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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 yesterday consented to receive in audience His Excellency William E. Todd, the United States Ambassador to Cambodia (2nd right) and His Excellency David L. Carden (3rd right) the United States Ambassador to ASEAN. His Excellency William E. Todd and His Excellency David L. Carden are currently in Brunei Darussalam for three days visit. Image taken from Borneo Bulletin’s website

This morning I had the privilege with the other local media in having an audience with His Excellency David L. Carden, the U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN at the US Embassy. He touched on topics such as environment, health, food security, pandemic, youth, deforestation, human trafficking, social media and basically his duty as a U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN. He has been to Brunei Darussalam on several occasions so he is no stranger to our country and his knowledge on ASEAN is very rich indeed.

For your information, the role was U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN was initiated by President Barack Obama who called for the establishment of a permanent U.S. Mission to ASEAN. In late March 2011, Ambassador David L. Carden was sworn in as the United States’ first resident Ambassador to ASEAN.

Their mission statement – the U.S. Mission to ASEAN works with ASEAN and all of its members-states to advance the development of a strong and integrated Southeast Asian community that is secure, prosperous and democratic.

Carden believes that his role will encourage the people of ASEAN to initiate and engage in healthy and constructive discussions in helping one another in the region. For instance, a Bruneian might talk on corruption or human trafficking that might be an issue in another country of ASEAN.

He recalled back the era of SARS and this can be linked back to deforestation and animal trafficking. Hence in the likelihood of new pandemic situation, U.S. Mission to ASEAN will be involved for pandemic readiness and get in touch with as many relevant experts to counter the supposedly situation.

His Excellency David L. Carden, the United States Ambassador to ASEAN, speaking to the local press this morning

His Excellency David L. Carden, the United States Ambassador to ASEAN, speaking to the local press this morning

Quratul-Ain Bandial of The Brunei Times, Aziz Idris of Borneo Bulletin, His Excellency David Carden, Delwin Keasberry of @Bruneitweet and Rano Iskandar

With Brunei being a Chair for ASEAN 2013, His Excellency said that Brunei still have issues to deal with and talk about and Brunei can be a leader on some issues. Topics such youth empowerment, energy, biodiversity and education are some that Brunei can lead on and these can be broadly communicated outside the region.

Carden also felt that his role was not purely being an Ambassador to ASEAN but also to the U.S. and it’s important that the U.S. knows what’s happening in ASEAN and vice-versa and Carden’s role is create that connectivity to the U.S as well within the ASEAN. We shouldn’t just be focusing on the issue of the South China Sea situation. There are other engaging issues such as the pandemic, deforestation or education issues.

Carden campaigned for the youth to be more engaged with ASEAN related matters because they will be the future of ASEAN and they will be more ready to be hands on with the issues concerning the region.

When asked about the recent nuclear test from North Korea, the Ambassador said that there’s no official statement from ASEAN but he is hopefully that they will. He thinks that everyone recognises the destabilising impact on the (nuclear) tests.

To share your thoughts on any issues, you can follow them on U.S. Mission to ASEAN Facebook Page and also on their twitter account @USMission2ASEAN and with Brunei chairing the ASEAN Summit this year, it will be good to see more Bruneians engaged in discussions through means of social media.

 

Reeva Steenkamp with Oscar Pistorius

This is such a shock!!! Olympian Oscar Pistorius has been an inspiration for many for being the first double amputee Olympian to participate in the Olympics and he garnered the nickname “Blade Runner”. Yesterday Pistorius was arrested and brought to court today for the fatal shooting of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. As of now, I have been tuning in CNN for updates and I’m still shocked about the incident.

The development of the stories are still unclear but it was cited that he had mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder. It was also reported that they have been previous incidents at his home too. So let’s just wait to see how the story unfolds. Condolences to the families of Reeva Steenkamp.

Our Brunei Olympian Maziah Mahusin with Pistorius during the London Olympics 2012

 

Hey peeps!! You may have been familiar with Mochi Frozen Yoghurt at the Airport Mall. Now they have a new branch which was recently opened at Kiulap (next to Chong Hock). The flavours of the week for the new outlet are Blueberry, Mango, Strawberry and Original whereas the ones at Airport Mall are Kiwi, Mango, Strawberry and Original.

So for those craving for Froyo at Mochi, you can drop by at the Kiulap branch. You can also check out their Facebook page Mochi Frozen Yoghurt and follow them on instragram @mochibrunei

Mochi Frozen Youghurt now open in Kiulap (next to the Chong Hock)

The interior inside Mochi

The machines are different to that at Airport Mall

Mochi Yoghurt House at Kiulap. Also opening soon is Each-a-Cup.