13 years and going strong. I remember the stories that Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, shared on how it all began and the history was pretty interesting too. What I am amazed is how their company is one of the most successful in the IT field.

From what I can see, Concepts Computer’s competitive edge lis on the demand driven by consumer, government spending as well as capital spending by businesses. With the right market products and innovations such as Acer, Epson (printers), Microsoft, TechOneGlobal and Timetech, it has positioned Concepts Computer as one of the IT market leaders in Brunei Darussalam.

Vincent Pao is very thankful to his customers for being supportive of Concepts Computer. Congratulations buddy on being the driving force behind Concepts Computer and keep it going :)) Sorry about the Manchester United’s recent drop of form though *lol* Images below courtesy of Concepts Computer.

Vincent Pao delivering his speech during the 13th year anniversary

The cake cutting ceremony

The door gifts for the invited guests

The mingling session with the invited guests, media and staff of Concepts Computer

The group photo of the team of Concepts Computer

Here are some of the products that made Concepts Computer the one that people sought for

Delicious, freshly made, and oh so satisfying. Double the taste. Double the enjoyment.

Be dazzled by the two patties of golden and juicy chicken housed on a perfectly tasted bun and dressed to thrill your taste buds is the Double McChicken.

Dive into two golden flakey, fish fillets and tasty cheese which is topped with tangy sauce in a lightly steamed bun. A favourite amongst others is the Double Fillet-o-Fish.

McDonald’s Brunei is bringing back the doubles favourite to satisfy your every craving. Meal prices range from B$6.00 onwards or hurry down to McDonald’s for your next scrumptious meal or call 2449669 for deliveries. Text courtesy of McDonald’s (Brunei).

McDonald’s Doubles are back!!

“Creativity amongst individual is always encouraged by McDonald’s” said Dk Kemariah Pg Hj Duraman, General Manager of McDonald’s Brunei. “Activities like art and photography will encourage them be innovative and creative, and give the local artists a chance to express their feelings through their work”.

As the main supporter of the “Spirit of the Games” Art Competition which is organised by the British High Commission in Brunei Darussalam and the Brunei Art Forum, McDonald’s Brunei will be contributing food vouchers to lucky participants who joined in the competition, whereby they can either dine in or takeaway.

McDonald’s commitment to the Olympic Movement began since 1968 and this year marks the ninth consecutive Games for McDonald’s as the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games.

The “Spirit of the Games” Art Competition is open to all citizens and residents, and is divided into three categories, Art, Photography and Sculpture. Deadline for all art submission is 15th May 2012.For more information please visitwww.bruneions.com or the British High Commission. Text courtesy of McDonald’s (Brunei).

Azimah of McDonald’s with the Art Forum poster

The caption says it all. Image taken from Soccernet.

The header that separated both sides. Image taken from Soccernet.

It wasn’t a classic but it was a good professional win for Manchester City as they have leveled on points with their better rivals Manchester United. It was quite a surprise to see MU dropping points unnecessary and we are talking of 7 points which is unlikely of Manchester United. For the past few seasons, they would finished better in the final third of the season.

So what went wrong? Was it Sir Alex’ formation and choice of players? Are the players to be blamed? Was it the Cardiff break trip that backfired before the derby match? Looking at the stats, MU didn’t muster any shots on target at all which is very rare coming from the defending champions. A win for United would have virtually handed United the title or even a draw at Etihad Stadium. So what gives??

The title race is definitely not over and Manchester City have Newcastle to play against which will be a tricky tie. MU will be hoping for the results to be in their favour. Will City win their first title since 1968 or the experience of MU will haunt City as a title pretenders? Interesting final games to watch and also for the neutrals :))

I was invited to the official launch of Butra Home Concept (BHC) launch last week. I remembered Shaun Hoon, Growth Engineer of Catalyst (under Mixmediagroup) ever spoke off creating a magazine of some sort and now his baby project was made possible. He presented the idea and the vision of BHC for the benefits of the sponsors and the readers in front of a packed audience at the Brunei Hotel.

In my opinion, this is the right track for Catalyst to launch a home, lifestyle magazine as the demand for housing is increasing especially for the young generation. For your info, the BHC magazine was made possible by Butra HeidelbergCement (or where we are familiar with the name Brunei Cement) and the magazine is also free with contents relating to home improvement and lifestyle and also future businesses that relates to home and living.

I browsed through the magazine and I’m very impressed with the layout and the content though I thought the pictures could have been sharper on some of the pages. Other that that, this magazine has the appropriate content and highly recommended for those interested in buying a home or looking for ideas.

“The project has been around for six months and it was Stuart Lee’s idea (from Butra HeidelbergCement). One of the challenging part is to get consent for taking photos of people’s houses for the magazine’s content, ” said Shaun of Catalyst. “But I’m quite fortunate that most are willing to agree for their interior to be featured in BHC. Another challenge is to get advertisers on board in the beginning.”

Shaun is thankful to Butra HeidelbergCement for entrusting Catalyst to execute the delivery of the magazine. The cement company also have worked with Mixmediagroup on previous CSR projects and the relationship between the two have soared to new heights and prompted to engage their services on new projects.

For those who wants a digital copy, you can actually download the PDF file on www.ButraHome.com :))

Shaun Hoon of Catalyst explained the objectives and vision of Butra Home Concept magazine during the launch

The invited guests at BHC launch at the Brunei Hotel last Thursday

One of the guests flicking through the home lifestyle magazine

Guest of honour Hjh Normah, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), handed the certificate to HSBC

Hjh Normah handed the certificate to Valor Property

Hjh Normah handed the certificate to MaxTrack Company

Shaun was much relieved after the launch of the magazine

Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of Butra HeidelbergCement, spoke to the media on BHC’s vision and their reason for BHC’s existence.

“We realised we (Brunei cement) is the foundation of the home. We want to get involved in building and helping customers and end users to complete their homes. We feel that there is a need to consolidate the ideas of the architects, constructors, end users and others and collaborate with each other to build a perfect home, ” said Marcelino.

“It’s exciting time now for home owners and most of them want to have nice home or stylish one and of course, a functional home. There’s also a gap that we feel the magazine will help to bridge that gap in creating a home.”

Marcelino also revealed that he doesn’t want the BHC magazine to end up with too many advertisers with lesser content especially articles on home. The content is very important to draw in more readers. As for now, BHC have 5,000 prints which is being circulated. He’s very confident that the magazine will be sustainable.

It’s pretty interesting to see a cement company launching a home lifestyle magazine and this shows how diversify Butra HeidelbergCement as they are not just focusing on producing and supplying cement. When asked, Marcelino won’t revealed just yet on their other ideas or projects for the community but there will be more coming from Butra HeidelbergCement in the near future.

Butra HeidelbergCement have worked with the Ministry of Health (on their diabetes campaign) and Ministry of Development under JASTRE (on their No Plastic Bag weekend initiative). They have also sponsored international events such as Tour de Brunei. So do look out for Butra HeidelbergCement for updates and they surely have contributed positively to the Brunei community. Two thumbs up!!

Deno Goh of The Brunei Times interviewing Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of Butra HeidelbergCement

Shaun posing with the first edition of Butra Home Concept magazine

The Brunei-Australia Association (B-AA) held the “Brustralia3: Foodie Challenge” last Sunday. The event was held at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers. Also present were representatives from Royal Brunei Airlines, Schlumberger, HRD Global Education Services, as well as members of B-AA.

Members of B-AA prepared 12 dishes, which guests of the event got to taste. The guests were then asked to vote for their favourite dish. The winner of the challenge was Thanis Lim for his Sour Plum Lamb Stew with Rice. Lim won a return air ticket to Melbourne sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

Member of the B-AA Reeda Malik said, “It’s a pretty informal thing as members just turn up and bring a dish to participate. It’s good fun and quite a number of the members are very good at cooking.”

The association has more events in the pipeline this year, which includes its annual gala dinner. The B-AA consists of Bruneians that have studied or worked in Australia and Australians who are currently in Brunei. Events such as Brustralia3 were organised to rekindle old friendships as well as providing an opportunity to make new ones. Text courtesy of Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times. Images courtesy of SocMedBN.

Thanis Lim won a return ticket to Melbourne for his popular dish sour plum lamb stew

Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers welcoming his guests to his residence

Some of the guests who showed up at Brustralia 3

Guests had the chance to try all the food that were brought for the event

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Do you know we are always busy but sometimes we never take notice of our well being? Well, another fact is that everybody ages and sometimes the ageing process depends how fast each individual ages. Bring in other factors such as unhealthy lifestyle habits, insufficient sleep, irregular meals, stress etc, these can contribute to a faster ageing process.

Hence, to rejuvenate myself, I have been consuming Zell-V tablets for the past two months and hoping for a positive result.

So why Zell-V? This is because they have a cellular therapy. It is used as complementary medicine as well as preventive medicine. So it rejuvenates the body systems to optimum working conditions and as a result allows them to work synergistically to combat premature ageing. In other words, this is anti-ageing.

Did you know that normal Western medicine generally treats the symptoms but occasionally, not the problem itself? Let’s say you have a headache, you will take aspirin or pain killers to relieve it but the underlying problem is still not addressed.

Hence the cell therapy is not about treating the disease but instead rejuvenate the system and allowing it to heal itself. Mind you, it takes a longer time to achieve results since restoration does not occur overnight.

So any improvement so far from my side? Well, my energy level has surely improved for one. I won’t say it has a “Red Bull” effect but overtime I don’t feel burnt out as I used to before. So that’s pretty cool considering the field that I’m in. I’m sure there are a few things that I might not be aware of but this one was pretty obvious.

I’ve been jogging as well and I could last 6km or more though it wasn’t my personal best. You know lah.. that I don’t work out that much before but because I’m now preparing for HSBC #walkruncycle2012. I shall be continuing my dosage of ZELL-V till the 6th month and check up with my blood cells too.

You can get them boxes that will last your for a month

This was the topic that we brought up during our dinner conversation last night while enjoying the Penang Food promotion at Goldiana Cafe at OGH (You should try it.. not bad). It was kinda nostalgic to bring back the past of the mIRC days where it was one of the main channels where strangers will chat with one another where we all think back then was “safe” and it was also the era where broadband haven’t existed yet.

I signed up for mIRC back in the year 1997 and wow, I was so addicted to it and I could spent hours in front of the screen, connecting with strangers whom later became my friends. I have to say honestly that mIRC opened doors for me in terms of my circle of friends and it expanded from there. Well, to be more specific the people that I know most from mIRC was from #JISCAFE channel.

Little did I know that the founder and the manager of #brunei channel is @BKiD who is no other than our prominent blogger @anakbrunei and there were many regulators or what we call “Ops” who will monitor the brunei channels in case any chatter would abuse or create unnecessary incidents in the said channels.

For your info, my old nicks were “slothnezz” (because I happened to love the movie se7en back then) and [HHH] because Triple H of WWF then was my favourite wrestler. Lame right if you ask me *lol* Oh yeah, most of us chatters will always request to be “voiced” where you will be given the + on your nick so you will be positioned below the “Ops” Well, it’s more like a status and privilege haha and we all fell for that.

How the channel looks like on mIRC

The familiar names of the Ops that I could remember from the top of my head are @simontemp @gatorz @D’Anarchy @BKiD @Apachez @WaRLoRD @Beowulf.

For now, I’m not too sure how active are the “Ops” or how happening the #brunei channel is as of now. @BKiD is now operating as a bot and he said it has been a while since he entered mIRC. I’ve stopped mIRC ever since I signed up for Microsoft MSN Messenger and chat with my familiar friends that I made on mIRC.

I did try to download mIRC but apparently it only works on Windows.. Or perhaps I didn’t explore further if it is also compatible with Mac. Thank you anyway to mIRC for creating new opportunities and friendship then. Now with MSN, skype, whatsapp, twitter, the interest of mIRC has faded long ago unless the new breed of youngsters continue the legacy…. which is unlikely.

This was the latest information that I received from @BKiD though it’s back dated 2007

Wanna catch four superstar icons from Malaysia – Zainal Abidin, Sheila Majid, Jamal Abdillah and Amy at KK in a few days’ time? Well, it’s just 30 minutes away (by air) and S-Team, the Brunei Sole Ticketing Agent, have created a package for the Brunei market. Further more, if you can check out their Fanpage for more details. 

The venue will be at UMS, Chancellor Hall, on the 5th May 2012. For more info, you can click on the link – http://legendary.gbs2u.com – or call 2345 999 or 2342 999 for more details.

Catch all the legendary singers in one night. Click image to see more details

Last weekend, Zainal Abidin did some voluntering work with the Beach Bunch for the Jerudong Beach Clean up.. Awesome lad 😀

Zainal Abidin was recently in Brunei to promote the Legendary Concert and also met some fans along the way. Image by Muiz Matdani.

Zainal Abidin with some Bruneian fans. Image by Muiz Matdani.

It’s pretty scary yet amusing to know that Brunei ranked the highest in terms of usage of Facebook according to the population ratio in Asia. This shows the high level of internet penetration in Brunei due to the accessibility of technology to almost all age group. Well, let’s not count baby infants. Now you can see two year olds playing with iPad or other tablets and they become their new toys as they grow up.

According to statistics by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) of the United States, 79% of Brunei can be categorised as active online this year alone. Though these numbers look promising, this also can create possible dangers on children that fall in the hands of online sexual predators.

Recently AITI organised a two-day workshop, Child Online Protection (COP), at the Rizqun International Hotel. As of now, there is no existing framework which concerns this issue and the workshop is the first step in better understanding the underlying problem that can help the community to tackle sexual online predators. The good side is that there are educational material on tackling this issue but lack of distribution of the said materials to schools.

Representative from ITU was in Brunei for the two day workshop. Carla Licciardell, an expert and moderator from the ITU, gave a quick presentation on how Child Online Protection was carried out and she was aware that Brunei has started creating awareness programme for schools.

Another expert was also brought in for the workshop. Marco Gercke – a Child Online Protection expert who is also the Director of the Cybercrime Research Institute, said that Brunei is on the right track and taking this matter seriously to the national level. He also said that it’s difficult to create a standard legislative framework because of the emergence of different platforms of social media. However, the main focus should be on COP and Brunei agencies are studying ways for the benefit of children and parents.

The Minister of Communications delivering his keynote address during the Child Online Protection workshop

The stakeholders and invited guests listening to the key note address and presentations by the speakers from ITU and Ministry of Health

The Minister of Communications said that development of the COP framework comes at the right time when we need to address the importance of safeguarding our children’s online experience and activities.

The minister also hopes to see a strong collaboration between all the stakeholders involved and come up with their own key initiatives, programmes and measures to tackle online risks for children and young people and protecting them from accessing risky contents as well as engaging in negative online behaviour.

He highlighted that have an obligation to protect our children and online safety for children must be given a priority.

Let’s hope for the COP framework to be ready and enforced in the near future. I’m not quite sure how long the process will take. AITI hosting this workshop is already a great start and hopefully the framework can help to educate both children and parents on Internet usage.

Carla Licciardell, an expert and moderator from the ITU

Dr Marwani from Ministry of Health presented her slides

Group photo with the Minister and the participants of the workshop

The committee for the COP 2-day workshop

Some of the participants during the workshop

Stay connected with your family during Family Day through bmobile

The FACESHOP Brunei expanded its presence here with the opening of its fifth branch last weekend.

The new branch at Mabohai Shopping Complex is the latest addition to complement a store in Kuala Belait and three stores in Bandar Seri Begawan situated at The Mall, Gadong, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex and Times Square in Berakas.

What’s special about this branch is that they have a new range of Club 20 that offers skincare and beauty products, catering to 20 years olds (or younger), offering everything from skincare, beauty to nail care.

Last weekend, the FACESHOP also had 25% discount on their products in conjunction with the launch of their 5th outlet.

The new outlet at Mabohai Shopping Complex

The new Club 20 range that was recently introduced

Loving the colours here

The FACESHOP had special promotions last weekend

There was also some free makeover and skin analysis

The fire affected 5 families. Image courtesy of The Brunei Times.

SWIFT action and immediate response from the Fire and Rescue department successfully managed to douse the flames of a burning house in Kg Kiarong in six minutes yesterday.

Unfortunately for tenants, the six minutes were more than enough to destroy what little they had.

On-the-scene interviews with victims and eyewitnesses say that the fire begun shortly around 4.30 yesterday afternoon. Albert, a tennant of the house for more than a year, said he was shocked to find his house in flames when he came home yesterday.

According to Albert, a Filipino national, the house was rented out to several families by the local home owner Hj Yakup Hj Ludin. A nearby neighbour, Hjh Fatimah, said she was resting quietly after Asar prayers when suddenly she heard loud noises and screams from outside.

Situated right next to the burning structure, Hjh Fatimah was alerted of the fire by her children who were fuelled by fear of the fire spreading over to their house. Click here for more details. Courtesy of Syed Rory Malai Hassan of The Brunei Times.

The fire took place late afternoon. Image courtesy of @snrpablo

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After HSBC announced its latest figures of close to 6,000 registered participation last Thursday and the moving of its closing date to April 28, there was an even larger number of enthusiastic sign-ups in the last two days at all of HSBC’s branches in the country.

With the registration for the HSBC Walk Run Cycle 2012 closed as of last Saturday, there are now altogether more than 9,000 registered sign-ups for this charity event, a record-breaking participation since the WRC’s inception, the bank said in a statement.

This is the number of participants of the Walk Run Cycle 2012

“I am in awe of the support that the Bruneian community has given for the HSBC Walk Run Cycle 2012. This indeed shows the generosity and the enthusiasm to give and be part of the largest charity event held in Brunei Darusslam. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made the enormous effort to sign up. Both our sponsors and the HSBC team are extremely excited and are busy with the necessary preparation to ensure the safety and security of all the participants in the walk, run or cycle as well as in the carnival itself,” stated Lim Boon Teck, Manager Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Brunei.

As preparations are in place, further announcement on the progress of the event will be made through the media from time to time.

HSBC Walk Run Cycle will be held at Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien (SOAS) on Saturday, 19th May 2012 at night starting at 8.00pm.

If you are wondering, I’m referring to a hotel in Singapore during my recent hotel hopping adventure. Albert Court Village Hotel is one hotel that I quite enjoy and it’s located at Little India. The rooms are spacious … Well, we were staying at club level rooms as we could enjoy extra service and amenities.

What I love about Albert Court Village Hotel is how they maintain the vintage feel and the culture of the past and yet have that modern feel atmosphere. It has 210 rooms and suites which offer modern facilities and amenities valued by today’s contemporary business and leisure traveller.

You can catch the MRT at Little India if you plan to make your journey to other places such as Orchard or Bugis and it’s walking distance too. What I enjoy also is the Trishaw Tour where you can booked from the hotel itself and you will enjoy the 20 minute ride around Little India. Sometimes I wonder where they (old men) get their energy from. They even play old school music to the delight of my ears.

The published price for the normal packages starts from $215++ and thank you to Albert Court Village Hotel, they are willing to give a 10% discount to my readers if you book online through this link [click here].

On trip advisor, it’s ranked pretty high with many votes on “Excellent” and “Very Good”. You can view all the comments on Trip Advisor by clicking here. Though it’s a bit far off from Orchard (where most Bruneians are aware of), I wouldn’t mind staying here and it’s pretty cozy and it’s good to be away from the busy life of Orchard too.

This is the logo of Albert Court Village Hotel. Apparently a few Bruneians have stayed here too

The landmark of Albert Court at the courtyard where the taxi drop off is

The nostalgia feeling at the dining area

I saw Steve Lai on appearing on Channel News Asia upon checking in. I hope to catch you on my next trip buddy :))

Another plus: They have iMacs for in-house guests at the lobby area

Alex and Jan Shim enjoying the ride on the Trishaw

Debbie Too also had fun during the ride

For club patrons, you need the room key to enter the club area

My room at Albert Court Village Hotel as I was taking my power nap

The room is pretty spacious and I would recommend you to try Albert Court Village Hotel

New shoes at Charles & Keith

New shoes at Charles & Keith

New shoes at Charles & Keith

New shoes at Charles & Keith

A great watch.. I don’t mind watching this again

It’s kinda off odd that Singapore hasn’t released Avengers yet. The blockbuster movie is set to be released in Singapore tomorrow 1st May whereas Brunei was fortunate to have a release last Thursday midnight. The sessions were already packed in Brunei since the weekend and it was tough to get tickets since many corporate companies booked the screens and this shows how much Avengers lived up to its hype.

So did the movie live up to its hype? Overall, it did.. The build up scenario is a must because we as the audience must know how the Avengers assembled in the first place. It’s not an easy task to have many individual super heroes in one movie or in this case a 150 minute movie. I’m quite impressed with the direction it took and what amazes me how both the human characters and their super hero personas have some degree of strong presence. For instance, I would enjoy the character of Bruce Banner and also Tony Stark. However, I couldn’t feel the difference for Black Widow/Nastasha Romanoff who is played by my favourite actor Scarlett Johanson and she does kick ass in the movie.

This is definitely a crowd pleaser but not as classy as X-Men: First Class which for me is the bench mark of Super Heroes movies. Well, Dark Knight is still top for me. I wonder if a cross over of X-Men and Avengers would come true. Anyway, enjoy the movie and don’t forget to vote your favourite Avenger on the poll (right hand side of my website). Verdict: 8/10

Finally I’m back in Singapore after a few months being there. This time it’s an assignment where I will be focusing more on the hotels under the Far East Organiazation. Hence, we (Debbie Too, Jan Shim and I) are hotel hopping every day to check out the facilities and the rooms and share with you guys..

Sorry for the lack of updates especially yesterday. Schedule was pretty tight on Friday and yesterday was not bad actually but I spent my time on power naps and some quick shopping errands and catching up with friends..

I won’t go far into details jus as yet on the hotel coverage. So far we visited three hotels and today will be the final hotel (Oasia Hotel) that we are gonna experience. Enjoy the pictures and the captions. By the way, these hotels have their own benefits and I do hope that you pay a visit to these said hotels as they are giving exclusive discounts to my readers. Awesome aye?

And a big thanks to Alex Chan, Management Associate, Far East Hospitality, for arranging this trip as well as taking care of us during the weekend trip.

Debbie and I had salmon scrabble at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf before taking off at Brunei International Airport

Debbie playing with her IOS game at @royalbruneiair bound for Singapore

Our first pitstop was at Landmark Village Hotel and this hotel is situated next to Raffles Hospital. Yeah, it’s a bit further out from the typical Orchard area where Bruneians love to flock. Hotel price it’s pretty reasonable and for a weekend package, it’s from $165+ and for my readers, you will get a 10% discount if you click on this image and make a reservation

Cheryl Tong, Rooms Division Manager, Landmark Village Hotel with myself, Debbie Too and Jan Shim

We had a quick pitstop at Mooi Chin hosted by Far East Organization and Landmark Village Hotel. Diana Lim (center) monitors the social media aspect of the hotels under Far East Organization. She was a former active blogger from Singapore and now her experience comes in handy.

We had this dessert which is Yam pudding of some sort. Inside it’s mashed up yam with pumpkin mixed with coconut milk. One awesome dessert that I highly recommended

We had a quick walk near by the hotel and this is apparently the narrowest road in Singapore called Haji Lane and they have many interesting shops along the stretch. Here we see how convenient it is for a mini cooper to drive here.

At the end of Haji Lane, there’s a special wall near a prawn noodle shop where you can scribble or post up graffiti without being fined or told off *lol*

I think a lot of ladies would enjoy the shops along Haji Lane as they have many lifestyle shops

So apparently this lady bought two bikes at a bike shop along Haji Lane and she managed to fit in two bikes too.

This is a popular restaurant next to the hotel and it’s highly recommended you try the chicken rice here

This is one of the best Swedish restaurant in Singapore and it’s halal too I heard.. Located along Arab Street.

Thank you Andrew (left) for hosting us lunch and bringing us around the area. It’s good to explore other parts of Singapore.

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Awesome show… More of it soon. Verdict: 8/10

A sneak preview of what’s to come for the Spark

Close to 750 volunteers turned up for the Beach Bunch’s third consecutive clean-up in conjunction with Earth Day, despite the heavy rain last Sunday morning at Jerudong Beach.

More than one billion people participated in Earth Day globally, with people of all nationalities and from different backgrounds voicing their appreciation for the planet and demanding its protection. Brunei Darussalam was no exception. Present to support the event was Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Development, and Village Head of Jerudong, Awang Haji Mohammad Rais bin Haji Ishak.

The volunteers were divided into groups and assigned to five different zones. Each zone was covered by approximately 100 volunteers, led by five Beach Bunch members and volunteers from Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College (MTSSR). The rubbish collected in each zone was dropped off at the designated collection point. An estimated 80 per cent of the volunteers were from schools and clubs from all over Brunei, including STPRI, Maktab Duli, Telisai Tutong Primary School, Seri Mulia Sarjana School, Brunei Polytechnic School, Maktab Sains, MD Crescent Club, MTSSR, PTE Tutong, International School Brunei and Jerudong International School.

A total of four truckloads of waste were collected by the volunteers during the clean-up.

Malaysian artiste Zainal Abidin, who flew over from Kuala Lumpur to join Brunei’s efforts to save the environment, was also at the clean-up to show his full support and passion for the environment.

“Today is a very special day for me, and I came to Jerudong Beach with all the volunteers from Brunei because we are having a clean-up day,” the singer told the Bulletin.

“Today is Earth Day, and I feel that a small country like Brunei is an outstanding example for the whole world with volunteers ranging from the young to the old, from the corporate and government sectors, working together to clean-up Jerudong Beach, which is at the heart of their city. This is a good example. Way to go Brunei! Everybody else, let’s follow Brunei Darussalam,” added Zainal Abidin.

The Minister of Development Pehin Dato Awg Hj Suyoi was pleased by the turnout and hopeful for more events, such as yesterday’s clean-up by the Beach Bunch, to take place in the future.

“I’m very happy with the turnout, despite the rain. It shows how committed our people are to looking after the environment,” the minister told the Bulletin. “We need to do it (clean-up) from time to time, and not only that, but I hope that people will stop littering once we have cleaned up our beaches. Everyone has a role to play in helping to keep the environment clean. Today’s turnout is very encouraging and we hope we can have more clean-ups like this and we hope more people will turn up.

“We hope more schools will be involved. Seeing all the students participating in today’s clean-up is a good sign,” he remarked.

“We have done clean-ups elsewhere and we hope other beaches will be treated the same way. We see rubbish being thrown everywhere at all the beaches, so we hope an event like this will not only preserve our beaches, but help instil awareness among our people as well. That is the idea, and I thank the Beach Bunch for taking the initiative in this matter.” Text courtesy of Jake Ten of Borneo Bulletin.

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Borneo Villas is an exciting and unique project undertaken in Sungai Liang. After its launch on 24th March 2012, the Borneo Villas has had an overwhelming response from the public with the complete booking of Phase One and partial booking of Phase Two. The Borneo Villas website, www.borneovillas.info, has also had over 50 000 views in the period of these three weeks.

Rumahku Real Estate is proud to announce that it will be opening Phase Two for bookings to investors and home-owners at a Borneo Villas Expo on the 28th and 29th April at the Empire hotel & Country Club from 10am to 7pm. This expo will present a great opportunity for people who reside in Bandar to take a look at the Borneo Villa as a future residence or investment.

For the potential home-owners, Borneo Villas is strategically positioned between Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait. Young executives will have a great chance to settle down in a home close to work and other amenities.

For the prospective investors, they can take advantage of the Oil & Gas industry. This industry is currently looking for a large number of properties within Mukim Liang which offer clean and safe environments to fulfill their employee housing requirements. A Borneo Villa will yield positive rental returns for these investors. The Borneo Villas project is one of the largest private developments in Mukim Liang, some 37 acres. This project has large freehold plots with high quality housing, as well as a very competitive pricing structure.

The coming expo at the Empire Hotel & Country Club offers the best opportunity to save thousands of dollars when purchasing a Borneo Villa. There will also be other great expo deals on offer over the weekend. In order to secure these great deals you will have to register yourselves with Rumahku on the day at expo. Rumahku Real Estate would like to take this time to say thank you to all the home-owners that have booked a Borneo Villa and to everybody that has been involved with this project. Thank you.

For more information, visit www.borneovillas.info or contact Yusuf Flynn on +673 875 3330

Click image to group page of Facebook

Click image to group page of Facebook

Click image to group page of Facebook

Well, you can try tomorrow morning and who knows you might get the bibs 😀

Ok, yesterday I really had trouble registering for HSBC’s Walk Run Cycle 2012 (#walkruncycle2012) as the registration is almost at its maximum capacity. I was driving to two HSBC branches but with a little luck, I went to one where I managed to squeeze in for my own registration *lol*

Yes, the closing date was supposedly in early May but who would have expected that the numbers to be escalating like no one’s business. As of now, #walkruncycle2012 have reached almost or probably over 6,000 participants. This is perhaps the highest I’ve seen by any organisation in terms of numbers in Brunei.

I did receive a press release from HSBC this evening stating that individuals who are still interested in supporting the HSBC Walk Run Cycle charity event, you can submit the registration form to any HSBC branch before the NEW CLOSING DATE 28th April 2012 (not 5th May 2012 as previously stated).

Individuals who come dressed up in costumes will stand a chance to win the latest iPad, while families who dress up in costumes will stand a chance of winning an exclusive hamper.

Those who are not participating in the HSBC Walk Run Cycle event will still get to enjoy the night carnival with stall games, bouncers and many more exciting activities.

Click banner to find out more

Click image to enter website and start shopping

A sneak preview of what’s to come for the Spark

Wanna catch four superstar icons from Malaysia – Zainal Abidin, Sheila Majid, Jamal Abdillah and Amy at KK in one weeks’ time? Well, it’s just 30 minutes away (by air) and S-Team, the Brunei Sole Ticketing Agent, have created a package for the Brunei market. Further more, if you happen to “like” this Fanpage, the organiser will be giving away two tickets to two lucky winner and it will be announced this coming Monday.

The venue will be at UMS, Chancellor Hall, on the 5th May 2012. For more info, you can click on the link – http://legendary.gbs2u.com – or call 2345 999 or 2342 999 for more details.

Catch all the legendary singers in one night. Click image to see more details

Last weekend, Zainal Abidin did some voluntering work with the Beach Bunch for the Jerudong Beach Clean up.. Awesome lad 😀

So I’ve heard so much about Boracay which is one of the best beaches in the world!!!! Did you know that it is voted as one of the world’s best beach by the Sun Herald, Australia. It’s a good getaway island located in Aklan provence, 345km south of Manila. It is accessible by air from Manila through two principal gateways: Caticlan Airport or Kalibo Airport.

Reading from the articles, there are tons of things you can do at Boracay Island. Of course, some of the things you can do are diving, snorkeling and windsurfing. You can also sail around the island or kayaking, paddle boat, speed boating and many more.

It’s a norm that most travelers love to lie under the sun or under the shade of coconut trees. The sunset is something to be amazed of from the view of the beach. And when the night hits, there will be more exciting activities in store for tourists.

Now doesn’t the beach look awesome??

You can get massages on the beach too

There’s also under water activity

Another great view of the beach… Don’t you just want to relax here?

Lots of tourists on the beach

Wanna do parasailing?

Boracay Beach also known for its seafood

There’s a huge chance that I will be flying over there to feel the “Boracay Experience” so that would be an excellent coverage for my readers. I’m pretty sure a few Bruneians have ventured here after hearing rave reviews of the island.. Forget Bali, Kosamoi, Pulau Redang for the moment.. Boracay is the in-thing in terms of beach experience.

So the question is how do you get there? Easy peasy… Now Anthony Tours have launched a special package where you can go to Boracay for a 4 days 3 nights holiday package (31st May to 3rd June) and this is considered a long weekend because of the Army Day in Brunei.

The package is as low as BND 999 and you will be catching two flights (RBA and Cebu Pacific) and it includes Hotel Twin Share room only, return transfer Airport-Hotel. You can book online or call Anthony Tours 222 2666, 222 8668 or 222 7965.

Check out the great deal on

The Face Shop is finally opened at Mabohai

DST yesterday announced its first Instagram Challenge where contestants will stand a chance to win Samsung Galaxy Note, Professional Photograph Accessories, an IPOD Nano and more attractive prizes. The Instagram Challenge, is one of the many exciting activities organised by DST to celebrate DST’s 17th Anniversary with the public.DST has partnered up with BRUNIKA, Brunei’s official Instagram network association, to run the challenge through the popular social media platform Instagram, a popular photo-sharing site in Brunei and in the world.

The theme of the challenge is ‘The Future. Now.’ where photos submitted must capture a world of possibilities and progressiveness for the future. It is not limited to photos of technology, allowing for photos such as scenery, human relationships and emotion.

The Instagram challenge is open to two categories. The first category is for DSLR photography and second category is for mobile phone photography. All photographs will be uploaded to Instagram linked to the hashtag communities #dst_thefuturenow_dslr and #brunika for DSLR photography, and #dst_thefuturenow and #brunika for mobile phone photography.

Melina Jaini, Assistant Manager of DST’s Group Corporate Communications said, “We have decided to run two categories because we would like to include as much as possible the Brunei population in our activities. We would also like to recognize the diversity of photography from two popular platforms, DSLR and mobile. At the same time, we hope the competition will create greater awareness for DST celebrating 17 years of our company’s development.”

The challenge is set to close on two different dates depending on category. For mobile phone photography, the closing date will be on Friday 20 May 2012, while for the DSLR category, the closing date will be on Friday 20 July 2012. Photo entries per participants are unlimited and all original photos must be e-mailed to BRUNIKA upon submission. To show your talent and creativity, visit simpur.net.bn/instagram or find BRUNIKA on instagram for more details.

Are you ready for this challenge?

I fell in love with this move especially the final third. It’s something refreshing, unique, daring too and not many director or producer would take the risk to produce this masterpiece. It’s really hard to sum up this movie as a whole and I could go on and on and on because there are many talking points that I really wanted to share without spoiling the moments.

This is definitely not for those who can’t handle horror movies or let alone watching alone which one of my friends did a few nights ago *lol* (and my friend survived the whole ordeal by the way). There are still some minor questions that made me wonder but it really didn’t bother me in terms of influencing my level of entertainment of this horror genre.

If you love horror flicks and craving for something that’s out of the ordinary, this movie has the whole package. I know not all would agree with my rating but this is one movie that I truly enjoy. I also love the ending (and again not many would agree with me) because it’s unique in its way. Solid stuff. Verdict: 9/10.

The Nikon WalkAbout or the outing will take place on Friday 27 April 2012 at Kampung Ayer. This outing is also co-organising by GemilangFoto. Meeting point will be at The Waterfront at 8am. All NikonClub members are advised to wear “I AM NIKON” t-shirts. Those who haven’t got it, just wear black t-shirt. Members who participated in this outing would get the chances their photos to be featured on NikonClub website and can win attracted prizes from Nikon if their photos been selected as the best pictures overall.

Secondly, Nikon will be organizing the Nikon Basic Photo 1 Workshop on Sunday 29 April 2012 at SEAMEO Voctech, Jalan Pasar Gadong. Registration fee is only at B$20.00, refreshments and lunch is included. “I AM NIKON” t-shirt and Nikon Guidebook will also be given only to registered participants. To register for this workshop, please go to NikonClub website (http://www.nikonclub.com.my/pages/EventDetails.aspx?id=131) And deadline is on Friday 27 April 2012 at 12noon. Make sure you register as NikonClub members first, before you register for this workshop. To register as member, please go to this link.

AirAsia AllStars celebrated Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia Group recently at the AirAsia RedFort. Well, technically it wasn’t his birthday but it was a surprise advance celebration for Tony.

Below are pictures of Tony’s surprise and the pictures below are courtesy of www.facebook.com/AirAsia

Tan Sri Tony himself being surprised at AirAsia RedFort

Tony giving a speech during the celebration

Happy birthday Tony 😀

Click image to find out more

AIRASIA is giving you a chance to escape from your daily routine and embark on an exciting holiday to China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan or Australia during the upcoming school holidays with its exclusive school holiday deals.

Guests can take this opportunity to grab AirAsia’s exclusive school holiday deals with affordable fares from as low as RM349 (about $142) one-way all-in to Taiwan (Taipei) and RM 389 (about $158) one-way all-in to China (Tianjin, Chengdu, Hangzhou) from Kuala Lumpur.

Other destinations that are available on offer from Kuala Lumpur include Korea (Seoul) from as low as RM439 (about $178) one-way all-in and Japan (Tokyo, Osaka) from as low as RM519 (about $211) one way all-in. Guests also have the option of a trip down under to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Gold Coast) from as low as RM459 (about $187) one way all-in

Click image to find out more

CEO of AirAsia X Azran Osman-Rani said, “Spending quality time is essential to foster and maintain close relationships with your family members. What better way to spend your school holidays than with your family, enjoying quality time while discovering new places and experiencing the wonders of different cultures together.”

“To enjoy more savings during the holiday season, guests can opt to pre-book their meals, baggage, in flight entertainment and comfort kit online to ensure a more comfortable journey,” concluded Azran.

AirAsia keeps abreast with the social media community via their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Guests are able to receive real-time updates on latest promotions and interact with AirAsia via facebook.com/AirAsia and twitter.com/AirAsia.

Customers can also earn points with BIG, AirAsia’s Loyalty Programme when they purchase flight tickets and travel packages. Sign up now at tune2big.com to redeem BIG points for free flights with AirAsia.

The exclusive school holiday deals are available at www.airasia.com from April 23 to 29 with a travel period validity between June 1 to August 10. Flights and fares are subject to availability and terms and conditions apply.

Last weekend, HSBC featured its ‘model house’ for one hour outside The Mall in Gadong which attracted scores of visitors in an event aimed at creating awareness of its latest home loan promotion.

Gerald Sim, HSBC’s Communication Manager told the Sunday Borneo Bulletin that the gimmick they featured for an hour was aimed at raising awareness of the bank’s latest home loan promotion which among others offers rewards such as exclusive welcome gifts, special interest rates, exclusive subsidies and cash rewards for any signups. “This is something new and different” he said, adding that the public can expect more “gimmicks” of this kind in the following weeks aimed at creating awareness of HSBC’s products and services and in rewarding their customers as well.

At the model house from 7-8pm last night, anybody spotted wearing red shirts was also given a chance for a lucky dip which offered prizes such as HSBC Merchandise, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf vouchers and movie tickets. Text courtesy of Hakim Hayat of Borneo Bulletin.

And guess what.. That weekend, I became the first candidate to be showcased inside the HSBC Box and thank for the companion Rafhana

The guys from HSBC were holding this call sign for the eyes of the public

We played this game but didn’t last long

Yuniza aka Baby bumped into me and she was shocked haha

I also did some cleaning inside the box

We pretended that we need help within that hour

Some of my fans were there to support.. Awesome!!!

And they managed to be in the box as well

We wrote this message and one pretty lady came and bought us Fun Donuts.. Thank you a lot 😀

Eahui was also shocked to be see in the box

While training for #walkruncycle2012, he also dropped by to support.. Awesome lad 😀

Felmen was one of the pass byers that night

Vouchers were given out to those wearing red

Group photo with the Deputy CEO of HSBC and his family

For the third year running B-AA presents Brustralia3 – Foodie Event. Participants can register a dish (With Bruneian, Australian or a Bruneian/Australian fusion of flavours).

Everyone present will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite dish and the most voted dishes will be awarded prizes.

The event is open to all, so those who are currently not a member or B -AA are welcome to participate and also welcome to join the Association. This will be yet another informal get together for all Bruneians that have studied or worked in Australia and Australians living in Brunei. The event is intended to rekindle old friendships and provide opportunities to make new acquaintances while tantalising your taste buds.

Date: Sunday 29 April
Time: 3.00pm-6.00pm
Place: The Australian High Commission Residence
No 11, Spg 501
Kg Pelambarian
Kota Batu

We look forward to developing strong attendance numbers for events this year. Readers are encouraged to submit their expression of interest and registration of their dish to: enquiries@b-aaa.org

Should you require further information on this event please contact Shaikh Fadilah on email: jack191@gmail.com

It’s happening this Sunday

B-AAA is changing to B-AA. The Brunei Australia Alumni Association is currently in the process of changing its name to the “Brunei-Australia Association” or B-AA. This change is being made with the objective of including as many people with ties to Australia, whether through education, business, or family, both Bruneians and Australians. With this, we hope to increase our membership numbers further.

Apart from the Brustralia event, the B-AA has a few other events lined up for the year including a fashion show and gala dinner.

For those wishing to join, the joining fee for the B-AA is B$30.00 per annum and registration can be done either online at the association’s website,http://www.b-aaa.org or during the Brustralia 3 event this coming Sunday.

We hope that our media friends will be able to attend to event as well and join in the foodie fun!

KFC Airport Mall was the big winner for the National Champ Challenge which happens annually. Around 12 branches of KFC Brunei competed and only one will be chosen the winner. In a way, this competition will help to boost their working spirit and motivation at KFC.

Here are some of the winners in their respective categories:

KFC Airport Mall – “Best Overall”
KFC Yayasan – “Best Champ Cheer”
KFC Berakas – Least Wastage
Alimin Alim – Fastest Cook
Siti Norsamiah Abdullah – Most Accurate Cashier

Best Cashier – Nurzafirah Jakaria and Siti Nadhirah Osman
Best Supply Base – Fathiah Naqibah Bollasan and Jayon Mandi
Mohd Azahar Hj Salleh and Mohd Radzwan Sapar – Best Supply Base
Warlito Helaga Jr and Marvelous Manicdao – Best Manager
The winner of the National Champs Challenge will represent KFC Brunei in the upcoming Regional Champ Challenge in Singapore in October.

Del Goh, General Manager of KFC Brunei (2nd from left) with the winners from KFC Airport Mall. Image courtesy of Vince Hong.

Have you tried Greenfields UHT Milk? It comes from pure-bred Holstein cows imported from Australia. Their finest cows receive a healthy diet of superior corn kernels, grains and special Alfafa grass that contain high protein and fibre.

Their Full Cream Milk, Low Fat and Skimmed milk are produced from 100% fresh milk. Greenfields is distributed by Ying Bee Company in Brunei and they are committed to provide high quality fresh milk to the Bruneian market at an affordable price. Greenfields is available in all major supermarkets and retail stores.

For a sample shot, you can try at SupSave Mabohai from 27th to 29th April from 2pm to 6pm.

Sample shots at SupaSave Mabohai, 27th to 29th April

Sample shots at Milimewah Lambak, 26th to 29th April

Catch the new B-Class at Gadong showroom

Price wise this is still a pretty affordable. The new Mercedes-Benz B-Class meets and exceeds customers seeking for premium quality and this is also good for a family car too.

* New standard and Dual Clutch transmission for all variants
* Attractive new pricing with class leading safety features as standard
* Combined fuel consumption as low as 6.2L/per 100 kilometres

You can check out the B200 in display now at Jati Transport showroom. It has a new four-cylinder petrol engine featuring a direct petrol injection and a turbocharger that produces an output of 156 horsepower and new assistance systems, the front-wheel-drive car also rings in a new technological era for compact cars from Mercedes-Benz.

Perhaps one of the best features is the Collision Prevention Assist which is pretty technical but this is a great warning system for drivers to be alert of possible obstacles on the road which the help of Brake Assist for a precise possible braking response.

What I also enjoyed with the B 200 is the Active Parking Assist. So let’s say there’s a space for parallel parking, the B 200 will automatically parked by itself without you controlling it. We did a quick test drive last weekend and I was quite impressed by it. And this is only done by a press of a button. Awesome!!

The price like I said it’s pretty competitive and affordable. Jati Transport also offers attractive finance and you could have a chance to win a new SLK AMG with BND 120,000 with a purchase of any new Mercedes-Benz passenger car, Vito or Viano.

Indonesia, for the first time, hosted the most exciting and interactive arts festival in Southeast Asia; the Marketplace of Creative Arts, on the 14th – 15th April 2012. The two-day arts festival will feature international artistes from more than 13 countries around the ASEAN region who will showcase their talents and creativity that have made them trail-blazers in their own right.

The 4th Marketplace with the theme ‘Design Nation: Carving Creative Spaces’ was held at the Cihampelas Walk, Bandung Indonesia and jointly organised by the WIEF Foundation and the Bandung Creative City Forum (BCCF). The event was graced by Yth Ibu Mari Pangestu, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia.

“By hosting the Marketplace of Creative Arts in Bandung, I hope it will soon become a center of creative talent, a platform for young minds to share ideas and experiences and position it as a must attend event for all investors and funding of the arts” said Yth Ibu Mari Pangestu, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia.

“By hosting the Marketplace in Bandung we are building a platform to bridge the artist community from around the region, promote youth on the world stage and to use the arts as a tool for community development.” said YBhg Tun Musa Hitam – Chairman, WIEF Foundation. This year’s Marketplace will have art exhibits, performances, film screenings, creative business forums, graffiti art, contests, and other exciting activities for artistes, visitors and the general public alike.

Over 40 talented artists and presenters will be performing in CiWalk Bandung and they hail from Indonesia, Singapore, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, Japan, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and Philippines. These talents come from all facets of the creative industry – be it singer/songwriters, contemporary dancers, filmmakers, fusion bands, musicians, poets, ensembles, instrumentalists, dance troupes, percussionists, art entrepreneurs and traditional performers.

So guess who represented Brunei?? He’s not other than our local young celebrity Aziz Harun who is one of the most promising singer too. He was invited to perform in the event and that’s definitely a privilege for someone like Aziz Harun to be part of the event. He was accompanied by his manager Bahzi Damit and his family and cousins came to support his gig in Bandung. Images courtesy of Bahzi Damit.

Aziz Harun and some of the performers

Aziz Harun performing at the Marketplace of Creative Arts, Bandung, Indonesia

Aziz Harun performing at the Marketplace of Creative Arts, Bandung, Indonesia

His dad (left) came to support him as well

Group photo with all the regional performers

Cousins and families were also there to show him some support

This is the 9th Dairy Queen (DQ) outlet in Brunei and the location is at The Airport Mall. Gracing the opening was the guest of honour His Excellency Daniel Shields, Ambassador of the United States to Brunei Darussalam and the owners of Olive Tree Company, Mr. Johnny Liew and Mrs. Evelyn Liew.

The opening of the 9th branch also had some fun activities for the kids such as bouncers and performances by the DQ staff. DQ also had a special promotion to mark the opening by giving away 50 pint of ice-cream and 50 limited edition key chains to the first 100 customers.

So what’s different about this particular DQ outlet than the rest? Well, now they have a digital display menu on the flat screen and they are also animated too and the other great thing is that the software of the menu is linked up to the their franchisor in the United States. This is the first technology used in Asia and Brunei is the first to use it.

The outlet also has a live display where the bakery chef can be seen decorating the DQ cakes and this is also a new concept for DQ.

For your info, OTC has manages Pizza Hut (Brunei) and it is rumoured that the their next outlet will be opened in a few weeks’ time at the Airport Mall.

His Excellency Daniel Shields, Mr. Johnny Liew and Mrs. Evelyn Liew graced the opening yesterday at DQ Airport Mall. Image courtesy of Vince Hong.

Group photo with the DQ mascots

Evelyn Liew with the local press who covered the event

The DQ staff had a mini performance for the audience

It was such a long queue after the opening as customers were eager for the special promotion

A great turnout yesterday at DQ Airport Mall

The live cake display I was talking about earlier on

The digitised menu which is very catchy for customers

Danial getting his DQ tattoo on his hand

Kids were having a blast yesterday

They were also queueing at DQ yesterday

Danial was enjoying his Blizzard though it was still in the morning

The Liews and their guests at DQ Airport Mall

Dickson holding some DQ balloons

Johnny and Evelyn with the management and staff of OTC

The All Stars Masters defended their title as they defeated the Liverpool Masters 7-4 in a pulsating final. Last year Liverpoo Masters finished third but bettered themselves by reaching the finals. DPMM FC finished fourth in the tournament. This year’s tournament featured the likes of The All Stars Masters, Liverpool Masters, Manchester United Masters and DPMM FC Masters.

The Guest of Honour was His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s office and he also presented the medals and trophy to the winners. This is the second time that Brunei hosted the EPL All Stars Masters brought to you by B-Mobile.

Kevin Gallen, Regi Blinker and Robbie Fowler were joint top scorers with 8 goals in the tournament. Regi Blinker was named the best player of the tournament.

It was a night to remember for Hadi who never won a lucky draw before and last night he won the biggest prize at the EPL Masters Brunei Cup 2012 lucky draw as he won the Lexus CT200H. There was a minor confusion among the audience as there were were three ticket holders that had the the same number (No. 0051) – one from upper, one from lower and one from the VIP sections. So one of the ticket holders thought he won the car as he had the same ticket number. However, it turned out that my friend Hadi Iskandar who works at AITI won the grand prize as his name was mentioned by the emcee, Jenny Malai Ali.

Perhaps it would have been safer if the organiser issued one number instead of three numbers on the respective tiers/sections for ticket holders to avoid confusion. Well, anyway, the winner is legit as the numbers and his name was mentioned. Hadi is not sure yet what to do with the Lexus CT200H and he will only get hold of the car by next week or so. He was too excited that he didn’t sleep until 3am last night as his friends and family were congratulating him. I’m pretty sure his colleagues at AITI will be teasing him tomorrow. Congratulations buddy and do make sure you take me for a spin too :))

Dutch striker signing autographs for the fans

It’s good to see young kids craving for their signature

DPMM FC Stars still falling short in the tournament but still a good effort

Fans was in for a treat as they fought for the ball souvenir

Quinton Fortune had a small gash on his knee

The fans were excited to see their idols

Celebrity Zainal Abidin was also a spectator

The local media also enjoyed the football entertainment

The section of the crowd at EPL Masters tournament

UBD FM made their presence felt last night

Nice pose, guys *hahaha*

The fans celebrating after every goal

The crowd was aiming for the gloves thrown to the crowd and Zul Fadly was forunate to catch them

The 8 year old kid won a mobile phone presented by Mr. Lim Ming Soon, CEO of B-Mobile.

She won a one year contract subscription fee from B-Mobile

Faridah won an all expense paid to Poland to catch the Euro 2012. Btw, are you selling your ticket?

The crowd was anticipating to which number will be called out

The crowd kept looking up on the screen for the winning number

It turned out that it was Hadi who won the Lexus CT200H and he also had the same ticket number

Robbie Fowler and Steve McMamanam presented the key to the grand prize winner – Hadi

Asprilla was in jubilant mood as he lifted the tropy

The All Stars Team with Mr. Lim Ming Soon, CEO of B-Mobile

Today’s the final day

As a global business, we strongly feel the need to be proactive in the battle against climate change.  

We’re constantly seeking new ways to improve our business practices and reduce our carbon footprint. We have set ourselves strict targets to reduce energy, waste and water use.

In 2008 we replaced all our carrier bags with 100 per cent recycled and recyclable paper bags. We have a pledge with Dept of Environment, Parks and Recreation @ Jastre of Brunei Darussalam on No Plastic Bag Campaign since last year and have no intention in backing up. We aim to use the minimum amount of packaging materials for products. We also use post-consumer recyclate (PCR) in packaging wherever possible, and if the primary pack uses paper and/or card, it is from an FSC-certified source.

Everyone has a right to have a clean and healthy environment regardless of race, ethnicity or socio-economic status. Our planet, our home is being neglected. Climate change continues unabated. It seems there’s a new ecological disaster happening almost daily. This Earth Day it’s time to mobilize the planet from the ground up to send a message that the Earth won’t wait!

In Honor of this Earth Day, We, The Body Shop is here once again to participate and show our concern to the environment. As our vision, we always strive to protect this beautiful planet, and the people who depend on it.

We, The Body Shop are selling small trees to the public at a very minimum price at The Body Shop, The Mall outlet only in conjunction of Earth Day commence 20th April to 22th April 2012. The objective of the campaign is to encourage and educate the public of the importance of planting trees. In the same way, we would like them to be aware on the environment hazards by highlighting the problems around us and how we can be able to contribute to protect the environment. Funds collected from the tree selling campaign, we will buy garbage bins and recycle bins and will donate them to schools.

Your contribution is very much appreciated. It may not be big but your concern and care to the planet that counts. Let us take this Earth Day to the Heart. Text courtesy of The Body Shop.

You can buy the small trees at The Body Shop at The Mall

You can buy the small trees at The Body Shop at The Mall

He has the same t-shirt as mine and he also won the grand prize with a little controversy arising. Find out how later

Yay, I officially stayed in the glass box for an hour.. Find out later on what happened. Thank you, HSBC!!