Curtin University Sarawak

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The new iPhone should be announced by Wednesday 1am-2am later Brunei time.. The wait is almost over!!! Are you guys ready??

The fourth annual technology & entrepreneurship forum in Brunei THiNKBIG Innovate 2011 co-organised by iCentre and Asia Inc Forum, will take place at the Empire Hotel & Country Club on October 20, 2011. The forum is expected to bring together 250 delegates from the ICT industry, government, business community, educational institutions, students and aspiring entrepreneurs.

The forum themed “Innovation…Inspiring and Driving Change” will explore how innovation driven technology has inspired change and how entrepreneurs have used these innovations to bring value to businesses and society.

So what can you expect from the event this month?

1) Multi-track sessions
2) a TED style presentation (interesting)
3) networking lunch

Who are the invited speakers?

Derek Sivers, Founder of CDBABY – largers seller of independent music on the web.
Ann Burgraff, Mentor Advisor at NUS Enterprise & Former VP of Corporate Marketing at Salesforce – 15 years experience of marketing innovative software andr marketing services
Hew Joon Yeng, Co- founder of PigeonLab Pte Ltd – a Singapore based company which designs and develops conference question and answer tools on the mobile web.

This year’s THiNK BIG Innovate 2011 boasts a fresh outlook and it is hoped the rebranding will encourage people who are less tech-savvy to attend and benefit from the forum. Hadi Shafie of the iCentre said that “we had in mind to spur the development entrepreneurship in Brunei when we crafted the programme. This year, we have rebranded the event as Innovate 2011 as this is NOT just another technology forum, this is a platform for inspiration, for learning and for ideas in building better businesses, markets, a stronger industry, a firmer framework for encouraging entrepreneurship, and understanding how the world is moving towards different emerging technologies.”

This is a highly recommended event for students, innovators, enterpreneurs, and perhaps those who are participating in the Think Big Ignite competition.. well, you will definitely learn something from this forum and I shall be covering this event as well.

For more information visit asisincforum.com or contact Asia Inc Forum at 222 6555 or you can follow @icentre_brunei for updates of the THINK BIG Innovate 2011 and even win seats or get a discount on the seats for the forum.

The promotional poster for ThinkBig Innovate

The invited speakers for THINKBIG Innovate speakers

Hadie Shafie briefing the local press for the upcoming event

Curtin University Sarawak

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Dr. Wong, BICTA Chief Judge, said that there were no “wow” factors in the submission and he said over the years, these expectations have become rather too subjective. Though many have used the means of social media, mobile applications and cloud technologies in their projects, these ideas will just remain as concepts without moving to the next phase of development and implementation.

This morning the BICTA Awards ceremony took place and there were no “winners” in the ICT industry and Secondary categories. Instead they received a “Merit Award”. Only Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College won the Grand prize in the “Tertiary” category. This is because the products are making use of multi-media and moving away from developing “information systems”. Furthermore, their presentation was well-crafted and they had a good balance between technical and commercial knowledge.

There were 24 entries for the BICTA competition and the prizes were given by the Minister of Communications, YB Pehin OKHP Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdullah. There are three categories in the BICTA competition – ICT industry, Tertiary Category and Second Category.

ICT Industry category
No First Prize winners for ICT Industry Category
Iplussoft Technology “Brunei Lifestyle Mobile Application” – Merit Award – $5,000
SocialBuzz Advertising “Social Deal Brunei” – Merit Award – $5,000
Crescent Sdn Bhd “Islamic Brunei Educators”- Merit Award – $5,000
Indera Sejahtera Development Services Sdn Bhd “Where2kerja.com”- 3rd Place -$2,500

Tertiary category
Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College “Brunei Experience Multimedia Project” – Winner Award – $7,000
Institute Technology Brunei “Simple pay” – Merit award – $3,500

Secondary category

No First Prize winner for Secondary Category
Chung Hwa Middle School, BSB “Waseven Resource Reservation” – Merit Awards – $2,000
Sekolah Menengah Masin “Easy Text Book” – 3rd Place – $1,000

All of the awarded participants will represent Brunei to compete for the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards (APICTA) 2011. This years’ APICTA will be held on November 8 – 11, 2011 in Dusit Thani Pattaya, Pattaya, Thailand.

Special Awards was presented to 2 participants for the contribution of their product to the concept of Islamic principle and moving towards the direction of Green intiative respectively to Crescent Sdn Bhd “Islamic Brunei Educators” and Megamas Training Company Sdn Bhd “Brunei Carbon Footprint Calculator.

Minister of Communications with invited guests, judges of BICTA and BICTA awardees

Minister of Communications with invited guests and judges of BICTA

Megamas Training Company won the Green Award for their “Brunei Carbon Footprint Calculator”

Hiro of SocialDeal – “This is the first time I participated in the competition and I didn’t expect this far. I might be joinging the Ignite Think Big competition too. For now, we can use this prize money for capital injection and look deeper to what SocialDeal can do. We have a 1,100 subscribers in a space of 3 months and it’s growing. We have a new deal coming up with Acer hard drive at a very good price which will be revealed soon”

Brunei Experience Multimedia Project was a project by Saiful Rijal Technical College and they are the only team that won in their respective cateogy. Their idea is a kiosk featuring attractions of Brunei and in a way, promote places of interests in Brunei for the incoming tourists. In a nutshell, this is a flash tourism kiosk. Oh yeah, they also won the Vocational Technical Institute in May 2011. They will be heading to Thailand this November

They previously enter the Think Big Business Plan 09/10 and they won. In BICTA, the brothers were only awarded the Merit Award as there were no winners in their category. With their mobile apps idea, you can share busines contacts and promote their businesses through mobile

Great victory for Crescent as they bagged two awards – a Merit ICT Award and Special Awards for the concept of Islamic principle

Now, now, now… What can I do with the prize money? :))

My outing on Sunday

More pictures/articles this week

Have you booked your air fare?

Today’s the last day

Now Royal Brunei Airlines have pretty good deals during the travel fair. They are introducing special fares especially for December period.

December period from RBA

1) Kuala Lumpur as low as BND 403
2) Singapore as low as BND 491
3) Bangkok as low as BND 513
4) Hong Kong as low as BND 619
5) Manila as low as BND 465 and additional allowance for baggage for BWN/ML sector (5kg 1st – 15th Dec, 10kg 15th – 31st Dec 2011) So this is ideal for expats.

Another interesting promotion that RBA is offering is the business class seats upgrade. All you have to do is top up a very affordable amount and you can enjoy business class but not applicable for Singapore and Kuala Lumpur sector. One note though that the upgrade is only applicable for one way meaning that you can choose whether you want fly business class to the destination or returning from that destination. Simple, right?? So do refer to the additional charges below.

Business Class upgrade supplement

1) Manila and Bangkok – BND 69 for upgrade (Valid until March 2012 except for December 2011)
2) Hong Kong – BND 99 for upgrade (Valid until March 2012 except for December 2011 and 17th Jan 2012 to 5th Feb 2012)
3) Hong Kong – BND 139 for upgrade (December 2011)
4) London – BND 999 Valid till March 2012 (However S class ex-BWN not valid 9Dec to 22 Dec 2011). Do you know that it costs BND 8,000 just to fly to London on Business Class? So this is a good upgrade to enjoy a business class experience.

Mind you that you should visit the Abacus Holiday Travel Fair at The Airport Mall this weekend to get more information about this promotion. There’s so much data given to me and I just hope that I’m not confusing you with these details. So I’m just giving you some special fares that might catch your attention. There are some terms and conditions and also the validity of the tickets so it’s best that you come to the fair and do some homework 😉

By the way, you can book your flights/tickets during the travel fair and if I’m not mistaken, you have to pay a deposit of $50 per booking. Full payment has to be made by 5th October 2011 at the respective travel agent. You can follow @royalbruneiair on Twitter for updates.

Singapore Airlines promotion. This is also the first time that Singapore Airlines is involved in Abacus Holiday Travel Fair. They are sponsoring one economy class ticket to Singapore as one of the lucky draw prizes but only applicable to those who book and purchase ticket on Singapore Airlines.

Siaw Ling Wong of Singapore Airlines also mentioned of tying up family or long packages to Japan and Australia via Singapore. Hence, Singapore Airlines have been working closely with the Japan Embassy and also Freme Travel for the best packages for the Brunei market. The special packages are valid from Oct 2011 to March 2012. I didn’t know that there are four flights daily from Singapore to Tokyo.

The price for the BWN-SIN return is as low as BND 369 during the peak season. Now that’s a pretty good deal but the price can vary slightly depending on the fluctuation of exchange rate and availability of seats. You can book your flights and enjoy the special deals this weekend and you can make full payment by the 6th October 2011.

What a crowd yesterday at Abacus Holiday Travel Fair at The Airport Mall. Today’s the final day

The launching of the 8th Abacus Holiday Travel Fair

Tourism Malaysia making an impact at the travel fair

Royal Brunei Catering having cooking demo such as “Soup Kembayau”

Pan Bright having great deals with amazing lucky draws

Guest of honour touring the travel fair at The Airport Mall

He was looking for Sheikh Jimmy and sending his regards

At the RBA booth and of course, Spin the Wheel is back!!

Baiduri Bank is the official bank and lots of privileges during travel fair

Japan Embassy helping to push their tourism industry at the travel fair

Insuran Islam TAIB is also at travel fair

Mr. Jack the caricature is back :))

Click image to enter official website for more info

This is an interesting collaboration with @icentre_brunei and @bruneitweet where iCentre has taken a step forward in developing Brunei Creative Industry by launching “iMMerse photography challenge”. With the theme “MY Brunei”, it aims to allow individuals to capture imagery scenes that can describe best about our nation. How to enter the competition is simple.. Just upload the picture on Twitter and mention @bruneitweet to be eligible for the competition.

The competition will be open until 9th Octover and the winners will be announced on 10th October via @bruneitweet, Projekbrunei.com and iCentre Facebook Page. So peeps.. What are the criteria for this competition? The judge will look for style, context, photographic vision, visual impact and relevance to the theme. All submitted photos must be accompanied with a short description.

So what’s at stake?? Well, you have nothing to lose since it’s open to everyone (on Twitter) and it’s FREE. The grand prize is a Fish Eye Camera (plus film) and a Crumpler Messenger Bag worth $225 (sponsored by Icklebooks). 2nd prize will be $100 QQestore voucher and 3rd prize will be $50 QQestore voucher.

The iMMerse program is a multimedia initiative by iCentre (@icentre_brunei) and Brunei Economic Development Board (@BEDB) which leverages on new media and social media as a marketing platform to engage the creative community in developing multimedia content using technology and new media.

So peeps… Do try out this competition and test your creativity. [click here]

Delwin Keasberry, founder of ProjekBrunei.com and @bruneitweet talked about the “iMMerse photography challenge”

The invited guests during the launch

Hadi Shafie, iCentre Manager, Kwok Leong, iCentre Executive Director, Sheikh Rashid Salam, BEDB Assistant CEO of Local Business, Jan Shim, local blogger shimworld.com and judge and Delwin Keasberry, founder of Projekbrunei.com and owner of @bruneitweet

Today’s the last day :))

Dato Lim Beng Thai, Managing Director of Boustead, officiated the 2-day carnival and he thanked all the vendors that supported the event.

The guys from Boustead, warming up the confetti

…..and the Boustead Carnival 2011 was officially launched

Aiking have some special promotion going on too at the Boustead Carnival

Long queue for the Suzuki customers because of the 10,000 cash prize. Who’s gonna win it?

So anyone bought a Suzuki during the Hari Raya promotion? Instead of having a lucky draw, Suzuki customers will play this particular game and the one with the highest will win BND 10,000.. Awesome!!! I’m gonna use this for my event next year!! Haha

The Nissan Serena was launched last evening at the Boustead Carnival 2011

Beard’s Papa is one of the vendors at Boustead Carnival 2011. There are also balloons from Beard’s Papa

I’ve always admire Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop because they always participate in events like this

My first acquaintance with Ahad’s burger. Apparently, they are only located at KB (Simpur) and they have been very popular after their existence in Facebook. Now Ahad’s Burger is at the Boustead Carnival 2011. I tasted their burger and I give it 7/10.. They are still looking for a location in town. I can’t wait :))

Dato Lim Bing Thai made his tour at the carnival and visited @JustCinful and @icyluckyhoof’s booth

@JustCinful new range of cupcakes unveiled – Sexy Lemon, Fresh Pandan and Black Forest. Try them out!!

@icyluckhoof also promoting her cupcakes at Boustead Carnival 2011

Quite a lot of activities going to do at Boustead Carnival 2011

Bring your family today… Located outside Multi-Purpose Hall, Indoor Stadium

There’s also a remote control car at one of the booths

They have clowns for entertainment as well

One of the Top 50 Who’s Got Talent Season 3 hosted by b.mobile and there will be more performances today. Shortlisted ones will perform 8pm tonight :))

Will she make it through the next stage?

Guest appearance by Dayat, Aziz Harun and Adi Rani

Have you cast your votes for your favourite performer?? Check out their respective codes and vote :))

Eric Leong to make an appearance today at 3pm at Times Square

Purchasing a home can be a very tricky and long process for many. But this weekend, members of the public wishing to purchase a home with facilities from HSBC can visit the HSBC Fair at Times Square, which commenced yesterday and will end tomorrow.

The HSBC Fair, which comprises various exhibitors ranging from property agencies to interior design and furnishing companies, was officially launched by the Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management of HSBC Brunei, Ms Lyndsay Rajah.

Also present at the launch was the Senior Sales and Distribution Manager, Dk Hamidah Pg Othman; Manager Corporate Sustainability, Lim Boon Teck; Chief Risk Officer, Lim Kok Guan and Manager of Marketing and Group Communications, Lim Kian Chiong.

At the ceremony, the General Manager of Fabrica, Steven Pang, the Manager of Signature Kitchen, Mei Law and a representative of Thomson Furniture participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Ms Lyndsay Rajah.

During the three-day fair, successful applications on any HSBC home loan or investment as well as insurance products will see individuals stand the chance to win a B$1,000 cash voucher from Thomson, Fabrica and Signature Kitchen. In addition, customers can also enjoy free beverages from Each A Cup during their discussions with HSBC representatives.

The participating merchants include ValorProperty, Bright Sunway Trading Company, Real Estern Agency, Tha Enterprise, Fabrica Interior Furnishing Company, Primeland Estate Agency, Bess Perfect Property Agency, J-Fa Realty Agency and Proland Realty.

In addition, children can participate in colouring contests that have numerous prizes waiting to be won. Other games at the fair for children include Jenga and a golf-putting activity, as well as instant-win lucky dip prizes that are scheduled for specific times.

Visitors can also take a closer inspection of a modern-design of a home set up by Fabrica, Signature Kitchen and Thomson Furniture. The fair will also be attended by celebrity guest Eric Leong on Sunday, between 3pm and 5pm. Text by James Kon of Borneo Bulletin.

Curtin University Sarawak

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It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and there will be Pink Cupcakes selling at the event at The Mall, Gadong, Saturday and Sunday. All the proceeds will go to the National Cancer Center. Little things can make a difference ;)) Oh yeah, wear something pink or buy a pink ribbon to create more awareness on Breast Cancer

Come and support the Boustead Carnival 2011. The new Nissan Serena will also be launced tonight

Now it’s held at this area instead of the Waterfront (thanks to the Bandaran people). Let’s hope for good weather.. This is just outside the Multi-Purpose Hall, Indoor Stadium

One of the entertainments to look out for is the Who’s Got Talent 3 Top 50 contestants. They will perform throughout Saturday and Sunday

Tons of activities to look forward to and yes, it’s for a good cause :))

So anyone bought a Nissan during the Hari Raya promotion? Instead of having a lucky draw, Nissan customers will play a pinball game and the one with the highest will win BND 10,000.. Awesome!!!

So anyone bought a Suzuki during the Hari Raya promotion? Instead of having a lucky draw, Nissan customers will play this particular game and the one with the highest will win BND 10,000.. I gave it a try yesterday and I only scored a 10 points out of a possible 150 points *lol* I’m gonna use this for my event next year!! Haha

Click image and “like” this particular photo and you still stand a chance to win free deals on SocialDeal

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (L) and Chancellor of UBD, UBD Pro-Chancellor HRH Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (2nd L) and HRH Princess Sarah (R) during the 23rd UBD Convocation. Picture: Saifulizam of The Brunei Times. Click image to read His Majesty’s Titah

It’s happening tomorrow

This is how it looks like at The Airport Mall for the travel fair

Brunei Tourism and Tourism Malaysia will be involved in the Abacus Holiday Travel Fair

Spin the Wheel is back!!! The most popular game where you can win Royal Brunei RoyalSkies points

Dato’ Abdullah Sani Omar, High Commissioner of Malaysia to Brunei Darussalam, cutting cake with Minister of Education at Malaysia National Day celebration at ICC last Tuesday. Photo by Dean Kassim, Borneo Bulletin

A reception dinner was held to commemorate the 54th National Day of Malaysia yesterday at a ceremony held at the International Convention Centre, Berakas.

The guest of honour at the event was Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong and Datin Paduka Dyg Hjh Jahrah binti Hj Mohamad.

The High Commissioner of Malaysia to Brunei Darussalam, Dato’ Abdullah Sani Omar, said in his welcoming remarks that the recent visit by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak reflects the commitment and determination towards strengthening bilateral ties between both countries. Malaysia’s National Day falls on August 31 but the celebration in Brunei was postponed till last night due to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.

The highlight of the event was a cake cutting ceremony by the guest of honour with Dato’ Abdullah Sani as well as the Asean High Commissioners to Brunei. Guests were entertained with cultural performances by the Malaysian community. Several Malaysia companies based in Brunei also set up booths during the event to promote their products. Text by Aziz Idris, Borneo Bulletin.

iPads and Apple Notebooks at 10% off at AV Electronics. All you need is a BIBD card.

Curtin University Sarawak

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His Majesty’s Titah during the 6th National Youth Day – “The theme entails youths to be more creative and innovative and encourages to explore all sorts of fields and keep themselves up-to-date with the development. We are pleased to note that some of the talented youths are engaged in business or entrepreneurship. My government with the cooperation of the private sector would provide a more conducive environment to support and provide assistance through capacity building, provision of infrastructure and opening up of market for youths so that they could market their products locally and abroad. I believe every achievement by our youth entrepreneurs will become a catalyst and encourage others to follow suit and engage in the world of entrepreneurship.

This is the way to widen the creative industry, which involves many parties besides the strong determination from the entrepreneurs themselves. The involvement includes providing legal protection such as property laws, basic facilities and training. If these exist, I believe the existing creative industry could be strengthened and developed and at the same time would encourage more youths who are yet to explore this industry to participate in this beneficial field.

For general activities or programmes, I welcome the efforts made by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports through the Youth and Sports Department in providing a place for youths to gather in every district and organise useful programmes.

I believe the step undertaken to enhance development through rebranding of Youth Centres throughout the country is indeed timely, which is not only to occupy their time with fun activities, but more importantly as a place to gain advice and produce valuable arts and cultural products.

I was made to understand that steps undertaken to rebrand Youth Centres was the byproduct of dialogue between the authoritative parties and the target group itself, the youths.It means that the establishment of activities or programmes which are going to be implemented need to take into consideration the taste of youths themselves. This is appropriate as today’s youths are tomorrow’s pioneers.

“In this context, I wish to take this opportunity to urge youths to jointly make the aspiration a success and to make such Youth Centres as a recreational, learning, pious place that serves the individuals, religion, people and the nation.” Text taken from Borneo Bulletin. Images by Azrol Azmi and Khairil Hassan of Borneo Bulletin.

His Majesty graced this year’s National Youth Day. Image by Khairil Hassan

His Majesty toured the exhibition and witnessed the talents of the youth. Image by Azrol Azmi

Dance performance at the Indoor Stadium. Image by Khairil Hassan

The youths of Brunei. Image by Khairil Hassan

Representing Parkour Brunei. Image by Azrol Azmi

The pride of our Brunei Youth. Image by Azrol Azmi

Azimah is one of the UBD recipients for the graduation ceremony this morning. I shall be doing intensive coverage later at UBD this morning. Congrats to all the graduates. More updates on RA. Image courtesy of Azimah.

Curtin University Sarawak

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Coming soon this weekend

More updates on this soon

The press conference yesterday hosted by Abacus Brunei. Present were representatives from RBC, Tourism Malaysia, Singapore Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines

So have you decided where to fly this December? Well, I tell you what.. Do come to the Abacus Travel Fair this weekend at The Airport Mall because for the first time, there will be a special promotion fare for RBA flights during the school holidays. So this is a great opportunity to grab and even I want to plan a short getaway trip since my Vietnam trip is canceled.

Yesterday a press conference was held at Seasons Restaurant and it was chaired by Abd Halim Hj Abd Rahman, the Sales & Marketing Manager of Abacus Brunei. He mentioned that this year it’s gonna be bigger and the biggest presence will be Tourism Malaysia as they will be having 10 exhibitors under them. The participating travel agents will be Anthony Tours, Century Travel, Darussalam Holdings, Freme Travel, Ken Travel, Pan Bright, SCA and Southern Cross Travel Agency. There will be other exhibitors as well such as Baiduri Bank, Royal Brunei Catering, Insurans Islam TAIB and Brunei Tourism to name a few.

Lucky draws for booking customers during Abacus Holiday Travel Fair

1) Return Economy class air ticket to Singapore
2) 3 days 2 nights Kuala Lumpur inclusive of return Economy class air ticket
3) 100,000 Royal Skies Miles to be won
4) 32″ LED TV
5) DSLR Camera (brand not known yet)

If you were to pay your ticket using any Baiduri Bank Credit Card during the the two-day fair, you will get an additional 3 chances in the lucky draw.

Muaz of Royal Brunei Airlines talked about the activities lined up from Royal Brunei Airlines

Now Royal Brunei Airlines have pretty good deals during the travel fair. They are introducing special fares especially for December period.

December period from RBA

1) Kuala Lumpur as low as BND 403
2) Singapore as low as BND 491
3) Bangkok as low as BND 513
4) Hong Kong as low as BND 619
5) Manila as low as BND 465 and additional allowance for baggage for BWN/ML sector (5kg 1st – 15th Dec, 10kg 15th – 31st Dec 2011) So this is ideal for expats.

Another interesting promotion that RBA is offering is the business class seats upgrade. All you have to do is top up a very affordable amount and you can enjoy business class but not applicable for Singapore and Kuala Lumpur sector. One note though that the upgrade is only applicable for one way meaning that you can choose whether you want fly business class to the destination or returning from that destination. Simple, right?? So do refer to the additional charges below.

Business Class upgrade supplement

1) Manila and Bangkok – BND 69 for upgrade (Valid until March 2012 except for December 2011)
2) Hong Kong – BND 99 for upgrade (Valid until March 2012 except for December 2011 and 17th Jan 2012 to 5th Feb 2012)
3) Hong Kong – BND 139 for upgrade (December 2011)
4) London – BND 999 Valid till March 2012 (However S class ex-BWN not valid 9Dec to 22 Dec 2011). Do you know that it costs BND 8,000 just to fly to London on Business Class? So this is a good upgrade to enjoy a business class experience.

Mind you that you should visit the Abacus Holiday Travel Fair at The Airport Mall this weekend to get more information about this promotion. There’s so much data given to me and I just hope that I’m not confusing you with these details. So I’m just giving you some special fares that might catch your attention. There are some terms and conditions and also the validity of the tickets so it’s best that you come to the fair and do some homework 😉

By the way, you can book your flights/tickets during the travel fair and if I’m not mistaken, you have to pay a deposit of $50 per booking. Full payment has to be made by 5th October 2011 at the respective travel agent. You can follow @royalbruneiair on Twitter for updates.

Jamilah Abd Halim, Director of Tourism Malaysia (Brunei) saying a few words during the press conference

This is the biggest involvement that Tourism Malaysia have so far in the Abacus Holiday Travel Fair. As mentioned, they have 10 exhibitors participating from Tourism Malaysia. Hence there will be a Tourism Malaysia Pavilion and Jack the caricature talent will be there during the travel fair. So you can get your caricature done at $10 and $15 respectively.

Siaw Ling Wong, Head of Sales, Singapore Airlines (Brunei) talking to the local press

This is the first time that Singapore Airlines is involved in Abacus Holiday Travel Fair. They are sponsoring one economy class ticket to Singapore as one of the lucky draw prizes but only applicable to those who book and purchase ticket on Singapore Airlines.

Siaw Ling Wong also mentioned of tying up family or long packages to Japan and Australia via Singapore. Hence, Singapore Airlines have been working closely with the Japan Embassy and also Freme Travel for the best packages for the Brunei market. The special packages are valid from Oct 2011 to March 2012. I didn’t know that there are four flights daily from Singapore to Tokyo.

The price for the BWN-SIN return is as low as BND 369 during the peak season. Now that’s a pretty good deal but the price can vary slightly depending on the fluctuation of exchange rate and availability of seats. You can book your flights and enjoy the special deals this weekend and you can make full payment by the 6th October 2011.

Great deals from Pan Bright Travel Service

Find out their talents this weekend at Pedestrian Walk, Indoor Stadium

Taken two Sundays ago during the audition at b.mobile HQ

Taken two Sundays ago during the audition at b.mobile HQ

Taken two Sundays ago during the audition at b.mobile HQ

Taken two Sundays ago during the audition at b.mobile HQ

The judges during the audition

The event is also in conjunction with Boustead Carnival 2011. So do come and support the event too :))

September is Teacher Appreciation Month! Each of us has one or several teachers who have encouraged and inspired us. They did it out of love and dedication to teaching and to helping us become smarter and confident in our own knowledge. They are like beacons of light, guiding us in the formative years of our life.

To show our appreciation, Thann Sanctuary Brunei is offering an exclusive 10% Discount to all Teachers for any of our spa treatments and our all natural retail products from 23th to 30th September. Let our international team of therapist look after you, and rejuvenate your mind, body and soul For more info of the promotion, you can click here.

You can call 223 5599 and it’s open daily 10am to 10pm. You can also follow updates on Twitter @thannsanctuary and it’s pretty interactive. Thann Sanctuary has received many positive feedback from their customers and one of the unique places to get yourself pampered (spa and facial treatment).

Something to look forward to for lunch and dinner

ROYAL Brunei Catering (RBC) officially launched its latest promotion, “Kenali Makanan Kitani” (KMK), in a ceremony held at Seasons Restaurant, Gadong, last Tuesday.

The “Kenali Makanan Kitani” promotion is a joint effort between RBC and Brunei Tourism. Did you know it was introduced back in 2008? This year, the promotion is back until 10th October.

So what does the dishes include? Well, there’s the popular ambuyat, nasi Beras Laila and many more creations from the RBC chefs such as Brunei Sushi, Membangan Mousse and Kembayau Soup which are prepared from local ingredients and fruits.

The promotion was launched by the guest of honour the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Hjh Normah Suria Hayati Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama (Dr) Hj Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri. Present to witness the ceremony were RBC Directors, RBC General Manager, Hj Omar Ali Hj Mohd Daud as well as invited government officials as well as representatives from co-business and promotion partners.

Sushi Katok Pais Daging.. Cool aye??

Nom nom nom….

The crowd during the first night of the promotion

The healthy section

Roti Bakar… I like the presentation of it :))

There’s even a kids corner

RBC General Manager, Hj Omar Ali Hj Mohd Daud, gave his welcoming remarks

This is a super cool idea!!! RBC launched this program called the “RBC Courtesy Campaign”, “Serving u with a Smile”. I never knew this program was introduced back in 2005 and this is the 2nd time such campaign is launched again.

This includes the restaurants and cafes under the flagship of RBC

1) The Airport Restaurant
2) Seasons Restaurant
3) Emperor’s Court
4) Dynasty Restaurant
5) Poolside Cafe
6) RBC Express Fast Food outlets
7) Ministry of Finance Cafeteria
8) The Airport Cafeteria, Coffee Garden
9) Goldstone Ballroom at Centrepoint
10) Manggis Ballroom at Hua Ho Manggis Mall
11) Hospital Catering Services
12) Outside Catering
13) RBC Laundry & Dry Cleaning Services

This is an excellent way to improve the quality of services from RBC and also to promote courtesy among all RBC employees. You will see that all RBC service staffs will be wearing a badge with a smiley face during the Courtesy Campaign.

Customers can also stand a chance to win weekly prizes such as dining vouchers and RBC Dining Privilege Card. So don’t forget to fill in the campaign form on the feedback of the establishments.

Your feedback counts :))

Andy has himself a badge and a good smile

This is back by popular demand until 16th October

Special promotion on Epson printers. Only at Concepts Computer.

Want to win an iPad2?

Recently MAX Centre, Brunei authorized dealer for Meguiar’s USA, welcomed Mr Matt Davies, Meguiar’s Int. Business Development Manager and Programs Specialist, for a closed-door MAX Centre’s staff & technicians training and also held a clinic for MAX Centre’s customers and Meguiar’s car crazy enthusiasts.

He was supported by a team from Hypercoat Enterprise Singapore; authorized distributor and dealer for Meguiar’s in South East Asia.

The visit also coincided with the introduction of Meguiar’s Professional Deep Crystal Coating product and the official handing over of Meguiar’s authorized dealership certificate to Sin Hup Huat Co (MAX Centre). This coveted certificate was a result of MAX Centre’s proven consistent performances and meeting of Meguiar’s stringent corporate conditions.

You can also check out TigerLim’s post [click here]. Images below are courtesy of TigerLim.

They are the authorized dealer

Chris Tan, Operations Manager of Sin Hup Huat Company and Matt Davies, Meguiar’s Int. Business Development Manager and Programs Specialist

Mr. TigerLim himself holding this particular cleaner and % of the sales will be donated to Brunei Breast Cancer Foundation

FIFA 12 is the definitive football game: challenging, addictive, and with more excellent features than ever before. Verdict: 9/10. From Gamespot.com

Curtin University Sarawak

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Despite the official letter from DPMM FC, ABDB responded by declining the request of their players notably Rosmin Hj Kamis which could be a huge blow to DPMM FC squad. According to source, DPMM FC have eyed on several players (around 6-7) in rebuilding their team for the S-League tournament next year should their application in the S-League gets the green light.

If you have been reading the local papers, DPMM FC is back in training once more after FIFA has lifted the suspension on Brunei and under the new body National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam, DPMM FC are able to register as an official club in Brunei and hence they are once again eligible to play locally and internationally. However, DPMM FC are now playing the waiting game as their proposal to the S-League is still pending, awaiting approval.

I finally met the coach Suminic who is now back coaching for DPMM FC. He was previously coaching a Vietnamese club before terminating his contract and he’s definitely happy to be back. Now he’s focusing on getting the match fitness of the players where some had not been training for a few months and also lacking the fitness level.

They were some inclusion of veteran players such as “Tunga” who has been training with DPMM FC lately. Pg Salleh is perhaps the oldest player in the team. As for the import players, George O’Gallaghan (Ireland) and Tales Ricate Dos Santos (Brazil) have been signed by DPMM FC. As of now, there are other import players fighting for the last two spots. It was also rumoured that one of the previous import players might be given a consideration but it’s still early days to say. However, the signing of Tales Ricate Dos Santos meant that DPMM FC won’t be requiring the services of Rene Komar who plays the same role back in 2009.

Today DPMM FC will have a friendly match against U-23 SEA Games team for match practice at the 4:45pm at the Jerudong Mini-Stadium. One potential player to look out for Adi Hj Mohd Said, the younger brother of DPMM FC striker Shahrazen Hj Md Said. He will be playing for the U-23 team and he’s also a squad of DPMM FC.

It’s good to see Suminic coaching DPMM FC once more. He’s still very much passionate about the club. His best achievement is DPMM FC’s Singapore League Cup back in 2009

George O’Gallagan, the Irish attacking midfielder, is one of the import players for DPMM FC. He has a deadly free-kick and moves very fluidly on the pitch. Will he be an influential player maker for DPMM FC?

Perhaps the most experienced player in the club. Pg Salleh, in his late 30s, still shows what he has got under his belt. His experience will bring some steel in the squad.

Nicknamed Inzaghi (left) showed a lot of commitment during training while Tunga (right) has been included in the squad and training too. It still early days to see their roles for DPMM FC.

DPMM FC have been searching for younger blood and he is one of them. In fact, Suminic is eyeing for hungry and committed players.

One from Australia, the other from Liberia. They are trial players and they will be featured later in the friendly match. They will be competing against three to four more import players who will be arriving this week. Pressure will be on them to perform in that one or two practice match

This is a very interesting place for children of all age. Sometimes I wish I’m still a kid because the things available at Fun Bee Park are awesome!!!! This is what is lacking in Brunei – a place for children to have fun while parents do their shopping somewhere else.

At Fun Bee Park, they promote “Learning through Playing”. Their intention is to stimulate your child’s imagination with state-of-the-art creative learning programs. From shapes to numbers, theatre to music, design to medic, precious values to logics, this is education filled with play and laughter.

You will be surprised that your kid may be gifted with creativity. So this is very ideal as they will not play but also learn and unveil their talents. This will also create a lot of curiousity among the children which they will benefit through learning new things from Fun Bee Park.

Cecilia spoke to the media while giving us the educational tour of Fun Bee Park. This is a highly recommended place for children.

Lego City and this is more like a play room for children. Oh yea, the slide won’t accommodate those weighing more than 30 kg – Note to Fairol *lol*

They have two section areas for art and craft. This side focuses more of painting. Who knows your artwork can be sold too.

The sliding door unveiled the painting materials behind so all the materials are already provided for the children. Awesome!!!

This is another area for creating clay work and also batik painting, stone painting and other designing jobs.

Cecilia demonstrated a mixture of clay and painting technique where children can learn and be more creative

Michelle was guiding me how to do “batik painting”. Children will love this kind of painting

The result of my painting. Not that great, huh? Children will love to experiment with batik painting. Thanks Michelle for your help

Some of the activities at Fun Bee Park

1. Art and craft – batik, paper, stone, clay, soap, wax and design.
2. Daily life skills – cooking, housekeeping, sewing, beading, business and fund management.
3. Performances – little chef show, talent time, fashion show, drama, music, daily play, poet and song.
4. Monthly event – Birthday party, theme gathering, and costume design.
5. Special activities – holiday camp (December) and parent’s day
6. Future plan – kids TV programs to air on RTB

Facilities:

The center is equipped with
1. 4 Art and craft studios – library, reading corner, shopping counter, art making / molding section
2. Kitchen studio – proper kitchen for cook, bake and sculpt with big tv screen
3. Lego City – all kinds of lego

All of these are created from clay. Interesting indeed.

Cecilia blowing up a balloon. Kids can make balloons too as part of their activities

Cecilia with the management and staff of Fun Bee Park

We did some cooking during the sneak preview. Perhaps we are eligible for the “senior master chef”?? The dish we had to cook was fries with eggs

Notice anything odd? It has been a while since I cooked. I’m still pretty rusty.

This is the kitchen studio and I’m impressed that the management invested this facilities for the children. This gets my two thumbs up and I’m pretty sure this is the best selling factor for parents to send their kids here.

Clay painting could be your new hobby

Brunei Used Car

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Netcom Computer House

Hari Raya Open Houses

At AnakBrunei’s Open House

At Radisson’s Open House

At Radisson’s Open House

At Radisson’s Open House

At Radisson’s Open House

At Radisson’s Open House

At Radisson’s Open House

At b.mobile’s Open House

At b.mobile’s Open House

At Malaysia Airlines’ Open House

At Malaysia Airlines’ Open House

At Malaysia Airlines’ Open House

At Malaysia Airlines’ Open House. I met a chef from Tarindak D’ Seni and his name is also Rano

Chef Rano is under Hyatt Group and he take cares of the Tarindak D’ Seni Restaurant

Representative from Red Bull and NFABD at the press conference yesterday

National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) and Red Bull, in the press conference jointly announced that first ever Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup 2011 will be held in Brunei Darussalam. Following the success of the Red Bull-NFABD Futsal Championship concluded recently, with confidence NFABD took the initiative to grant consent to co-organise the inaugural Red Bull Tri-Nations Cup. The one-day tournament featuring the champions from the tournaments in Malaysia and Singapore respectively will be held on 9th October 2011 at the Indoor Stadium, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex. QAF FC “B” earned the right to compete in this club championship as the Champion of the Red Bull-NFABD Futsal Championship. Representing Singapore will be Team B.A., is made up of mostly youngsters. Though lacked in experience however they make up with speed and energy. It might be a mistake to rule them out of the title.

LTS FC came on top of the Futsal 5 Grand Final that was held in Kuala Lumpur recently. LTS FC stayed unbeaten in the closely contested Grand Final with 23 other finalists. There were 320 teams took part in the seven qualifying legs around Malaysia. LTS FC will be the team to watch as the players possess skill and speed. QAF FC “B” is expected to give them a good fight and with home crowds support, it will spring some surprises. The teams are expected to arrive on the 8th October. It is expected to a closely fought tournament to grab the elegant Challenge Trophy and the total prize money of B$8,000. (Champion – Cash Prize B$ 4,500, 1st Runner-Up – Cash Prize B$ 2,250 & 2nd Runner-Up B$1,250)

The tournament will kick off with the match between QAF FC and Team B.A. from Singapore. This tournament will be the first ever international tournament to be organized by NFABD. It is sanctioned by Asian Football Federation (AFC) and supported by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and Football Association of the Republic of Singapore (FAS). Locally, this prestigious tournament is also supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Radio Televisyen Brunei, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd and other related government agencies.

“This tournament aims to promote closer ties amongst three nations and ultimately we hope this help raise the standard of futsal in this region” said the organiser. Later he also added that the tournament will be organized on a rotational basis amongst the nations. Next year it will Malaysia’s turn to host the teams. Freebies will be given to audience on first come first serve basis while stock lasts. A lucky draw with lucrative prizes including Samsung Galaxy-S2, return air tickets to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will be given away. Image and press release courtesy of GreenCity Concept.

Kempen Barakah BIBD was launched in conjunction with the three religious months of Ramadhan, followed by Syawal and then finally Zulkaedah. This is another way of BIBD’s showing their appreciation to their valued customers. It was launched last August and last weekend, they announced 10 lucky winners who walked away with BND 500 credited into their BIBD account. Awesome, aye??

Hj Minorhadi bin Hj Mirhassan, Head of Institutional Banking BIBD, presented the prizes to the winners. For your info, more than 7,600 entry forms were filled in since the launch of the campaign and majority of the forms came from the newly launched Debit Card. So this card must be pretty awesome for usage and accessibility.

The promotion will run for three months until November 15, 2011 and will give one lucky BIBD customer an opportunity to drive away in a brand new luxury Lexus CT200h car.

The winners of the 1st month

Hajah Dayang Siti binti Hj Lakim
Nurfitrisha Aliesha binti Abdullah Chua
Hj Ismail bin Ahmad
Muizzuddin bin Muhammad
Nor Syamsina binti Hj Bujang
Hjh Zahrah binti hj Yaakob
Dayang Aji binti Hj Damit
Mohammad Bahrin bin Mohammad Yusof
Asidah binti Abd Wahid
Ronny Loh Seng Fong

Make your dreams come true with the HSBC Fair at Times Square. I shall be dropping to see the activities in store for the public.

Khairi and Firdaus have worked really hard on the book. It will be launched some time in October 2011. You can make your pre-orders.

The ‘Business Icons’ team has set the price at an affordable $19.90 per book. Pre-order for limited copies will be at discounted price of $15.90. Pre-Order will be closed on 1st October 2011 so hurry up guys, don’t miss out this great opportunity to invest on this stimulating book.

Make your reservation TODAY by emailing your details to admin@phmdgroup.org. For more info, you can click here.

The 10 business icons that will be featured in the first book

Don’t forget to pre-order your books now!!!

Curtin University Sarawak

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His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah (2nd R), the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah (L) with US President Barack Obama (R) and wife Michelle during a reception for heads of states at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Picture: Courtesy of Masri of Info Dept. Taken from The Brunei Times website

Eric of Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop and Rizan of Beach Bunch during Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop 3rd Year Anniversary event last Sunday. Beach Bun also launched their “Beach Bun” at Mr. Baker’s Bakeshop. To read more, you can click image for more details

The boat ride was fantastic and I really felt the connection with the river and the nature. We were heading to Ulu-Ulu Resort in Temburong

Even my friends enjoyed the boat ride… I don’t mind going back and forth though your butt might get a bit uncomfy.

This canopy walk is awesome but worth it and breath taking once you reach on the top

Ai Lin from Singapore and our friends helped renovated and painted one of the under privilege home at Bangar Town, Temburong. The family of five now can live in a much comfortable home.

Such a pity that the event has been moved from the Waterfront after the authorities cancelled their reservation with one week’s notice (Thumbs down for that). However, the event has been relocated to the Multi-Purpose Hall, Indoor Stadium

Curtin University Sarawak

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Expansys Technology guys

Adib Noor of The Brunei Times covered the event

They are everywhere.. Love their music and great entertainment value

The guys in green

The British High Commission also dropped by

One of them is famous on Instagram. Guess who?

Representing the team of Asia Inc Forum

The neighbours of iCentre :))

The Magician and the Tweet expertise

Haka routine gone wrong??

Inspired by Human Centipede?? *lol*

It was quite a crowd that day. More than 10 refills required for the buffet

Amal of Times Square handed over green packet for the children

I also love the Wagyu Beef at Kitaro Japanese

This is pretty good – Idako Cheezo Maki

Check out the poster above for dates of interviews for vacancies at Standard Chartered Brunei

Join iLike My Home Photo Contest…and Win!!!!! Two (2) days and One (1) night stay in Empire Hotel. Complimentary daily breakfast for 2 persons. 4-course Dinner at Spaghettini. Complimentary access to the health club, sauna, gym, aerobics and swimming pools. Click image to enter page

The music entertainment at DST Open House

This picture reminds me of CommunicAsia 2011… *memories*

Idris, CEO of DST with the members of the media

Syafiq at his best pose

Minister of Communication also dropped by

Kitaro Japanese was one of the caterers at DST Open House

Guests at DST Open House

Apparently one of them is a good “bluffer” haha

Hello ladies :))