Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha (2nd R) applying colourful powder paste onto the palms of YAM Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Nafee’ Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Haji Idris during the Majlis Berbedak ceremony. Image by Saifulizam of The Brunei Times

Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha applying colourful powder paste onto the palms of YM Pengiran Hjh Yura Halimatussa’adah Pengiran Hj Yura Perkasa during the Majlis Berbedak ceremony.

Recently Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha graced the Majlis Berbedak of YAM Pengiran Anak Hj Abdul Nafee’ Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris, the nephew of His Majesty, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Her Majesty also attended YM Pengiran Hjh Yura Halimatussa’adah Pengiran Hj Yura Perkasa’s Berbedak ceremony.

The Majlis Akad Nikah, or solemnisation of the marriage, was performed last Sunday, while the Majlis Bersanding will take place this Sunday.

YAM Pg Anak Abdul Nafee’ is the son of Her Royal Highness Princess Hjh Amal Umi Kalthum Al-Islam, sister to the Sultan and YAM Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris Pengiran Maharaja Lela Pengiran Muda Abdul Kahar.

Congratulations to both of you and may Allah bless you on your new journey. Images are taken by CandidSyndrome™ Brunei (Official Wedding Photographer) unless stated.

On 23 June evening at Jati Transport Beribi, invited guests witnessed one of the outstanding features in the new M-Class – Active Parking Assist. It was demonstrated by sales executive’s from Jati Transport on how a perfect parallel parking is done with the driver’s hands totally off from the steering wheel.

The ML 350 4MATIC with AMG Sports Package was unveiled before the eyes of more than 150 guests. The vehicle features a powerful direct injection petrol engine that produces an output of 306 horsepower, an enhanced 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission and standard steel suspension with improved damping system for extra comfort and driving dynamics.

The sporty character of the new M-Class also permeates the interior with its high-quality finish. The interior is designed for optimum ergonomics and superb practicality. One new feature is the large, centrally positioned display and Controller for operating the head unit. The housing of sockets for mobile audio devices is located in the stowage compartment under the armrest.

The seats are designed for excellent comfort on long journeys and optimum lateral support. The carefully selected materials and workmanship add to the interior’s high-quality appeal.

The new M-Class drive system and suspension meet the exacting demands of on-road and off-road motoring. It combines comfortable, agile handling on road with excellent off-road capability. The M-Class impresses with exemplary fuel consumption and emissions figures which are unprecedented in the SUV segment.

European NCAP has rated the new M-Class five stars for outstanding occupant protection. It was also crown as “Car of the Year 2012” by Europe’s biggest 4×4 magazine “Auto Bild Allrad”.

The vehicle is available for test drive at Jati’s Gadong and Beribi showroom.

Royal Brunei Airlines is back again as they are participating at the Consumer Fair at BRIDEX. The booth is located at W19, W21 and W23 at BRIDEX Hall 1 and they will be providing better and more exciting offers for customers. Royal Brunei Airlines will be promoting Royal Brunei Holidays (RBH) packages to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. RBH is also offering special packages for fans of DPMM FC which will include an air ticket, accommodation and an opportunity to watch DPMM FC play live in Singapore.

Royal Skies will be offering their Cash + Miles Redemption promotion for amazing destinations such as Bangkok, KL, Manila, Melbourne, Shanghai and Singapore.

Within these few days, RBA will give customers, who purchase tickets on RBA’s website www.bruneiair.com or Royal Brunei Holidays packages at the booth, the opportunity to participate in a Lucky Draw and you win RBH packages to Hua Hin (Thailand) and Pattaya (Thailand).

Visitors who dropped by the RBA booth can participate in the RBA quizzes and you also can stand a chance to win RBH packages.

Joan Lim, Head of Commercial Department, Royal Brunei Airlines, said that the CF10 is a great opportunity to interact with visitors planning to go on a holiday getaway and they can advantage of their ready-made holiday packages or even customise packages to meet individual holiday needs.

Try out the RBA quizzes and you can stand a chance to win prizes

The questions are related to bruneiair.com website so it’s a good educational tool to learn more about bruneiair.com

Check out Red Bull booth and buy Red Bull items or Sun Snack to enter lucky draw

The last five (5) days of Red Bull Jumbo Deal is being organized at Consumer Fair 10 (CF10), held at Bridex, Jerudong whereby daily prizes are being given away for purchases at CF10. Red Bull Jumbo Deal is giving away two cars namely Toyota Avanza and Toyota Vios. Amongst the other main prizes are iPhone, iPad, Samsung phones and etc. With a purchase a cluster of Red Bull drinks (bottle, gold or silver) and one alter pack of Sunsnack (original, seaweed or spicy flavours) you will earn yourself a chance to win one of the prizes. 250 lucky people will attend the final grand draw to be held at Bridex on Sunday, 1 July 2012.

Check out Tourism Malaysia booth for cool packages to KL

In conjunction with the 10th Consumer Fair, Tourism Malaysia Brunei Darussalam is taking part to promote the 1 Malaysian Mega Sale Carnival (1 MMSC) offering packages by 4 appointed travel agents namely Freme Holidays, Anthony Tours & Travel, Pan Bright Travel Services and Century Travel Centre. Those who booked their travels at the CF10, there will be exclusive gifts to encourage customers to purchase packages on-the-spot.

1 MMSC will be running for 11 weeks until the 2nd of September 2012. It will also coincide with several other events such as the Ramadhan and Aidilfitri festivities as well as 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Festival.

Do you know that you can enjoy further discounts and special privileges while you shop at participating malls with Bukit Bintang KLCC shopping district. All you need is the Tourist Privilege Card which is available to all tourists visiting Malaysia and you can apply it at participating malls.

Currently BBKLCC Tourist Privileges are awarded by Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, farentheit88 and Suria KLCC. So just imagine nine shopping centres within walking distance while BBKLCC offeres 3,000 stores with variety of shopping, dining and urban leisure experiences.

So there are plenty of reasons to take advantage of what KL has to offer right now and the 1MMSC will be running until 2nd September 2012.

Director of Tourism Malaysia at Brunei Darussalam (center) briefed the media with representatives from Anthony Tours and Freme Holidays on the ongoing 1 Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival

Michael Song (center) of Pan Bright Travel Service said that they also offer packages to KL with Arsenal vs Malaysia tickets

The US Ambassador to Brunei Daniel L Sheilds visited the Tourism Malaysia booth yesterday

Visit Drypers at CF10 at BRIDEX

Drypers, one of the biggest baby diapers suppliers in Southeast Asia, is organizing the Drypers Double Draw that offers some attractive prizes to be given away for the purchases at Consumer Fair 10 (CF10) which is held from 27 June till 1 July. Amongst the main prizes are Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Note and Samsung 4S. Its held in conjunction with their relaunch of the new generation of Drypers Wee Wee DRY that come with 4 Botanical Extract, Aloe Vera, Chamonile, Olive Extract and Vitamin E that will keep the baby’s skin clean, healthy and comfortable. Freebies are being given away during CF10 and while stock last. Drypers’ is booth is situated in between Kingston Beverage and Creamery and Red Bull booth.

The staff of NBT at BRIDEX for the 10th Consumer Fair

NBT recently launch the new Toyota 86. For more of the specs, you can click image

Dine at Deals for lunch

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (2nd R) with His Excellency Hj Haini Hj Hashim (2nd L), Brunei Ambassador to Russia, His Excellency Shaikh Hj Fadilah Shaikh Hj Ahmad (R), Brunei Ambassador to Kingdom of Cambodia, and His Excellency Hj Mahamud Hj Ahmad (L), Ambassador to Japan, at Istana Nurul Iman last Monday. Image by Yusri Adanan of The Brunei Times.

A few weeks ago, I was broken the news that my friend will be heading to Cambodia as a Brunei Ambassador. I didn’t know how to react but I’m quite proud that he was appointed to be one. His previous post was under Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) and he was been working there for a very, very long time.

Last Monday, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday presented Letters of Credence to three newly-appointed Brunei envoys, and received Letter of Credence from four foreign envoys to the Sultanate at the Istana Nurul Iman.

his Majesty presented Letters of Credence to Brunei Ambassador to Russia His Excellency HjHaini Hj Hashim, followed by Brunei Ambassador to Cambodia His Excellency Shaikh Hj Fadilah ShaikhHj Ahmad and Brunei Ambassador to Japan His Excellency Hj Mahamud Hj Ahmad.

According to a press statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, Ambassador of Brunei to Russia HE HjHaini, 51, previously served as Director of Protocol and Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT).

Meanwhile, Ambassador of Brunei to Cambodia HE Shaikh Hj Fadilah, 47, previously served as Director of Politics I at the MoFAT.

Ambassador of Brunei to Japan HE Hj Mahamud, 53, previously served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Brunei Darussalam High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

His Majesty the Sultan and His Excellency Shaikh Hj Fadilah Shaikh Hj Ahmad. I wish you the best in your posting to Cambodia. I will definitely pay you a visit 🙂

Yuri of Breakwater Cafe having a chit chat with Aziz Idris of Borneo Bulletin. Do visit Breakwater Cafe booth for some nice delicacy

This is also the first time Breakwater Cafe taking part in Consumer Fair and they are selling their hot items such as the Grilled Capsicum and the Chicken Roll and let’s not forget their Kimchi too. So if you are searching for something distinctive, do check them out.

Food on display at Breakwater Cafe

The Grilled Capsicum and Chicken Roll

Any kimchi lovers out there?

There will be a Book Swap event at Fun Bee Park this Sunday 1st of July, 2012. It’s a follow-up to their previous Book Swap event at OGDC last March.

‪Activities during the event will range from a quiz show and a writing collaboration, as well as the book swap. For those who are more hands-on with their creative outlet, Fun Bee Park will be offering a 30 percent discount to book-swappers, where they have the chance to create book marks out of either clay, paper or batik, make top hats like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, fashion bunny ears and more. The offer will only be available on that day
‬ ‪
‬ Here is a link to the event on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/funbeebookswap

The ladies behind The Better Lunch Box

This is another new business which is making its premiere at the 10th Consumer Fair. So far the business has been great at CF10 considering it was only the first day. They are selling otak-otak, Singapore mee rebus and assorted sandwiches. You should try out their juices too. I got myself an orange juice with pamelo 😀 *nom nom nom*

Otak-otak for you food lovers out there

Assorted sandwiches and Singapore mee rebus

Fresh fruits for the fresh juices upon your request

Check out their booth at CF10 Wing 1 at BRIDEX. Taken from Dina Madison Instagram.

Do check out their booth at 10th Consumer Fair and this is the first time Madison is taking part in the Consumer Fair. Most of their business is currently done online through Facebook. They have materials ranging from chiffon, Vietnam silk, cara melayu fabric, jubah, tudung and many more. The prices are affordable too.

Check out the ranges of materials at Madison

The cara melayu kain is also there on display

Oh My Card (OMC) is back again for more exposure and you can enjoy great discounts on 180+ restaurants. Another good gimmick is where you can buy one and get one FREE for Oh My Card. Furthermore you will receive a $18 OMC when you purchased $48 OMC.

The $18 OMC value has a 3 months validity while the $48 has a 12 months validity period. Guess what? You can also be entitled to win a Toyota VIOS when you purchase OMC or any of the mobile phones displayed at CF10 at QQestore booth. So visit their booth at BRIDEX W89 & 91.

The OhMyCard booth is located on first wing (W89 & W91) at BRIDEX hall

Great prizes to be won at Consumer Fair held at BRIDEX

Check out Concepts Computer booth at CF10. Perhaps the most awaited item is the Acer Aspire Ultrabook S5 and it is dubbed the world’s thinnest ultrabook. With now consumers heading towards mobility, the weight, size and performance are very much important specs.

The S5 only weights 1.2 kg and it’s only 11mm thin. If you want high productivity, seamless connectivity and multi-use functionalities to juggle work and play, then the Acer Aspire Ultrabook S5 is for you.

The latest Ultrabook also has a Thunderbolt port which is 20 times faster than USB 2.0 which is good for transferring huge data. By the way, only a few units will be available as the stocks are pretty hard to get during the launch. The new stocks will be coming this Thursday or Friday and you will be able to get feel the experience of the S5 at Concepts Computer booth at Consumer Fair at BRIDEX this weekend.

The Acer Aspire Ultrabook S5 is coming soon!!!

Vincent Pao the General Manager of Concepts Computer helping with the preparation yesterday at BRIDEX

Check out Concepts Computer booth from today till Sunday

They also have special promotion prices for Western Digital HD

The event will be opened to public by noon Wednesday 27th June for the 10th Consumer Fair

The lucky draw boxes for Red Bull and SunSnack and you can stand a chance to win these cars below

Check out Red Bull booth and you can win fantastic prizes indeed

BIBD will be having their presence felt at 10th Consumer Fair

One of the Taiwan companies participating at CF10

There will be some car accessories for audio enthusiasts

There will be 3-aside football too organised by Adsem Sports Management

Another car accessories from Autopro Tyre Company

Ning of Sawaddee House will also be participating under the Thailand Pavilion

Tourism Malaysia will be promoting their destinations as usual. Do check out their special packages

This is interesting.. The design work looks refreshing from Insurans Islam TAIB

Check out TelBru’s booth at CF10

A few representatives from different countries exhibiting as well

The Thailand Tourism will be exhibiting at CF10

Brunei Halal will be there too

DST will be having a few activities line up for CF10 and do check it out to win fantastic prizes

dBookHaus are always active when it comes to expo and their books are very affordable and some of them are less than half price of retail price

Irene of Sunlit Advertising was busy making calls

There will health and home deco section at CF10

This will be a popular booth because of durian for sure

Concepts Computer will be launching their Acer Ultra S5 which will be available by Thursday or Friday

You heard of Vibram.. now this is another brand from Malaysia called Denchan – Five Fingers Shoes

Who will be the lucky visitor who’s gonna win the Toyota VIOS?

So peeps… Are you ready for CF10 tomorrow?

A brand new look for The Face Shop (TFS) at The Mall and the re-opening of The Face Shop promotion starts today until 1st July (Sunday) and there are tons of freebies that awaits you such as free membership and also free skin analysis.

Why don’t you be the first 50 customers to enjoy the “Happy Hours” 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm? Or if you spend $39 nett, you will get a free makeover plus goodies or spend $69 nett and you will get free skincare set or make up kit and you will also be entitled to a lucky draw.. Awesome!!!

So do take advantage of these special promotions and for further info, you can call The Mall branch at 244 3232.

The participants at yesterday’s orientation activity conducted by EGNC. Image courtesy of Ying Chia of The Brunei Times

It has happened. Around 90 youths from the school leavers have been selected to participate in the next stage of the E-Government National Centre (EGNC) ICT Youth Development Programme. I remember a few weeks ago where EGNC hosted the media for a press conference on this project and yesterday was the recruitment where 90 made the cut out of the 130 participants who turned up.

Adi Shamsul Hj Sabli, the Director of EGNC, commented to The Brunei Times that they (the youth) can believe in themselves more and that they can learn the skills that are required in the industry. He can see the potential in a lot of youths where they can excel in their studies and get formal education but this programme is to target those who are not as savvy in education and this can be beneficial among the youths in all levels.

Participants will get a monthly allowance of $150 and they will be undergo training at Knowledge Hub under TechOne Global where they will learn basic programs on Microsoft. This could be also a gateway for the participants if they are qualified enough to apply for government agencies or private ICT companies that relates to IT.

This is a great move by EGNC to come up with this programme as it gives an open ended opportunity to school leavers. One of the participants, Wong Chun Yuen, 18, said he participated in the recruitment day because he wanted to learn new things, such as how the e-Government programme works as his interest lies in information technology.

“I’m fed up with sitting at home and doing nothing. The programme is very good,” said Wong, who expressed high hopes of getting selected for the programme. Source: Ying Chia of The Brunei Times. For more of the story, you can click here.

If you are wondering, I’m referring to the Albert Court Village 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. This is my 2nd visit after my recent stay at MBS hotel during the recent CommunicAsia 2012. 

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 to the Little India MRT. 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

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

You can book for a Trishaw from Albert Court Village Hotel

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

This was my room back in April 2012

The room is pretty spacious too

This is my current room which is also at club level

…And yes, the room is pretty spacious 😀

The promotional poster at Bayfront MRT Station

I was fortunate that the Queen gig happened right after CommunicAsia 2012 and I’m a fan of Queen, not that big but I really enjoy their music. I remember my high school friend Sante from Geelong Grammar School and he was such a huge fan that he knows all the Queen’s songs and he was also a guitar enthusiast. He could play all the guitar bits from Queen songs and I would learn all the chords and lead from him. Only then I began to appreciate Queen’s music from 70s to the 90s.

So last Saturday I was able catch Gary Mullen & The Works who perform just like Queen band and Gary Mullen is almost as spectacular as the late Freddie, the lead singer of Queen. Gary Mullen & The Works did an awesome job and this is why they are the most demand Queen Tribute Show around the world. They were in Singapore from 21st to 24 June only and apart from @cuterabbit84 and I, they were a few Bruneians who caught it as well :))

The crowd was pretty stale in the beginning but the energetic Gary Mullen pumped up the audience and half way through the concert, everyone was on their feet, dancing and singing along. The gig was held at Marina Bay Sands Theatre and it was almost a full house last Saturday. Carol enjoyed the gig and it was good to know she knew some of the songs as well.

Hits such as Radio GaGa, A Kind of Magic, Don’t Stop Me Now, I Want To Break Free and Bohemian Rhapsody were being performed with great energy and it was almost as if Queen were there to perform. Awesome gig and thanks for the music and the tribute :D.

Gary Mullen was magnificent in his role as Freddie Mercury

Both of us had a great time during the “One Night with Queen” gig

It was so difficult to take shots because they didn’t allow SLR cameras. So it was a bit tricky using my iPhone and this was the best shot I had.

I managed to take short videos of the gig though it’s prohibited to do so. However, Gary defended the audience and told the securities not to bother of people taking photos or videos *lol*

I bumped into a Bruneian family and they enjoyed the gig as well

It was pretty crowded at the Marina Bay Sands theatre

I finally opened my 6th box before the sticker swap session at Burger King last Saturday

I was searching high and low for any sticker swap session in Singapore and I finally found a link to help me out (Thanks Shahrin). Apparently the Panini stickers are slightly more expensive in Singapore. One box can go up to $60 per box whereas in Brunei the box price ranges from $30 to $35.

According to them, the gathering swap session wasn’t as big as Brunei. They previously held one at The Coffee Bean & The Leaf with an OK turn out. This recent gathering was held at Burger King next to Sim Lee Square. Only five of us turned up but it was beneficial for me since I managed to find at least 16 out of 18 stickers to complete my album. Oh yeah, I’m a late starter too *lol*

By the way, there will be a Final Sticker Swap Meet at Foodzone this Friday 29th 4pm and there will be a lucky draw for those attending the event. It will be the final day before you can submit your Panini sticker album to be eligible for the lucky draw as well as the Free Puma jacket sponsored by the organiser. More details on that soon….

This 21 year old guy had a special sticker album and he finally finished his album on that day

She was the only lady that turned up that day

I bought an album to keep my spares in time for this Friday gathering

The guy on the right went to Johor Baru to buy his stock of boxes as it was half the price of that in Singapore

Today’s my final day in Singapore and I have a few errands to run. It has been a great week and a big thanks to AITI for giving me the opportunity to cover Brunei’s involvement in CommunicAsia 2012 and I believe the Brunei delegates did get some exposure during the exhibition.

Surprisingly I didn’t shop much apart from two apparels from Adidas *lol* and two magazines.. Well, most of my $$$ were spent on food, movies and gigs. This is the longest period I have stayed in Singapore and I can’t wait to go back to Brunei too. Thanks to my buddies for taking your time to meet up and I shall be back again in July for Dark Knight Rises IMAX, Annie Musical Show and I hope to get invited for the Singapore Blogger Awards 2012 which is happening on that weekend I arrive.

I caught up with Ai Lin and it was a great catch up session

Mr. Kurapak was also in Singapore but only for a day and this was his visit with his family to Universal Studio Singapore

It’s nice to see this kid having fun at Bugis Junction

Finally something for my iPhone home button. I got this at Suntec City but not the actual Adidas store

Last Thursday we had a mini gathering and enjoyed some Chinese tea session

It was great to see a lot of familiar faces that night and I learned something along the way

I posted this on Instagram and it brought some comments from my followers

I saw this at Bugis Junction and this is a cool gimmick

Last Thursday I had Indian cuisine at Straits Kitchen and it was awesome!!

I can’t wait to catch this on IMAX

Charles and Priscilla during our supper time at Lau Pa Sat

I had a double whopper from BK and I’m loving it… Please come to Brunei 😀

There was such high human traffic along Orchard especially during Sunday

I had my final dinner with Izzati and Tirah at Thai restaurant Sakura at Far East Plaza. Apparently, a lot of Bruneians dine here but this was my first time and it’s pretty good!!! Order the prawn and sambal kangkong and also the Kuay Teow Cockle

The recently launch Leica store made its debut at Mandarin Gallery. One of the highlights is the Leica S2 which costs more than a fortune. It’s a whooping $40,000 so this particular S2.

Pretty cool cupcakes and it was for Carol’s colleague birthday today and these are the faces of her colleagues at work. It costs about $6 per cup cake.

Maziah to burn the track in London

The Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BDNOC) yesterday announced the country will be sending at least two athletes to the 2012 London Olympics.

A press release sent by the council yesterday stated that “Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BDNOC) wishes to confirm that Brunei Darussalam will be participating in the upcoming London Olympic Games 2012 which will begin from 27 July until 12 August 2012.

“Brunei Darussalam will be represented by Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi and Dayang Maziah Mahusin from Athletic Sports who will compete under Universality Place in the Athletics Event. Both of these athletes have been registered with London Organizing Committee of Olympic Games (LOCOG).

“Both athletes have been undergoing intensive training with the National Coach and in order to gain more experience and exposure, they have participated in the International Association of Athletics Federation Indoor Athletics Championship in Turkey early this year and in other Regional Athletic Competitions.

“With regard to our swimming athlete, Awang Anderson Lim Chee Wei’s participation in the Swimming Event under the Universality Place is still pending on FINA’s official invitation.

“Both BDNOC and BASA had endorsed Awang Anderson Lim Chee Wei to represent Brunei Darussalam. Awang Anderson Lim Chee Wei’s name has also been registered with LOCOG. BDNOC is confident that all of them will give their best efforts and take this opportunity to its fullest.” Courtesy of The Brunei Times.

The Brunei Tourism team organised a farewell lunch for their CEO’s retirement. Image courtesy of Sheikh Jamaluddin.

Sheikh Jamaluddin’s quote on RA upon his retirement from Brunei Tourism Board – “What I would like to say is that after 16 years, I have seen many positive changes in Brunei Tourism. Money changers, tourist buses, tour guides, souvenir shops and cultural dance groups have grown tremendously in the last 5 years. Tourist arrivals have shown on average an annual increase of 15% year on year since 2005.

However, the above sentences may be challenged by those who are against tourism. What I like to say to your readers are that they must maintain the respect to protect our environment and keep Brunei clean. What we do reflects how they perceive our country.

I also believe future job prospects for our country lies in the tourism sector. It’s the world’s number one industry and this has been realised by world leaders and they have taken steps to develop further their tourism industry, mainly to ensure a continuing stream of job opportunities for their people.

Nation building is all about our ability to create jobs for our people. Jobs in tourism sector are much preferred than say jobs in the agriculture or fishery sector where the work are harder and less glamourous and more dependent on foreign labours.”

The AITI delegates and representatives from ICT companies paid a visit at IDA

Authority for Info-communications of Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) coordinated a site visit with established companies in Singapore bringing along the participants of this year’s CommunicAsia 2012 and representative from iCentre.

The group visited Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) which has kindly arranged 3 companies to present their products.

COL (Ret) Png Bee Hin, CEO of LDR Pte Ltd, presented a mobile interactive applications that helps users to discover Singapore. Mr Bee Hin created other apps to educate the young people about the history of Singapore through a medium that is most familiar to them. The Learning-on-the-move (LOTM) tool, utilises hotspots in Singapore, and as people who are using the hotspot in every new area will be shown different info based on the landmark of the area. Informations and games of the related area will pop-up on the mobile phones. They are able to learn about history of the place through games too as a medium.

There is an opportunity for this app to be used as a tourism tool for Brunei Darussalam. For more info please visit, www.ldr.sg

The Brunei delegates at the presentations by the three companies

LDR company presented their popular mobile apps which is very educational and interactive

Eric Loh, Strategic Sales Director of G Element , showcased a smart building platform that uses a system called Nucleus which controls the ip Internet Protocol (IP) sensors that of a building that monitors fire alarms, control management system for fire alarm, humidity, temperature and CCTV of a building.

The system utilises a mix of 3D building floor plan and live feed. To date, the company has developed handles several solutions such as Smart Hospital, Smart hospitality, Smart campus and Smart city platforms.

The company had also participated in APICTA 2010. For more info, please visit www.gelement.com

Eric Loh of G Element talked about smart building platform

Mr Tan Ze Chong, Executive Director of Argentra, shared the solutions for paper printing security. They showcased tool based on helps to defined secured printing policy for sensitive information in the office. Ms Olivia Kunardi, Project Manager, explained the functionality of the software. The report printing comes with 3D secured barcode and fine print line for document authenticity. The software keeps an audit trail on all the printed documents by users in the office and also prevents unauthorized printing of classified documents.

Perhaps the session that most of us were finally in-tuned from Argentra

Hadi documenting her presentation on his Galaxy Note

My experience at MBS hotel was pretty good. I used to hear of many complains last year especially upon checking in and how it was pretty draggy then. I suppose it’s normal considering the Marina Bay Sands Hotel just opened quite recently and there was so much hype about it. Judging from the room I stayed in, I don’t think it stood up to the hype or maybe because it was still new then. The room was pretty good but I guess it’s the status of being able to stay at MBS as most people praised it for its price.

I had the special privilege to be invited by AITI to do coverage for their involvement in the CommunicAsia 2012 at Marina Bay Sands and hence I was sponsored a 5 night stay at MBS *woohoo* I didn’t have the chance to try out the gym which I heard it’s pretty good but I finally found something time to relax by the Infinity Pool, one of the perks of being a hotel guest at MBS.

My room was at Tower 3 and it’s quite a walk if you actually walk from the main entrance. By the way, I’m quite happy that there’s an MRT now at MBS – Bayfront stop – which is quite recent and this is another good factor if you are seeking for convenience of public transport. I remember back then that I have to stop by Marina Bay stop and take a bus to MBS or go for a 15 min walk to reach MBS.

In conclusion, MBS is a hotel where I would highly recommend you to try at least once if you haven’t. If price isn’t your concern, then this is As for me, I had a good experience but it wasn’t all the hype that it lived to. Like I said, it’s all about status and branding. I’m more of an Oasia or Quincy or Royal Plaza on Scotts kinda of guy *lol*. Well, you get the picture 🙂 On my next trip, it’s a coin toss between Oasia Hotel or Albert Court Village Hotel.

My work station at my room at MBS *lol* Messy as usual 😀

Every 3am I would wake up to catch Euro 2012 matches though 50% of the time, I ended up sleeping halfway.

I love how they presented the amenities of the hotel

I usually would take this home as souvenirs. I kinda forgotten to do so on this trip.

My room is quite spacious and no complains here. Wifi is also complimentary as a hotel guest.

A nice piece of artwork here on the mirror. Strangely I took this photo while I was naked *lol* TMI here

Every time when the room is being cleaned by housekeeping, this tray will be lying on your bed

Ahhh… finally the Infinity Pool on the 57th floor though I didn’t enter the pool as I was worried about my belongings

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JoomBah Jobs is a job board component from the Joombah Suite of Human Resource applications that is developed by ISDS – Syarikat Indah Sejahtera Development and Services (Brunei) Sendirian Berhad. ISDS is a private limited company registered in Brunei. It is 100% Brunei owned company that has been in the IT industry since 1999.

ISDS was fortunate that Pehin Abdullah, Minister of Communications of Negara Brunei Darussalam, had consented to launch the latest version of JoomBah Jobs at the opening day of the Singapore CommunicAsia 2012. The CommunicAsia 2012 is a global platform for the ICT industry that companies like ISDS can use to reach a global audience.

JoomBah HR Suite has a product (JoomBah Jobs 1.3) that already has a global installation of over 2000 sites. The multi-lingual installations are from all over the world including Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Singapore. The suite was an off-shoot of a project called where2kerja (www.where2kerja.com) that was an incubatee of iCentre (a Brunei Economic Development Board project) and a recipient of a development grant from the Authority for Information Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam(AITI). Programming work done for where2kerja was later leveraged to create smaller components that are marketed separately as a Human Resource Suite.

Mohammed Aleng Talib, founder of ISDS (left) speaking to the Minister of Communications (right) while Christopher Ng, Marketing Manager & Business Development Executive looked on

The global sales generated are used to finance the daily operations as well as the research and development activities of the company. The company is registered as a Brunei Government Accredited ICT business (AAB and ICTAB) that actively participates in Brunei e-Government tenders. This gives the company a good platform to provide ICT services to regional SMEs as well as for e-Government projects.

For the SME (and small government departments) market, ISDS have partnered with Dell Computers and Microsoft Corporation to provide Small Business Server Solutions. ISDS is a partner of both Dell Computers and Microsoft Corporation. The solutions are either black-box implementation or a cloud based solution.

ISDS had taken the opportunity to launch its latest version (JoomBah Jobs 2.5) at the Singapore CommunicAsia 2012 so as to reach a wider audience as well as showcasing what Bruneian companies can do. It is hope that this will highlight Brunei as a growing regional ICT player as well as encourage other Bruneians to follow in its foot-steps.

Ak Mohd Khairi, General Manager and Project Manager of PHMD Publishing Company, talking briefly to the Minster of Communications on their latest book where one can easily create a mobile app

Made Simple: m-Commerce and How To Build Business Apps in 30 minutes. This book was published with the collaboration of Infindo Technology. The book is intended to enhance further the understanding on the new wave of m-commerce and what mobile apps can do for the commercial industry. With the edge of a mobile revolution storming through, it is a very vital step for different companies and individuals to capitalise on the power of m-commerce to enhance their business.

Previously, publishing the ground breaking selling book, Business Icons in Brunei, Ak Mohd Khairi bin Pg Hj Metussin, GM of PHMD Publishing Company hopes that “Made Simple: m-Commerce and How To Build Business Apps in 30 minutes” will educate the younger generation on the full potential of mobile and ways to benefit from it,and not merely for telecommunication purposes but even from an entrepreneur stand point. An average mobile user owns atleast a smart phone, this book is intended to provide a brief introduction on what anyone needs to know about the full potential of the mobile phone as well as the future of the next generation of technology.

The book is priced at $14.90 was launched at the regional’s largest IT event, CommunicAsia at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. It will soon be available at all major book stores in Brunei.

This is the latest book published by PHMD Publishing Company

Miami Heats are NBA champions after defeating Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 in the NBA finals. LeBron James was named MVP and this is first NBA championship after two failed attempts.

Idris T Vasi, CEO of DST, at the Brunei Pavilion during the recent CommunicAsia 2012 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Idris T Vasi, CEO of DST talked about the announcement of the roaming rates between Singapore and Brunei which is currently being looked into by IDA Singapore and AITI Brunei and he believed this is a great move especially for the benefit of end users. As you know that both countries are in the works of reducing the roaming rates between Brunei and Singapore in terms of voice, sms and data.

According to Idris, the volumes of voice and SMS are still greater than data though there is still a high significant usage of data as well. He hinted that there has been talks as well between Brunei and Malaysia on a similar issue.

On the issue of LTE or 4G, DST is having an ongoing trial on technology and marketing to see which works best and what frequency to use. From there, they will have a tender process and select the vendors to start the LTE projects. Idris said that the early stages of LTE could start in early 2013. The trials have been going for a few months and it will continue to see what suits the country best.

This will be a good initiative from DST as the 3G network are getting congested due to the high usage of data as quoted by Idris. The existing countries that are already running on LTE are the UK, US and Korea. Other countries are slowly embracing this technology and it’s quite evident to see LTE making its presence felt at CommunicAsia 2012.

Cecilia Lee of IA Salon at her recent visit to NY for the Make-up courses

These are the photos of the new trend make ups from a simple make up to a fantasy make up. The make up classes were conducted in New York. Mrs. Cecilia Lee of IA Salon attended this make up classes such as glamour make up, lash, lip and brow excellence, perfect beauty and understanding airbrush make up. You can visit IA Salon at The Mall if you are interested to learn make up.

EnGenius had a demo of traffic light censors at their booth

The ice-cream challenge is always there and it’s a good gimmick to bring visitors to their booth

These guys just started their business for two years and they now they are focusing on selling Android box which is ideal for hotels. They also gave me a card on eShineTV where it’s a prepaid voucher so you can watch satellite channels through your TV or smartphones. There are more than 5,000 channels, 20,000 radio stations and 20,000 online games on their service. Awesome!!! All the way from Malaysia!!

I met Abhishek from Indus Net Technologies where his company focuses on outsourcing and there’s likelihood I’m gonna engage their services soon as they are able to provide what I want in terms of my conceptual ideas

Huawei has a huge booth as usual

These ladies are promoting their booth where you can take photos with them at their booth on Level 1

Karel Lee, a Korean from Neo MetroKhan, is selling water resistant plastic screen for smartphones and iPad. I was sucked into buying the skin for iPhone and iPad. Hilarious guy too!!

This booth also had games for the visitors where you can either win a set of dice or a t-shirt

Level 5 is the quietest among the lot. Maybe because they don’t have much to offer. The Brunei Pavilion is located at the basement level and we are fortunate that the basement floor has the biggest traffic. No wonder Level 5 needed more marketing tool to push the traffic.

This level is not my cup of tea…. The floor is full of satellite stuff.. *yawwnnn*

IDA Singapore always have a big presence at CommunicAsia 2012

The CBOSS pavilion was just a few booths away from the Brunei Pavilion and they have dancing session too with their Russian models from CBOSS

Diana and Leong had a photo opportunity with the CBOSS model

The Alibaba booth was giving away recycling bags. This is quite common at CommunicAsia where you see visitors with their hands full of woven bags.

Hadi doing a mic test before the announcement between Brunei and Singapore

Take a photo with these ladies and you can stand a chance to win Singapore F1 tickets

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Most of the Brunei delegate at the CommunicAsia 2012 are staying at Marina Bay Sands hotel and this morning I heard some shocking news about a body being found at the hotel lobby. According to the statement issued by MBS, a body was found outside the Rise lobby restaurant last night.

Just last week, there was another incident where a dead body was found at the food of Marina Bay Sands’ Sky Park. A few of my Bruneian friends did come across some policemen who are probably running the investigation on the said discovery. I’m not too sure what’s the latest development. Anyway, the hotel is running its business as usual but it has been a talking point among our Brunei friends who are currently staying at MBS.

Group photo with delegates from Brunei at Nanyang Polytechnic

Authority for Info-communications of Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) coordinated a site visit with established companies in Singapore bringing along the participants of this year’s CommunicAsia 2012 and representative from iCentre.

First stop, the group went to Nanyang Polytechnic, Games & Digital Entertainment Technology School of Interactive & Digital Media at which Albert Lim Song Lian, Deputy Director welcomed the Brunei delegation and explained the courses offered for game programmers and animators.

Potential game programmers in this school are given a real work opportunity as the school works closely with Sony Computer Entertainment in developing games for Playstation as well as games for smart devices on Android or IOS platforms. He further elaborated that “in the past game programmers usually comes from a separate computer science school and students of graphic would come from fine arts school and it was observed that the mental requirement were seen not to sync well with each other.” The school then merged the 2 different talents under one roof and has achieved considerable success

Albert Lim Song Lian, Deputy Director of Nanyang Polytechnic, Games & Digital Entertainment Technology School of Interactive & Digital Media

The Brunei delegates watching the presentation

International students are also welcomed into this school at a small percentage due to limited 400 placements per year. The pre-requisite of this school is a minimum of an O-level background and students would need to undergo a 3 year course. Students are encouraged to broaden their horizon by participating in exhibitions such as Tokyo Gameshow in Nagoya and also similar exhibition in Guangzhow, China.

Some students were also sent to do attachments in Los Angeles, USA to gain relevant work experience with Side Effects’ main office, as the school has made a close work collaboration with the company. Side Effects supplies the Houdini software tools, used by major Hollywood studios, for the school.

Young kids were also given opportunity to get a feel of creating or designing a program

Each year they have a different theme

The green screen room where all the motion capture is being done

Mel trying out the F1 simulator

Students working hard to create a visual for the animation

These are special ordered Playstation machines for the purpose of game creation and they have 50 units that were sponsored by Sony Japan

A token of appreciation from AITI to the Albert

Last night 60 people including Board of Members of AITI and representatives from AITI, Brunei International Gateway, iCentre, DST, Folec, Comquest and others attended a networking dinner hosted by AITI at the Straits Kitchen, Hyatt Regency, Singapore. The dinner was also an appreciation for those who attended the ongoing CommunicAsia 2012. As you know AITI is currently leading the Brunei delegation where 9 local ICT companies are exhibiting their businesses at the Brunei Pavilion at CommunicAsia 2012.

Hj Yahkup Hj Menudin, Chief Executive of AITI, gave some praises to the three companies that recently launched their products at CommunicAsia, notably PHMD Publishing Company, Mars Enterprise and Indah Sejahtera Development & Services Sdn Bhd. He also highlighted of the upcoming BICTA which is one of AITI’s biggest project which will also lead to APICTA where Brunei is the host nation for the regional ICT award.

I have to say I really love the food there at Straits Kitchen though I just read from my instagram that a friend of mine had a gruesome experience. I didn’t even try all the counters but only focus on one area – Indian food – and I was already satisfied and full too 😀

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There’s one week left peeps!! What are you waiting for?

Hey peeps!!! Have you completed your Panini Euro 2012 Sticker album? I just started mine last week but I’m still having fun nonetheless. Some of my friends have finished their albums and some even had two albums to themselves.. Apparently there are two groups of Panini gatherings and I’m more familiar with the one that gathers at Gadong Properties FoodZone. So there will be another gathering tomorrow Friday at FoodZone starting at 4pm.

If you haven’t been to this group session before and also wanting to swap or buy/sell stickers, then do join this group —-> click here and you will be updated of current events and gatherings. Next Friday 29th June, there will be a final gathering also at Foodzone food court and I highly recommended you to come as I will be handing out some stickers from my leftovers from 6 boxes of Panini stickers *lol* The event management company Adison Marketing might also make their presence and who knows there might be some things in store for next Friday.

Just to let you know that the Panini sticker boxes have ran out from the main supplier so what remain are the stocks from vendors and retailers. Hence stickers will be very limited especially if you are a late starter like me. I’m currently in Singapore and hoping to attend a swap session if there’s one in Singapore. Apparently the end users are selling stickers at 30cents a piece *eeeekkss*

I bought two boxes initially but ended up with 6 in the end *lol*

These guys have completed their books

There was quite a turn out and this was the 5th swapping session. The 2nd day gathering had the biggest turn out.

People of all ages were there too even small kids

Ewa is a big fan of Panini football sticker

So do turn up tomorrow Friday 4pm onwards at Foodzone Gadong Properties for the meet up

I’m pretty sure these guys have completed their book. Last I heard they needed two more stickers and that was 5 days ago

I was a bit messy and my area was the messiest of the lot 😀

Despite going through numerous boxes, it doesn’t guaranteed me a complete set

It’s happening this Saturday

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Minister of Communications Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar (L) and Singapore Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, extended handshakes to commemorate the announcement of reducing roaming rates on voice, sms and data for mobile phone users. The event took took place at Brunei Pavilion at CommunicAsia 2012 event, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awg Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Communications, Brunei Darussalam and His Excellency Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore, have jointly announced Brunei Darussalam’s and Singapore’s commitment to reduce the prevailing roaming rates for mobile phone users by 1Q 2013. The two Ministers made the announcement at the sidelines of the Ministerial Forum which was held as part of the annual Infocomm Media Business Exchange 2012, Asia’s largest infocomm and media platform.

As part of building strong bilateral ties between Brunei and Singapore, the Ministers have tasked the telecoms regulators of Brunei and Singapore to work with mobile operators to reduce the roaming rates.

The Minister of Communications gave some remarks on the special announcement on reducing of roaming rates for voice, sms and data between Brunei and Singapore

In his remarks at the event, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awg Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Communications, Brunei Darussalam said, “Brunei Darussalam is really looking forward to further progress in this arrangement. With the reduction in voice, SMS and data roaming services charges between the two countries, international mobile roaming services can be utilized in a more efficient and beneficial manner by our users. It will also spur further growth in the mobile industry”.

It was great to know that the Minister highlighted the usage of social media that plays an important role in the high usage of data among Bruneians. He added, ” There are currently 234,060 Facebook users in Brunei and in relation to our population; Brunei ranks No.1 among all countries in Asia in terms of penetration for the social networking site-Facebook, standing at 59.25%. Social networking services in the country are seen to grow at a rapid pace and this would also lead to growing number of data roaming traffic. Because of this, we should not impose very high charges to our customers as we do not want it to be perceived as a hindering factor for efficient connectivity.”

“Brunei and Singapore is not only looking into the possibility of roaming rates reduction in voice and SMS services, but also data. And we hope this would minimize the complaints on high roaming charges.Such initiative does not mean that it will overcome the challenges of high retail roaming charges and bill shock.”

“However, I also believe it can be done through self-regulation. For example, a systematic price transparency – empowering customers to make more informed choices when utilizing roaming services. We should also learn from the best practice on bill shock measures.”

His Excellency Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore, was delighted to announce the special collaboration between Brunei and Singapore for the reducing of roaming charges

His Excellency Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore said, “Brunei and Singapore enjoy a long history of warm friendship with strong cooperation in a wide range of issues of mutual interests, including infocomm issues. This collaboration seeks to provide cross-border communication at a lower cost for the people of Brunei and Singapore. It would also enhance and reduce the cost of doing business between the two countries.”

Both the wholesale inter-operator charges and the retail subscriber charges will be reviewed. As mobile roaming charges involve different price components charged by operators in both countries, any effort to reduce roaming charges would require coordination and cooperation between both regulators and operators to ensure that users from both countries benefit from the decision.

Check out the current data roaming charges from DST. This image is taken from DST Group website.

[RA’s summary]: As you can see that this is just an announcement between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore on the reduction of roaming charges between two mentioned countries. The expected time frame of the newly rates could be in the first quarter of 2013. So do expect another special announcement once the rates are finalised and these will be applicable to both telcos in Brunei – DST and b.mobile. AITI and IDA (Singapore) are mediators for the negotiations between both countries and this will result in a more competitive, affordable roaming rates and this will be a win-win situation. As for now, the data roaming is charged at 73 cents per 50kb. So you can image if I were to send an image on Whatsapp which could be as big as 1Meg. So that would be an estimated of $14 if I were to send that image to my friend. Ouucchh!!!

Group photo with the Ministers and representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Malaysia

His Excellency Dr Yaacob Ibrahim and Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah sharing a light moment after the announcement

During the short interview, the Minister expressed the frustration of mobile users in Brunei on high roaming charges especially on data usage and this issue have been highlighted on the ministerial level regionally to see how roaming rates can be reduced. He said after an agreement on the finalised rates on roaming charges between Brunei and Singapore, he hinted that Malaysia will be next country to work with on reducing roaming charges.

 

The Minister was being interviewed by Channel News Asia

Special offer to all b.mobile customers and you can watch The Amazing Spider-Man on 5th July 2012 at M-Vision Empire Cinema 8pm. Offer valid from 16th June to 4th July 2012.

The Minister of Communications with the Brunei senior officials after touring the Brunei Pavilion at CommunicAsia, Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands

Brunei Darussalam makes their presence in CommunicAsia 2012 in Singapore when the Minister of Communications, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awg Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar visited Brunei Darussalam Pavilion together with ministers from Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The ministers toured the booths of the 9 Brunei’s ICT companies who participated in the Brunei Darussalam Pavilion. The Brunei Darussalam’s minister also officiated 3 participating companies’ new products during the exhibition. One of them, Indah Sejahtera Development & Services Sdn Bhd (ISDS) launched their JoomBah applications. This application is part of a solution for the human resource industry that has already been installed over 2000 sites all over the world – from Australia to Zimbabwe. The Human Resource suite will include applicant tracking and HRIS (human resource information system) in future releases.

Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah officially launched JoomBah application created by Indah Sejahtera Development & Services Sdn Bhd

Mohammed Aleng Taib, founder of ISDS (left) speaking to the Minister while Christopher Ng, Marketing Manager & Business Development Executive looked on

Mars Enterprise launched their “Mars ERP in cloud and mobile”. Mr Foo Boon Seng, Proprietor presented the solution to Pehin. The solution aims to improve accessibility of traditionally offline-based ERP solutions by adding an online and mobile component.

The Minister pressed on the screen to launch Mr. Foo’s latest software called Mars ERP in cloud and mobile

Mr. Foo is very proud of his product and hopes his work will be a big hit internationally and he ended his presentation slide with “Brunei Yakin” motto

The third is an upcoming publishing company, PHMD who launched their latest book from the publishing company called “Made Simple” which is a book on m-Commerce & How to build a business app in 30 minutes. This is a guidebook for anyone who is interested in developing mobile devices applications.

AITI hopes that local Brunei ICT companies, by participating in CommunicAsia, will enable them to promote their ICT solutions, products and services to international buyers or partners.

The Minister cut the ribbon to officiate the launch of “Made Simple” book

The Minister also signed electronically on the iPad to commemorate the launch

Ak Mohd Khairi, General Manager and Project Manager of PHMD Publishing Company, talked briefly to the Minster on their latest book where one can easily create a mobile app

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Surprisingly I have never entered this building. This is the H & M building and previously this was California Fitness.

After a two month wait, I finally managed to catch Raid: The Redemption movie which blew my mind completely. I almost caught it in Melbourne back in April but the timing didn’t allow me and Brunei didn’t bring the movie too. Verdict: 9/10.

I had another meal with Fina and Marianne and it was a pretty good steamboat meal at Ion Orchard

We had a four hour tour to Polytechnic Nanyang and IDA. Representatives from AITI, ICT vendors, iCentre incubatees and BEDB representatives also joined the tour.

Did you know that there’s an MRT stop now at Marina Bay Sands? It’s at the Bayfront stop. You will need to change platform at Marina Bay stop to go to Orchard MRT 🙂

Sometimes it’s a good reason to wake up in the middle of the night to catch Euro 2012 while blogging 🙂

The big day is today and the organizers AITI and the 9 invited exhibitors were busy preparing for CommunicAsia 2012 yesterday at Marina Bay Sands convention. I shall be covering the event this morning for the official launch of CommunicAsia 2012 and three companies will be launching their services/products where the Minister of Communications of Brunei Darussalam will officiate the launches of the respective companies.

The guys setting up their booths for the four day event – CommunicAsia 2012

Hui Nee and Jo looking very busy

Coffee lovers in Brunei will be able to indulge in premium and top quality beverages as Australian coffee house Gloria Jean’s Coffee finally opened its doors to the Bruneian market at Citis Square yesterday.

This was made possible following the business role of MyFranchise, a subsidiary of Perbadanan Nasional Berhad, which is responsible for the Brunei and Malaysia operations, through Wonderful Lifestyles Sdn Bhd.

Joining allegiance in the successful opening of Brunei’s latest coffee store were the Australia Trade Commission and the Australian High Commission in Brunei Darussalam. Gloria Jean’s Coffee is internationally recognised especially in the Asean region and popular among Bruneians who visit neighbouring countries. The owner of the Brunei outlet who is responsible for its daily operations is Pg Hjh Jamilah Matarasat.

Gloria Jean’s Coffee – one of the world’s top gourmet coffee retailers – has outlets in 45 countries, with approximately 1,000 stores worldwide and 470 stores in Australia. It is not only renowned for its genuine and distinctive taste and flavours but it is meticulously focused on the art and techniques of coffee-making to ensure top quality standards.

Awg Mohd Riza bin Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yunos, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (3L) with Mr Wes Knight, the Acting Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam (2L) and other distinguished guests during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Image courtesy of Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

Following the opening landmark in Brunei and adding an alternative to the healthy Bruneian market, Datuk Hj Ahmad Shalimin bin Hj Ahmad Shaffie, Chairman of Gloria Jean’s Coffee Malaysia said that yesterday’s opening was the first outlet for Brunei Darussalam.

Gloria Jean’s Coffee is also a registered member with Rainforest Alliance Certified. “It means that we only buy coffee from the farmers that follow the standard operating procedures of coffee farming,” Datuk Haji Ahmad Shalimin said. Gloria Jean’s Coffee’s long extensive line of coffee products contains Rainforest Alliance Certified beans.

“The hero for the brand is the coffee itself and the beans are specially blended according to their recipes and directly comes from Australia. In terms of making coffee and the whole technicality of making the coffee, everything is handcrafted and we pride ourselves in making sure that our baristas actually learn the right and proper way of making coffee,” a representative of Gloria Jean’s Coffee said.

“As coffee drinkers, we are critical in the coffee we drink and for the market overall, the market is moving towards more places (for people) to hang out but at the same time provide good quality food and drinks,” he added.

The investment and training in coffee professionals and baristas are well documented to ensure the highest level of professionalism and quality in Brunei coupled with the varied taste which ranges from one-dimensional to the rich and complex flavours.

“We also have a training centre in Kuala Lumpur where we call it Coffee University. So all the baristas will be sent to our centre not only for the coffee but also the SOP of the whole store,” he added.

He said that the local staff in Brunei also received training in Kuala Lumpur. Gloria Jean’s Coffee in Malaysia also expertly looked at the convenience of the location.

Originally started in the US in 1979, it was brought over by the Australians in 2005, which considered the brand as an Australian brand ever since.

Meanwhile, Mr Nabi Salleh, the Executive Chairman of Gloria Jean’s Coffee International said, “We’re incredibly excited about being able to provide the local Bandar Seri Begawan community with the high quality coffee, outstanding personalised services and vibrant store atmosphere that Gloria Jean’s Coffee is famous for.”

Present as the chief guest at the launch was Awg Mohd Riza bin Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yunos, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. Also present at the event were Mr Wes Knight, the Acting Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam; Dato’ Mohd Ali bin Abd Samad, Member of the Board of Directors of Perbadanan Nasional Berhad; and other distinguished guests. Text courtesy of Fadhil Yunus of Borneo Bulletin.

Image taken from Gloria Jeans Brunei Facebook page

The winner of the 5km Fun Run @ Tasek Lama last Saturday

The Surveying Division of the Young Surveyor’s Group, under the Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects (PUJA), held the ‘Fun Run @ Tasek 2012’ event yesterday morning at Tasek Lama Recreational Park.

Present at the event was Permanent Secretary (Professional and Technical) of the Ministry of Development Hj Suhaimi Hj Gafar, PUJA Brunei Chairman Hj Zulkipli Hj Abdul Hamid and PUJA Brunei Surveying Division Chairman Hj Hanafi POKDGSDRDLU Hj Abd Rahman.

There were three categories at the event: the Student Run, 2.5km Run and the Overtime 5km Run. The event began with a flag off for all the runners, which was then followed by a ‘Student Treasure Hunt’.

Apart from raising funds for SMARTER and Pusat Ehsan, the fun run also aimed to give the participants a better understanding of the quantity surveying profession. At the event, members of the public got the chance to interact with quantity surveyors and those in the construction industry, and learned more about the profession

A prize presentation was held at the end of the event for the winners of each category. A ceremony was also held to hand over the donations to SMARTER and Pusat Ehsan, with each organisation receiving $2,500

Representing the benefiting charities were Malai Hj Abdullah Hj Malai Othman, president of SMARTER and Dato Paduka Alimin Abd Wahab, acting chairman of the Board of Trustees for Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam.

The Fun Run @ Tasek event was held in conjunction with the 16th Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors Congress, which will take place from July 7 to July 19 at the Empire Hotel & Country Club. Text courtesy of Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times.

The winner of the 2km Fun Run @ Tasek Lama last Saturday

Donation handed to Pusat Ehsan

The warm exercise before the event led by Edgar

The flag off for the 2.5 km and 5km Fun Run

It was a day of heroes, as many rolled up their sleeves to donate blood at the RIPAS Blood Bank on Thursday, June 14.

The event was called the ‘Hero Blood Donation Drive’, where donors came dressed in their best superhero costumes and donated their blood.

Organised by GetFitCrossFit and the Health Promotion Centre (HPC), and supported by the Department of Laboratory Services, the event saw more than 200 people show their support for the cause and a total of 129 successful blood donations received.

The event, which coincided with World Blood Donor Day (June 14), was one of many ‘mega drives’ all over the country on the day.

“It’s much more than just a donation drive. It’s something inspiring and you feel like a hero by doing this,” said DJ Faye from Pelangi FM.

According to a press statement from HPC, the reason behind making the event a fancy dress was to show potential blood donors, especially young people, that blood donation can be fun and social.

It was hoped that potential blood donors would be inspired to set up their own events and donate regularly in the future. By making the event social, potential blood donors would overcome their fears by having friends and family supporting them. Text by Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times. Images courtesy of HPC Brunei Facebook and Stephanie Liew.

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The Minister of Communications sent off the Brunei contingent. Click image to enlarge.

CommunicAsia here we come!!! Yesterday the Brunei entourage under AITI left for Singapore for the upcoming CommunicAsia 2012 which will take place from 19th to 22nd June at the Marina Bay Sands. AITI stands for The Authority for Info-communication Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam and the entourage was led by Chief Executive, Hj Yahkup Menudin. Also following are 9 chosen local ICT companies which will participate in this year’s CommunicAsia 2012.

The 9 ICT companies participating are Folec, DST, PHMD, Comquest, SocialBuzz, Mars Enterprise, Indah Sejahtera, Bru GPS and Cube Box. I shall be reporting some of the participants’ products and services and what they have to offer in CommunicAsia 2012.

I’m not sure how many years already Brunei has been participating in CommunicAsia. The convention will feature a comprehensive myriad of key and emerging technologies from cloud security and services. “fibre” for nextgen services, M2M, Satellite communications etc. This will be a good platform for the local ICT companies to get some exposure and who knows they will also create opportunities and partnership with international players.

Prior to departure, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Hj Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, Minister of Communications and Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Hj Mohamad Yusof, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications had a photo session with AITI representatives and ICT Companies before departing for Singapore yesterday.

The Brunei program book that has all the participating local ICT

I managed to check in early but AITI had a few boxes to bring in for the upcoming Communia 2012

Aahh.. I’m another sucker when it comes to Apple products and I’m pretty please that they came up with a new edition of Macbook Pro and Macbook Air. Both models look superb and I currently owned the previous model of Macbook Pro and Macbook Air and should I venture into the new specs, I might just sell off my old ones for a very good price indeed. But but but… I won’t be saying when for now :p

So let’s see what’s great about the Macbook Pro? Firstly, there’s an option where you can choose a 15: with Retina display with 5.1 million pixels. Mind you the Retina Display is only available for 15″. The model is also thinner than the old Macbook Pro and it’s only 0.71 inch thin with a weight of 4.46 pounds. Yeah, it’s still slightly heavier.

The battery can last up to 7 hours while surfing wirelessly on the web and yea, battery for it is very important to make sure that I get the best hours for my work with the fuss of the carrying the power adapter. It now has a USB 3.0 port which transfers 10 times faster than USB 2. There’s also an HDMI port. This is perhaps the best Macbook Pro to date.. I’m quite sad that the new iMacs haven’t been announced. Maybe soon…

The new edition of the Macbook Air…

Portability is one thing. The other is its lightness and I’m amazed how thin the Macbook Air can be. Now the latest model is more powerful than it’s previous mode and it comes in 11″ and 13″. Another great thing is the prices are pretty competitive. The Air models do not have

You have the options to choose either Core i5 or i7 processors and there is also a major improvement as the graphics is 60 percent faster than before. There’s also connection hubs for Thunderbolt and USB 3.

Both notebooks are powerful and if you are deciding between the two, then just look at its practicality which will suit your needs. For me, Macbook Air is now my 2nd toy after the iMac at home. The reason being is that it suits perfectly for me especially during my travels and man, I do save a lot of weight on my hand carry. So now the question is which one would I invest in – the Mackbook Air or the Macbook Pro… We shall wait and see…

By the way, you can check out the special deals for the old batch at AV Electronics. Click image to find out more.

The new stock probably have sold out by now due to limited stock but you still can pre-order for the next shipment at AV Electronics. Click image to enter Facebook page.

After being a week away from Brunei for my Penang trip, I’m now in Singapore for my coverage on CommunicAsia 2012 which will kick off 19th to 22nd June and I will be staying a few extra nights to chill off before heading back to Brunei.

It’s also the first time that I will be staying at Marina Bay Sands hotel (thank you AITI) and I’m loving the spacious room so far.. Awesome!!! I finally managed to catch up with Fina who happened to be on holiday in Singapore and I also met a new friend Marianne who came to Singapore with Fina. I’m looking forward for the next few days indeed and I will update you on the happenings at CommunicAsia 2012 through my instagram and Twitter @ranoadidas and of course my blog 🙂 Happy week, peeps!!

Upon arrival at Changi Airport

The Marina Bay Sands shuttle bus is impressive. Great leg room and there’s WiFi on board 🙂

A bit tricky during our check-in at Marina Bay Sands. Some had to pay a higher deposit though we all were in the same group check-in list. There was also one stage where they didn’t want to accept my Brunei dollars for deposit. Strange…

MBS is fully booked this week because of CommunicAsia 2012

My first pitstop at Marina Bay Sands – ADIDAS 😀

I had a quick lunch with Fina at MBS while killing time before I could checked in

I also met acquaitance with a new friend from Norway who are colleagues with Fina. Nice to meet you, Marianne.

I love it how the chocolate sauce was poured

… and the taste was simply amazing.. A great way to cap off a heavy lunch 😀