Wanna enjoy a FREE Egg McMuffin with Chicken Roll this coming Monday? Read the post to find out more.

Guess what? McDonald’s Brunei will be organizing its very FIRST National Breakfast Day 2016. So what does that mean?? FREE FOOD.. Well, in a form of burger that is. Apparently this is a yearly activity of worldwide McDonald and only selected countries are organizing it.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Manila, India, Korea Thailand, Middle East, South Africa, Taiwan and many more.. and of course, for the first time ever, Brunei Darussalam.

So this year, Brunei McDonald’s will be giving away 2,000 Egg McMuffin with Chicken Roll nationwide. This means 1,000 pieces at McDonald’s Gadong and the 1,000 pieces at McDonald’s Jerudong.

It will be held on Monday 24th October 2016 from 7am to 10am. I’m pretty sure that it will be a big hit and it will run out before 10am. Just be mindful that this deal is only available at McDonald’s counter and not valid on drive-thru and McDelivery services.

How it works is the staff of McDonald’s will distribute coupons and it’s applicable one coupon per person. It will start at 7am and it will be a queueing system (first come, first serve). The other great thing is if the customer wants to upgrade their meal with a hash brown and coffee/tea for only BND 2. Only the coupon holder is entitled for the $2 upgrade promotion.

During the National Breakfast Day 2016, the crew of McDonald’s will be heading to a few schools to distribute some free burgers. The management also mentioned that they will also distribute 50 free burgers to vendors at Tamu Kianggeh early in the morning. This is one of the way that McDonald’s give back to the community and let’s hope this will be a yearly thing 😀

Sharizam Hj Samat, Operation Manager of McDonald’s Brunei and Noor Hafilah Mohamed Salleh, Marketing Executive of McDonald’s Brunei during the press conference for the National Breakfast Day 2016

Jati Transport Sdn Bhd introduces 3 new SUVs from Mercedes-Benz today at their Gadong showroom. The new facelift GLS, GLE and the all-new GLC Coupé.

GLS facelift

The facelift strengthens the leading position of the GLS in its segment with a modified exterior, even more quality in the interior plus innovative technology for enhanced ride comfort and safety. The large-size SUV appeals to customers who are looking for impressive spaciousness for up to 7 people and a modern take on luxury.

On display, the GLS 400 4MATIC AMG Line lends the exterior an even more dynamic and athletic character. It includes the eye-catching AMG bodystyling with AMG-specific front and rear aprons, wheel arch extensions in the vehicle colour as well as 53.3 cm (21-inch) AMG light-alloy wheels.

The powerful V6 petrol engine in the GLS 400 4MATIC AMG Line with its responsive exhaust gas turbocharger delivers 245kW (333hp) and a maxikmum torque of 480Nm. The facelifted GLS also fitted as standard with the 9G-Tronic 9-speed automatic transmission which further improved electrohydraulic control unit, together with optimised engine and transmission software, results in more dynamic gear changes and even greater shift quality.

GLE facelift

Mercedes-Benz has thoroughly revised its best-seller in the SUV segment. The highlights of the GLE facelift include considerably more appealing front and tail ends and extensive measures which make new benchmarks with regard to emissions and drive system possible.

The GLE 400 4MATIC AMG Line truly underlines the dynamic and athletic appearance of the car in the showroom. The AMG Line package comprises, among other things, special front and rear bumpers in the distinctive AMG styling and 50.8-cm (20-inch) AMG light-alloy wheels.

The V6 biturbo petrol engine in the GLE 400 4MATIC AMG Line develops 245kW (333hp) and a peak torque of 480 Nm.

GLC Coupé

The dynamic-expressive styling of the GLC Coupé concept was a centre of attention at its world premiere in 2015 in Shanghai. It unites the typical stylistic elements of a coupé with the design language of current SUV models. Just one year later, this promise has become a reality: the new GLC Coupé translates the design idiom of the show car, with its distinctive basic structure and stretched greenhouse, virtually unchanged into series production. At the same time, the sports car among Mercedes-Benz’s midsize SUVs impresses with its brand-typical safety, modern assistance systems and an especially sporty-dynamic character.The as-standard sports suspension as well as more direct sports steering, DYNAMIC SELECT and 4MATIC permanent all-wheel drive with 9G-TRONIC nine-speed automatic transmission combine effortlessly superior ride comfort with decidedly sporty agility.

At the launch, the GLC 250 4MATIC Coupé is powered by a 4-cylinder turbocharged pertol engine which delivers an output of 155 kW (211 hp) and a peak torque of 350 Nm.

So do visit the showroom at Gadong and check out the SUVs from the Mercedes-Benz line.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Chancellor of UBD presenting certificates to the graduates of Universiti Brunei Darussalam last weekend

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Chancellor of UBD, presented certificates to 921 PhD and bachelor’s degree graduates during the morning session of the UBD 28th Convocation ceremony last weekend.

There were about 1,477 graduates. Graduates this year — the fourth batch of UBD’s GenNEXT programme — included 28 PhD graduates, which also surpassed last year’s record of 20.

According to the press release, there were 481 master’s degreeholders, 893 bachelor’s degree graduates, 62 diploma recipients and 13 advanced/graduate diploma recipients.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, has approved the establishment of the Centre for Lifelong Learning (C3L) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Serving as a catalyst for higher-level teaching and learning, the Sultan said C3L will encompass continuous and professional education. His Majesty believed it will also contribute significantly to national development and a knowledge-based society and economy. The Sultan said C3L was among the initiatives introduced by UBD in a bid to provide flexible learning opportunities to the public.

UBD Vice-Chancellor Datin Dr Hjh Anita Binurul Zahrina Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Hj Awg Abdul Aziz said that this year’s convocation included UBD’s first cohort of Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical and Process Engineering graduates.

She said the programme — which had been carried out in collaboration between UBD, China’s Zhejiang University and Hengyi Industries — had seen students carrying out their studies and industrial placements over 18 months in China.

Congratulations to all the graduates and now it’s time to convert your knowledge and experience into the real world for the betterment of our country.

One of the luckiest person I know 😀

A tearful citizen during the meet and greet with His Majesty the Sultan

Always a cheerful moment around our leader

A sea of people before the departure of His Majesty the Sultan

Shazali with his students

When you are climbing a mountain there is a summit , in life all you find is an endless wall. You can take the easy way and slide endlessly into the darkness or take the hard way and climb into the eternal light. Either way, there is no end to how far you can fall nor how high you can climb – Dananjaya Hettiarachchi. Image taken of Dananjaya Hettiarachchi’s Facebook page.

He’s known as “Dan” by many and I’ve been following his journey on IG and Facebook and even on the internet. Though he was a champion two years ago, he still is one of the most sought speakers around the world. He has been traveling around the world and his next date will be Brunei before he heads off to Amsterdam (Holland), Hiroshima (Japan) and Richmond (USA) to cap off the year. Awesome!!!

If you meet him in person, only one word to describe him – charismatic (and super cool). He has been in a journey of toastmasters or public speaking for 10 years. He loves to inspire the thousands in bettering their communication skills and he is very popular in schools.

The Brunei Conference committee is very privilege to have his presence in Brunei on 28th October to 29th October. We are certain that his presence and his keynote speech will have a positive ripple effect on the audience and hoping for more youth to attend the conference.

If you are interested, please reach me at 8677773. Tickets are available and the prices are BND 120 and BND 35 for secondary students or BND 50 for tertiary/university students (29th October, Saturday session 9am to 4pm), BND 50 for the Speech contest (30th October, Sunday 8am). If you are interested also in attending the dinner, it will be BND 50 for Friday, 28th October and BND 50 for Saturday, 29th October.

This is slated to be the biggest toastmasters event ever hosted in Brunei Darussalam because we have three world champion speakers – Willie Jones, Dan the Man and reigning champion Darren Tay. So yes, sometime to look forward to and the target audience will be the youth, working class, teachers, parents, students, professionals, government officials and entrepreneurs.

A big thank you also to the sponsors, partners and supporters of this event – Brunei Shell Petroleum, Progresif, Brunei Gas Carriers, Brunei Tourism under the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, RYS Entertainment, Armtrix Enterprise, NBT, BIG magazine, AKK Design, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Rizqun International Hotel, Aiking (03), Royal Brunei Catering and many more. I would also like to acknowledge the Ministry of Home Affairs for approving this event.

So once again, If you are interested, please reach me at 8677773 and you can read more details here on our official website.

He has been a busy man with many cities he has visited this year alone

Dananjaya with Supatra Lee, a Brunei Speakers’ Club member

My photo opp with Dananjaya last year in Kuching.

Another champion making its way to Brunei is Darren Tay. Back in August, Darren Tay, was crowned the 2016 World Champion of Public Speaking in Washington DC and his story revolved around bullying. ’Im 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.

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.

So it’s a done deal that he will be delivering a workshop in Brunei this October. If you are interested, please reach me at 8677773 or email at bruneiconference2016@gmail.com and you can read more details here on our official website.

That’s not all. In conjunction with the Brunei Conference 2016, we will be hosting the final leg of the Humourous Speech Contest and Speech Evaluation Contest on the final day of the Brunei Conference, slated for Sunday, 30th October. Another awesome news is that two of the finalists are members of Brunei Toastmasters (Area K6) as they won their rights when they became champion in Division level two weeks ago at Kota Kinabalu.

Allen Ang, a representative of The Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club, won for Humourous Speech Contest. With his winning speech ‘My Dream Job’, he told hilarious tales of the hardship of being a salesman and shared silly situations that induced fits of laughter from the audience. Pooja Shivanand, a member of Brunei Speakers’ Club, won in the Speech Evaluation Contest. She is one of our talented evaluators in Brunei toastmasters and it’s no surprise she made it this far. So both contestants will have to fight it out again in Brunei Darussalam to vie for the District Champion in Humourous Speech and Speech Evaluation.

On his victory and competing in the finals, Allen, a Permanent Resident in Brunei, said, “I’m blessed and grateful for the opportunity to speak in front of my hometown. The contest in KK was very fruitful, as I got to meet people who believe that contests stimulate progress, both in communication and leadership skills.”

Pooja, who lectures for the Microbiology course at the Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, commented, “I gratefully acknowledge the support and encouragement of Brunei Toastmasters… I consider myself fortunate to represent Division K right here in Brunei. I eagerly look forward to this opportunity to showcase Brunei talent.”

The District 87 Semi Annual Conference in Brunei will also see World Champions in Public Speaking conducting educational workshops on Communication and Leadership Skills, with networking opportunities at the Gala Dinner.

The conference, open to the public, will take place from October 28 to 30. For more information, visit www.d87bruneiconference.com.

Pooja Shivanand won the Speech Evaluation Contest in Division level two weeks ago and now the District Contest awaits her

Sophia came 3rd while Roselind came 2nd in the Speech Evaluation Contest in Division Level

Allen Ang won Humourous Speech Contest on Division level for the second time. He won it two years ago, also in KK. Now he will compete in the final leg in Brunei Darussalam.

Pooja and Allen with their mentor Stuart Lee. All the help really paid off 😀

The Brunei toastmasters members

Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the President of the Republic of the Philippines upon arrival and being greeted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II and The Minister of Home Affairs yesterday. Image courtesy of Vincent Hong.

Guess who’s in town? It’s the President of the Republic of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte who is on a three-day state visit to Brunei Darussalam. He arrived yesterday afternoon and he was greeted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II and The Minister of Home Affairs at the Brunei International Airport.

Last evening, the president scheduled a session for a meet and greet with the Filipino community at the Indoor Stadium. Today he will have an official welcome at the Istana Nurul Iman before an audience and bilateral meeting with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam. A state banquet will follow suit in the evening.

Brunei’s relations with the Philippines has been encouraging and fruitful. The state visit hopes to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The president will then head to China on 18th October.

Duterte receiving strong support from the Filipino community residing in Brunei Darussalam at the Indoor Stadium last evening. Image taken by Rudolf Portillo of The Brunei Times.

Duterte with a gesture during his remarks yesterday. Image taken by Dean Kassim of Borneo Bulletin.

Check out the 9th generation of the Audi 80/A4 series- the all new Audi A4, now with quattro® all-wheel-drive.

The new Audi A4 features numerous premium technologies which set higher benchmarks for its class. Elegant design blends with an innovative control concept, and lightweight construction meets new, efficient drivetrain solutions. The A4 is also ahead of its peers in terms of infotainment and assistance systems. As a result, Audi drivers can look forward to a truly high-tech experience ― an innovative synthesis of technology and aesthetics.

Now available at the Audi Kiarong showroom the new Audi A4 also achieves top ratings for efficiency. It boasts the best-in-class drag coefficient of just 0.23 and has shed as much as 120 kilograms (264.6 lb) in weight compared with the predecessor model. Three economical four-cylinder engine variants delivering up to 185 kW (252 hp) also play a major part in this efficiency gain.

The Audi A4 is also available here for the first time with the high-efficiency gasoline engine 2.0 TFSI ultra developing 140 kW (190 hp) which uses an innovative combustion process and has been designed based on the rightsizing principle. The economical power unit reduces the NEDC consumption of the new A4 Sedan to 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres (49.0 US mpg) and CO2 emissions to 109 grams per kilometre (175.4 g/mi).

The new Audi A4 comes equipped with an extensive selection of improved technologies making their first appearance in this model, such as LED headlights, Audi Drive Select with Efficiency mode, sports suspension with damping control, fly-by-wire gear shifter and a top of the line Bang & Olufsen 3D Sound System.

In terms of safety, the new A4 has been awarded the highest ratings from both the Euro NCAP and IIHS safety tests.

Premium features will include multicoloured ambient lighting, front/rear parking aid and convenience key with ‘kick’ motion rear luggage door release.

TCY Motors will offer the new Audi A4 Sedan with three engine variants: a 1.4 TFSI (150hp/250Nm), 2.0 TFSI ultra (190hp/320Nm) and 2.0 TFSI quattro (252hp/370Nm) all utilising the 7-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission. Wheel sizes will range from 17”, 18” and 19” based on the respective engine variant.

Congratulations to our Bruneian duo Pengiran Anak Hj Mohd Basheer bin Pengiran Indera Mahkota Pengiran Anak (Dr) Kemaluddin Al-Haj (right) and Lt Col (Rtd) Haji Mahmud bin Haji Yaakup for placing 12th in their respective Group B results and overall joint 24th position out of 55 teams in the Audi quattro Cup World Final 2016 in Barcelona, Spain.

Officiating the relaunch of the store

Roger Plahay, Progresif’s acting CEO with his welcoming remarks

This morning, Progresif relaunched its flagship store at The Mall. It’s one of the store that hasn’t been revamped for a long time. The only one that didn’t change from the store are the windows and the shutter (in front). It was a complete revamped and now it has the Progresif feel and brand to it, complimenting to the other Progresif stores in Brunei Darussalam.

Present during the launch was Yang Mulia Edzwan Zukri bin Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Palawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adnan, one of the board of directors of Progresif. Roger Plahay, Progresif’s acting CEO had a short welcoming remarks in conjunction with the launch.

He shared how the management made a commitment to their stakeholders, their staff and communities that they serve to usher in a new era of innovation for the ICT and telecommunications sectors in Brunei and they promised to support His Majesty the Sultan’s Vision of 2035.

When Progresif launch their brand, they asked one simple question “Are you Progresf. In just a span of 2 years, they have completely rebuilt the network and now they are expanding and rumours has it that the 4G is just around the corner. Currently they have grown from 20,000 to 150,000 subscribers and their staff count is up to 265.

Pretty soon you will notice a new headquarters for Progresif with better facilities. The new location reflects their brand and corporate culture. Another exciting things are such as the establishment of the their own Start-Up Lab where they will be incubating small businesses and working with partners such as UBD, iCentre and DARe.

Keep up the momentum, Progresif. For me, I can’t wait for the 4G network on Progresif 😀

Bob Gill, Progresif’s Chief Sales Officer briefing the media of the revamped store

A breakthrough plan for University students 😀

Madam Evelyn Ang, the Country Manager Brunei at Royal Brunei Airlines presenting to lucky winner Madam Tasanee who won herself a return economy class ticket to Bali sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines with Nur Khadijah Abdullah, Sales & Business Development Manager of Pan Bright Travel Service

Pan Bright Travel Service have selected their September lucky draw winner on the 06 October 2016. The lucky coupon was drawn by Senior Sales Executive of Royal Brunei Airlines, Dayang Norhaslinda Duraman witnessed by her colleague Pg. Ma’asom Pg. Hj. Ismail.

A prize presentation was held at Pan Bright Travel’s office in Bandar Seri Begawan earlier today by Madam Evelyn Ang, the Country Manager Brunei at Royal Brunei Airlines to the lucky winner, Madam Tasanee who won herself a return economy class ticket to Bali sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

This is the first of a series of monthly lucky draws where customer stands a chance to win an air ticket to either Kota Kinabalu, Saigon, Bali or Singapore from September 2016 to February 2017. The Grand prize will be either a Hyundai ‘Accent’ car OR an exclusive Hermès‘Birkin’ bag which is being sponsored by Pan Bright Travel. Other prizes up for grabs include air tickets to London, Melbourne and Tokyo are kindly sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines & Singapore Airlines.

For more enquiries regarding the promotion, you can contact Pan Bright Travel’s offices at 2240980 for Bandar Seri Begawan, 3341154 for Kuala Belait or 3220078 for Seria.

The lucky draw promotion starts from 02 September 2016 to the 31 March 2017.

Some of the cosplayers that attended at Bintang Megamall

Two Bruneians won first and third place of the Collectors Exhibition Miri (CXM) 2016 cosplay competition which was held at Bintang Megamall Miri last Sunday.

Nio Tan, cosplaying as Saber from the animation Fate/Stay Night, won first place and Suok Jiuan, cosplaying as Junko Enoshima from the animation Dangan Ronpa, took the 2nd runners up.

Speaking of her winning first place, Nio Tan said she felt happy and tired as it took her six months to complete her costume. The competition marked her first time joining a cosplay competition outside Brunei.

Collectors Exhibition Miri (CXM) was organized by NAJA Enterprise and featured cosplay guests from Thailand and Japan. Story courtesy of Muhammad Khairi Waddin and images by SCP X Brunei Otaku.

Nio Tan receiving the Champion trophy

Suok Jiuan came 3rd in the cosplay contest