuben Chin, for his great leadership and aspiring the members to take the initiative to join the contest even though the club is not even a year old. All in all, they had 24 registered entries for both International Speech and Table Topics. Simply amazing!!

So peeps, let’s come support the contestants today for the Brunei Speakers’ Club contest, happening tonight at Seameo Voctech, Gadong and it starts at 7:30pm.

Gary Goh 3rd place, Pranika Lama 1st place and Reuben Chin 2nd place with Allen Ang the prize presenter for the International Speech Contest in the UBD Toastmasters Club Contest at Inspiring Hall, UBD Student Centre last Sunday

Reuben Chin 1st place, Rayhan Ibrahim 3rd place and Julius 2nd place in Table Topics Contest in the UBD Toastmasters Club Contest

Interviewing the contestants from UBD Toastmasters by the contest chair Ching

 

Matahari FC emerged as champions of the Standard Chartered Trophy 2015 Brunei local tournament and moved a step closer towards realising the dream of going to Anfield, the home ground of Liverpool FC in the United Kingdom.

Matahari will proceed to the regional tournament in Kuala Lumpur as a Brunei representative where only representatives from Malaysia and Thailand now stand in their path to qualification to Anfield, one of the most popular and historic stadiums in the world.

The winners ended Syah Kampong’s brave resistance with a 2-0 win in the final at the Indoor Stadium last weekend.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah presented the champions mock cheque and the individual prizes.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah and Rino Donosepoetro, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Brunei presenting the prize to the winner of the Standard Chartered Trophy 2015, Matahari FC. Image courtesy of Standard Chartered Brunei Facebook Page.

Some of the participants of the Standard Chartered Trophy 2015. Image courtesy of Standard Chartered Brunei Facebook Page.

The Matahari’s pair of Iswandi bin Wahid and Md Zainul Hazmin bin Md Saifuddin collected the Most Assists and Top Scorer prizes respectively. Iswandi walked away with a signed Liverpool Football Club jersey by goalkeeper Brad Jones while Md Zainul received a signed LFC jersey by midfielder Joe Allen.

Mohd Asyramisyanie Kamis of Syah Kampong FC was awarded the Best Goalkeeper.

During the closing ceremony, a mock cheque of BND$2,400 was handed over to the Community Development Department (JAPEM) on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for the Humanitarian Fund of the Malaysian Flood Disaster. The funds was raised from registration fees collected from the participating teams, 100 per cent of which were donated.

Earlier, the quarterfinals of the Standard Chartered Trophy Brunei qualifying were contested with all group winners from the preliminary round in contention.

SLHM/Easyway, Syah Kampong, AMBD FC and Matahari FC all qualified to the last four while the quartet of HMD, Royal Origin FT, GG FT and OLSCB were eliminated. Mohd Asyramisyanie saved a penalty in the shoot-out to send his team to the final while Matahari’s solitary goal in the second semi-final was enough to confirm their place.

The Standard Chartered Trophy Brunei 2015 is supported by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports and endorsed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. Text courtesy of Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

 

Pooja (2nd from left) and Rahul (3rd from left) just recently joined as members of Brunei Speakers’ Club and they did their ice breaker speech. They were with their speech evaluators Ong Yin and Chris Woo who both work in the education sector. Click image to read the blog entry.

Chen Ling, one of the guests attempting Table Topics. Click image to read more.

Ever since I rejoined the Brunei Speakers’ Club back in July 2014, it has been an interesting journey and I’m really grateful that I am able to learn and let down my ego that there is still plenty room for growth in me as an individual. One thing I truly learnt is contribution and that has made me very committed in helping the club in any possible means. This is the platform that instills its vision on improving leadership skills and personal growth.

This won’t be possible with the energetic members and friends that have been supporting toastmasters. It has redefined the person I am and also cemented my true core values as an individual. I am here to contribute and I am here to learn.

You can click for our latest toastmasters meeting recap from Brunei Speakers’ Club and nicely written, Supatra, another dedicated toastmaster. It’s good that we have a blog entry weekly to keep up to date with the members and also for the benefit of the public on what we truly learn in toastmasters and it’s not just about public speaking.

Do join our weekly meeting every Tuesday at 7:30pm at Seameo Voctech and I will presenting my fifth speech as part of my toastmasters manual (competent communicator) as I’m rushing for the Toastmasters International Speech competition. I have to complete my sixth speech in order to qualify. Wish me luck 😀

 

The management and associates of Concepts Computer with Richard Soo, from Acer Miri, at the launch of the Concepts Computer Supplier vans yesterday

Concepts Computer has been around 14 years and they still continue their branding presence in the Sultanate. Soon they will be celebrating their 15th year anniversary. They have been expanding their services from hardware (introducing top of the line Acer products) to software (tying up with Microsoft Brunei and Mars Enterprise) to after sales service to their newly introduced service – logistics (with their newly launched vehicles, two Nissan vans with Concepts Computer design).

This is just in time before the lunar year and Concepts Computer continue their presence with their brand awareness through advertising with their commercial vehicles. This is to stay ahead of the game and Concepts Computer is definitely the biggest IT retailer in Brunei, a vision by Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer that has become reality.

With the new vehicles, the company can provide better and faster delivery of goods from their stores to their customers. This will create more confidence to the customers that Concepts Computer can provide the best service.

Also present during the launch of the newly purchased vehicles were Alice Chan of Concepts Computer, Richard Soo, Acer Area Manager of Miri, Zul Abdul Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer and the associates of Concepts Computer.

Giving blessing to the new transport from Concepts Computer

Giving blessing to the new transport from Concepts Computer

One has the Epson brand

The other Acer brand

 

Jerudong Park Medical Centre associates with the Japanese delegates from Kyuushuu-Brunei Club from Japan

The Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) received a group of visitors from the Kyuushuu-Brunei Club from Japan on 5 February 2015.

The Japanese delegates were welcomed by the Management of the Jerudong Park Medical Centre.
The objective of the club’s visit was to enhance and strengthen the relationship between Kyuushuu and Brunei Darussalam.

A total of 9 people were present from the Kyuushuu-Brunei club during the visit headed by Ms. Che Kyungmi.

During the visit, JPMC’s Marketing Officer, Ak Danny Pg Tajuddin gave a brief presentation about Jerudong Park Medical Centre accompanied with a question and answer session.

The delegates also toured around Jerudong Park Medical Centre, including The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC), led by JPMC’s Administrative Manager, Muhammad bin Haji Abd Ghani.

Kyuushuu is the third largest island of Japan and most south-westerly of its four main islands.

 

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

 

Acer Aspire

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 website to find out more.

Click image to enter website to find out more

  

Review of Annie 2014 starring Rano Iskandar with special guest Singapore blogger Tiffany Yong

 

With 2014 almost ending, I have to say that my year has been fabulous. Normally you will hear familiar things such as having a roller coaster year but if we do end of high note and feel at the present, very likely tend to forget the bad days and sum up the year to be much better than previous year. I haven’t been blogging as I’m currently taking time off for a bit and spending my holidays in Singapore to cap off another awesome year.

So how do I rate my 2014? Honestly it was one of the best years I had in many years. For many reasons but I won’t be sharing all my best moments with you, only some. Maybe the most exciting part for 2014 was able to travel to places like Seoul and Moscow. Well, I didn’t expect to fly to Moscow but Seoul was one of my sought places to travel. I would like to thank you Harley Davidson for bringing me to Seoul for and also to MOE and Bluebox Services for making my Russia trip possible. Where will 2015 bring me? For sure, I have set a date to fly to Manila and guess what? The Philippines is the only ASEAN country that I have yet to travel. Surprise, surprise.

This year, I also truly appreciative of my close friends and my new found ones. It’s true that the closer ones tend to be the most challenging ones because of the level of expectations I have on them. These expectations have been making my relationship with my buddies challenging for many years. Somehow, this year, I feel much lighter than before and I was able to feel much freedom rather than feeling suffocated with my negative thoughts (with having a thought that I’m not enough for them). This year, I’m truly grateful for my strong bonding relationship with my close buddies and you know who you are.

I can’t believe that I actually made it to Moscow, Russia, this year and it was an unexpected journey. This is one of the highlights of 2014 as I hardly travel to Europe and secondly, having a ICI document (passport for Brunei PRs), it will be tricky to travel to European countries.

Since the first picture was taken at Burger King Moscow, let me share with you my favourite snack of 2014 – Burger King’s Taro Pie. Not the one that Gladys is biting but the one on her left hand 😀 Did you know Taro Pie was sold out? But I’m glad it was re-stocked to the delight of Burger King fans.

My other highlight was my Seoul trip back in May 2014. I was happy that Harley Davidson chose me to represent the social media for Brunei. In this picture, Alice and I were at the Trick Eye Museum (adult version) in Seoul.

We had a mini dress up competition at Harley Davidson Headquarters at Seoul. This is the first time I bumped into Malaysian celebrity Michele Lee, a presenter of Football Overload.

One of the reasons I’ve been flying out is for the personal growth workshop sessions I have been attending which has been ongoing for many years. The best part of this journey is rediscovering the strengths in terms of my mental and emotional state. Sometimes you will never know what kind of breakthroughs you will have along the way and I’m blessed to have a great environment around me and mixing with the right crowd too. I’ve never seen the core team so committed with their vision of empowering and making this world a better place to live.

Who would have thought my love for toastmasters grown so immensely after rejoining back as a member after a three year hiatus? Of course, all of this was reignited by my close buddy but along the way, I found my core value within myself as a toastmaster and that is to contribute and be a better leader. People who are not aware will think that toastmasters are just platform for good speakers. It’s more than just that. It’s to nurture and give the members and guests a chance to learn something about public speaking at all levels from beginners to advanced speakers.

Speaking of toastmasters, I’m totally impressed with one of my friends, Amran, who has improved immensely as a speaker and a leader and he is a truly a role model for many. He unexpectedly won also his first Table Topics last week and for someone who was so shy to speak in public last year, we have seen such tremendous change. One of my best highlights of 2014 was my mid-year trip to Kuala Lumpur for the Toastmasters International Convention to witness one of our members of Brunei Speakers’ Club to represent our club and District 87 in the International Speech Contest finals. Awesome!!!!! My aim next year to join the contest for International Speech category. This year, I managed to bag 3rd place in the Speech Evaluation Contest *surprised* while I gained experienced in the Humourous Speech Contest.

For the first time in many years, I enjoyed this year’s summer movies as compared to previous years. From Godzilla to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to Guardian of the Galaxy and finishing off with one of the biggest blockbuster for Bruneil, Yasmine the movie, locally produced by Origin Films. Yes, I’m a movie buff and my love for movie will hardly fade away. I’m also happy that my podcast movie review has been a success for this year and for those, who have been listening and downloading the podcast, thank you so much. The popular podcasts for The Popcorn Panel for 2014 is Yasmine (almost 1,000 listened), Big Hero 6 (650) and Transformers 4 (580). Because of The Popcorn Panel, you will hardly see a written movie review on my blog. I shall be blogging more on my reviews by next year so you will have two mediums of my actual review of the movies. Overall, a great movie experience for 2014. Do watch out for my Top 10 movies of 2014 early in January 2015.

This year, I met a bunch of new friends during my travels. Though English is a language for them but we still managed to converse. Life is full of unexpected beginnings.

What more can I say? We all cross path back in 2009 and it was always great to look back at older pictures and remind what great friendship I have made with my friends. Though Winnie has left for Penang, the friendship still remains solid.

Toastmasters is another avenue to learn and grow as a leader and also support one another in a conducive environment. These are my toastmasters buddies and this was taken during the Toastmasters International Convention 2014 in Kuala Lumpur. One of the top 3 highlights of my 2014 indeed.

After slacking off in Year 2011 for Toastmasters, I rejoined back in June 2014 and began doing my speeches. This was my third speech manual (CC3) which was entitled “The Art of Showmanship” where I impersonated The Rock and talked about how much of an entertainment WWE (or wrestling) is.

Early in March, I went to Singapore to catch both Hollywood stars starring in The Amazing Spider-man to promote Earth Hour in Singapore. This shows how much I’m a big fan of movies and I even had the privilege to catch a special preview screening of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in Singapore.

My love for WWE might have faded. Maybe because the WWE universe isn’t as exciting as before. My urge to catch RAW on Tuesday also has faded. Regardless of my less interest in WWE, I was more than excited to catch WWE Live in Kuala Lumpur. Ironically I had an invitation to catch John Cena live during a press conference and I’m not much of a John Cena fan. I managed to ask a question to him personally with regards to the title achievement in comparison with Ric Flair. The overall experience was awesome because I finally get up close and personal to a WWE Superstar. The wrestling show itself was full of adrenalin and that is purely due to the engaging crowd at Indoor Stadium. Let’s hope for another WWE in Asia and I won’t mind booking another flight to catch one.

Finally, to finish off a wonderful 2014 is my renovated room which has been so messy and old-school for the past 20 years. I didn’t spend that much on the renovation but more on spending on new furniture such as my single bed (though it has yet to be assembled in my room lol) and I have a new wardrobe area. The only item that hasn’t been completed is the extension of my bedroom to another room (office area). The new feel has made my environment more conducive and I feel so much better that I don’t have the feeling of suffocating and constrained. The extra space in my room does make a difference and I feel much more like home. There are still a few tweaking to do here and there. Other than that, I’m more than happy of my current room. Maybe you can try and renovate your room and see how your energy will be for the next few months. Oh, by the way, I dispelled the rumours that people thought I was gonna get married just because I was renovating my room.

There are many more I wanna share and I shall leave it for here. I won’t be recapping my 2014 in monthly formats but I will be highlighting the happenings in general and how it has impacted the country and myself overall. Thank you for all my friends who have been the change agent in my life. My advice: Always focus on the positive aspect of your journey while those negative ones, well, either you change your perspective of your thoughts or simply ignore the negative (though that’s tough as we are human beings).

Too surreal to be true.. I was only yards away from WWE Superstar John Cena who paid a visit to Kuala Lumpur back in August. Thank you so much for the opportunity though I didn’t like his guts so much but he does have important values such as supporting the breast cancer awareness campaign.

Though my room is incomplete in terms of renovation, the newly look has made me feel much more lighter and I feel more energized whenever I wake up or do my work. So do renovate your room because it can make a difference energy wise and a much more conducive environment.

 

Check out the C Class at Jati Transport Showroom

 

Big Hero 6 podcast review with co-host @delgoh and special guest @sengyeeciara

Interstellar podcast review with co-host @delgoh

 

 

Click image to enter ICON Design Store website

 

Dato Paduka Dr. Zulkarnain, the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education with the members of the Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club

Late post: This month, we are proud to wear the toastmaster badge to commemorate the milestone that Toastmasters International have reached since its inception in 1924. Three weeks ago, Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club held their 2nd meeting (held every Friday end of the month) and it’s always customary to invite a guest of honour on every meeting.

The guest of honour was Dato Paduka Dr. Zulkranain, the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education. He found the BASC meeting quite educational and entertaining and he was very pleased that UBD also chartered their own toastmasters club two months ago. He recommended the youth and the public to attend a toastmasters meeting as it will not also improve your speaking skills but your listening skills too. He was impressed with the conducive and comfortable environment which allows newbies to feel more welcomed and making the learning process fun and enjoyable.

The speakers for the evening were Reuben Chin and Zainal Bostaman. The table topics winner was a first time guest, Hj Saiful Rhymin (well done).

So guys, if you want to attend a meeting of any of our toastmasters club in Brunei, here you go:

UBD Toastmasters Club – 7:30pm to 9pm Every Monday at Student Centre, Inspiring Hall

Brunei Speakers’ Club – 7:30pm to 9:30pm Every Tuesday at Seameo Voctech (Gadong)

OTTERS Club – 7:30pm to 9:30pm Every Wednesday at OGDC (Seria)

Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club – 7:30pm every Friday end of the month. Venue TBA

It’s always great to see new guests coming in to observe (or even participate) during the toastmasters meeting. I can guarantee you that it’s a great avenue to improve your leadership skills too and you can get more testimonials from our regular guests. I’m a member of the Brunei Speakers’ Club and I will do my best to contribute to the club and the community to spread the awareness of toastmasters. It has not made me only a better speaker but also a great leader. It’s a never ending process and of course, the best of the lot is my supporting buddies from toastmasters. How can you turn down a learning experience with positive environment?

Dato Paduka Dr. Zulkarnain speaking to the members of Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club at Radisson Hotel

The guest in attendance

Reuben Chin sharing his moments on photography

Gary being invited for table topics

Dato Paduka Dr. Zulkarnain had a fantastic evening

Zainal Bostaman was told that he’s the Brunei version of Mr. Bean by the guest of honour

Rozana having a laugh at Zainal’s speech

The time machine 😀

Members and guests during the last meeting

Rhymin winning the Table Topics contest

Members and guests during the last meeting

Celebrating Papa Shawn’s birthday. Next to him is Johan from Sabah.

Members and guests during the last meeting

Group photo and thanks everyone for your attendance

 

BIMP EAGA Tourism Trade Expo from 19-22 November at ICC