Click image to enter Radisson Facebook page for updates!!

 

Come down to KB this weekend for the travel fair

This time it won’t be at OGDC. It will be located at KB instead at the Dewan Bandaran in Kuala Belait. The 8th Belait Travel Fair is co-organised by Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) and Abacus Brunei and it will be held on 2nd and 3rd March 2013. This means you won’t be getting any promotions from other airlines with the exception of Royal Brunei Airlines (RB).

A press conference was held yesterday afternoon chaired by Abd Halim Hj Abd Rahman, Sales and Marketing Manager of Abacus Brunei. He said that Abacus Brunei is happy once again to work with Royal Brunei Airlines and he also thanked the supporting travel agents namely Anthony Tours, Century Travel, Freme Travel, Southern Cross Travel Agency, Darussalam Holdings and Pan Bright Travel Services will be participating in the 8th Belait Travel Fair.

Abacus Brunei will be providing 20 Abacus terminals for the six Abacus-connected travel agents during the two-day travel fair. According to Joan Lim, Head of Commercial of Royal Brunei Airlines, said that there will be fantastic prizes for those who purchased tickets during the fair. They stand a chance to win a flight to Melbourne or Hong Kong or KL.

Evelyn Ang, Sales Manager of Royal Brunei Airlines, didn’t spare much details on the fare promotion and she encouraged readers to come and visit the travel fair in KB this weekend. She did share that you can buy tickets in advance especially those not during the peak season. Another great promotional deal is the upgrade for KL, Jakarta and Bangkok sector where you just need to add $99 for a business class seat (one way only). Another great promotion from RB is the London December flight which is $1500++

According to Jamilah Abdul Halim, Director of Tourism Malaysia, there will be a few great deals on F1 packages for those F1 lovers. You can also enquire during the travel fair from travel agents (Pan Bright and Century Travel).

So peeps… Do pen down these dates 😀

Dato Jack Ting, Managing Director of Cityneon Displays and Constructions Sdn Bhd, Abd Halim Hj Abd Rahman, Sales and Marketing Manager of Abacus Brunei, Irene Soon, General Manager of Abacus Brunei, Joan Lim, Head of Commercial of Royal Brunei Airlines and Evelyn Ang, Sales Manager of Royal Brunei Airlines

Evelyn Ang, Sales Manager of Royal Brunei Airlines, tight lipped about the promotional fares and encouraged the public to visit the Belait Travel Fair

 

Click image to enter website

The Circus Firemen and Trick Ponies will entertaining the public in Brunei from 27th March to 2nd April at the Indoor Stadium. This event is brought to you by Forevershine Events, Media and Management Services and also Rakan Tiga Media.

So what can you expect from this show? Well, you will be able to witness a highly skilful comedic acrobatic action. The team is composed of Balancing, Juggling and Comedy Specialists Joshua Phillips and Idris Stanton; Teeter Totter, Hand stands and Tempo Acrobatics expert Vince van Berkel; German Wheel and Duo Trapeze Specialist Hannah Cryle;  Rola Bola and Trapeze Specialist Caz Walsh; and Aerial Ring, Trapeze and Hoops artist Kali Retallack. All members of the Circus team are from Australia.

Along the way, the organisers have brought in new partners for the event. As of late, DST is now an official partner and Kristal FM is the official radio of the event. The official hotel will be The Orchid Garden Hotel where the artistes will be staying and of course, Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) as the official airline carrier for bringing the performers from Melbourne and back. S-Team Solutions is the exclusive marketing partner and there is also support from Brunei Tourism Development Department.

The Circus Firemen performance in Australia

Forevershine Office, DST Counters (for specific dates only @ Tanjung Bunut, Yayasan, Giant, Tutong and KB), The Orchid Garden Hotel, Deejay Home Video Branches (The Mall and Abdul Razak Holdings, Tanjung Bunut, Serusop, and Times Square), Fabrica Interior (Gadong Property, Beribi, Kiarong and Kuala Belait), Fitness Zone, All Giant Branches, All Soon Lee Branches, Supa Save Mabohai Branch, Bossini (Mabohai and Kiulap) Utama Grand, and West Park at the Mall.

An added treat is the chance for viewers to win an Ipad.  There will be a lucky draw at the end of each show where a lucky viewer can a get a chance to win a 4thGeneration Ipad. Terms and conditions apply. 

For more details and bookings, please call Forevershine EMMS at 265-5208 or 879-9055,  S Teams Solutions at 234-5999 or 889-7999. You can also book online at www.forevershinebrunei.com and get updates on Facebook – Forevereshine EMMS.

 

8

 

One of the model houses at Subok. Click image to enter website

It’s always a dream for me to own a home one day. This for me is more important than perhaps getting a new car though my friends kept insisting I invest in a new car *lol* Anyway, it’s good to see another project from Rumaku Real Estate who will be launching a new upcoming unique residential development known as Impian.

Some of the pictures below are from several locations such as Kilanas, Subok, Jln Muara and Serasa. There’s an option as well if you want a complete kitchen which comes with a warranty period. In actual fact, all Impian home owners will receive a 2 year warranty period from the day the occupational permit is granted.

With such warranty, this will the first of its kind for private residential developments. This shows the high quality of the respective homes under the Impian project.

You might be discouraged by the overall price tag of residential homes in general but Rumahku will provide a better pricing structure (do contact them for more details 8722 249 or 875 3330) and the price range starts from BND 257,000. They will also be providing after sales service during the construction period right through to the end of the warranty period. Awesome!!

For your info, the Impian project will be launched on the 9th and 10th March at The Empire Hotel & Country Club from 9am to 6pm. Do check out their website www.impianbrunei.com for further details.

A model home along Jln Muara

A sample view of the family area

A sample view of the dining area

 

Stunning performances by an art troupe from China entertained the crowd at Jerudong Park Amphitheatre last week.

“Cultures of China, Festival Of Spring”, a large-scale cultural performance showcased a number of China’s highly skilled artiste delighting the crowd with songs, dances, a puppet show and other displays of unique skills.

The event was jointly organised by the People’s Republic of China Embassy in Brunei Darussalam, China Overseas Exchange Association, and Guang Xi Overseas Exchange Association and the Hockian Association, Brunei Darussalam.

Prior to the highlights of the night, the People’s Republic of China Ambassador to Brunei, His Excellency Zheng Xianglin, gave a speech.

In his speech, he he hoped that through this cultural exchange, cooperation and friendship between Brunei Darussalam and China will continue to blossom.

This was followed by a speech from The Head of Art Troupe, Feng Zuhua, who expressed his appreciation to be given the chance to perform a list of traditional Chinese performance in Brunei, especially for all celebrating Chinese New Year.

According to an official from China Embassy, 400 VIP seats for special guests and 2000 seats for the public, which was on a first-come-first-serve basis were prepared for the event.

Present at the event was Deputy Defence Minister Dato Paduka Hj Mustappha Hj Sirat and his spouse, Deputy Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Datin Hjh Adina Othman, the Chairman of HockianAssociation Brunei, Lim Han Chiong. Text courtesy of Mei Fung Lee of The Brunei Times

 

A new rising star in the making – Yursina Abdullah – has been making waves with her home-based jewellery which she started a year ago and recently Yusrina celebrated Enya Bijoux first anniversary held at Riverview Poolside. The anniversary event was to mark a milestone as well as appreciating Enya Bijoux’ customers for their support.

I love her idea on making home made jewellery and I shall be interviewing her pretty soon on her Enya Bijoux journey. Oh for those who wants to see her finished product (and they are beautifully gorgeous), just check @enyabijoux on instagram or if you don’t have instagram, then you can view her collections here :)) Sorry I couldn’t make it to your event. Images courtesy of Aiman Besar.

Yusrina Abdullah, founder of @enyabijoux (right) with her invited guests during the anniversary

 

A few more days left

In conjunction with celebrating our Brunei Darussalam’s 29th National Day 2013, they are conducting their first 2013 Instagram competition to celebrate and honour our history and heritage through means of Instagram.

Theme: Yellow & Black

Official Hash-Tag of the BRUNIKA National Day Instagram Competition: #kuninghitam2013

Prize: The Top FOUR (4) finalists will win one (1) pack of iPhone App Fridge Magnets each.

Please take note of the following rules:

1⃣ This competition is open to all local and permanent residents of Brunei Darussalam of any age and are based and living in Brunei only.

2⃣ You can submit as many photos as you like (old and new) from 21st February to 1st March 2013.

The closing date for the BRUNIKA National Day Instagram Competition: Friday 1st March 2013 at 4:00PM.

3⃣ The Top FOUR (4) Winners will be announced by BRUNIKA and will be contacted individually via their Instagram account with further instructions on how to claim their prize(s).

4⃣ Photo must NOT express any forms of profanity, sexual and/or racist elements. Image must NOT incite religious hatred and/or phrases that may be deemed inappropriate to other races.

5⃣ BRUNIKA reserves the right to reuse any photo that are submitted to the official hash tag of the BRUNIKA National Day Instagram Competition #kuninghitam2013

6⃣ BRUNIKA shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. Decisions made by the judges are final and no forms of communications will be entertained at any time during the judging of the winner.

One Love, One Community.

Image courtesy of @momoh360

Image courtesy of @tiniest_smurf

Image courtesy of @ninahasnani

Image courtesy of @raffiyy

Image courtesy of @naimamirul

The 8th Belait Travel Fair this March. Click image to check out updates on Facebook.

 

Dato Paduka Haji Awang Alaihuddin, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Communications and Hj Yahkup, Chief Executive of AITI, with the grant recipients standing behind. Congratulations!!

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) recently held a grant award ceremony for four successful recipients of the “AITI GRANT for Development of Local ICT and Digital Media Industries”.

The event took place at Seri Kerna Hall of AITI Building in Kg. Anggerek Desa and was officiated with the contract signing between Awang Haji Yahkup bin Haji Menudin, Chief Executive of AITI and all four (4) grant recipients, namely Awangku Mohd Khairi bin Pengiran Haji Metusin of PHMD Publishing Company, Tien Kai Ping of SocialBuzz Advertising, Haji Kairulazhar bin Haji Rosli of Cinematicpro Services and Haji Suhardi bin Haji Suhaimi of Media Hikmah.

This important event was witnessed by the Guest of Honor, Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Haji Awang Alaihuddin bin Pehin Orang Kaya DiGadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Utama Haji Awg Mohammad Taha, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications who is also the Chairman of AITI; Yang Mulia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yusof, Members of Authority of AITI and representatives from various stakeholders from the ICT and digital media industries.

PHMD Publishing Company was granted with B$152,000 for their “Salam Halal” project which is an enhancement of its Salam Halal Verification and Tracking System using Augmented Reality Technology.

Meanwhile, SocialBuzz Advertising was awarded with B$198,000 for their project called “The Gigland”. It is a unique project on global geo-location based online marketplace for buyers and sellers of online mini/micro services. Their product will be made available on website, mobile apps and as a Facebook application.

The third successful recipient was Cinematicpro Services with grant of B$66,640 for the business to develop and produce a 3D animation trailer for “Sam, the Inventorbot”.

Media Hikmah was the last recipient who received B$48,160 for their 3D animation trailer “The Little Warrior”.

Guests witnessing the signing ceremony for the grant recipients

Mr. Hiro of Socialbuzz Advertising receiving the grant from Hj Yakhup, Chief Executive of AITI

Media Hikmah receiving the grant from Hj Yakhup, Chief Executive of AITI

One of the grant recipients

Since its inception in 2010, AITI has, to date, awarded grant to eight local ICT businesses for development of products ranging from various ICT solutions, digital animation and e-learning, with an overall amount of B$1.2 million funded under the 9th National Development Plan. These recipients are MARS Enterprise, Crescent Sdn Bhd, John Harith Technology Sdn Bhd, Alif Technologies Sdn Bhd, BruGPS Technologies Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Indah Sejahtera Development and Services Sdn Bhd, ZimacSilicon Technologies Sdn Bhd and Ambuyart Animations Company.

According to the Chief Executive of AITI in his opening remarks, “For this round of grant application, we have expanded our scope of financial assistance to cover not only ICT but also the digital multimedia area, as we see there are also equal needs to support the development of local contents for Brunei especially in the area of creative digital multimedia.” He further added that AITI has received 21 applications and shortlisted 9 of them.  The project proposals were evaluated based on four main criteria; technical merits, commercial potential, financial resources, project plan and capacity to deliver. Further evaluation also emphasized on Brunei-Made elements of the proposed product.

AITI’s Grant was initiated to assist the local ICT companies to further develop their ICT products and encourage Research and Development activities and capabilities in producing local innovative Brunei Made products with commercial potential through Government funding.

There are four types of AITI GRANT that an applicant can apply, namely:

1. Product Development  – for developing prototypes or concept testing;
2. Product Enhancement – for improving and upgrading existing products;
3. Product Ownership – for obtaining certification and quality management systems; and
4. Product Marketing Grant – for marketing and improving existing packaging, design or labeling.

The Grant amount varies depending on the type of Grant applied and the classification of the business. Each applicant is allowed to apply for more than one Grant type for the same product within two years’ project duration.
 
I’m not sure when is the next batch for application. It could be in the later half of the year. For more details and guidelines about the AITI Grant Scheme, information is available for download at AITI’s website www.aiti.gov.bn/AITIGRANT, and for further enquiries, interested parties can contact Ms Farihah Haji Md Said or the ICT Industry Development Group at 2323232 (during office hours).

One of the previous grant recipients, BruGPS showing his progress from the grant
 

One of the most successful rising star in the past year and now he’s concentrating on his new project, Gigland
 

The Salam Halal project should be very interesting too. Can’t wait!!

 

Last Sunday, Brunei Hot Wheel lovers organised the first Die-cast exhibition and there were 14 vendors who participated in the event. It was also another great avenue to showcase the talents of Die-Cast enthusiasts. I missed the event but thanks to Hadi Iskandar and the organiser, Zulhazmi Azhan for the pictures. Let’s hope for more of these events in the near future.

One of the custom made models to commemorate Brunei Darussalam’s 29th National Day.

The organisers of Die-Cast exhibition

 

Printer development is showing no signs of slowing down in the technology-savvy Brunei market as Concepts Computers continues to introduce new models of its Epson range of all-in-one printers to compete with third-party alternatives. It unveiled the Epson L550, an all-in-one original integrated ink tank system printer, which will go on sale in the consumer and business markets in Brunei.

Amidst the influx of external ink printers on the market over the years, the shop, which distributes Epson-branded printers, is hoping the L550 printer will bring back customers that have been looking at third-party solutions.

Zul Abdul Rahman, the marketing executive at Concepts, said the L550 is Epson’s answer to years of defective third-party ink tank modifications to its printers.

“In the past, we normally discouraged the use of external ink printers because they will easily ruin the printer, but now Epson has made it safe and affordable,” he said.

Zul said manufacturers would continue to improve on printers by introducing cost-efficient solutions so that they remain relevant to the market.

For a long time, consumers have considered printer ink cartridges to be expensive, which led many to turn to third-party ink tank refill solutions.

The Epson L550 will be selling for $418, inclusive of six 70ml bottles of original ink.

Zul said the low cost of consumables $10 per bottle and with an expected print yield of 4,000 pages ensured low-cost high-volume printing.

“We believe our customers will be very happy with the $10 price tag we put on these original ink bottles,” he added.

While the industry is going paperless with the advent of digital documents and digital publishing, Zul said the printer market was still going strong in Brunei, particularly in the education sector where students were still required to produce hard copies of their project work.

“There is still strong demand here. We constantly replenish our stock of black inks as students keep coming back to buy them,” Zul said.

Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer and Zul Abdual Rahman, Marketing Executive of Concepts Computer displaying the new Epson printers

The most cost effective printer – Epson L550 – and very ideal for SMEs

Vincent Pao, Concepts general manager, said sales of Epson-branded printers from his store had been very good over the years due to the brand’s value-for-money price point.

Its previous printer, the Epson L210, the first to introduce the original ink tank system, has sold over 1,000 units in Brunei, Pao said.

The shop yesterday also launched two new Epson laser printers, the $338 AcuLaster C1700 colour laser printer for home and small office users, and the high-end $668 Aculaser CX17N for medium and large enterprises.

Replacement toners for the printers cost $98 per cartridge per colour.

With the launch of the new printers, Pao said that Epson and Concepts would be expanding its range to offer wider selections of printers to cater to schools and businesses looking to chose the most suitable model for their low-cost printing needs in Brunei.

“Epson is not only catering to the needs of everyday users but also to the needs of SMEs. This will ensure that Epson will have a high market range when it comes to choices so that customers can perfectly purchase a printer exactly to their needs,” Pao said.

“Printers that offer big savings is the key point that we are trying to share, and we hope local SMEs understand what Concepts Computer and Epson have to offer.” Text courtesy of Al-Haadi Abu Bakar of The Brunei Times.