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Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), the leading Islamic Financial Institution in the country, launched the fresh and friendly new BIBD website among several other new services and initiatives at an event held yesterday at the Empire Hotel and Country Club.

Gracing his presence at the launch as the guest of honour was Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar Minister of Communications who kindly inaugurated the new BIBD website and a host of other new services offered by the bank.

The fresh, friendly, interactive and informative new BIBD website provides a modern and trendy “look and feel”, is easy to navigate, provides comprehensive information on all of BIBD’s products, services, and promotions, and also provides accurate map locations of all of BIBD’s branches and ATMs. The new website also provides valuable information on Islamic banking including Islamic terminology, publications on Islamic banking, and more.

BIBD also became the first bank in Brunei to launch an online top-up service for customers to recharge their pre-paid electricity meters. BIBD customers will now have the option to do so through BIBD Online; the bank’s internet banking platform. Customers may pay for and obtain top-up token to recharge their pre-paid electric meter online without having to go through the hassle of waiting in long queues to purchase these tokens or indeed suffering the inconvenience of running out of electricity credits unexpectedly. The system will automatically generate the prepaid token number from the Department of Electrical Services (DES) which can then be fed into their prepaid meters.

The launch of the new BIBD website and the DES top-up service is also accompanied by other exciting new features. For example, BIBD customers can access BIBD Online through the new website. What’s more, BIBD customers can register to receive SMS alerts for all transactions performed by them on their bank accounts, debit cards, and credit cards. Intended to be a strong security feature for BIBD customers, these SMS alerts will notify them of their Credit and Debit Card transactions, when their salary is credited into their bank account and when their eStatement is ready and available for viewing via BIBD Online.

Javed Ahmad, Managing Director of BIBD and Pehin Abdullah, Minister of Communications

Javed Ahmad in his opening remarks

Guest of honor having a look at the new revamped website

Souvenir for the guest of honor

In addition, similar SMS alerts will be sent to BIBD credit card customers who reach 90% of their credit limit, or whose payment is due including the amount of payment to be made. Once the payment has been completed, customers will receive another SMS alert notifying them of the credit.

To provide its customers with further new and innovative services and features, BIBD also introduced an “online kiosk” or self-service terminal which will be installed progressively at all its branches. This self-service terminal gives customers access to the BIBD website and BIBD Online. It provides all the services of an ATM such as bill payments, credit card payments, transferring funds within BIBD accounts, account balances and a host of other transactions except dispensing cash.

Speaking on the occasion Javed Ahmad, the Managing Director of BIBD stated: “At BIBD, we feel really proud of having achieved these important milestones in our journey of transformation. The new BIBD website captures the spirit of our company and communicates the sense of vibrancy that pervades our organization. The DES top-up services and the introduction of the new online kiosk – both unique firsts in the Brunei market – positions us as a leading innovator in the banking market with so much additional value and richness in service being provided to our customers”.

Also present at the launch were the Board of Directors of BIBD, the Shariah Advisory Body of BIBD, BIBD’s customers as well as the management and staff of the bank.

The team behind yesterday’s event.. Thumbs up!! Two big launches in a week too

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It’s the final week… So who’s gonna win the car?

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Lots of openings at Standard Chartered Bank Brunei

Robert Marc Jones (born 5 November 1971 in Wrexham, Wales) is a Welsh-born former England international footballer who made his name whilst he was with Liverpool.

Jones, who grew up in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, began his career with Crewe Alexandra, signing professional forms at the age of 17 on the 20 December 1988 when Crewe were in Division Four. The right-back settled quickly, quietly going about his defensive duties until being spotted during the 1991–92 season, accidentally, by Liverpool manager Graeme Souness who was at Gresty Road looking at a different player. Souness put in an offer of £300,000 which was accepted, and on 4 October 1991, a month before his 20th birthday, he became a Liverpool player.

His debut for the Reds came on 6 October 1991, just 48 hours after he had signed on at Anfield. By the end of the season he had gained his first international cap and had helped the Reds to the final of theFA Cup at Wembley, a final that saw Liverpool beat Sunderland 2-0. However, he was ruled out of England’s Euro 92 squad due to shin splints.

Over the next four seasons he was a regular member of the Liverpool starting line-up and in the sides that beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the 1995 Football League Cup final and lost 1-0 to Man United in the 1996 FA Cup final.

When Liverpool signed midfielder Jason McAteer, who arrived in 1995, Roy Evans converted McAteer to right-back and employed Jones on the left-side in a wingback role as Liverpool changed from their normal 4-4-2 to an attack-minded 5-3-2 formation.

Rob Jones, former Liverpool and England player will be in Brunei next month

After the 1996 FA Cup final, Jones was advised to take a six-month break from football due to back problems. He returned to action, but the next two seasons were plagued by injuries, and in February 1998he played what was to be his last game for Liverpool. An injury in his left knee couldn’t be fixed, despite three operations, and at the end of the 1998-99 season, in which he hadn’t played a game, he was released on a free transfer. Jones had played 243 times for the Reds but never scored a goal.

He joined West Ham United, on non-contract terms, on the 17 July 1999, and featured for them in a single Intertoto Cup game and featured in his second and what would be his final professional career match for West Ham United which lasted 45 minutes as a result of re-aggravating his knee, but the knee injury had severely affected him and he retired on the 28 August 1999 aged just 27. At international level Jones was eligible to play for Wales, as he was born in Wrexham, but it was Graham Taylor who selected him and gave him his international debut for England in the 2-0 win overFrance at Wembley on the 19 February 1992. Injury forced Jones to miss the 1992 European Championships choice right-back, but he went on to win eight international caps.

Since his retirement, Jones has left football and owns a children’s nursery in Warrington which his wife runs.

For more information and ticket sales on B-Mobile presents EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2012, call – 8231333

Come and get your tickets now

The sponsors and the supporters

Companies and consumers converging on one venue in a significant public event. Interest sparked to prove a potential boom to tourism. PDCA Events Company, the organizer of 2011ʼs Musical Garden Wedding Fair, is once again hosting a nationwide exhibition. This time around the dual themes of travel and photography are the order of the day for the Camera & Travel Fair on the 5th to the 8th of April 2012. The exhibition will be held at one of the countryʼs most popular shopping malls – The Mall at Gadong, Brunei Darussalam.

Visitors to the fair will be privy to vendors and sales representatives showcasing, at their respective booths, a myriad of goods and services ranging from digital cameras to holiday packages to be made available for the publicʼs perusal and queries. It will serve also as a high-profile platform to further promote their companyʼs brand and any specific products or agendas. Furthermore, the overarching design of the exhibition attempts to achieve the auxiliary goal of enlightening visitors on the wonders of photography and the power of the image.

It’s happening next month

Not Your Average Marketplace. Visitors will be treated to various specialty merchandise and services offered during the exhibition, namely, camera: Digital SLRs, Polaroids, LOMOs, and even vintage collectible models. Camera accessories include memory cards, photo printers and more. Holiday packages, travel gear, travel insurance, new product launches will also be available, it will be an arena for members of the public to gain more knowledge and ideas on camera, photography and travel-related activities. To kick off the opening ceremony of the fair on the 5th of April, there will be silent auction of a limited number of antique cameras, including good old brands like Canon, Kodak and Yashica. Among them are display models the event organizer collected from their respective partners.

The earliest visitors will get exclusive Canon door gifts that are only available for the first 1000 visitors and are up for grabs during the Opening Ceremony from 1p.m. onwards, commemorating the long-awaited Canon EOS5D Mark III launch which will be launched by Interhouse Company and with their invited Guest-of-Honor, the Ambassador of Japan, His Excellency Mr. Horiki Hirose. Public are welcomed to the fair for viewing and trying out the new EOS5D Mark III.

The Camera & Travel Fair 2012 – “Sometimes postcards and memories just arenʼt enough”. For more information regarding the Camera & Travel Fairʼs updates, vendorsʼpromotion, activities, schedule and anything else, visit www.PDCAevents.info or “Like Us” on our Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/PDCAeventsco or you may reach us at 245 7096.

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Hello peeps!!! A very good day to you all and doesn’t time fly very fast, aye? My family’s away in Singapore and very soon I will be too in a matter of hours. My next pitstop will be in Kuala Lumpur for the upcoming coverage of F1 Sepang which has been picking up “pace” in terms of excitement. Last weekend, Jensen Button won the Australian GP though I was rooting for Vettel for the championship. So I can’t really wait for the F1 Sepang and thank you to Tourism Malaysia and AirAsia for making this possible.

From the latest update, I found out that the F1 Rocks Events in Malaysia featuring Kylie Minogue have been cancelled. I’m pretty bummed about it as I was looking forward to see Kylie Minogue in concert. It was just mentioned that it was due to unforeseen circumstances so I’m not quite sure why such late announcement was given. Then again, this is not the first that a concert has been cancelled in KL. I shall find out this afternoon if there will be other gig replacement.

For your info, I will be out of the country starting today till beginning of April. So most of my updates will be based on my coverage trip to KL (F1), Trengganu and Melbourne 🙂 If you have any interesting local updates, do email me at ranoadidas(a)gmail.com.

I recently purchased a luggage for my short trip because my current luggage is pretty huge and too huge to my liking. So I wasn’t sure which luggage to buy so I asked on Twitter on the recommendations. All the replies were Hua Ho Manggis and an hour later, I headed there for luggage shopping.. I came across the American Tourist luggage and I didn’t even know the brand is affiliated with “Samsonite” but American Tourist brand is not as expensive as “Samsonite”.

The American Tourist luggage costs in the range of $200ish at Hua Ho Manggis

I even bought a cover so it won’t scratch the luggage 😀

Thank you AirAsia for flying us to KL this morning

Dj Daffy loves the Nasi Lemak that he ate twice.. *lol* Kidding, he was just posing but he truly loves the Nasi Lemak from AirAsia

This is a popular spot among Bruneians whenever we arrive the baggage claim area. DIGI line is good for phone and 3G internet

The lovely ladies from Tourism Malaysia welcomed us at LCCT at noon today and they are really hyper and super friendly 😀

We at Penang Village and the food was superb. I can’t remember the name of the mall but it’s the only one at Putra Jaya

The Brunei delegates receiving a memento from Tourism Malaysia

The boys trying to find free wifi but sadly it’s chargeable

I’m still upset the fact that Kylie Minogue’s concert was canceled a few days before

Guess who’s replacing Kylie Minogue – Girls’ Generation.. Now this is something I might enjoy tomorrow night 😀

I also want to dedicate this post to my lovely friend Carol Lim @cuterabbit84 who will be leaving Brunei for good for her future posting in one of the engineering companies in Singapore. I know this is a happy and yet a sad moment but I truly cherish the moments we spent in Brunei and I shall be seeing you outside Brunei in the near future.

Though we have known for less than a year, it felt that our friendship have blossomed three folds or even more. I’m proud of your courage on the hard decisions that you have to make and this new opportunity will bring more prosperity and even more opportunities. I truly appreciate your friendship and for showing up day in, day out and my apologies if I have crossed the line or hurt your feelings. I know you will forgive me if I have anyway haha..

Enjoy the new environment and we shall keep in touch through whatsapp, msn, Skype, FT, you name it 🙂 See you soon my dearest friend. Already missing you :))

My first coverage when Carol was working at Barely There

I invited her to be part of the food coverage at Pondok Sari Wangi

Our dinner date at Fish and Co in Singapore back in December

Carol in her huge shades during 2012 Brunei Regatta

With the best friends during RA’s bash

Our last picture in Brunei (for now), taken at CheezBox last night

Carol, Sabrina and Patricia taken last July

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, the president of the BruneiDarussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC), attended the official launching of the Brunei Handball Federation yesterday.

Organised by the Brunei Handball Federation, along with the cooperation of the Department of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, the launching was held at the Indoor Stadium of the HassanalBolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.

The event commenced with the welcoming speech by Col (Rtd) HamidNayan, the president of the Brunei Handball Federation. The event then followed by the video showing of the introduction to the sport and the demonstration of the handball match from the Brunei Handball Federation players.

Submit your photos to any b-mobile branches latest by 25th March. Who knows your name will be printed on b.mobile Top-Up Cards. Click image to find out more

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TCY Motors Sdn Bhd invited the media for a press preview of its Peugeot 308cc (pictured) yesterday at the Peugeot showroom in Kiarong. According to the press release, the Peugeot 308cc gives motorists the freedom to drive in either the coupé or cabriolet configuration.

This is done through the “magic” of a rigid roof that folds into the boot, as it is with their other models. The model subtly incorporates the Marque’s latest stylistic codes as the car’s body follows the contours of the mechanical assembly underneath.

The body shape is more technologically elegant illustrated by the presence of LED front lights with light guide.It also looks more assertive, thanks to new Xenon headlamps with titanium coloured masks.

On either side and extending over the wings, the ruby-coloured LED rear lights with light curtain effect broaden the silhouette and give the 308cc a unique and spectacular visual signature.

Inside the 308cc, the eye is caught also by the elegance of the four seats with integral head restraints and possibility of full leather trim on the fascia panel in different shades which convey a touring car image. All four passengers can benefit from the availability of a large boot capacity (465 litres) in the coupé configuration.

To make the journey even more pleasant, automatic dual-zone air conditioning is available perfect when one is hot and another cold. With its active charcoal filter, it also reduces hydrocarbon odours inside the passenger compartment.

The use of high-strength steel and “multilayer” reinforcements in specific areas has made it possible to raise the level of safety of occupants while reducing the overall weight of the car.

In addition to the performance of the structure, efficient means of restraint are at hand with up to 6 air bags on the cc, including 2 head air bags at the front. There are also extractible safety hoops on the cc in the event of rollover, 3-point seat belts with belt not fastened or unfastened acoustic warnings and Isofix fixtures.

Other features that come in the standard form include 1.6 THP 156ps(154 bhp) turbocharged direct injection petrol engine, JBL sound system, 4 front speakers and 2 rear speakers, leather seat upholstery, sport front seats, ESP, electric memory folding exterior rear view mirror, front wiper blade with rain sensor, map reading lamp and ambient lighting, memory control front seats, monochrome screen level C display, rear radar obstacle sensor, front daytime lights, 18-inch alloy wheels and many others.

For more insight, the public are welcome to visit the Peugeot showroom.

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The campaign is back and it’s bigger and better than before. Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) today launched the “BIBD Blessing Rewards 2”, a special promotion for customers who sign up for any of BIBD eligible products or services. Oh yeah, this is eligible for new sign-ups on BIBD products and services.

This new campaign was a sequel to the most successful BIBD campaign which was the Blessing Rewards which ran last year (Sept to Nov 2011). So this time the campaign will run from today to 19th June 2012.

The grand prize will be a brand new and shiny Lexus IS300 Convertible Car. The grand draw itself will be held on 3rd July. Other prizes include 60″ Samsung LED Smart TV and packages of Apple products worth up to $5,000, $3,5000 and $2,000 for the third to fifth prizes. There will also be 3 monthly draws offering 10 Luminix watch each month.

Launching the campaign was Mr. Javed Ahmad, the Managing Director of BIBD, who unveiled the the grand prize. “What is unique about Blessing Rewards 2 is that customers have the opportunity to participate in monthly draws as well as the Grand Prize draw. So if a customer applies for and is approved for an eligible product or service in March, they will not only participate in the monthly draw for March and the Grand Prize draw but will allso be eligible to participate in monthly draws for the 2 next monthly draws,” said Javed Ahmad.

Oh yeah, did you know that those who sign-up for BIBD’s Rumah Plus campaign and once approved, you might be eligible as many as 120 entries into the prize draw (of course, subject to terms and conditions).

Other eligible products or services include BB Home Financing, Home Improvement Financing, Education Financing, Ar-Rahni, BIBD Debit Card, BIBD Online, Remittance, Term Deposits, new account opening, new Perdana World Banking customer and assignment of salary to BIBD amongst many others.

For more information on the campaign, customers can visit the nearest BIBD branch contact BIBD’s Call Centre at 223 8181 or log on to http://www.bibd.com.bn

Mr. Javed Ahmad announcing the grand prize for Blessing Rewards 2

BIBD associates with the grand prize, Lexus IS300 Convertible Car

Mr. Javed Ahmad trying out the Lexus

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The SEF Runners Enterprise held its first charity run yesterday, which was aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and well-being through the practice of sports, fitness and endurance amongst the citizens of Brunei Darussalam. The event was also to raise funds for Dana Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah.

The guest of honour was Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Abdul Mu’min, who participated in the Fun Run, flagged off the run and later presented prizes. The event received an overwhelming public response, with over 1,000 participants in all the categories; Men/Women Open (10km), Men/Women Veteran (10km), Junior Male/Female (10km) and the Fun Run (3km).

During the event, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Abdul Mu’min presented a cheque of $1,000 to Haji Brahim bin Haji Ismail, Managing Director of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation.

Abdul Malik bin Awg Hidup won the Men’s Open Category, while Alice Zytek claimed the top place in the Women’s Open Category. Pg Nordin Pg Hj Osman and Tan Siew King emerged as winners in the Men’s Veteran and Women’s Veteran Categories respectively.

Meanwhile, in the Men and Women’s Junior categories, Md Shahrifudin Md Salleh and Siti Noraziemah Mohd Khairuddin claimed top spot, with all of the winners receiving $300 and a medal each. Text by Jake Ten and images courtesy of Muiz Matdani.

The morning exercise before the run

Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Abdul Mu’min flagged off the women’s category

Another category during the starting line

The guest of honour also joined run and I salute on your Adidas attire too 🙂

Abdul Malik bin Awg Hidup won the Men’s Open Category

Alice Zytek won the Women’s Open Category

Group photo with the guest of honour. Click image to enlarge

Ariba Ariba…


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For the month of March, the Tasek Brasserie Restaurant, all day dining restaurant at the Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam, is the perfect stop for your never ending quest for good Mexican food.

Menu includes sizzling fajitas, tacos, tostada, tamales, beef ribs, marinated chicken, gazpacho, beef with jalapeno salsa, stuffed peppers and our famous whole roast lamb on the spit, and much more. Available every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for dinner, the buffet is priced at B$30.00 per adult and B$15 per child from 4 to 11 years old. Prices are subject to 10% service charge.

“For a complete Mexican food experience in Brunei Darussalam, come to the Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam for dinner and enjoy the excellent food with the highest quality ingredients and friendly service,” said Cameron Lawless, the Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Manager.

Tasek Brasserie is an all day dining restaurant located in the Radisson Hotel Brunei Darussalam offering buffet breakfast, a la carte options for lunch and an international buffet spread every night. Brunch is available every Sunday inclusive of pool use.

Do call 2244 272.

The chefs were busy behind the counter to serve the patrons of Tasek Brasserie

Nice choices of appetizers to choose from

Beef and chicken enchiladas

Beef ball with onion rings

Stuffed pepper with mixed vege and eggs

The lamb stall is nearby the poolside

Yummm… look at the slab of beef

The best dish of the lot. I almost went for seconds but I just too full then. Highly recommended – Taco beef

My dinner companions that night :))

This is first time that I’ve taken supplements because of the key word that caught my eye – anti-aging. I never really heard of this particular supplement but ZELL-V have been in the region in Malaysia and Singapore. Did you know that health business is one of the booming industry other than cosmetics? I hardly give so much emphasis on my health but I was already aware that health is one thing I should make priority in my life. It’s always sad to hear of people dying of certain illness and I rather not be part of that statistics.

What caught my attention also was that this ZELL-V soft gels are able to rejuvenate cells so organs and glands in our body can function as if they are new. Hence this is one of the factors that will lead to anti-aging. For instance, if you have problems with our liver, if you consistently consume ZELL-V, there will be improvement in that particular organ as mentioned by Mr. Simon Hooi, ZELL-V Global Head of Health and Wellness Department.

Not to worry as ZELL-V is approved by the Ministry of Health and for your info, ZELL-V outlet is now officially opened in Brunei back in January and the responses have been quite overwhelming.

I bought myself one box of ZELL-V soft gels and tried it for a month. Some of my friends did notice small changes though I can’t really tell since I don’t really look at myself at the mirror *lol* Energy wise it has improved but of course, the emotional side is a different matter :p So now I ended up buying two more boxes to last me a few more months and according to Elliott Pang, ZELL-V International Business Development Executive, it will take at least 3 months to see the difference.

If you have any questions or need more details, you can click here. The ZELL-V store is located on the 1st floor, Rizqun International Hotel (next to Tourism Malaysia office). You can 245 7668 for more details.

This will be one of the common words you here or see from me

I started with one box then I ended up stocking up for the next few months

Did you know this Malaysian celebrity is one of the ambassador for Zell-V? So this really says a lot about the product

Before I bought my Zell-V soft gels, I had a quick blood check

These are the cells in my body and this is not considered healthy *lol* The cells are clogged up and I show some sign of cholesterol too *oo oo*

Do you know that ZELL-V platinum cells are extracted from sheep placenta and not to worry as the sheep cells are easily accepted by human cells without any rejections

And yes, ZELL-V is certified Halal as well

The only downside is that the pills or tablets are freaking huge to my liking.. It’s also important that you consume tons of water as these can get heaty for some people.

Since I can’t swallow huge pills easily, I made used of different soft food to assist me in my challenge. The egg tart did the trick

I even tried using sushi for my pills during my lunch at Kitaro Restaurant

But it’s always been a tradition that I consume most of my pills with bananas… The “kedai runcit” near my house must be thinking why I keep buying bananas from time to time *lol*

In conjunction with the EPL Maters Football presented by b.mobile, AD Sports Event Management are offering an unbeatable promotion from Fitness Zone for the month of March. Sign up for a 1 year membership for only $600 and you’ll also receive a $59 ticket for EPL Masters and a guaranteed exclusive workout session with the players. Offer valid for the 1st 50 New Members only. Call ADSEM on 8231333.

The Pesta Santai Muara 2012 (PSM 2) is set to be launched on March 23 and will run till March 25.

It is being organised for the second time by the Village Consultative Council of Kampong Masjid Lama, Pekan Muara, Sabun and Pelumpong (MPK Muara), in collaboration with their appointed event manager Cityneon Displays and Construction Sdn Bhd, with the guidance and support from the Brunei Tourism’s KNK section.

The MPK Muara, led by Pg Hj Mohamed bin Pg Hj Othman @ Osman, the Chairman of the MPK Muara, would like to extend their invitation to residents for the Pesta Santai Muara and provide the opportunity to partake in the fun and games whilst enjoying some quality family time and giving back to the community. The theme for this year’s PSM is ‘Responsible Tourism for All’, with the ideology of respecting and taking care of the places we visit, starting with a beach clean-up this weekend at Pantai Muara, on March 18 entitled ‘I love my pantai’.

Besides the logo and mascot, another new development is the closing of the main entry road to Pantai Muara for all visitors, except members of the working committee, a conclusion reached by the Traffic Investigation and Control Department. Members of the public are encouraged to cooperate and not park within 200 yards of Pantai Muara, to ensure the safety of pedestrians.

The promotional poster for Pesta Pantai Muara 2012

There will, however, be two designated parking areas on the way to Pantai Muara namely at the Muara Port carpark and Muara Health Centre, with free shuttle buses provided to accommodate the needs of the public.

Those who have disabled or elderly passengers on board will be allowed to drop their respective passengers at the entrance to Pantai Muara, but will then be instructed to make a U-turn and park in the designated areas provided by the working committee.

Fun and edutainment opportunities for the young and old throughout the three-day festival, will begin at Sam. Entry to Pantai Muara is free, however, certain activities will require the purchase of tickets, with prices ranging from $2-3 per entry, per person.

PSM 2 will also be giving visitors a chance to win an exciting array of prizes, by buying lucky draw tickets (with part of the proceeds being donated to the relevant charities and organisations) which are priced at $2 each. There will be 10 lucky draw winners each day, with an extra Grand Prize on the final day. The draws will be conducted at 4pm daily.

These are the mascots for next week’s event

The promotional campaign for PSM 2 is currently underway, with listeners of 91.4 Pelangi FM, RTB standing a chance to win entry tickets for the Cat Show, House of Reptiles and the Ghost House for answering the PSM 2 radio quiz on air throughout this week.

Other activities include a RC4WD Brunei Challenge Trophy 2012, Pesta Santai Muara Master Chef Challenge, Beach Football Tournament, a Bike Show, organised by the Bersatu Bikers Club and plenty of other games specifically tailored for children.

The opening ceremony for PSM 2 will begin at 7.30am, with the arrival of the guest of honour, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri SetiaAwg Hj Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, where he will officially launch the Pesta Santai Muara 2012 logo and mascot, YuYu D’Penyu’.

The Health Promotion Centre under the Ministry of Health would like to kindly advise members of the general public to take the appropriate measures to protect themselves from the sun (eg wearing hats, sunglasses and sun block) and to keep themselves hydrated throughout the day.

Those interested in obtaining one of the few designated stalls for food and other local products can contact 8841915/8894338.

Members of the public who have further enquiries about PSM 2 and how to participate in any of the tournaments and activities can contact the PSM 2 team atpestasantaimuara@gmail.com or cityneon@gmail.com, or via the following Facebook groups and pages; pesta santai muara, cityneon bruneidarussalam or mpk muara. Text by Jake Ten of Borneo Bulletin.

Group photo of the committee and sponsors

AV Electronics new store at ITB. Enjoy great discounts for students and teachers

Times Square Shopping Centre has introduced its first ever Times Square Nerf War Tournament last Friday, and ends today, 18th March 2012. The event has drawn vast attention and interest from the public, building up a realistic atmosphere of a warzone in the Atrium, located right in the heart of the shopping complex.

Due to the overwhelming response from the public, the Nerf War will be extended for 4 more days, until 21st March 2012. This is to ensure that everyone will be able to be a part of this excitement and thrill of the game, which has gained popularity among the Bruneian community.

In-conjunction with the school holidays this March 2012 to create more activities for the children and teenagers; Times Square has announced that there will be an extension for public play, where children and adults alike are invited to take part in for only $5 per match, inclusive of goggles and blasters. Those who have their own goggles or blasters will be charged at only $3 per game of 3 rounds.

Times Square Shopping Centre is a modern and innovative kind of shopping centre in Brunei Darussalam, reachable from the airport in less than 3 minutes’ driving distance. With international brands, food and beverages, children edu-tainment area and hotel, Times Square is a one stop shopping centre for everybody. Please call 2338208/ 2338006 for further information.

It was one way traffic for DPMM FC as Wardun, DPMM FC’s keeper was hardly troubled in goal. Goal scorers were Shahrazen, Basiru, Santos and substitute Helmi. Jozef Kaplan of Geylang United scored the consolation through a penalty.

The result means that DPMM FC are at the peak of the table with 3 wins and 1 draw while Geylang Utd suffered their 4th loss in a row (Is it their worst run in S.League history?). Next game will be against Harimau Muda on Thursday 22nd March at Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore. The match is rumoured to be shown live on Astro Arena channel.

Coach Simunic was smiling after the final whistle and he was proud of his players’ performance on the pitch. “I’m very happy that we are on top (even if for a day) and now we have to focus on Harimau Muda next week. We made one little mistake and when the game was 2-1, anything can happen in football. I feel sorry for Wardun tonight because it could have been a clean sheet.”

Great job once again on DPMM FC on topping the table after four games. Almost two years of hiatus, this is considered a remarkable comeback for DPMM FC in the S.League.

The motivational “cuddle” before kick off

Simunic is always animated on the pitch

He’s a true supporter for HBT U-21 and DPMM FC. He never missed a single match. Awesome!

Santos celebrated his first goal for the club

Don’t forget that Royal Brunei Airlines will be flying daily to Melbourne starting next week 😀

The usual spot if I’m not taking photos on the field

Osman Basiru is in great scoring form but he tends to slow down to help back the midfielders

A happy Simunic expressed his joy as DPMM FC top the S.League table

Check this out next week!!! Email to pi.bensim@gmail.com for more details

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Hello readers of RA. Did you know the government is running a survey on the “Reading Culture of Brunei Society”? I only became aware of this recently and they have started doing a nationwide survey to all Brunei citizens from the age of 9.

The objectives of the survey are to understand in depth the reading habits and behaviours of readers; to identify the cause and effect of reading deficiency among readers and to assess impact of reading to academic development and to assess the impact of other media to reading habit.

This survey is open to all Bruneians until 31st May 2012. The public can access to the online survey from this website www.readingculture.gov.bn. The questionnaires are available in both English and Malay.

Organised by BEDB. So get your ideas expressed and exposed 🙂

[Paintball report from Aammton Alias] Come rain, sunshine, hail and snow, we will continue to play paintball, whilst continue our struggle for Paintball accepted in Brunei, since 2004 ! The team Southern Cobra of Brunei along with the Madpaintball group continues to organise events outside of Brunei every month in Labuan. The aim is to prepare as many teams to play professional international Tournament Paintball.

We do our best to see the positive side of our sad paintball situation.. only the Dedicated continue to play. Southern Cobra has fielded teams in the Nation Cup 2004, World Cup Asia 2005 and World Cup Asia 2006. After a long break, we managed to play in the the last World Cup Asia 2011 in Langkawi. World Cup Asia 2011 attracted 140 teams from all over the world.

The team had just participated in the Paintball Asia League Series also known as PALS, which is a well established international paintball league series in Asia, where teams from all over the world hone their skills and measure themselves against those who are determined to win. The last tournament PALS Thailand was 1st – 4th March 2012.

These games are fast (6 minutes for two games) and are not to be confused with ‘woodsball or jungle games’ . Every team needs 5 players plus up to 2 substitutes, 2 pit crew whose roles are to prepare the players and equipment before and after the games & a coach to give directions from the designated area during the gameplay. There is a lot of shouting of codes and signals between players and coaches. The amount of tactics varies so differently between the various teams.

To watch the games itself gives a euphoric rush of adrenaline, so why don’t you imagine playing it. Some of the new Southern Cobra players had tremor hands before their games!

Bruneians making friends with Canadians

Fairul with his stunt move during the paintball action

The Southern Cobra break

Southern Cobra during Thomas Taylor clinic

The team had a wonderful opportunity to train before hand with Thomas Taylor who is a professional paintball in one of the best teams in the world called XSV. During this clinic, our team along with a Canadian team was taught some of the secrets of playing tournament paintball.

Paintball doesn’t stop, it lives us and we live it. As soon as we arrive back from Bangkok, a different set of players from the Southern Cobra team went to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to play in an international regional paintball tournament called the Sabah Paintball Series, reaching the quarterfinals. Southern Cobra had sent two teams this time instead of fielding one team. The whole event was about coordinating resources. We were quite happy to receive a Singaporean guest player ‘Irwan’ who turned out to help us with his in depth knowledge of tournament paintball and tactics.

Sabah Paintball Series Broadcast will be on this Sunday (18/03/2012) on TVI ASTRO Channel 180 6.30pm. We hope to send at least 3 Brunei teams to the World Cup Asia 2012, Langkawi ( 8 – 11th November 2012).

Do you care to join us ? Facebook Madpaintball Events or Brunei Paintballers. Text by Aammton Alias

The bird’s eye view of the paintball action

Team Southern Cobra

The Singapore Scholarship is back again!!!! Last year, Muhd Kamaaredzwan Kamarudin earned himself a scholarship at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU). So who will be the chosen one this year?

Muhd Kamaaredzwan Kamarudin receiving his award from Singapore High Commissioner Joseph Koh

Singapore High Commissioner Joseph Koh with the previous Singapore Scholars with Danial Phua, Second Secretary of Singapore High Commission (far right)

Click image to enlarge poster. It’s happening next week. Highly recommended

T.C.Y. Motors Sdn Bhd recently launched the new Audi A6 Sedan at the Times Square shopping mall last night, after it was unveiled by the guest of honour Director of Land Transport Department, Hj Khalid Hj Mustafa together with TCY Motors chairman Teng Chin Yeng. Also present was Hambali, Sales Manager of TCY Motors.

The new 7th generation Audi A6 is the most advanced sedan in its executive class. Constructed with ultra lightweight technology, the new A6 is 80kg lighter than its predecessor, resulting in less work for the engine and therefore less fuel consumption.

The all new Audi A6 for Brunei will be equipped with distinctive full LED headlights and rear lights, Audi’s Side Assist rear blind spot detection, parking aid with reversing camera, electromechanical parking brake, power start button and exclusive 19 inch wheels among other features.

For more details, you can visit the T.C.Y. Motors showroom.

The guest of honour and the chairman of TCY Motors unveiling the new Audi A6 Sedan at Times Square

The new Audi A6 Sedan

Hambali Hj Salleh, Teng Chin Yeng and Hj Khalid Hj Mustafa

Dinner was held at Times Square for the official launch of Audi A6

Guests of TCY Motors were also invited to witness the launch

John Tan taking a picture while Amy was being entertained by Fakhrul Razi

Amy was so shy when he sang a line with her name in it

He was the emcee and also the entertainer of the night. Awesome job, dude!!

The guests had opportunity to check out the Audi A6 Sedan

The Audi A1 was also being displayed

Recently T.C.Y. Motos Sdn Bhd as the local Audi dealer/importer held a hand-over ceremony of sponsored t-shirts to the Brunei Ladies Golf Association (BLGA) at its administration office located at the new Audi showroom building in Kiarong.

20 lady golfers from the BLGA will be competing this weekend in the 14th Borneo Ladies Golf Challenge Trophy to be held at the Miri Golf Club, the previous tournament was hosted by the BLGA in Brunei Darussalam.

Datin Seri Utama Hjh Rosnah binti Abdullah as the Chairlady of BLGA was on hand to receive the t-shirts from TCY Motors Chairman Mr. Teng Chin Ying. Datin expressed her appreciation & thanks for the support which will hopefully continue in the near future.

The Audi brand is an active supporter of the sport of golf and holds its own annual global tournament the Audi quattro Cup, this year the World Finals will be held in South Africa in November. The Audi quattro CupBrunei now in its third year is scheduled to be held in September.

Datin Seri Utama Hjh Rosnah binti Abdullah as the Chairlady of BLGA was on hand to receive the t-shirts from TCY Motors Chairman Mr. Teng Chin Ying

Who knows you will be able to watch Euro 2012 live this June 😀

Here are the ticket prices throughout the period. Hence it’s cheaper if you buy sooner 😀

A plague presentation ceremony for sponsors of the 2012 English Premier League (EPL) Masters Football Tournament Brunei Cup was held last month at the Members Grill of the Empire Hotel & Country Club in Jerudong.

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid Hj Mohd Jaafar, graced the ceremony and also presented the plaque to all the sponsors.

Also in attendance were Brunei Tourism Board CEO Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed, and former Liverpool player, Dietmar Hamann, here in Brunei as the ambassador of the EPL Masters.

The sponsors for this year’s tournament are: NBT Brunei Sdn Bhd and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) platinum sponsors; Airport Mall silver sponsor; Fitness Zone – health partner; while Royal Brunei Airlines official airline; The Brunei Times, official media; Ranoadidas.com, official blog; Armtrix Enterprise, official merchandiser.

The event partners include the Empire Hotel & Country Club, Candidsyndrome Brunei, Cooltones, Aewon Brunei and Imperial Sports.

The football tournament is a sport event organised by Ad Sports Event Management (ADSEM) and Masters Football Asia, and is presented by telecommunication provider B-Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd.

It is supported by the MCYS, Brunei Tourism Board, and the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD).

The tournament will kick-start on April 21, and tickets are available for sale already. For more information, call 8231333. Text by Anwar Rosly of The Brunei Times.

Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid and Sheikh Jamaluddin were present during the sponsorship ceremony

b.mobile is one of the major sponsors for the EPL Masters 2012

NBT (Toyota) is one of the sponsors as well for this year. You can win a Lexus CT 200H!!

Royal Brunei Airlines Deputy Chairman//Acting CEO Dermot Mannion talking to Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid. Royal Brunei Airlines is the official airline for EPL Masters Football Brunei Cup 2012

Irshad Ahamed, Manager of Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Brunei with Dietmar Hamann. SCB is one of the sponsors for the event

Aewon is one of the sponsors as well

A fan taking a picture with Dietmar Hamann

Candid Syndrome is the official photographer for the event

Armtrix Enterprise is the official merchandiser for the event

Dietmar Hamann and Idham Abas of Adsem

Dato Paduka Hj Hamid and Dietmar Hamann posing with the trophy

Group photo with the sponsors

Now this should be fun. Empore Open Beach Futsal 2012 Champioship

This has been a dragging affair where paintball enthusiasts have been struggling with the authorities in legalising paintball. I remember a few years ago, there were a few illegal paintball activities held in the country until the authorities became aware and took action.

Then Labuan became a place where organisers and individuals felt much safer to play paintball tournaments. The urge is definitely there but there’s no avenue where we can have such tournament in Brunei.

In today’s paper (Borneo Bulletin), it was reported during the #LegCo8 that the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports doesn’t opposed the paintball but it is still a huge question mark why no license or approval have been granted to the paintball operators. I’m pretty sure that the Ministry have looked into this matter and accessing the equipments used for paintball. If you asked me, I don’t see any danger apart from the small bruise marks you get at worst.

I posted some pictures taken in the recent paintball tournament.. Not to worry (to the Brunei authorities) as this event was held in the UK, not Brunei. For many occasions, Brunei students studying in the UK, organised paintball tournaments and the participation is always overwhelming and is there a negative thing that came out on these activities? I’m sure they have more sophisticated equipments than the ones we have here in Brunei. So what’s the big deal in allowing such activities to be approved in Brunei? Mind you even the organisers managed to get sponsors from BSP and Brunei LNG and DST and this shows such big organisations show support to such activity and focus on the brighter sight of things. I do hope the Ministry and the authorities take this matter seriously for the sake of the youth in Brunei.

His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei was being briefed by Kalel of Prosynergy Paintall at BRIDEX 2011

In other great news, Nerf tournaments have been raising in popularity and the youth have been investing their nerf guns too. Of course, nothing beats paintball in this category but this is the next best thing which the authorities won’t have objections to it.

For your info, today Times Square will be hosting a Nerf Tournament as part of the school holiday programme and it starts from today till Sunday, 18th March. Do check out the poster below for details.

The organisers setting up for the tournament last night

This article was written by Fatin Safri. The 25th of February 2012 marked an important day in the calendar for Bruneian students around the UK. It was seen as an opportunity to celebrate ‘Negaraku Brunei Darussalam’, Brunei’s 28th National Day. This very reason united 200 students from different Brunei UK societies at Warped Cosford Paintball Site. The annual BBSS Paintball Tournament was back in it’s sixth run, and with a fiery hot vengeance.

The teams participating were ‘BruWick’, Bruneians in Warwick, ‘Team Trolls’, a group with members from Newcastle, Birmingham and London, ‘Bradham Havoc’ from Bradford and Nottingham, ‘Rolling Thunder’ composed of students from London, Sheffield, Manchester and Loughborough. Wales sent their ‘Welsh Guards’ while Loughborough sent ‘Lufbru Elite’ and Keele sent the ‘Chronic Keelers. The BBSS sent ‘Birm Reapers’ and ‘Bru Bots’. Some teams included players from the local community, to share the patriotic values in celebrating Brunei’s National Day.

After the teams settled in and geared up for the tournament, the marshals’ called for a briefing. The game this year was different. Instead of the usual ‘Capture the Flag‘ matches played over the years, the organizers decided to introduce scenario-based objectives, which meant that teamwork and quick-thinking was crucial in achieving the goals. Rules and gameplay were only explained in the battle zone. As the message started sinking in, teams started discussing tactics and strategies to lessen the possibility of being dominated. Feelings of excitement, anxiousness and for some, fear were shared amongst one another. In front of them, the gleam of forty-eight gold miniature paintballers stood, waiting for those worthy of them.

The winning trophies were sponsored by BSP and Brunei LNG

The participants being briefed before the tournament

Let the action begin

As the first two teams were called out on to the battlefield, Rolling Thunder and Bru Bots made themselves known. While Bru Bots waited to go through the army netting to get their guns, most of Rolling Thunder were already equipped with their own e-markers and distinct attire. The team consisted of players from last year’s winning team. However the look on their faces said it all- they didn’t know what to expect. Bru Bots was mentally prepared, knowing that there was no place for the faint-hearted in this game. In a different division, Bradham Havoc and Birm Reapers took their places on a different map Supporters and volunteers followed as spectators, watching intently from the ‘dead zone’.

It proved to be a hard competition, many matches ending in close results, as all the teams had their own unique specialties. While like Rolling Thunder, Welsh Guards were reputable for being a strong team, Lufbru Elite and the BBSS teams had once won the tournament. Bradham Havoc was known to be a serious contender, while first timers BruWick, Team Trolls and Chronic Keelers highly exceeded expectations with winning streaks.

Hours passed, and although pellets were depleting and the energy of the players were diminishing, there was an adrenalin rush, victory being the reason for some, for most it was an intense, eager enjoyment of what had happened and what was coming next. They cherished the little breaks in between that was used to rest, pray, making and catching up with friends over steaming cups of hot chocolate in the cold weather.

As points were accumulating on the scoreboard, there were not one, but two teams tied in first place. There were also two teams tied in second place. An epic battle ensued to be a tie-breaker, and as the games ended, the winners were evident. Third place belonged to the Welsh Guards. Captain Isa Sukarni thanked his teammates while cheers filled the air, and commented;

“On behalf of the BDSSW, I’d like to thank the Brunei Birmingham Students Society for organizing yet another ‘paintastic’ event. Personally, attending the event for the third straight year, I found it to be the best yet, and I’m sure I can say the same for the rest of the team. Even though third place was just as good as first for us, we’ll be sure to come again next year and get a higher spot on that podium.”

The Welsh Guards celebrating their victory

Chronic Keelers came 2nd place in the BBSS Paintall Tournament

Rolling Thunders, Champions of the BBSS Paintball Tournament 2012

Second Place went to the Chronic Keelers. On being handed the trophy, captain Fadhli Al-Shokry was ecstatic, saying;

“It’s a good experience participating in the tournament and it was an unexpected success for the Chronic Keelers as this was the first time that we are participating as a team but seems like the teamwork and commitment has brought in success. Chronic Keelers would like to thank BBSS for the amazing event and hope to meet again in the years ahead. It would be nice one day to see this sport being practiced in the homeland, Brunei Darussalam.

BBSS Players and volunteer hoodies were sponsored by DST

The winners of the tournament emerged to be Rolling Thunder, Second time first-place winner captain, Fadhlan Yakob later stated;

“I would say it was just alright. No big deal. We won. Okay, who am I kidding? WE WON! The committee was responsive and really good in organizing the event. The fact that they have managed to secured sponsorship for the event just shows how dedicated the organizers in making the event a success. We had so much fun during the event and best of all is we celebrated our National Day in this fashion. On the other hand, our team has done so much preparation and training. We even bought 4 walkie-talkies just to improve our sense of communication in the field!” – Text by Fatin Safri and images courtesy of Brunei Birmingham Students Society.

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With the school holidays just around the corner, now is the perfect time to plan your next family getaway. Spend as little as B$10.00net per person from the hotel’s fantastic selection of food and beverage, patrons can have a splash in the pool and relax. This offer is available everyday from 9am to 4pm.

Food and beverage selection includes international buffet breakfast or lunch at B$18.00net per person and our sandwiches or slices of cakes from the counter ranging from B$5.00net per slice.

“Complimentary use of the swimming pool is normally for guests who are staying in the hotel. We are offering to all Brunei residents the opportunity to have a splash, enjoy our selection of food and beverage and at the same time relax by our pool during this school break”, said Peter Feran, General Manager. Children from 10 years old and below swim with accompanying adults swim for free.

A special room rate is also available at only B$132.00net per room per night from 16 to 25 March.

Check in Radisson during the holiday break

Check out the new Chevrolet Spark coming soon to Brunei market. It will be available in auto and manual. Best Value Car of the year by BS Motoring-Chevrolet Sparks. The Chevrolet Spark has been named “Best Supermini 2011” by Wheels magazing, one of the leading auto publications disturbed in the UAE. The Chevrolet Spark was the top performing passenger vehicle in the 2011 Synovate Product Quality Awards.

If you want more inquiry, you can call 673-2426205, 2426206 and 2426207 at GHK Motors Sdn Bhd.

The Chevrolet Spark coming soon!!!

The Good.

1. HSBC (Brunei) is NOT exiting any markets in Asia. This news came to a surprise after there were some comments in relation to HSBC in Brunei in a recent media which has not been substantiated. Hence, HSBC Brunei is here to clarify that HSBC Brunei will continue its commitment to Brunei Darussalam.

HSBC’s presence in Brunei has been significant and they will continue to invest and grow in Asia as evidenced by their strong financial performance in 2011. HSBC Brunei have a strong market position and they have worked tirelessly with the Government, regulators and customers.

Do look forward exciting new campaigns from Retail Banking and Wealth Management and exclusive Corporate Banking and Global Markets events. HSBC – World’s Local Bank.

2. Great buzz from Social Deal. It has been finalized; www.SocialDeal.com.bn is officially giving out an iPad2 16GB (with Krusell Case + Screen Protector) & 3x 750GB PQi HDDs (sponsored by Cooltones/3g.com.bn). Aside from that, stand to win 10x QQeStore Vouchers worth B$10 each, 10x Easi/Bmobile Recharge cards worth B$10 each, 10x SocialDeal Credits worth B$10 each! All you have to do is ‘Subscribe & Register’ with them for FREE OF CHARGE @ http://socialdeal.com.bn/customer/account/create/ & wait for the instructional mail to hit your mailbox on 15th March!

SocialDeal Brunei, throughout its 8 months’ operation has surprisingly saved Bruneians over B$100,000+ in value through some 3400+ coupon experiences! Not to mention the tonnes of great stuffs we get to see, do & taste in Brunei with them at knockdown pricings. From Japanese Food, Thai Food, Ladies Deals, Fitness Deals, they never failed to amaze the public with the great savings they offer by utilizing the people’s group power!

Now they’re giving out even more with their FREE registration & subscription campaign in association with Cooltones/3g.com.bn’s sponsorship & support! So what are you waiting for?! I’d say join them now!

Click image to find out more

2. A successful BGIC 2012. As usual, International School of Brunei have successfully turn Borneo Global Issues Conference into a rewarding experience for the participants – almost 300 students of them. More than 3/4 of the participation were from local schools and the newbies have certainly gained a lot from the conference.

As reported in The Brunei Times, most students were pretty quiet until the final two days where the momentum picked up and they were involved in the changing the “resolution”. I hope next year ISB are willing to increase the number of participants due to the huge demand. It was great to see Hugh Evans from Down Under who has inspired students to be a role model in volunteerism. Thumbs up to ISB for bringing a “huge sense of community” to Brunei. Awesome!!

Students were so active and involved during BGIC 2012 which was held at the ICC recently

3. iPads to local schools? This was brought up at the #LegCo8 yesterday by the Minister of Education. Based on Borneo Bulletin’s article today, the Ministry of Education will spend a whooping BND 6 million for schools to use as educational tools. This was highlighted under the e-Hijrah programme.. Interesting…

It seems that iPad is the favourable tablet as compared to Galaxy Tab and other tablets. The presence of technology will definitely changed the perspective of students and I hope this can spur more ideas from them. Thumbs up to the Ministry of Education for this great news.

The question is will it be iPad or iPad 2 or the new iPad. This is also good news to AV Electronics if the Ministry were to appoint them for distribution purposes 🙂

4. Aspire One with HDMI. The stock just arrived yesterday at Concepts Computer and this will surely be a big hit in Brunei because the latest Ace Aspire Netbook has HDMI output as well as bluetooth. The price is also below $500 and Concepts Computer have plenty of stock. Now computers are so cheap which makes it affordable especially for students.

Check out the latest Acer Aspire One at Concepts Computer

5. Samsung SII for $300??? Now that’s a great deal. Though I’m no iPhone user but this is an awesome package not to be missed. Of course, there are terms and conditions but all you have to do is subscribe to b.mobile. Furthermore, you will be given 2 X EPL tickets where you can catch the famous EPL players this coming April. So do check out at b.mobile’s outlet for this great package!!

6. Brunei’s historic achievement in football. Brunei U-21 made history last Friday to become Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy 2012 champions since the inaugural of the tournament. This is perhaps the best performance from our Brunei team after the 99′ performance in the Malaysia Cup. The unknown U-21s have now become the superstars of Brunei and they even got an overwhelming response from “Meet the fan” session at Times Square last Sunday.

The victory has definitely put Brunei on the football scene regionally and now the pressure will be on Brunei to continue that momentum. Kudos also to the management and the coaches for guiding and mentoring the U-21s to another level. It was mentioned that they will be having celebrations in other districts – Tutong, Kuala Belait and Temburong.

The Brunei U-21 did a spectacular job throughout the tournament and their journey was supported by the 20,000 strong supporters throughout the tournament. Awesome feeling!!!

7. The emergence of Handball. Yesterday was history in the making as Brunei has another sport that has been inducted and accepted which is handball. It was the official launch of Brunei Handball Federation officiated by HRH Prince Sufri Bolkiah yesterday at the Indoor Stadium. This is another sports to look forward to. More updates soon on the official launch.

These guys were there to do a demo on Handball. I hope to see this sport picking up in popularity.

8. Awesome participation from SCB “Run for a Reason”. To date, there are more than 2,700 who have signed up for Standard Chartered Bank’s “Run for a Reason”. Apparently, the fun run and the 5k runs are still available but the 10K and 21K have limited slots left. I have signed up for the 5K and I can’t wait for the actual day.

The closing date for registration is 18th March 2012 and you can register at scbruneihalfmarathon.com online. For your info, there have been great participation from 11 countries as well. So this isn’t just a run for the locals. The race is just less than four weeks away.. Exciting!!

9. DSTcard going the extra mile. DST have signed up with Reebonz and MAS Wings where customers can enjoy better discounts with under DST loyalty card program. The signing ceremony took place last week and I shall update you further on the deals done between respective parties. For your info, Reebonz is an exclusive online shopping destination offering premier brands especially for the ladies and by using DSTcard, you will be entitled to a 5% discount for any first time purchase.

The signing ceremony took place recently between Reebonz, MASwings and DST at The Empire Hotel

10. Instagram on Android? Apparently this is true and and it claims that the Android app is better than the current iPhone. Interesting…. Though the team didn’t elaborate on what’s the difference so far and right now, the Android app is under private beta.

Did you know there are 27 million users of instagram which is almost doubled the 15 million users it had in December 2011. Amazing!!! I remember my friends who are Android users signed up for the copied version of instagram – “mytubo” but that the flame didn’t last long. So it’s great to see instagram developers allowing this to be made available on Androids and that would mean more “likes” on my pictures *LOL*

Instagram on Android coming soon

11. Rising entrepreneurs receiving funds. I’m so excited because my friend has been awarded a LEAP grant from Brunei Economic Development Board. For your info, the LEAP Grant is an initiative by BEDB to provide funds to entrepreneurs who are creating their own prototype which will be then used for their businesses, let it be service or product. The idea of the funds is to make life easier for them to make their ideas into reality.

Of course, this is no easy process to receive the grant. A lot of procedures were taken into account. More than 20 submitted their applications. 15 were shortlisted to present but only 7 were chosen as the third batch of LEAP grant recipients. Vincent Cheong, CEO of BEDB, congratulated the 7 new recipients and he gave some words of encouragement to them and he said the selection process wasn’t easy at all. It’s good to see BEDB helping start-up companies and let’s hope this can further entice more entrepreneurs in the making 😀

Vincent Cheong (back row, 2nd from right) with the seven recipients of the LEAP grant scheme and associates from BEDB

12. DPMM FC unbeaten run continues. A gritty performance by DPMM FC last Sunday. Though I did expect the crowd not to be as packed as the HBT tournament as there’s a fee involved. The stadium was half full and the cheers were still pretty loud. Mind you the S.League matches in Singapore don’t have a huge crowd as ours.

DPMM FC wasn’t as clinical as they could have scored at least four goals against Albirex if it wasn’t for the heroics of the Japanese keeper. The visitors came to Hassanal Bolkiah, boasting three wins out of three games and DPMM FC ended their winning streak with goals coming from Subhi and Rodrigo. DPMM FC will play bottom team Geylang FC this Friday, 16th March at the National Stadium.

DPMM FC celebrated the winning goal while Rodrigo held the Brunei flag. I was wondering where he placed the flag in the first place. Image by Hayatdee

13. Panna KO is back!!! This was a super hit last year in Brunei and good job for TelBru in organising this tournament. Last year, it drew great participation as well as the crowd who came to watch the Panna KO. The main event will take place at Times Square, The Mall from 30th March to 1st April. So do register from 7th March to 24th March 2012. Go to their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TelBruPannaKO or call their Panna KO Hotline at 232 2100 (office hours). The grand prize – XBOX 360 Kinect.

Click image to find out more

The Bad.

1. Poor management of gate control. This is related to HBT2012. This is still lingering in people’s mind. Those who have queued or waited for hours and their successful attempts on grabbing the HBT tickets served no purpose. Why? Because loads of ticket holders ended up being locked out from the stadium due to the full capacity of the stadium.

You can see people waving their tickets and even those with invitations (at covered areas) were not being entertained. By 6:45pm, the gates were closed to prevent overcrowding and I have to say it’s a wise move not to allow more people entering that stadium regardless because of safety issues. But this is really a sad case where ticketing could have been carried out systematically.

I feel sorry for those guys waiting at the gate only to know that they have no chance of entering the stadium despite holding legitimate tickets

2. Roundabout with traffic lights?? I just posted this issue up on instagram, Facebook and Twitter this morning and they have been many responses on the idea of having traffic lights installed for traffic control at the Gadong/Kiulap Roundabout. The responses, as usual, are pretty mixed. Some are in favour, some are not.

Will traffic lights make it difficult for traffic flow? Well, I know for one that it will make it difficult for the inner lane drivers to get out of the lane due to a slow or controlled traffic flow. This is already tricky for the Berakas roundabout which only have two lanes. It will be interesting to see how the traffic flow will be once this comes in place. In my opinion, I’m not in favour of having traffic lights.

The cones were not a popular choice for educating motorists on usage of the Gadong/Kiulap roundabout. So they are planning on installing traffic lights instead.. Fail or unfail?

3. Property ownership. Back in 2009, it was all good. PRs and foreigners were able to own land or property. This time, it was a different story. The “power of attorney” is being abolished by the Government which makes ownership of property difficult or impossible to foreigners. This is a bad sign for Brunei in terms of bringing in more foreign investment to Brunei.

Such move was brought up during the #LegCo8 and these have caused a major uproar among some businessmen/women. This will surely have an impact in the Brunei economy and in my opinion, if the government wants to attract foreign investment, this might not be a considerable move. I hope for a more favourable resolution for PRs and foreigners.

The Ugly.

 1. Disrespecting National Anthems. I was there to witness the appalling behaviour by our own people during the semi-finals of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy 2012. People were mocking and making fun of Myanmar’s National Anthem during the semi-final match between Brunei and Myanmar. I felt so ashamed to experience such sight. I felt sorry for the Myanmar supporters who were backing their football team.

Such behaviour should not be tolerated and I hope the organisers can look into this matter seriously. In fact, the emcee did highlight prior to the finals to show respect during National Anthems and it was a great sight that both Brunei and Indonesia exchanged claps after their respective National Anthems were sung.

2. Water bottle wars (and hooliganism). Need I say more. This is a difficult moment for RUs and the police officers. One thing is that they were outnumbered among the hundreds of unhappy supporters. It doesn’t matter who started the bottle wars but both parties who were involved need to be dealt with by the authorities. There’s no room for violent conduct and I understand their frustrations but it shouldn’t resort to acts of hooliganism.

This is something that it’s gonna be tough to educate especially for those with rage and full of angst. I can’t imagine a match between Malaysia and Indonesia. I hope more stern actions or steps will be taken in the near future to eradicate this problem. Football is suppose to unite nations and bring harmony.

The exchanging of bottles happened between the borders of Brunei and Indonesia supporters. The commotion also happened where people were throwing water bottles from the top end of the stadium to supporters outside the stadium.

3. Public toilets reflect Brunei’s progress? I like this quote from Anakbrunei’s tweet – “The best way to gauge the state of a country is to look at the state of the public toilets”. Well it wasn’t his quote but it was sourced as anonymous. I believe this can be a true reflection depending on your perspective. The public toilets have been appalling to say the least and a few weeks ago, the Brunei Tourism Board did some inspection on the public toilets and gave some grading as well.

There are a few hidden messages in that quote alone and I won’t go into details. I just leave it to you guys to have your own interpretation. By the way, the CEO of Brunei Tourism wasn’t impressed with the conditions of the public toilets located in town. I’m not too sure if any steps have been taken to improve the conditions of the toilets. This could be a worrying matter because I dislike dirty toilets. Period!!!

This is taken at BSB Waterfront. Image courtesy of Aziz Idris

Another turn off at public toilets. Image courtesy of Aziz Idris

4. DVD vendors facing extinction? Ok, these rumours have occurred and hence you will see tons of DVD vendors selling at ridiculous prices. Some at $1, some at 50 cents and pirated Blu-ray ones will go at $3. Now what this fall in the “ugly” is because Brunei has been well known for a dumping ground for pirated goods.

Furthermore, it’s not a crime to buy pirated softwares or DVD for personal use. Hence this culture of buying pirated stuff is seen as accepted in our society. Today’s paper, I came across an article where enforcers are giving a limited time period for the vendors to clear off their pirated CDs. So that clearly explains why these retailers are in a way doing a clearance sale. Let’s see if this is a temporary move as it has been the case in previous years.

Because of the warning, lots of DVD vendors are slashing their prices to attract more sales and customers before the D-Day (or will it not happen eventually?)

5. Suicide cases. I heard of the sad news through Twitter yesterday. One thing that I found in common is that all of them were foreigners. Why is this so? Such cases are hard to determine on the motive of the suicide attempts. A huge question mark also remains on the employers who hired them. These cases are unpredictable too. So far, in the last nine months, they have been 4 suicide cases, all foreigners. Hmmmm..

6. Forgers are sad people. This was one of the main reasons why ticket holders were locked out of the stadium during the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy final. Apparently hundreds of the ticket holders have fake ones where some did a great job in scanning and printing them out. The entrance of the gates were monitored by police officers and ushers but they won’t have a fair idea if it’s genuine or fake. So it’s hard to blame the officers at the gate due to the lack of communication or information given to them.

My suggestion is to improve the ticketing system and perhaps put a value or price on the tickets which I think is a fair move (Please cast your votes on the poll I posted for HBT). This will eliminate the huge surge of crowd especially the fact that Brunei appeared both in the sem-final and final. Let this be a learning lesson for all and I hope those culprits will think twice of duplicating legitimate tickets or passes.

The bigger size ticket in the image is fake. The ushers failed to notice the fake and the genuine tickets of HBT 2012.

7. Boys vs Girls? A few bitter words from both coaches during the interview after the victory of DPMM FC 2-1 over Albirex Niigata FC. Coach Simunic was upset that the fouls were left unpunished and he claimed that his players were physically challenged by the visitors which caused some minor injuries to some of the players. Simunic joked, “We were playing football. They were playing rugby”. I believed that if DPMM FC were to draw or lose, the coach would have used the referee as a focal point.

Albirex Niigata’s Team Manager Koh Mui Tee was unimpressed with Simunic’s views. He retaliated by saying, “I would like to say his players played like girls. They way they fell down. It was disgraceful. Brunei is a difficult place to come to. A win is a bonus, a draw is good and a loss is nothing to be ashamed of.”

The war of words between two coaches – Simunic of DPMM FC and Koh Mui Tee of Albirex Niigata