The members of Brunei Speakers’ Club during the installation night at Parkview Hotel. A few members were not present.

The incoming Executive Members of Brunei Speakers’ Club during the installation ceremony. It was conducted by Stuart Lee, our Area Director for K6 (far right)

Finally after the three months into the term, Brunei Speakers’ Club had its installation night for its executive committee (Exco) for their members. This was the session where the Exco for the term 2016-2017 will be pinned (with their respective pins) on their suits to formalise their respective roles in the club.

This term Executive Committee for Brunei Speakers’ Club are:

President – Jordan Yau
Vice-President of Education – Gerald Goh
Vice-President of Membership – Rano Iskandar
Vice-President of Public Relations – Rahmat Tarsat
Secretary – Heidi Rahman
Treasurer – Aziman Nasir
Sergeant-at-Arms – Awfa Nawawi
Immediate Past President – Chris Woo

The ceremony took place at All-Seasons restaurant at Parkview Hotel and I was happy that this place is ideal for hosting corporate dinner events. Furthermore, the guests commented on the wide variety of dishes and they were tasty too 😀 So I would highly recommend if you have corporate dinner events to give this place a shot.

We were also privileged to have a visiting toastmasters guest from Kota Kinabalu, Laurence Dumling, who recently visited Brunei to deliver a workshop at Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club meeting and also at Sekolah Menengah Sayyinda Abu Bakar to inspire the students.

There were some light entertainment such as table topics on toastmasters members and a speech by Awfa on “Korean Madness”.

Incoming President Jordan Yau delivered a special roast to outgoing President Chris Woo who is now our Immediate Past President. Chris Woo also gave his remarks on his exco members (Macalister Mak, Jordan Yau, Supatra Lee, Gerald Goh, Pooja Shivanand, Aziman Nasir). Chis also awarded two BSC members – Dalton Lim (The most improved toastmasters of the Year) and Rano Iskandar (Toastmasters of the Year).

A big thank you to those who showed up last weekend especially members from OTTERS (Naj, Allen and Hazwan). Another shout out to Nur Ahmad, Donna Karen Balthazar-Lim and Derby Teo as returning members of BSC.

If any of you are interested to attend our weekly meetings, you can drop by Seameo Voctech every Tuesday 7:15pm and witness/observe how we run our meetings and be part of it too. It’s the best place to learn soft skills on communications and leadership in a supportive environment. Don’t worry, we don’t bite and I will be taking care of guests that attend our meetings. So you are in safe hands 😀

You can follow updates on their Facebook Page or their official website page and also on IG @bruneispeakersclub

Rahman Tarsat sworn in as Vice-President of Public Relations

Chris Woo, Immediate Past President pinning the incoming president, Jordan Yau and vice-versa

Around 40 people showed up last weekend. Thank you for the support.

Syatrah Roslan of BSC and Hilman Omar of UBD Toastmasters were the emcees of the night. Great job too 😀

Naj, one of a great supporter of toastmasters from OTTERS.

Dalton Lim being awarded The Most Improved Toastmasters of the Year and Rano Iskandar being awarded The Toastmasters of the Year

Dalton Lim with his family friend and mentor Shawn Cassidy Narcis

The group photo

Thank you UBD Toastmasters members for supporting our installation

The sworn in Executive Committee of BSC with Area Director, Stuart Lee

The guests having a great time last weekend

What do they have in common? They are all teachers. Thank you, Laurence (center), for touching other people’s lives

Allen Ang, Mandarin Coordinator for Brunei Conference, Shawn Cassidy Narcis, Protocol Director and District 87 Program Quality Director, Rano Iskandar as the Organizing Chair of Brunei Conference, Gerald Goh, Marketing Executive of Brunei Conference and Stuart Lee, one of the featured speakers of the event in yesterday’s press conference. Thank you so much to the local press for the coverage

Each year, the Toastmasters Semi-Annual District Conference culminates in the final round of the Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest, where the District Champion is chosen. In this exciting event, 30 English & Mandarin contestants from Brunei, East Malaysia and Indonesia deliver 5 to 7 minute humorous speeches and 3 minutes evaluation on a test speaker that are judged by a panel of experienced Toastmasters. After few months of competing in club, area and division these contestants have advanced for the chance to win this prestigious accolade.

This year, Brunei was chosen to host the event at Rizqun International Hotel from 28th to 30th October. As an integral part of the conference, educational workshops are conducted by reowned public speakers, trainers and industrial leaders. For the first time, the conference will feature 3 World Champions of Public Speaking, Dananjaya J. Hettiarachchi (Sri Lanka), Willie Jones (USA), and Darren Tay (Singapore) who deliver his semifinal speech and Past President of Toastmasters International, Muhammed Murad (Dubai).

Other featured speakers include Soon Loo, CEO of Darussalam Enterprise and a local renowned speaker Stuart Lee, an HRDF-certified trainer and consultant. There are also two Mandarin speakers – Lu Li Ming (Sandakan) and Liw Hui Peng (Bintulu) for the Mandarin session. This is bound to be the biggest toastmasters event ever in Brunei Darussalam.

Press conference with the local press

The event is jointly organized by local speakers’ clubs namely The Brunei Speakers’ Club, Brunei Advanced Speakers’ Club, Oil Town Talkers Toastmasters Club (OTTERS) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam Toastmasters Club. “The Brunei conference hopes to inspire youths to be confident communicator and leader as part of their daily lives so he or she can empower others. These are the reasons why I selected such speakers to be part of the biggest toastmasters event in Brunei.” shared by Organizing Chairman, Rano Iskandar (myself *lol*).

In line of Rano’s vision, the conference is open to members of the public. Tickets for full day educational session are available at BND120 and BND50 for contest. While tickets for tertiary/university students are priced at BND50 and BND35 for secondary students. To find out more, visit http://d87bruneiconference.com.

More than 150 members of Toastmasters International District 87, are scheduled to attend semi-annual conference to support their contestants. The event is supported by The Ministry of Home Affairs and The Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.

Text by Quratul-Ain Bandial of The Brunei Times. Residents in the capital are looking forward to the first car-free Sunday in downtown Bandar tomorrow, saying the initiative from the Municipal Department will help revive Bandar as a centre for community activity.

Dubbed ‘Bandarku Ceria’, the initiative will see the area spanning the Royal Regalia to the Waterfront a car-free zone from 6am to 10am every Sunday. Some roads from Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium to the capital will also be closed to give space for cycling and jogging routes.

The Municipal Department said the move will allow small vendors to do business, encourage more physical activity and reduce the country’s carbon footprint.

Hjh Kemariah Hassan, a restaurant manager in the capital, said she hoped car-free Sunday would attract more people to Bandar to support local businesses which typically see slow trading on the weekends.

“During the week, we usually get business from the lunch crowd from the banks and other offices located in Bandar. But after 6pm and on the weekends Bandar is so quiet,” said the 42-year-old.

“Sometimes we will get business from the foreign workers who have their day off on Sunday, but I hope this car-free move will make downtown more of a weekend destination for Bruneians.”

Through Bandarku Ceria, members of the public are encouraged to use the spaces available in the capital for recreation, cultural, family and community activities, turning Bandar Seri Begawan into an urban park that can be enjoyed by all, through activities such as walking, jogging, cycling, aerobics and sales.

“Brunei really lacks public spaces where people can gather and meet. Young people just hang out in malls and parking lots and are chased away by police when it gets late. Wouldn’t it be better to have places where we can hang out that are safe, fun and pleasant?” said Lina Abu Bakar, a local university student.

She said the popularity of places like Taman Jubli proves that Bruneians are in desperate need of more public spaces.

“It’s a very small park but since they renovated it, it’s always full of people every day exercising, spending time with their families or doing group activities. It has been the venue for a few food festivals. Why can’t Bandar be like that?”

Tomorrow’s first car-free Sunday will feature pop-up sales, a handicraft corner, street artists, exercise activities and market stalls.

Taxi driver Abdul Sukarni added that Bandarku Ceria could help promote tourism, especially since Bandar Seri Begawan was declared an the ASEAN City of Culture for 2016-2017.

“There are several tourist attractions here already that I take my customers to, such as the SOAS Mosque and Kampong Ayer, but it is not very lively. It makes Brunei seem very old-fashioned,” he said.

“If we can make this a big weekly market with lots of vendors, not just Tamu Kianggeh, it could be great for people like me working in the tourism industry.”

Finally it’s out in Brunei

iflix, the world’s leading Internet TV service for emerging markets, is thrilled to announce the launch of its revolutionary service in Brunei. From today, consumers can sign up for a 30-day free trial via iflix’s website, www.iflix.com, giving them unlimited access to thousands of the world’s best TV shows, movies and more on every device they own, with no credit card required and no obligations.

Each iflix subscription includes:

• Unlimited access to iflix’s vast library of thousands of first-run exclusive shows, award-winning TV series, blockbuster movies, popular local and regional content, children’s programs and much more;
• Access to iflix on up to 5 devices at once, including phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, TVs and other connected devices;
• The ability to download TV shows and movies to any phone, tablet or mobile device to binge-watch offline, when not connected to the Internet;
• The ability to share their iflix subscription with family or friends and watch shows on two different devices at the same time.

Mr. Robot _2.0 on iflix

Mark Britt, iflix Group Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer commented: “Over the last few months we have received exceptional demand and requests to make our service available in Brunei. We are thrilled share that from today, TV lovers in Brunei now can have unlimited access to iflix’s world class service and library of thousands of top TV shows, movies and more all for one unbelievably low price!”

With over 150 studio and distributor partnerships, iflix offers subscribers the largest selection of iconic, critically acclaimed TV series and fan-favourite films both internationally and locally available in the region. Amongst the hundreds of top shows now available on iflix are every episode of Friends, The O.C. and Gossip Girl, nine seasons of Big Bang Theory, hugely popular current shows The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, 2 Broke Girls, The 100, The Originals, Pretty Little Liars, and many more.

iflix additionally offers an incredible catalogue of kids content, including Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, Mr. Bean Animated and much more. Multi Emmy® winning US phenomena Mr. Robot, every season of multi-award winning, highly acclaimed Fargo, and this year’s smash hit The Magicians joins iflix’s growing library of exclusive, first run series, to be made available for the first time in Brunei.

Monthly retail subscriptions for one month of unlimited access to iflix will be priced at an, amazing BND 4 only. Annual subscriptions will receive a 20% discount off the monthly rate and are priced at incredible BND 38 per year. It’s way cheaper than the Netflix I pay every month.

Now available in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Brunei, iflix will continue to roll out its world-class service to key additional emerging markets in the coming months. You can follow their updates on Facebook and also on their instagram @iflixbn

The Last Ship

The newly opened Jollibee Drive Thru at Kilanas

The customary bite to officiate a Jollibee ceremony

Jollibee is picking its pace here in Brunei. More like levelling up. Already in its 29th year, Jollibee (Brunei) has not stop expanding and this morning they officially unveiled the 14th outlet and it’s also the first drive thru for Jollibee in Brunei. Not only that, it is also the first Jollibee Drive Thru in Asia (outside the Philippines). Amazing feat that Brunei is ahead in the game.

I won’t be surprised that Jollibee has become Brunei’s number one choice for fast food and this was shared by Sir Jhing Perias, Country Head of Jollibee Brunei. He said they continue to serve the locals their best meals and branching out to Kilanas area is something they have look forward to for some time now. A drive thru store will allow to serve their customer, rain or shine.

Present during the launch were His Excellency Meynardo Los Baños Montealegre, the Ambassador of the Philippines to Brunei Darussalam and Liyana Yus, Jollibee Brunei Ambassador. The drive thru has already been a success as there were many cars at the drive thru this morning itself. Thumbs up to Jollibee on their expansion and it’s always good to level up and be ahead of the game.

Sir Jhing Perias, Country Head of Jollibee Brunei, feeling thankful for the support from their loyal customers

Liyana Yus picking up her order at the Drive Thru

Quite a long queue this morning

Dr. Yuree Vajramunee will be coming to Brunei to conduct a training. Image taken from guruyuree.com

Are you into mind training, meditation, motivational speaking or even art of self-defence? I just came across a global icon known as Dr Yuree Vajramunee. Who is he? According to the press release, he is one of the selected five superhumans on the planet in terms of strength as categorised by the Discovery Channel in 2013.

He is the founder of the Vajrapan and Butthan Movement, a South Asian combat sports and system of personal development with the aim to obtain body-mind balance, will be conducting a two-day Mind Training Course.

He was in Brunei recently to familiarise himself with the country and he will be conducted a workshop in October.

His strength will be the power of the mind as we take for granted using our mind as part of everyday live and not treat “the mind” as our trusted friend.

According to Dr. Yuree in the recent interview in Borneo Bulletin, ““(Sometimes) We do certain things we should not, even while being fully aware and helpless in most cases, fail to access the correct decision, required creativity, connectivity, intelligence and so on but instead we are totally taken away by our blunt thoughts and restless mind, losing control of our physical, mental and emotional balance.”

“In a single line, this life, changing course may help us to transform like a miracle. The course itself is opened to any mentally healthy person,” he continued.

Click image to enter Facebook Page

So what will you benefit as a participant of the course? Participants will learn techniques on visualisation, correct breathing, non-toxic food habits, sound sleep, decision making, heal emotional and physical pain, deal with frustrations, build better family relationships, have better academic results and take advantage of their personal development and unleash the hidden potentials and experience a totally dynamic new life.

There will be free session on 22nd October at 5m at Hotel Badi’ah. Feel free to register but the actual course will be on 29th and 30th October from 10am to 4:30pm and it’s valued at BND 250. If you are interested, do contact 866 5890 or 898 0198 for details. If you are interested to know of him, you can click here to see his profile and list of accolades. Interesting person indeed.

Group photo with IBTE and Kia management and the Kia Optima

Kia Motors Corporation through its distributor in Brunei Darussalam, Grand Motors Sdn Bhd handed over a brand new Kia Optima to IBTE School of Energy and Engineering Central Mechanical Campus last 28 September 2016. This brand new Kia Optima will serve as a training vehicle for the students of IBTE Pusat Latihan Mekanik so they will have a better understanding of the features and the technologies of the car. By providing this vehicle, the students will also be trained and prepared for actual work in the future.

“The Kia Optima represents Kia’s thrust towards groundbreaking design and technology. With its turnover to IBTE, we are hopeful that future generations of technicians will learn more about today’s technology and be able to apply this knowledge in the pursuit of their career paths” said Mr. Frankie Ho, Grand Motors’ Managing Director during the ceremony.

Present during the handing over ceremony were Dr. Sheikh Lukman Bin Sheikh Abdul Hamid, Principal of IBTE, Mr. Steve Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation – Asia Regional Headquarters and the management of Grand Motors Sdn Bhd – Mr. Frankie Ho, Managing Director and Hj Shaiful Rizal Bin Pehin Dato Dr. Hj Ahmad, Executive.

Dr. Sheikh Lukman Bin Sheikh Abdul Hamid delivering his remarks

Mr. Steve Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation – Asia Regional Headquarters, had a short remarks before the hand over

Mr. Steve Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation – Asia Regional Headquarters (2nd from right) handing over the Kia Optima to Dr. Sheikh Lukman Bin Sheikh Abdul Hamid, Principal of IBTE (2nd from left) as Mr. Frankie Ho, Grand Motors’ Managing Director and Hj Shaiful Rizal Bin Pehin Dato Dr. Hj Ahmad, Executive looked on

Food blogger Thanis Lim enjoying the selection of Seasons Restaurant promotion Kenali Makanan Kitani

Sometime it’s always good to go to basics. When it comes to food, it’s also good to savour the traditional Brunei food that are accustomed to. Seasons Restaurant did just that by having a food promotion awareness dubbed “Kenali Makanan Kitani”.

If you are into ambuyat, then do try out Seasons KNK promotion. I’m surprised to see ikan tenggiri panggang and this shows how local the food choices are. For me, I love the daging rendang and the ayam masak merah.

The presentation of the dessert area had been given much thought. They have nice labels too such as Tarap Mousse, Calak Berlauk and Kueh Bom to name a few.

The dinner buffet, which was launched yesterday and will run until October 29, is available every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 7pm to 10pm. It is priced at $28 per adult and $16 for children below 12. Aside from that Seasons will also be offering a hi-tea buffet from today until October 30 every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 2.30pm to 5.30pm at $15 per adult and $10 per child.

RBC Dining Privilege Card Members can also enjoy a 10 per cent discount off their bill when they present their card. For enquiries and reservations, please call 2422291 or 2422292 or the RBC Hotline at 7293848.

You can also follow the Seasons Instagram page at @seasonsrestaurantbrunei for daily updates and promotions. The restaurant is located at Level 2, Centrepoint Hotel, Gadong.

My favourite dish 😀

I like this too

Ayam Masak Merah

The Ambuyat station and no, I don’t eat ambuyat.. Sad

Pg Shamhary Pg Dato Paduka Hj Mustapha, BSM Managing Director, handing over a mock key to the grand winner Masdi Wijaya Hj Md Akhir who won himself a Volkswagen Tiguan last night at The Mall

Group photo with the associates of BSM and its retailers

10 days ago, the media had the privilege to draw the 10 lucky winners for the grand draw of the Brunei Shell Marketing Co. Sdn Bhd (BSM) Win With Helix promotion and last night Masdi Wijaya Hj Md Akhir was the grand lucky winner of the new Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI.

This is the first time I believe that BSM have such a big promotion on their products and they had more than 25,000 entries from their loyal customers. Now that’s a lot of entries from a span of a few months and I believe it could have been more if every single customer submit his or her entry.

The second prize winner was Late bin Anam who himself a Tour Package for 2 person to Korea for 4 Days 3 Nights, inclusive of a 5 star hotel accommodation. The third place went to Hj Yahya bin Hj Tuah and he will have a chance to witness the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix package for 2 to Sepang in Malaysia for 4 Days 3 Nights.

Present during the Grand Draw is BSM Managing Director, Pg Shamhary Pg Dato Paduka Hj Mustapha and BSP Ethics and Compliance Manager, Daniel Elustondo and other BSM business partners, management and members of the public.

During the day, BSM had some games and activities like a roadshow to create more awareness on their products. Among them is the Racing Simulator Competition where it was the most popular attraction among the public. There was a Ferrari merchandise sale too and a colouring contest for children.

BSM would like to thank customers for their participations and loyal support in choosing Shell Helix as a preferred choice for their cars.

A packed crowd last night at The Mall

The first round of draw

Late bin Anam won himself a trip to Korea. He is from Sg Liang and he bought a Helix product and give a shot in the entry. A nice cool lad indeed.

Dk Nuraqil Nazirah Pg Md Yassin is the youngest of the lot and she was glad to be in the top 10 entries. She won herself a Macbook 😀

A playstation winner

Another consolation winner and he won himself a watch

The prize presentation for all the Top 10 winners

Guess what? 10 days ago, I actually drew his name out to be in the top 10 draw. Congratulations Masdi 😀

Deno Goh, Sinofood Express Operations Director (2nd Right) receiving the ASEAN Outstanding Business Award from Datuk Henry Sum Agong, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK), during the dinner’s gala night at the Genting Convention Centre earlier this month. Picture: Courtesy of AOBA

Sinofood Express, the exclusive franchisee of BURGER KING® restaurants in Brunei, was awarded with the ASEAN Outstanding Business Award’s “Leading Brand in Fast Food Excellence” for the Brunei market under the award’s International Category.

The ASEAN Outstanding Business Awards (AOBA) is an award under the ASEAN Retail Chains and Franchise Federation (ARFF), whereby the ARFF was initiated to serve as a platform to stimulate the economy by inciting growth of the retail-chains and franchise sectors in the ASEAN region.

Sinofood Express’ Operations Director, Goh De No, received the award on behalf of his team during the gala dinner held at the Genting International Convention Centre earlier this month.

Goh said that the award is a testament to the team’s hard work and relentless dedication towards the company in terms of trying to build the best food service company in Brunei.

“From the first day we started, our Director’s and Partners through to the top management and to all the Bruneian men and women working day in and out in our restaurants, we have been moving forward to a unified goal,” he said.

He also said that aside from running the business, the Sinofood Express team is aware that each and everyone has a chance to make a change in the Bruneian community.

Throughout the past two and a half years, the company has been able to continuously increase its contributions to non-profit organizations such as Pusat Ehsan, SMARTER and YASKA.

“This makes a big difference for us, as everyone knows they aren’t just working for themselves and their families, but their hard work will also reflect to those who are in need, which is a good motivator,” said Goh.

He stressed that the company is run based on a meritocratic system, where hard work will always be rewarded. Sinofood Express currently has 120 employees, where more than 100 of the workforce are Bruneians.

The company currently operates six Burger King restaurants and will be looking forward opening to the seventh outlet in the fourth quarter of 2016, making it one of the fastest growing Quick Service Restaurants expansion in Brunei.

Sinofood Express is currently starting its journey into food service management and training, distribution, and franchise consultancy.