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Dato Paduka Hj Alaihuddin giving his welcoming remarks

The National Road Safety Council launched their road safety ‘TIPS’ video and interactive e-book yesterday, where the council deemed that one of the effective ways to convey road safety messages is through education.

“From teachers to their students, these students are the right platform for us to convey the message — ‘Tackling road safety issues from the grassroots level”, said Dato Paduka Hj Alaihuddin Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Utama Hj Mohd Taha, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and the Chairman of the National Road Safety Council.

Dato Paduka Hj Alaihuddin was speaking at the launching ceremony of the road safety ‘TIPS’ video and interactive e-book at the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI).

The Road Safety Council emphasised that long-term measures in increasing road safety is through education.

“The launching of the video and interactive e-book was in fact directed towards the educational approach,” he said.

Screenshots of the Tips video on road safety

Screenshots of the Tips video on road safety

Khairi from PHMD Publishing

Denny from Ambuyart Animations

The National Road Safety Council’s ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, had taken the five ‘E’ approach — Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Environment and Emergency in all of its initiatives and programmes.

The video and e-book was animated, which Dato Paduka Hj Alaihuddin believed will not only attract children’s interests on road safety but will also expose them to ICT.

“It is the National Road Safety Council’s hope that this (campaign) will improve our approach towards road safety education. Teachers are also the closest individuals to the pupils, and it is hoped that they will guide their pupils in understanding the video contents. This will instil awareness of the importance of road safety in the pupils in their young age,” he added.

The TIPS videos will be distributed to all kindergartens and primary schools in the country and broadcast to the public through the nation’s state broadcaster, Radio Televisyen Brunei (RTB), in the near future.

Among the content of the video was tips on the pilot Demerit Point System.

Family institutions also play an important and effective role in increasing road safety awareness. “The video and e-book can also be used by parents and family members to observe and learn their contents,” he added.

The TIPS video and interactive e-book were jointly designed and developed by the National Road Safey Council, the Ministry of Communication, AITI, Ambuyart Animations and PHMD Publishing. Text by Rasidah HAB of The Brunei Times.

BIBD Acting Managing Director Hajah Noraini signing with Jasra Harrisons Sdn Bhd General Manager Mr Lim Eng Thai

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) through its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives today commenced its “Program Sirah Amal BIBD” in collaboration with Jasra Harrisons Sdn Bhd. This year, through this heartwarming initiative, BIBD will be visiting more homes than previous years, aiming to touch the lives of 120 families in all four districts throughout the month of Ramadhan.

The launching kicked off with a signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BIBD and Jasra. Signing on behalf of BIBD was Acting Managing Director Hajah Noraini binti Haji Sulaiman and on behalf of Jasra Harrisons Sdn Bhd was the General Manager Mr Lim Eng Thai. The signing signifies the start of cooperation between BIBD and Jasra in their commitment to help the less fortunate especially in testing times.

The event was then followed by the handover of boxes of food hampers to representatives of Greenfrog Management Services, who will be assisting BIBD and Jasra facilitating the distribution of the donations.

BIBD and Jasra together with Greenfrog today started their visits to 18 homes in the Tutong District. BIBD’s Acting Managing Director Hajah Noraini binti Haji Sulaiman, Deputy Head of Consumer Banking cum Head of CSR Hjh Nurul Akmar binti Hj Mohd Jaafar and BIBD personnels gracefully joined and shared the moment as they set out together to distribute the donations.

“Since its introduction two years ago, Sirah Amal has always been a good cause BIBD and its staff to give back to the community through their generous contributions and efforts,” said Acting Managing Director Hajah Noraini who further shared, “It is heartwarming to see our staff especially the CSR team make advance preparations to ensure that this year, the visits to all four districts run smoothly.”

Exchanging of documents after the signing ceremony

The hamper that will be given for charity

Loading the hamper into the car before heading off to Tutong

BIBD CSR has always been underscoring the values of caring for the society and will always commit to ensuring that the objectives of BIBD CSR are met and is aligned with the guidelines of Islam. It hopes the benefit of nurturing society’s needs be it the underprivileged, young entrepreneurs, environmental preservation or research and studies are achieved. The first “Program Sirah Amal BIBD” has opened a lot of hearts in 2010 and BIBD is honored to have become the pioneer in such initiative.

“Program Sirah Amal BIBD” was initiated by BIBD’s CSR team with the combined efforts and resources by generous BIBD employees through internal fund raising. “I hope through our journeys to the homes of these families, it will remind us to be thankful for what we have and be mindful of excess spending for the festive season. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to see the beauty in helping others especially during the holy month of Ramadhan,” Head of CSR Hjh Nurul Akmar explained.

BIBD, over the next few weeks through six more trips will be visiting homes in the Belait, Temburong and the Brunei-Muara districts. The families were selected through a list complied by a few NGOs. The boxes of food hampers and donations presented to the families make up of daily necessities such as food items, which will hopefully help ease their burdens during the fasting month.

Bruneians Mohd Hasnal Husna bin Ahmad, Mohd Yusoff b.Yaakob and Mohd Aisamuddin made their way into the final round of the Red Bull Monkey Run Grand Finals for the university edition qualifying in 2nd, 4th and 6th position respectively. All of three of qualified from a field of 23 male contestants and stand a good chance to win the Grand Final held in Penang, Malaysia. Two female from Brunei Darussalam, Maria Taha and Nazurah Mohd Noor also made it to the finals for the female category.

Qualifying rounds were held throughout in Malaysia, Singapore and the leg for Brunei Darussalam was held in January during Consumer Fair 9. Red Bull Monkey Run is an extreme sport with contestants scaling up and down in the challenging obstacles course. “Today is His Majesty Sultan and Yang Dipertuan’s birthday, we hope to bring the title back home and dedicate to His Majesty”, said Mohd Hasnal Husna, when asked what motivates them in today’s finals.

Good luck to you guys!!!!

Mohd Hasnal Husna Bin Ahmad – 23 years old currently studying in University of Brunei Darussalam ,Mohd.Yussof Bin Yaakub – 24 years old currently studying in University of Brunei Darussalam & Mohd Aisamuddin Bin Chamsuddin – 20 years old currently studying in Sekolah Vokasional Sultan Bolkiah.

Maria Nurul Amira Bte Taha– 20 years old currently studying in Maktab Duli Pengiran Al-Muhtadee Billah , & Nazurah Bte Mohd Noor – 18 years old currently studying in Maktab Duli Pengiran Al-Muhtadee Billah.

The Red Bull Monkey Run Uni Edition Grand Finals held on 14 and 15 July 2012 featured the top 33 qualifiers from Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia. The grand champion will drive home a Perodua Myvi and the champions, first runners-up and second runners-ups for both the male and female categories will receive RM2000, RM1500 and RM1000 respectively.

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Dialogue with The Minister of Energy. Illustration by The Brunei Times

The guest of honour with the winners of AITI Next Innovation and Multimedia Award for Sustainable ICT Industry (ANIMASI) Pro-Digital Animation Challenge and the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) Essay Writing Competition. Click image to enlarge.

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) today held a prize presentation ceremony to the winners of the first AITI Next Innovation and Multimedia Award for Sustainable ICT Industry (ANIMASI) Pro-Digital Animation Challenge and the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) Essay Writing Competition at the Indera Samudra Grand Hall, The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong.

Present at the ceremony was Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Acting Minister of Communications as the guest of honour. The ceremony was also attended by the Acting Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Communications and Acting AITI Chairman, Yang Mulia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin POKSSDP Haji Mohd Yusof, Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries from other Government Ministries, AITI’s Members of the Authority, senior government officials, representatives from the telcos, ICT industry representatives as well as principals, teachers and participating students.

The Essay Writing Competition is one of the annual activities organized by AITI to commemorate the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) which is celebrated internationally every 17th May. The essay topics were centered on this year’s WTISD theme – Women and girls in ICT. This competition was opened to local students from the primary, lower and upper secondary, as well as tertiary level of the government and private schools throughout Brunei from 17th May to 29th June 2012.

The judges of the essay writing competition observed an increase in the number of participants with over 120 entries for all categories this year with a remarkable improvement in the quality of essay submissions. In his remarks, AITI’s Chief Executive, Yang Mulia Awg Hj Yahkup bin Hj Menudin hoped that this competition would provide an avenue for students to express their views, challenge their critical thinking and argumentative skills and, most importantly, enhance their communication abilities.

I shall be posting more updates on the list of winners for this year’s competition and congratulations to the participants. It’s definitely a great initiative by AITI to run such competition.

Hj Yahkup bin Hj Menudin, Chief Executive of AITI shared his optimism in the digital media industry and hope to see the animation industry flourishing as the technology evolves, with growing demand for animators to contribute to the local contents, films, advertisements and television

Cinematicpro Services bagged the top award for ANIMASI

One of the winners for essay writing competition

PHMD also joined the competition

BruInnovEdu also one of the winners of ANIMASI

Three months after a detailed selection process, Siti Zirwatul Iradah bte Awg Adinin – a traffic policewoman at the Royal Brunei Police Force were finally chosen to represent Red Bull Brunei for the Sepang 1000km (S1K) Race.

Red Bull Malaysia had recently announced the six young men and women, Rezza Amir Ariff, Matthew Ng, Amrit Mirchandani, Taryn Lim, SITI ZIRWATUL and Andrea Tay will join the Red Bull Rookies Male and Female racing teams, setting the stage for an epic showdown at the Sepang 1000KM (S1K) Race this season where both teams will be battling for the prize of RM10,000 and determine which gender is the better racer. They will be led by anchor drivers Mark Darwin and Melissa Huang respectively.

The four were chosen from the top 16 candidates that came from Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore at the Red Bull Rookies Track Day after being judged on their lap time, poise, personality and driving skills, which was assisted by the renowned Pentagon Racing Team at the Sepang International Circuit today. In addition, their personality and character played a role in the selection of an all rounded individual.

“The Red Bull Rookies have always consistently placed well at the S1K race but this year, for the first time, we are fielding two teams – male and female, which will set the stage for a sizzling race this year. However, what is most important is the experience for them, as winning is secondary,” said Jyn Wee, Executive Director, Red Bull Malaysia.

Siti Zirwatul Iradah will be representing Brunei for Red Bull Rookies team. Congratulations!!!

The teams now comprise of 3 Malaysians, 1 Bruneian and 4 Singaporeans joining forces to secure top spots at the S1K race. Mark, Rezza and Taryn are Malaysians, while Melissa, Matthew, Amrit and Andrea hail from Singapore. Siti Zirwatul is the sole Bruneian in the team.

Team Manager of the Red Bull Rookies, Kenvin Low said, “We have searched for talents with steely determination, enduring physicality, strength of mind, and an energetic personality to be part of our multinational team. The four we have selected today have shown those specific qualities and more, proving their potential as rookie race car drivers.”

The drivers were evaluated on their basic driving and technical knowledge, proven personality and teamwork with high fitness levels. Red Bull Malaysia together with Asia Advanced Driving Academy has been working on the project since April 2012, with the aim of putting together a group of race drivers to represent the Red Bull Rookies.

The young drivers will undergo intensive training and testing to prepare them for the S1K race, which will be held on 6 – 8 December 2012. This also marks the first time in six years that the Red Bull Rookies have fielded two teams who will compete against each other and solve the age-old question of which gender is the better race car driver.

The Red Bull Rookies were formed in 2007, originally made up of passionate young women who had an interest in motorsports. Upon its success, the Red Bull Rookies team expanded its search to Singapore and Brunei to find, fund and nurture aspiring, up-and-coming driving talent by preparing them for Asia’s biggest endurance competition, the S1K race. The Red Bull Rookies will be equipped by Alpine Stars and Kenwood while the cars they race will be supported by Torco High Performance Lubricants and Motorsport Playground.

Whilst they will have much to learn, based on their performances during the gruelling selection process, this year’s S1K race will prove to be the most exciting season yet. Visit www.facebook.com/RedBullRookies for the latest news and updates.

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The Baiduri Bank Media Appreciation Night at Royal Brunei Polo & Riding Club

What an awesome night!! Baiduri Bank held their appreciation night at Royal Brunei Polo & Riding Club last Tuesday evening!! It was also a great turn out since the invitation started slightly late to accommodate those in the media who need to finish their work by evening. The theme for the night was “Bali Beach Party”.

Mr. Pierre Imhof, CEO of Baiduri Bank, hosted the local media and agencies who played an important role in spreading awareness to the public on the services provided and the accolades achieved by Baiduri Bank (Best Retail Bank from Asian Banker Magazine). He also announced that Baiduri Bank will be opening a new branch at Times Square next week.

The games created by Baiduri Bank were super fun though I didn’t participate but I had a good laugh especially the “Monkey relay race”. There was even a water rafting competition. The lucky draw prizes were pretty good too such as two night stay at The Empire Hotel and also the grand draw prize of ticket for two to Singapore.

You can follow updates on their Twitter @baiduribank or their instagram @baiduribankbrunei

The registration table for the invited guests and we got ourselves complimentary Mall Cineplex tickets.. Woohoo!!

There was even a massage corner for the guests to relax

MadMilk also turn up for the event

CEO of Baiduri Bank gave some welcoming remarks to kick off the evening

Hair Braiding competition

The media peeps enjoyed the whole evening

There was even free bowling activities for the guests

The Monkey relay race was hilarious

The water rafting competition was the final game

I think Nas (left) won a lot of prizes for his participation in all the games. Now that’s quite sporting indeed.

She won a trip to KK

She won a 2-night stay at The Empire Hotel

She won a trip for two to Singapore

But poor Aziz didn’t even manage to hit one lucky draw *lol*

Last year it was Nerds & Superheroes theme

Invitation from Energy Division, PMO

Get the opportunity to have a session with the Minister of Energy

I’m catching this in IMAX next week!!! Will it be as good as The Dark Knight? This is my most anticipated movie of the year!!

Now how will Anne Hathaway pull off as Catwoman? Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry didn’t do great job last time round.

Now I’m not sure if I’m gonna dress up or not… Hmmmm….

The guest of honour was His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik

His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik last Saturday graced the prize presentation ceremony for the “I Love Brunei Darussalam” Nationwide Competition organised by The Brunei Times.

The event took place at the Songket Ballroom of the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong.

In a welcoming speech delivered by The Brunei Times’ representative and Senior Reporter Ubaidillah Masli, he explained that the competition was opened to the public from January until March 15, 2012, to commemorate the 28th National Day celebration.

“We hoped that through this competition, we were able to provide a platform for the public to express their love and patriotism to His Majesty Sultan Hj Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, and the nation,” said Ubaidillah.

“For this year’s National Day, we felt that organising this nationwide competition would be a perfect opportunity for Bruneians and the country’s residents to return the gesture and express their love and gratitude to our Monarch.

“The participants of this competition conveyed such emotions through five different media, namely through painting, graphic design, photography, English and Malay essay writing and video,” he added.

“To give everybody a chance to participate, the categories of the competition were divided into various groups: Under-12, 13-18 years old and an open category.”

Ubaidillah Masli of The Brunei Times delivered his welcoming speech

Representatives from the government agencies were also present

Ubaidillah said that the competition backed by four exclusive sponsors, the Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA), Baiduri Bank, Setia Motors Sdn Bhd and AV Electronics Sdn Bhd received an overwhelming 676 entries and it took over one month to decide the Top 10 finalists for each category before entering into the final judging rounds.

“His Majesty’s Government recently announced its intention to establish a national policy to nurture and promote creative industries in the country. Therefore, we hope that we have been able to play our part towards this aim, through this competition,” said Ubaidillah.

The “I Love Brunei Darussalam” Nationwide Competition prize presentation ceremony started off with the recital of the Surah Al-Fatihah by Deputy State Mufti, Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Setia Raja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Hj Suhaili Hj Mohiddin.

The event proceeded with the opening remarks from The Brunei Times’ representative followed by the prize presentation ceremony.

His Royal Highness presented prizes to 11 winners of the “I Love Brunei Darussalam” competition.

The Graphics Design competition was won by Flubert Neri, who was not able to attend yesterday’s event and was represented by Maria Criselda.

The Photography Competition was won by Pg Syahreen Pg Metassan.

For the Painting Competition, the Open Category was won by Marsidi Omar, the 13 to 18 years old category by Mohd Nadhir Hj Mohamed Husaini and the Under 12 years old category by Yeo Yeo Chiew.

For the English Essay Competition, the Open Category was won by Earvin Charles Cabalquinto, the 13 to 18 years old category by Khong Yu Neng and the Under 12 years old category by Mohd Amir Putera Razzaqzharfan Hakeemuddin Hj Yacob.

For the Malay Essay Competition, the Open Category was won by Hj Shahwardy Hj Hamdan, the 13 to 18 years old category by Rifhan Naqiah Hj Erwan and the Under-12 category by Syamimi Karmila Mohd Ramlan.

Among the prizes were savings accounts worth between $1,000 and $4,000, cash prizes, return air-tickets to Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur as well as iPod Nanos.

After the prize presentation ceremony, competition winners together with members of the Board of Directors of The Brunei Times as well as sponsors of the “I Love Brunei Darussalam” Nationwide Competition joined in a group photo session with HRH.

Among the senior government officials present at the prize presentation ceremony were the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, Minister of Home Affairs, Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Othman and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Hj Halbi Hj Md Yussof.

The “I Love Brunei Darussalam” Nationwide Competition was organised by The Brunei Times and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Text courtesy of Nurhamiza Hj Roslan of The Brunei Times and images courtesy of The Brunei Times.

Visit Sin Hup Huat Co. and enjoy their “Total service” package

The Ministers (Education and Health) also showed support for The Run

More than 5,000 people congregated in the capital in various colour-coded shirts to take part in the Pusat Ehsan Charity Run or “The Run”, which was a significant milestone for Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam as a multi-category running event.

Also participating in the race and showing support to the cause was YAM Pengiran Muda Abdul Mu’min.

The chief guest of “The Run” was Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Awg Abu Bakar bin Hj Apong, Minister of Education. Also present in showing their support for the charity event were Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Adnan bin Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Mohd Yusof, Minister of Health and Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources.

The morning race, which was deemed a success, signified Pusat Ehsan’s desire and commitment to raise awareness of the inclusion of special needs people in society through a range of community-based events in the spirit of equality. In addition, such was the magnitude of the event that it attracted the involvement from all layers of society and the general community.

Before the runners were separated into a number of categories contested namely the 21km race, the 12km race, the 5km race, the Fun Run and the Special Needs category, thousands of people assembled for a warm-up around the Waterfront area.

As daylight fell, the runners prepared for the start of the race with the 21km race being the first category flagged off followed by the other categories. Within the half-hour mark, the winner and the first few runners in the 5KM category crossed the line.

Organisers had affirmed that the 5km race received favourable response among the public even though initially it was intended to be a Students’ category.

The veterans’ category also received similar interest among the public. Dato Paduka Mohd Alimin Abdul Wahab, the Acting Chairman and Senior Trustee of Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam who is also the Advisor of the Run, said that they had learnt a lot and were grateful for the participation of sponsors and partners as well as the participants.

“We have a lot to learn and since this is the first time, we would learn from this experience and improve on organising such events in the future,” he said. Speaking to the Bulletin, Dato Paduka Mohd Alimin also pointed out that major positives could be taken with the competitors showing good sportsmanship throughout the race. Dato Paduka Mohd Alimin also highlighted the essence of the running and fitness clinics, which ran consistently over the last few months to enable the participants the best possible preparation before the main race.

“We are still new to organising events such as this and we are not event organisers, we are volunteers. We can learn from this and move on. Obviously in the technical side we’ve received consultation from the BAA (Brunei Athletics Association).”

Dato Paduka Mohd Alimin said that everyone played a massive role in the cohesion of the organisation and lauded the sponsors and partners for their efforts and contributions towards realising the success of the event. Meanwhile, Raja Segaran, “The Run” Organising Chairman, said that the talent of Brunei runners was palpable and that the field is getting increasingly competitive. “You can see that there are higher standards with the number of runners we have here.”

A team of volunteers was also called into action to render any medical assistance at strategic locations throughout the routes.

“There were support groups on bicycle. The routes were categorised into zones and a group of cyclists stationed in each zone. The H E A R T Volunteers Group were made to do real-field observations of what is going on, particularly in incidents where runners require medical treatment or attention,” Dato Paduka Mohd Alimin said.

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam also played a major role as the official bank partner of the Pusat Ehsan Charity Run 2012. Some 30 employees conveyed their support through their group participation in the Corporate Category.

“It is overwhelming for me to see such support from the public. It touches me that the participants, no matter how big or small, able or disabled, young or old take part in this event in however they can. This will be a memorable event not only for Pusat Ehsan but also for the Sultanate,” Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Hjh Nurul Akmar binti Hj Md Jaafar said. Text courtesy of James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.

One of the official chip timing results. To see more, click image above.

To all runners who have not return the white timing chips, please kindly return the chips as they are needed for the next event. Please return the chips to; Warisan mata mata complex, Unit B6, 2nd Floor, Kg Mata Mata, Jalan Gadongor call 2425002

Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah and Her Royal Higness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah, HRH Prince Haji ‘Abdul Malik, HRH Princess Hjh Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah, HRH Princess Hjh Muta-Wakillah Hayatul Bolkiah, Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bolkiah and Her Royal Highness Princess Hafizah Sururul Bulqiah with the newly weds

Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha with the bride YM Pengiran Hjh Yura Halimatussa’adah Pengiran Hj Yura Perkasa

YAM Pengiran Anak Hj Abdul Nafee’ Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris

The winners of the 2nd instalment of BIBD Blessing Rewards 2 campaign held at The Mall last weekend

Ten winners were rewarded prizes as part of the second instalment of the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Blessing Rewards campaign.

The ceremony, which was held at the atrium floor of The Mall in Gadong, saw the prizes being presented by BIBD’s Head of Sales Hjh Masrurah Hj Baki.

Luminox watches were handed to Nurun Nazihah Abdullah, Hjh Siti Sara Hj Ramli, Mohammad Noraymmin Zakaria, Muhammad Hilmi Mohd Yassin, Hjh Rosni Kurus, Mohammad Rushaidi @ Mohammad Hafizul Al-Mu’Min Hj Ibrahim, Muhammad Johan Abdullah, Nohasmalina Hj Hassan, Norlinah Hj Abd Lamin and Mohammad Kasyfullah Abd Hamid.

BIBD Blessing Rewards 2 was launched on March 20 and is set to run until June 19.

The much anticipated grand draw for the campaign is scheduled for some time this month, where BIBD will be giving away a grand prize of a brand new Lexus IS300, as well as other amazing prizes such as Samsung LED Smart TV and packages of Apple products.

Customers’ draw entries are generated and entered automatically into the system upon the approval or activation of BIBD products and services, without the need for customers to fill in forms or vouchers manually.

Norhasmalina Hj Hassan was one of the recipients and she applied for a personal loan and she won herself a Luminox watch

Another winner of the Luminox watch

Another recipient where his wife won the Luminox watch and all she did was changing her payroll to BIBD

BIBD products and services eligible for entry into the draw include BBA Home Financing, Home Improvement Financing, Education Financing, BIBD Debit Card, BIBD Online, Remittance, Term Deposits, new account openings, new Perdana World Banking customers and assignment of salary to BIBD, amongst others.

Draw entries are generated and entered automatically into the system upon approval or activation of products and services, without the need for customers to fill in forms or vouchers manually.

Eligible BIBD products or services include BBA Home Financing, Home Improvement Financing, Education Financing, BIBD Debit Card, BIBD Online, Remittance, Term Deposits, new account openings, new Perdana World Banking customers and assignment of salary to BIBD, amongst others.

According to a press release issued by the bank, more than 232,000 entries were generated over the last three months, with more expected to come in throughout the course of the campaign.

The Acer X1161P projector is a portable and highly affordable projector which is suitable for home and office use. It has an ANSI Lumens of 2700 and a native SVGA of 800 x 600 with a maximum UXGA of 1,600 x 1,200. It has an expected lamp life of 5,000 hours (standard mode) and 6,000 hours (economy mode).

The price is pretty amazing at $388 only at Concepts Computer and this projector is just ideal since the London Olympics is happening soon. For more info, please visit your nearest Concepts Computer showroom or call 223 3551/2/3.

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Hjh Nurul Akmar, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, BIBD (right), with the BIBD associates participating in the Corporate Run category

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) continues to support initiatives aimed at reaching out to the wider community, following its appointment as the official bank partner for the Pusat Ehsan Charity Run 2012. Today, some 30 management and staff of BIBD converged at the BSB waterfront in the Capital to further convey their support by participating in the Corporate Category for The Run.

Dubbed in short as ‘The Run,’ the Pusat Ehsan has worked hard over the past months to raise funds to achieve its goals. Proceeds raised in this initiative will go towards the maintenance and upgrading of facilities and programmes at Pusat Ehsan.

BIBD played a part by assisting Pusat Ehsan in the collection of application forms and payment. Participants had three options for mode of payment: participants can pay over the counter, through cash deposit machine or via BIBD online. BIBD also placed drop boxes at every BIBD branch for participants to conveniently submit their application forms.

“It is overwhelming for me to see such support from the public. It touches me that the participants, no matter how big or small, able or disabled, young or old take part in this event in however way they can. This will be a memorable and meaningful event not only for Pusat Ehsan but also for the sultanate,” Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Hjh Nurul Akmar bte Hj Md Jafaar shared.

Then event also saw a group of volunteers from BIBD’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team playing roles to ensure that every part of the event runs smoothly.

The fund-raising event also saw participants from non-profit organisations such as Pusat Bahagia, SMARTER Brunei, the Paraplegic and Physically Disabled Association (PAPDA), the Centre for Children with Special Needs (KACA), the National Association of the Deaf (OKP), the Brunei Darussalam National Association of the Blind (BDNAB) and the Child Development Centre (CDC).

Themed “The Run – Where Every Step Matters”, the event aimed at making a difference to the community by giving people the opportunity to support Pusat Ehsan and greater levels of participation. Pusat Ehsan is a non-profit, non-government organisation committed to provide quality education and rehabilitation services for the physically and intellectually challenged.

Team JPMC came 2nd in the Corporate Run

Team BAG Networks came 3rd in the Corporate Run

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Budding local ICT entrepreneurs now have the opportunity to showcase their talents and pursue their business as iCentre has officially their launched fifth Ignite Business Plan Award in Kg Anggrek Desa yesterday.

The event was launched by YM Dato Paduka Awang Haji Alaihuddin bin Pehin Orang Kaya Di-Gadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Utama Haji Awang Mohammad Taha, Permanent Secretary of Minister of Communication. Also present to witness the event was Dr Lily Chan, Chief Executive Officer of NUS Enterprise.

In his welcoming speech Hui Kwok Leong, Director of iCentre, spoke of iCentre’s call for more involvement of youth in entrepreneurship and urge for student bodies in colleges and institutions to be actively engaged in entrepreneurship awareness.

“We are happy that there has been a marked increase in participation especially in the younger entrepreneurs and we hope to see an increase again this year,” he said. As an enticement for this, he further announced that the college and university category cash prize has been doubled this year.

“In line with our objectives to increase participation of our youth, it is my great pleasure to announce that the prizes for this year’s College & University Category are now doubled for 2012; with a new 1st prize of B$4,000; 2nd prize of B$2,000 and 3rd prize of B$1,000,” stated the director. Kwok Leong also mentioned that to involve more youth, iCentre will be conducting a 2-day intensive business plan bootcamp at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. They will also be having mentorships of the university students in hope that this will make a difference in the variety of ideas and quality of submissions.

He went on to say, “With these new efforts, we hope that more students will take the path that Hiro from Social Deal and Khairi from PHMD publishing have taken. That is; while they are still students in UBD they started companies that are creating impact to the society.”

YM Dato Paduka Awang Haji Alaihuddin delivered his welcoming remarks and he even spoke of instagram 😀

Stuart Kemp, CEO of Asia Inc Forum speaking to the Shavon Hon, the winner of the Business Plan Award 2011, for BruInnovEdu

Allen Shim of RTB with Lai Pei-Si, CEO of and Head of Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei

Coming into its fifth consecutive year, the Ignite Business Plan Competition, having grown bigger and better over the years and having built a community of ICT entrepreneurs in the region, is now focusing back into its roots to drive the participation of the youth.

And this year, this is done by bringing more excitement to the young and raw business talents to the world of entrepreneurial possibilities.

Shavon Hon, the winner of Ignite Business Plan Award 2011 shared her remarkable experience of being part of the competition and the grand prize winner, “Joining the Ignite Business Plan competition is a life-changing event for me, it is such a privilege and honour to be the grand winner. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to BEDB, iCentre, all the sponsors and the panel of judges for their valuable advice and support. For all the potential winners out there, just give it your best shot, you may surprise yourself on what you can achieve.”

Since its official launching five years, Ignite Business Plan Award 2012 has received a well-response with an increasing submission of business plans over the years. Last year the additional international category was introduced which sees participation from East and West Malaysia and Indonesia.

This year iCentre has added a new award dubbed the ‘Most innovative award’ to recognise potentials with the most outstanding and creative business plans.

iCentre continues its proud tradition of preparing the participants prior to finalizing their business plans before submission by providing workshops to gain insights and groom their entrepreneurial skills.

The $20,000 grand prize of Ignite Business Plan Award is the biggest prize money for a business plan competition in Brunei Darussalam. This year the award has attracted the partnership withUniversity of Brunei Darussalam and AITI as partners along with the support of Brunei Economic Development Board, Microsoft and Asia Inc Forum.

For more information, interested participants can visit ignite.icentre.biz or follow their Facebook page iCentre Brunei and Twitter iCentre_Brunei.

Ambrose Nathan withHui Kwok Leong, Director of iCentre

Two years back, our LoveFoodHateWaste team participated and we came as co-winners of the competition

The grand winner of Ignite Awards 2011

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It’s happening this Sunday and are you guys ready for the final run before Ramadhan kicks in? I won’t be running so I won’t be part of the 4,800 runners this Sunday. The event is likely to be packed with participants as well as the public who will be able to enjoy the bazaar at the Waterfront.

Pusat Ehsan extended their thanks to the partners and sponsors of the event as well as 800 volunteers who are involved in The Run.

4:00 am – 5:30 am : Bus pick up at batu satu post office to BIBD bandar
4:00 am – 5:00 am: Pre race registration for all runners Not required anymore
5:30 am: warm up for all runners
6:00 am: 21km flag off
6:15 am: 12km flag off
6:30 am: 5km flag off
6:45 am: 2km fun run flag off
7:00 am: special needs and wheelchair flag off
8:30 am: prize presentation
9:30 am: charity draw

Below are the routes for 21KM, 12KM, 5KM and 2KM. Good luck to all the participants and I heard that most of the hotels at Bandar area are fully booked.

The route for 21KM

The route for 12KM

The route for 5KM

The route for 2KM

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MASwings is collaborating with Tourism Malaysia, Sabah Tourism Board, 1Borneo Shopping Mall and three (03) other participating hotels namely Courtyard Hotel, Grand Borneo Hotel and Novotel Kota Kinabalu at 1Borneo under its FLY! STAY! SHOP! Sales Carnival.

The main purpose of this collaboration is to help fellow Bruneians to travel into Kota Kinabalu at an affordable air fares and to enjoy cheaper than normal room rates at the 03 participating hotels and simultaneously enjoying shopping discounts and chances to win attractive lucky draws offered by 1Borneo, the largest shopping mall in Kota Kinabalu City.

Through this collaboration, it will also encourage more Bruneians to use MASwings services with value-added advantages offered by the hotels when they travel on MASwings.

FLY! STAY! SHOP! promotional offer is valid from now until 30 September 2012 and it is very timely as we are approaching Ramadhan month by end of July 2012 and will celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri by end of August 2012.

Through this collaboration and promotional campaign, MASwings expect to receive an additional 10% increase in passenger numbers.

Mr. Alias Suut, Malaysia Airlines District Manager for Brunei (center) with Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) during the press conference

“So far we received good response from the Brunei market and we have registered almost 55% load factor after 4 months of operation.” said Encik Alias Suut, Malaysia Airlines District Manager for Brunei .

“MASwings is currently offering very attractive fares into Kota Kinabalu from as low as BND55 and BND65 per way excluding surcharges and taxes. In addition, MASwings has also revised its advanced purchase period from 30 days to 7 days and from 14 days to 3 days”, Alias further added.

For more information of this promotion, customers are encouraged to go into MASwings website at www.maswings.com.my. Reservations can also be made through the internet or by calling Malaysia Airlines Toll Free no : 1-300-88-3000 or Brunei Office Call Centre at 673-2224141.

The prizes for the O3 Sporting Cap Surprise 2 promotion

Fasihah Ahmad Saufi was all smiles after walking away with a new Notebook – of the comeback O3 Sporting Cap Surprise 2 promotion’s first lucky draw held at Jaya Hypermart Centrepoint Gadong yesterday. Yesterday’s draw was the first of its 7-roadshows for winning the latest iPhone, iPad2, Samsung Galaxy Note, Notebooks and LED TVs. This first lucky draw was drawn by Mr Paul Thomas, supermarket manager of Jaya Hypermart and the prize presented by Mr Ngiam, manager of Jaya Hypermart and Khai Yeo, manager of Aiking Trading, witnessed by the public crowd and the press media.

As the promotion will be on until end of this year 28 December, any O3 consumer can join once they twist open the O3 bottle cap and find either “S”, “P”, “O”, “R”, “T”, ”I”, ”N” or ”G” printed on the cap. They may then redeem the letter cap for not just one (1), but three (3) chances of winning – an instant draw, a Major Prize draw and the Grand Prize draw for the iPhone – at any of their roadshows. The roadshows are arranged on the 28th of every month during the promotion, with 28 July at Sim Kim Huat (Airport Mall), 28 August at Millimewah Department Store (Berakas) 28 September at Sim Kim Huat (Kiulap), 28 October at Sim Kim Huat (Sengkurong), 28 November at Millimewah Department Store (KB) and 28 December at Jaya Hypermart (Gadong). Instant prizes to be won include Easi-cards, KFC/Rasamas vouchers, pendrives and free O3 drinks.

The first monthly took part at Jaya Hypermart

It drew quite a crowd at the supermarket

“It’s an exciting day for Aiking to reward our loyal consumers of O3 drinks,” said Khai Yeo, while congratulating the lucky winners. O3 remains the credible choice of healthy yet tasty drink throughout Brunei because O3 Lemon Tea gives unbeatable instant refreshment with a lasting icy taste that is ultimate thirst quenching and soothing to drink, while O3 Green Tea only uses selected well-known Taiwanese premium tea leaves, which carries anti-oxidants that may help against free radicals that can contribute to cancer, heart disease and clogged arteries to name a few.

O3s are available in all major supermarkets, department stores, mini-marts and kedai runcit. For details, consumers can visit Aiking’s website, www.aiking.com, or Like O3 on Facebook, @O3GreenTnLemonT or Follow O3 on Twitter, @O3Sporting.

The draw is organized by Aiking Trading Co. Sdn Bhd and supported by Jaya Hypermart, Sim Kim Huat Department Store and Millimewah Department Stores as well as ranoadidas.com.

Fasihah picked the first monthly draw

Mr Ngiam (right), Manager of Jaya Hypermart & Mr Khai Yeo (left), Manager of Aiking presented the notebook to Fasihah

Times Square Shopping Centre will be having the Times Square Grand Final Draw to win prizes worth more than $150,000, including the semi-detached bungalow this Sunday on 8th July 2012 at 4pm at Times Square Shopping Centre Atrium. All the Lucky Draw finalists with the Daily Draw tickets are invited to come attend the Grand Final Draw, as attendance is compulsory. All finalists and representatives are required to bring along their lucky draw tickets and identity cards (IC), as proof of identity. Finalists are advised to come by 3pm on Sunday, 8th July 2012 to avoid traffic congestion.

Besides the Grand Prize, which is the semi-detached bungalow, there are also other fantastic prizes such as a Philips 42” LCD TV sponsored by T.H.A. Enterprise, cash voucher from All Seasons Restaurant, Baiduri Bank Cash Cards, Original football jerseys from Fes Retro, Excapade Sushi cash voucher, and a 2 Days 1 Night’s Stay at Times Hotel. Other prizes include sponsorships from Current Enterprise, Countrypatch Café, B.Foot, United Motors, TelBru and Ezy Printing. Over the past year, the Times Square Grand Lucky Draw campaign has garnered more than 3,000 finalists. From July 2011 until now, there has been 3 Grand Draws, where 3 brand new cars were given away. The Grand Final Draw this Sunday, 8th July 2012 will be the 4th and Grand Final Draw.

This will be the bungalow for the grand prize. Who will be the lucky winner this Sunday?

Times Square, A Place for Everyone, believes in rewarding the shoppers for their support and loyalty over the years since its establishment. To be entitled for the Draw, shoppers can simply make a purchase of any amount at any shop at Times Square and submit their filled receipts at the Lucky Draw box in Times Square. 10 Daily Draw winners will be contacted every day, and these Daily Draw winners will then be eligible to win the semi-detached bungalow.

The Grand Final Draw will see to one lucky shopper winning a brand new semi-detached bungalow. Times Square is the first mall in the country to give away a house as a Lucky Draw prize, and this year marks the 2nd semi-detached bungalow that Times Square will be giving away. For more information, please follow our Facebook Fan Page, ‘Brunei Times Square Shopping Centre ‘or call 2338208 or 2338006.

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It’s out now at Concepts Computer

Now notebooks have become so portable that it’s gonna be a tough war with tablets. Now we are living in the world of portability and it’s no surprise that Acer has come up with a new sleek notebook call the Aspire S5 Ultrabook. What’s great about the S5 is that it’s thin, light, fast with long battery life.

Though the units have been sold during the Consumer Fair 10 last weekend, today marks the official launch of the Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook distributed by Concepts Computer. This is using the 3rd generation Intel Core processor and this is very ideal for those who like to multitask and it also consume less power.

Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, was in a vibrant mood because of the powerful specs that the S5 offers and it’s already a big hit in Brunei. “Users now want everything to be light and fast and the S5 can do that within seconds. You don’t have to wait to be connected to the internet. It will be instantly connected once you switch on the S5, ” said Vincent.

Vincent Pao (right) with the management and staff of Concepts Computer holding the latest Aspire S5

Unveiling the latest Acer Aspire S5 at Concepts Computer

You may have heard of the previous model S3 Ultrabook and the S5 has a bigger improvement. It has a hidden port which is hidden and only can be revealed with the touch of the Magic Flip key. The body of the S5 is amde up of alumunium alloy too. Its weight of 1.2kg is something to be proud about and its size is only 11mm thin which makes it the thinnest and slimmest for the 13.3 inch notebook.

The current market price is now at BND 1,588 and it’s available at Concepts Computer store near you. You can call 223 3551/2/3 or 244 8102/3 for more information.

The hidden ports behind the S5 which can be revealed with a push of a button

Tiger Lim taking a close shot of the S5

The limited edition McDonald’s Coca-Cola Glass

The Coca-Cola glasses are back at McDonald’s!

This limited edition icon will be making its debut FREE with any purchase of Large McDonald’s Coca-Cola Glass Meal. Customers can choose from any one of the Twelve Large (L) McValue Meals, and a Sundae or McFlurry. Priced from B$5.05 to B$13.70.

“As a Worldwide Olympic Partner, McDonald’s brings people together to celebrate the winning spirit of the Olympic Games in our restaurants, 7 days a week,” said Dk Kemariah Pg Hj Duraman, General Manager of McDonald’s Brunei. “Apart from dining in our restaurant, consumers will also be able to enjoy the Coca-Cola Meal from the comfort of their home through our McDelivery service.” she added. Eagerly sought after by collectors around the world, six contour glass designs are available; each with an embossed pictogram depicting the sports of football, cycling, swimming, gymnastics, athletics and basketball. This promo will run from Friday, July 6th till August 2012.

Choose from a selection of lipsmacking Sundae and McFlurry to tease your taste bud. Or cool down to a Groovy Lime Sundae or McFlurry which is creamy, zesty and great satisfaction which make you come back for more.

So hurry down to McDonald’s to get your Free Coca-Cola Contour glass with every purchase of a large meal or call 2449669 for deliveries.

Quincy Hotel at Orchard

This is pretty outdated in seems of my update *lol* Anyway, it’s better late than never. It was my first time staying at Quincy Hotel and it’s located at the prime area, Orchard. Not many Bruneians are aware of this hotel back then but after my recent post on instagram, Twitter and Facebook, it has create some interests and apparently a few Bruneians have experienced their stay at Quincy Hotel. For your info, Quincy is owned by Far East Hospitality which also runs Oasia Hotel and Albert Court Village Hotel to name a few.

My stay at Quincy was pretty awesome though it was only a night stay. I realised how close it was to Orchard and I could easily walk to Far East Plaza from the hotel. There’s also complimentary cocktails from 6pm to 8pm nightly and perhaps another advantage of staying at Quincy is the complimentary minibar which is replenished daily. If I’m not mistaken, if you get the weekend package, it might inclusive with a trip to the Singapore Flyer. There’s a special promotion if you are interested to stay at Quincy and you can enjoy 15% discount. Click here to find out more.

If you want to more feedback from people with regards to Quincy, you can click here.

At the reception and lobby area of Quincy Hotel. I love the design.

The rooms are pretty good and there is no different tier for Quincy. All the rooms are the same tier.

My desk area is always messy as usual… well, you know me 😀

The presentation of the cupboard.. It’s cool that they provide umbrella

Great presentation of the amenities too

Every Saturday Quincy will organise a cupcake session for hotel guests if they are interested

Debbie and I had the chance to make one for ourselves

I did my first cupcake and it was almost a failed effort *lol*

I had the nasi goreng and it’s super spicy. The great thing about staying at Quincy is that all the meals are inclusive in the room rates. Meaning to say that breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided for the guest.

There’s also a free flow of ice-cream for in-house guests of Quincy

Marianne and Fina were fortunate enough to enjoy their stay at Quincy

There’s a pool facility for in-house guests too

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A lot of pressure for Andy Garfield playing the role of Peter Parker but he definitely suited the role as compared to Toby Maguire

Three weeks ago, my friend @superAdrianMe had a special screening under Sony and he said that the 3D IMAX was amazing at Shaw Lido Cinemas in Singapore. Last night I caught the Amazing Spider-Man in 3D at the Mall Cineplex and I was quite amazed by the action and the stunts. I had high expectations on Spider-Man anyway ever since Sam Raimi and I have to say this movie is on par with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2.

The storyline is different to that of the original movie Spider-Man and there’s no MJ (Parker’s other love interest) but instead Gwen Stacey played by the lovable Emma Stone. The build up was nicely paced and we get to see both the role of Peter Parker and Spider-Man and Andy Garfield pulled it off.

I’m quite happy with the reboot and no complaints and the critics were quited mixed though it still scored a 71% on Rottentomatoes. Both Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 scored 89% and 93% respectively. I’m pretty sure almost all movie goers would give this a watch. I was surely entertained and engrossed by the Amazing Spider-Man. Verdict: 8/10

Sarah Joseph delivered a warm hearted talk to the audience this afternoon

Sarah Joseph was truly inspirational at UBD today. In the topic of “Youth and Faith in the Modern World”, she spoke of her experiences as a young Muslim convert in the UK. She is the CEO and Editor of emel, a pioneering international Muslim lifestyle magazine. More than 400 people turned up for the event to listen to her experiences where she spoke of the speed of changes of our daily lifes and how we managed them from time to time. There was a Q&A session after her presentation.

For your info, Ms. Joseph’s lecture is part of a series of educational programmers supported by BIBD. They are committed to the nation’s education agenda and to advocating human capital development in order to achieve His Majesty the Sultan’s Vision for 2035.

She was also invited to speak at the Fajr Capital Leadership Retreat, a three-day international forum on leadership in Muslim markets at The Empire Hotel & Country Club earlier this week. Hosted by BIBD, the event brought together the Ministry of Finance, Brunei Investment Agency adn institutional investors from other Muslim countries.

Great turn out from the public and students

Check out their new membership card at DESEO

It’s happening this Saturday that DESEO is having a grand launch for its opening. The location of the second branch is at Unit 9, Block H, 1st & 2nd Floor, Abdul Razak Complex, Gadong (directly above Pastamania, same row as McDonalds).

DESEO is a one stop boutique, home decoration and gift store. It first opened at Regent Square, Kiulap in November 2008. For the past three and a half years, DESEO has made its name in the Brunei’s fashion industry. Expanding from two to four units in two years and now opening the second branch at the heart of Gadong commercial area.

It is a popular boutique which caters for different age-group and sizes. Their collection attracts different genre to shop for outfits and gifts suitable for different occasions. It is renowned for its wide varieties of clothing and accessories along with their personalized customer service.

In conjunction with the grand opening celebration, DESEO will launch their Fashion-Lifestyle Membership card. The wait is finally over as many customers have been waiting for this privilege card that is only available on specific launching dates. First 350 members will receive a limited edition gift. Customers can apply for their DESEO membership card at both branches. Existing members will have to renew for another 3 years membership.

For regular DESEO happenings and updates, visit “DESEO Boutique & Home Décor” facebook page or follow them on instagram @ultimatedeseo to view the latest collection. Any inquiries, kindly call 2233998 for more information.

Visit DESEO Gadong Grand Opening to celebrate their special occasion, enjoy some special treat, get your hands on the new membership card or just have a fun-filled weekend.

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