Bahzi Damit and Iqbal Damit, the co-founders of Hand4handBN, unveiled the upcoming crowdfunding for food packets to distribute for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Click image to enter website.

Fatin Arifin, Marketing Manager, Ghanim International Corporation and Ain Bandial, co-founder and editor The Scoop with Iqbal Damit, the cofounder of Hand4HandBN

@hand4handbn has leveled up their game by means of donating through crowdfunding website in means to provide food packs for Rohingya refugees based in Bangladesh. This was announced at their press conference yesterday at Kitchen Table, Kiulap.

As some of you know Hand4HandBN has spearheaded their own initiative to help the underprivileged community and they identified the Rohingya refugees as one of the beneficiary for the donations being collected in Brunei Darussalam.

The press conference was led by Iqbal Damit, the co-founder of Hand4HandBN and accompanied by Fatin Arifin, Marketing Manager, Ghanim International Corporation and Ain Bandial, co-founder and editor The Scoop who both visited the refugee camps in Bangladesh back in November 2017.

Iqbal Damit aims to reach at least 13,000 packs of ready-to-eat meals in the first week of Ramadhan. The packs are made locally by Saahtain Asia Sdn Bhd.

The public now can lend a hand by raising funds through a crowdfunding website and for USD 15, you can sponsor 10 ready made to eat packs. USD 75 will provide 50 meals while USD 150 will provide 100 meals. Of course, the more, the better. With the crowdfunding website, this initiative will be global as well as it doesn’t just limit donors from Brunei Darussalam alone.

The ready-to-eat food are much more convenient to the refugees as they don’t have to trouble themselves to cook. Donating things like rice and food items are common but the tougher part will be actually finding resources such as oil, cooking utensils and cook their meals. Hence, ready-to-eat packs are more ideal and effective when it comes to food distribution.

All you have do is, visit their crowdfunding website at www.launchgood.com/ramadan4rohingya and the donations can start from 8pm tonight, 16th April 2018. The last day of donation will be on 30th April to ensure a better preparation and logistics for the recipients during the holy month of Ramadhan. Let’s do our part in helping the families and children of Rohingya at Bangladesh. Our contribution can make a difference.

The media and social influencers during the press conference

Members of the influencers having some refreshments prepared by @hand4handbn at Kitchen Table

Iqbal Damit at the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, during the distribution of Bruneian food aid. Photo: Ain Bandial/The Scoop. You can read more story from The Scoop by clicking the image.

Dr Nor Imtihan binti Haji Abdul Razak, Acting Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance), Ministry of Development, during the press conference earlier this morning

The Ministry of Development through the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (DEPR) held a press conference this morning to socialize the addition of Thursday to the ‘No Plastic Bag Weekend Initiative’ towards No Plastic Bag Everyday.

Present at the session was the Acting Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance), Dr Nor Imtihan binti Haji Abdul Razak, who addressed members of the media with regards to the extension. In her speech, Dr Nor Imtihan shared that the launching ceremony will be held on Thursday, 19th April 2018 in conjunction with Earth Day 2018, which appropriately carries the theme “End Plastic Pollution”.

The Acting Permanent Secretary also shared that the remaining days will be added in phases with Wednesday tentatively to be included in July 2018, Tuesday in October 2018 and Monday to be added in December 2018 towards realizing the Government’s objective of No Plastic Bag Everyday by 2019. The initiative will initially involve stores and businesses that are currently listed under the No Plastic Bag Weekend initiative but will be extended to other consumers of plastic bags such as retails shops (kedai-kedai runcit), restaurants and markets/stalls (gerai-gerai).

The No Plastic Bag Weekend initiative was initially launched on 26th March 2011 to include Saturday and Sunday, with Friday being added on 17th February 2012. The objective of the initiative is to promote the concept of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) in order to minimize the volume of waste sent to the country’s landfill. To date, fifty stores and businesses have voluntarily registered to participate in the initiative.

Also at the press conference, Martinah Haji Tamit, Acting Director of JASTRe (left)

It all started with Saturdays and Sundays back in 2011

Rano’s thoughts: This is indeed a great move finally being implemented. I remember back in 2015, it was mentioned that JASTRe wanted to implement the no-plastic-bag initiative on Thursday, but didn’t materialized. Soon, this Thursday 19th March, the Minister of Development will officially launch the additional day of Thursday to the “No Plastic Bag weekend initiative” so yes, it’s finally happening.

While supermarkets and some convenient stores are already used to this initiatives, the ones that will be the tougher to educate are the ones at the pasar malam or gerai stalls. For decades, they have been used to shelling out plastics to consumers and this stigma will be the hardest to break. Dr Nor Imtihan is confident that with great awareness and how we influence, it can play a huge role in shifting their mindsets and understand the implications of plastic bags to our environment.

The policies in supermarket is already a great reminder of me that I have to mentally prepare a recycle bag in my car, in case that I might need to buy something at the supermarket. If the supermarkets don’t have this policy, I wouldn’t have thought of having a spare recycle bag in my car. So that policy is a great tool to begin with to train and be alert on small things like “no plastic bags” that can have a huge positive impact.

Good job, JASTRe, on taking this idea into a reality. And do open up an Instagram account soon so we, as social influencers, will help to spread the word around by a push of a button 😀

Plastic bags are common whenever we go to gerais. Perhaps one way is to start from us, bring our own recycling bags or containers to increase their awareness on the implications of plastic bags. Image from thanislim.com

As you know, plastics are harmful once it’s littered around especially at beaches. This was taken at Tungku Beach and posted on TripAdvisor.

I like this strong message about how plastics can kill the likes of turtles. Let’s look at the bigger picture by taking small steps

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen delivering a keynote address at the Royal Geographical Society in London, United Kingdom yesterday. Image courtesy of Infofoto.

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Mateen presented a keynote address at the Royal Geographical Society in London, United Kingdom yesterday. From the keynote, His Royal Highness emphasized the importance of forest conservation as it will have an impact on climate change which is currently an underlying issue we are facing currently.

The keynote address also revealed the efforts and contributions of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in addressing the climate change.

There were some interesting insights on the keynote address. Brunei Darussalam prioritized its activity in promoting forest conservation. Approximately 75% of our national land area is currently under forest cover.. On top of that, 55% of Brunei’s total land area is official declared as National Forest Estate under our domestic law. This is to ensure that our rainforests will be preserved for decades to come.

Starting 2007, Brunei with Malaysia and Indonesia established Heart of Borneo Initiative. Helps to conserve one of the last few remaining centres of biological diversity in the world by establishing a network of protected areas and sustainable management of forests in Borneo.

His Royal Highness also urged the community to play the part in ensuring the flora and fauna of the forests are protected and conserved. For instance, a number of critically endangered local species inhabit Brunei’s rainforests such as the Helmeted Hornbill and the Malayan Pangolin. Those poachers and forest hunters will be dealt with by the authorities.

His Royal Highness acknowledged as a country that we need to commit to these efforts not just by adopting a “whole of nation” approach but a “whole of world approach”.

It was also mentioned that Brunei is a member of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy and Brunei Darussalam has dedicated three separate forest reserves to the initiative, totaling more than 50 thousands hectares.

His Royal Highness was accompanied by Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Paduka Awang Hj Erywan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II, Hj Mohammed Rosli bin Hj Ibrahim, Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, Alasdair Macleod, Head of Enterprise and Resources, at the Royal Geographical Society and Datin Dr. Hjh. Anita Binurul Zahrina, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Baiduri Bank Group with the partners for the upcoming Baiduri Masters 2018 during the signing ceremony at QAF Brunei yesterday

The highly anticipated annual golf tournament, the Baiduri Masters Charity Golf Tournament is set to span over two weekends, 27 to 29 April and 4 to 6 May 2018. This year marks the 23rd edition of the Baiduri Masters organised by Baiduri Bank Group.

Thanks to the support of strategic partners – QAF Brunei, BMW and MINI, the much awaited hole-in-one car prizes for Baiduri Masters 2018 was confirmed this morning at the Partnership Signing Ceremony held at the QAF Centre. Besides two luxury cars, players will also stand a chance to win three cash prizes plus numerous other tournament prizes at the Baiduri Masters 2018.

The hole-in-one prizes for this year are as follows: BMW 740Li for Hole 14; Mini Cooper S Countryman for Hole 5; and $20,000 cash prize for Holes 2, 12 and 16.

The event began with the opening remarks by Mr. Pierre Imhof, Chief Executive Officer of Baiduri Bank. He said, “Since the tournament’s inception in 1995, the Baiduri Masters has always been centred towards supporting our community and making a difference. The tournament has been raising funds for local charities and organisations that support people with special needs and promotes activities that help people with special needs integrate into society. Last year, we were able to donate $65,000 for charity.”

Exchange of documents between Baiduri Bank and QAF Brunei

One of the prizes for the hole-in-one. A few years ago, three people won the same hole and the prize was a Porsche Cayman

The application form for this year’s Baiduri Masters 2018

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony began with a signing between the Baiduri Bank Group and the RBA Golf Club. Another MOU between Baiduri Bank Group and Brunei Press was also signed this morning to appoint Borneo Bulletin and Media Permata as the print media partners for the event.

Mr. Asmadi bin Hj Alimustapha, General Manager of the RBA Golf Club, Mr. Albert Lau, Chief Executive Officer of QAF Brunei Sdn Bhd, and Mr. Reggie See, General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd signed on behalf of their organizations respectively while Mr. Pierre Imhof, Chief Executive Officer of Baiduri Bank signed on behalf of the Baiduri Bank Group.

Mr. Ng Joon An, Accountant at the RBA Golf Club, Mr. Siva Kumar Krishnan, General Manager of QAF Auto Sdn Bhd, Ms. Hazizah Osman, Deputy General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd and Mr. Andrew Young, Deputy General Manager, Operations Management Division and Diversification and Strategic Development of Baiduri Bank cum President of the Organising Committee of Baiduri Masters 2018 signed as witnesses respectively.

The champion of the Baiduri Masters 2017 was Qawim Hj Aslimon, a first time Baiduri Masters champion. Rounding out the top 5 were Johari Ahmad, Seruji Hj Setia, Pg Adam Pg Atan and Ahmad Yani.

Registration commences from today and the registration fee remains at BND120 for adults and BND60 for juniors. The registration fee is inclusive of green fees, buggy, a goodie bag as well as buffet breakfast and lunch. Players are invited to the prize presentation dinner at the end of the tournament.

For more information, please contact the Baiduri Customer Helpline at 244 9666 or log onto www.baiduri.com.

Enter poster to find out more

Click image to enter website

Aiman Minorhadi, Co-Founder of Grominda Group

Recently Grominda Group launched a new platform called Plus-EXP at the Design & Technology building.

Plus-EXP is an online platform that provides work experience opportunities powered by Grominda Group. Grominda Group is a research company that focuses on fostering the development of human capital through the early stage of career development. Grominda Group’s vision is to be the leading centre for youths’ development in the region. They pledged to develop leaders of the future by believing in their core values, to instill youths with integrity and be competitive in any market conditions by empowering them with innovation thus inspiring them to be ambitious.

Hence, Plus-EXP is created to enable talents (youths) to apply for internships directly from work experiences offered by companies. This platform is intended to make it easier for talents to connect with companies to gain working experiences thus tackling the issue of lack of working experiences. They are also working with both institutions and companies to align university courses in Brunei Darussalam with job market demands.

Another feature included in the website is trainings and workshops. For instance, their own Recruitment Consultant provides CV Clinics and Interview Techniques workshop and talents can apply for this workshop by signing up on Plus-EXP. They will also be looking to cooperate with other companies to provide trainings that will improve work experiences.

For now, registration for both companies and talents are already available. However, they are still consolidating the data for the website thus the full features of the platform will only be available at the end of April.

For more information or any further inquiries, call +6738297027 or e-mail grominda@gmail.com.

Firdaus Bohari, Co-founder of Grominda Group

Plus-EXP team

Anthony Sigar, CEO of Grominda Group

It has been an interesting month (March) where many things have been unfolded. Cases of robbery has been on a high as of late. An unexpected corruption case has unofficially raised a many eyebrows, putting a shame on an important agency in Brunei Darussalam. A common trend of raids have been conducted in the capital where illegal substances such as drugs and alcohol consumption were the main highlights. As for the LegCo, it proceeded smoothly without much talking points and good job to The Scoop for such an interesting perspective on this year’s LegCo. Keep it up!!

Let’s talk about the robbery case for now. I can see how the Royal Brunei Police Force through the Public Relation Unit have been very active in conducting Neighborhood Watch among the RBPF and the community. This is a great initiative especially for the residents to be extra vigilant when it comes to their homes and possessions. There have been an increase amount of break-ins and car thefts. This month, I have already received three separate incidents of cars being stolen and one of them happened to be my friend. The worst thing was that his cars were stolen from his own home.

Another friend of mine had his car broken into at the vicinity of his own home. Though the thief didn’t manage to find anything in his car, my friend had to fork out a fortune to repair his window. Even his dog wasn’t able to deter the thief as he fed the dog with some bones. Even CCTVs these days won’t be much of use as most thefts have upped their game by wearing masks, making it harder to identify. The best the CCTV can do is to alert the home owners for them to make the conscious decision to either apprehend the thief or make an emergency call to the police.

Just in today’s article about a break-in. I’m pretty sure there are many cases that are not published in the papers and only being reported to the Royal Brunei Police Force.

A successful arrest to the 3 suspects believed to have been involved in the recent car theft. Click image to read article from Borneo Bulletin.

Raids. Hmmm… Surprising these surprise raids have been frequent as of late. Illegal activities such as gambling, drinking and drugs consumption and organizing gatherings without permits. The “drinking” incident is a unique one. For many years, the drinking venues have been in operation and only recently, the raids took place concurrently at the two drinking joints. It was mentioned from an inside source that the attendees were questioned at the police station and released soon after. I remember these raids to be common back in the early 2000s where illegal gatherings or parties were a huge trend. Places such like AquaWave, Excite and RBRC were hotspots for night gatherings back then.

Though there are no such gatherings of that magnitude this time round, the recent gatherings are still considered illegal if there is no permit or approval from the relevant government agency. Last weekend, a music gig was being raided at Gadong and all those being present (176 of them) were escorted to the police station for statement. It seems that there was a tip off, concerning the possession of “plastic package containing dried leaves” and pills believed to be drug, according to the press release. Kudos to the RBPF, Royal Customs and Excise Department and Narcotics Control Bureau as I am strongly against the consumption of drugs. I do feel sorry for the innocent and harmless ones who were present, just to show support to the local music scene. But when drugs are involved, it’s a huge no-no for me. So ladies and gentlemen, SAY NO TO DRUGS.

The items being found during the raid last weekend. Image screenshot from RTB coverage.

Another illegal substance labelled as dried leaves were found as well during the recent raid last weekend. Image screenshot from RTB coverage.

The raid on one of the drinking joints in the capital recently. Image from @upa.ppdb

Tip for organizers: It’s important for you to apply for permit or approval for any such gathering especially involving music or a gathering. I believe the latest music gig didn’t have a proper permit and of course, the attendees do trust the organizers that the event was a safe environment then. It’s important for all of us to be aware of the rules and regulations when it comes to events of this nature. The Big Jam at the end of last year was a success because they had proper approvals and permits and I felt safe attending these events.

Last year, I was offered to be a social media partner for a music gig event. The first thing I asked if he has the approval from MOHA. Otherwise I would not agree to be a partner or such. Let this a learning lesson for all that we cannot take such events very lightly. Apply to the relevant authorities and you can avoid such embarrassment and don’t put others in unnecessary danger and shame.

Guest of Honor, Hj Azhar Hj Ahmad, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Chairman of AITI (3rd from right) 

Progresif marked a new milestone in its ongoing network expansion plans with the launch of a new tower at the Telisai highway today, bringing enhanced coverage and connectivity into the area.

The new tower is part of the company’s series of network expansion plans for Telisai which will see a total of three new sites going on-air in the area to improve coverage and to strengthen the overall experience for Progresif customers.

Paul Taylor, CEO of Progresif, said that the new tower sets the stage for the company to continue delivering innovative products and services to customers that travel along the highway for work or leisure.

“We believe that communication is all about providing access. The new Telisai highway tower will help drive connectivity and coverage for our customers so that they can continue to work or enjoy their favorite websites and entertainment, including Progresif Radio.”

“The new sites reflect our commitment to constant improvement and progress which are expressed through our core values of passion, communication and innovation,” he said.

Tony Hanley, Chief Technology and Information Officer of Progresif, said that the number of sites has increased by 20 per cent with 40 new sites going live over the past year.

“We’ve invested to enhance the capacity for our customers at over 120 existing sites. By making these continued investments, we can deliver a network that is readily able to keep up with the heavy demand for communications and data use,” he said.

“We’ve also worked hard to increase our overall network capacity by 50 per cent and built sites in less well served areas, such as in Temburong. We’re planning to drive our network into the more rural areas of Brunei so that the population can have access to communication through the Progresif network,” he said.

The launch of the Telisai highway tower was officiated by the Guest of Honor, Hj Azhar Hj Ahmad, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Chairman of AITI.

Also present was Legislative Council Member YB Ramli Hj Lahit, Dr Nor Imtihan Hj Abdul Razak, in her capacity as the Acting Permanent Secretary (Administration and Finance) at the Ministry of Development, Board Member of Progresif Edzwan Zukri Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adnan, , CEO of AITI Pg Hj Mohd Zain Pg Hj Abd Razak and senior officials from Progresif.

Visit https://progresif.com/support/coverage-area/ to use the Progresif Coverage Map to learn more about our network footprint.

Progresif  announced its Open Mic School Edition competition on Progresif Radio to help inspire creativity in all schools in Brunei as part of its ongoing support in education.

The contest is open to students from all schools in Brunei from Year One to Year 13 from today until March 15. To participate, students can download the Progresif Radio app and use the Open Mic feature to record their song of choice.

More that $10,000 in Cash and Prizes will be distributed to the top three schools with the most entries from its students, and to the top three most voted entries from individual students.

School winners of the contest will be announced on April 4 while individual winners will be announced on April 23, on both radio and social media.

The program was designed as a way to promote the youth focused programming that has been created in partnership with a handful of local schools and the larger opportunity that the Progresif Radio application can provide to schools to develop and share content.

Devin Edwards, Chief of Marketing at Progresif, said “Progresif Radio was built as a platform not just to entertain, but to expand our CSR efforts by providing a platform for schools to promote their own activities, events and initiatives to radio listeners.”

“Education is one of the core pillars of our social responsibility programme so we made sure that this was represented in the Progresif Radio app. Now, schools have a greater opportunity to develop their own content and distribute to their intended audience,” he said.

Schools can use the on-demand platform as a tool for their own educational radio programmes and as a platform to share educational content to listeners.

Since its release, the Progresif Radio app has brought fresh innovation into Brunei’s radio industry by combining the best of live streaming and on-demand content on a new mobile platform.

Progresif Radio follows the global movements of internet radio and online streaming, an industry disruption which gives the listener full control of content.

Interested participants can find more information on the competition at www.progresif.com

The Progresif Radio app is available for download on both iOS and Android platforms. Follow @progresif_cellular on Instagram to stay updated on daily radio programmes.

A total of 40 participants registered to participate in LEADERS FOUNDATION CAMP 2.0 (LFC) organized by GENERASI BEKARIH last weekend Pusat Pembangunan Belia, Tanah Jambu

A total of 40 participants registered to participate in LEADERS FOUNDATION CAMP 2.0 (LFC) organized by GENERASI BEKARIH which ranges from 18 to 26 years old held at Pusat Pembangunan Belia, Tanah Jambu. The camp starts from 16th February to 18th February 2018 for 3 days 2 nights.

Last weekend marked another history of Generasi Bekarih second camp. This was an alternative ways to solve nations youth problems in unemployment. This camp will help to prepare them develop the way their mind sets as a leaders, to prepare to guide them towards the future. Other than that, the camp was another way to educate the youth in “Command Skills” or “Life Skills” to change their perspectives.

The participants of this camp consisted of youth, mostly represented from IPTs, IBTEs post graduate university students, members of Belia Masjid and youth association members who aimed to have a clearer vision or have intentions to change their way of life.

On the first day of the camp, participants were checking in and a short briefing regarding the activities was conducted on what to expect for the 3-day camp. The participants learnt and underwent physical and mental activities including ice breaker, understanding your potential, team building, value of life and more. Besides that, the camp aimed to educate the participants on the basics of leadership and to help change their ways of thinking. As we all know, rather than to enjoy their time during a long wekeend, they made it joyful at the same time their learning towards the camp.

The organizers are pleased to inform that Camp for LFC 3.0 will be commence on the 16th – 18th March on the first school holidays next month and the registrations is already been going since mid-January. For more updates, you can check us out at www.GenerasiBekarih.com or follow their Instagram @GenerasiBekarih and Facebook at Generasi Bekarih.

Click banner to register and find out more

One of Brunei’s toughest obstacle challenges, the Alpha Obstacle Challenge is a sure way to kick off your new year with a great WIN this 31st December 2017. Organized by D’Sunlit Sdn Bhd, it is a sure way to prove yourself tougher or challenge yourself. Challengers of the race will conquer all the obstacles in their paths based on their categories, ranging from 4 obstacles in a 2 km fun run to an 8 obstacle run in the 5 km challenge.

Obstacles are not that common in Brunei but has been very popular in regional countries. So it’s great to see an event management company coming up with similar theme. The idea of the Alpha Obstacle Challenge is to highlight the importance of teamwork and communication. Through the challenge, participants will learn to be a team player during the obstacle check points and this can be an important skill to have which will also uplift the team spirit.

Participants will be enjoy attractive race-kit that not only consists of the t-shirt and medal but it will also include a headband, wristband and most of all, an Under Armour coupon. There will be several activities for the runners to wind down and enjoy after the challenge. There will be a slip n slide, water balloons and food fiesta as part of the attractions.

A few more days for you to register if you are keen to be part of The Alpha Obstacle Challenge. You can register at www.thealphachallengebn.com. For those registering as a group (of 4 and above), you will to enjoy 10% of the registration as a team.

This event is supported by the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism and the event is in conjunction with the Brunei December Festival 2017. You can also follow updates on @thealphachallenge on Instagram or their Facebook Page.

You will get a 30% coupon off Under Armour footwear