Listen to the podcast review of The Hunger Games finale with co-host @delgoh and special guest Nee Khern

 

Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Amal Rakiah and Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Amal Jeffriah at the SMSS’ graduation ceremony yesterday

I’ve missed the event yesterday because I was attending another lecture on entrepreneurship by Mark Brown. Congratulations to Fatin, Ijah and Muazzam on their graduation and award ceremony from Seri Mulia Serjana School (SMSS) and it’s the 17th edition and the event took place at The Rizqun International Hotel.

In attendance were Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Amal Rakiah and Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Amal Jeffriah. The guest of honour was Pg Ayup bin Pg Hj Othman, the Acting Senior Special Duties Officer, Private Education Section, Ministry of Education.

Congratulations once again 😀 I’m a proud brother and uncle.

Ijah receiving her certificate from guest of honour

Fatin receiving her certificate from guest of honour

Congratulations Muazzam for receiving bronze on his academic year

Two plays will be happening this week and early next week. One is an adaptation from Shakespeare’s Othello and the other is inspired by a local with the play entitled “Jong Sarat”.

The first play I will brief on is the Shakespeare’s Othello which will be performed by the students from the English Department Literature Team from Pusat Tingkatan Enam (PTE) Meragang. It will be happening tomorrow, Thursday 26th November and 28th November at 10am at the Lecture Hall, PTE Meragang. You can get tickets (only $1) by contacting 710 7876 or 813 0577.

I’m most likely to come for one of the shows of Othello. I’m a big fan of broadway and plays and to see our local students perform is something I’m appreciative about. It’s a good thing that there’s an avenue for students to showcase their talents, let it be actors or those behind the scenes as they all showcase their talents and abilities in the creative industry. Kudos to the team and the organiser.

So come let’s support the future generations of our country by supporting the play. You can also follow their updates on Facebook (/ptemeragang) or instagram @ptemeragang for updates.

Jong Sarat. Next up is SEEDS’ 7th play to date. SEEDS stands for Students’ Extracurricular and Educational Dramatic Society and this was formed back in 2008 under Sekolah Menengah Awang Semaun with the help of Brunei Amateur Dramatic Society (BADS). These are also initiative from students and teachers in helping to nurture and unleash their creativity and talents to the eyes of the public.

They had a preview last evening and unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend. Here’s the thing though. I won’t be able to make it even for next week’s dates of Jong Sarat (The Dream that changes everything) as I already committed in doing my speech and role for Toastmasters. My apologies in advance for this matter. I’ve attended previous SEEDS play before and I was amazed. I trust they will produce another fantastic show.

Get your tickets for either of these production nights:
30th November 2015, 7pm
1st December 2015, 7pm

Tickets are available at Sekolah Menengah Rimba for the following days and times:-

Wednesday 25th November:
7pm-9.30pm

Friday, 27th November:
3pm-9.30pm

Kindly contact for more information (via message only):
Telegram: telegram.me/seedsjongsarat
Whatsapp: +6738678673

You can also follow them on their website www.seedsbrunei.com or Facebook Page or instagram @seedsbrunei and if you are on instagram, just see their updates on #seeds7

The cast of Jong Sarat #seeds7

The musicians of Jong Sarat #seeds7

The Props designers of Jong Sarat #seeds7

Get your tickets now for Jong Sarat

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, UBD Chancellor, braving the crowd and taking photos with the graduates and parents at the UBD 27th convocation last week

Taken from The Brunei Times youtube channel

A total of 1,125 students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s third batch of its GenNext programme received their certificates at the varsity’s 27th convocation last Wednesday.

This year’s graduates included 20 PhD students, surpassing last year’s record of 12, UBD said.

The total number of graduating students comprised 379 Masters holders, 664 Bachelor graduates and 62 Diploma recipients. These also include 73 international students at UBD.

During the morning session of the convocation held at UBD’s Chancellor Hall, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, UBD Chancellor, presented certificates to PhD, Masters and Bachelor programme graduates.

The monarch also attended the afternoon session, where he presented certificates to graduates of Education Masters, Postgraduate Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Diploma programmes.

This year’s convocation also saw the first cohort of 15 graduates for the Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM), consisting of graduates from East Asian Summit (EAS) participating countries – the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia and Brunei.
The MPPM is a joint programme with leading public policy schools in the United States.

According to UBD, the unique interdisciplinary programme focuses on policy areas that are distinctive to Brunei, namely Islamic Governance, Energy Policy and Management and Environmental Policy and Management.

“It is hoped this interdisciplinary-based programme will be able to contribute to the development of future leaders of high calibre, apart from providing a network for them to interact and directly or indirectly raise the competitiveness of the sultanate internationally,’’ said UBD Vice-Chancellor Dato Paduka Dr Hj Zulkarnain Hj Hanafi. Text courtesy of Rachel Thien of The Brunei Times.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah presented a certificate to my friend, Pranika Lama

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah presented a certificate to Alison

Hello Pranika 😀

Congratulations Gerald Goh

Maryam Rosli, Business Development & Marketing, Hj Mas Zuraime Hj Abdul Hamid, Head of BruCERT, Muhd Shahrul Fadillah Umar, IT Security Analyst. Shamsul Bahri, CEO of ITPSS and Caroline Ho, Business Development & Marketing during the briefing of the Cyber Battle: Capture The Flag recently

In the cyber sense, it’s a nicer way of saying penetrate the system or in our casual term, hacking.. I attended a press briefing on an upcoming Cyber Battle: Capture The Flag and it will be the first of its kind in Brunei. This is something very new and it will be interesting to see who participate in this competition. Of course, those who are showing interest would have prior knowledge of computing and programming as this is not those kind of console video games you will be playing.

The registration is already open and 10 tens will compete on the 11th October and their missions will be to exploit vulnerabilities on game servers, fix security holes, and defending their flags. The rules and regulations are already posted on their website and you can view them for any clarification.

So why this competition for the first time? Well, the main aim is to identify the winner from Brunei and represent for the ASEAN-Japan Cyber SEA Game which will be held in Jakarta this November. Only the top two teams will represent Brunei in Indonesia. This was announced by Shamsul Bahri, CEO of ITPSS.

The registration is open to Brunei citizens and also to permanent residents aged 30 years and below. You must enter as a team of 2 or 3 members. The closing date for the registration is 2nd October 2015. You can click here to register for the competition. You can also follow their IG for updates @brucert

The event is organised by IT Protective Security Services Sdn Bhd (ITPSS) in their role as Brunei Computer Emergency Response Team (BruCERT). This competition is also supported by Authority for Info-Communication Technology of Brunei (AITI).

Shamsul Bahri, CEO of ITPSS briefing the media on the competition

Caroline Ho revealed the prizes for the top 3 teams. Love the prizes too.

Check out the prizes for the top 3 teams

Muhd Shahrul Fadillah Umar explaining the flow of the competition

Representing Brunei – Lim Ao, Bridgette Ang, D-1 and What?!

They were happy to be on the international stage

They may have not won the finals but they stole the hearts of the audience. Last week, our local musicians belted it out at the ‘Be our Rock & Pop Soul’ Music Competition held at Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam. Two representatives from Brunei made it to the finals – Lim Ao and What?! band. All in all, there were eleven musicians that flew off led by Lily Chiam and also accompanied by their music instructors.

This was the first time that Brunei participated in the competition and they managed to impressed the judges. Tyler Smith, the Senior Vice President of Trinity College in London, also had praised Bruneian performers. “They rocked the house right there,” he said, amid loud cheers from the audience. “The drums were in my face. I liked it.”

It’s good to see that Bruneians are able to perform on the international stage at a very young age. Keep the great work and also credit to the mentors. Images courtesy of Arthur John.

D-1 wooing the crowd with their rendition of “Crazy in love”

The grand winner from Thailand

Evan Chiam rocking the stage

Lim Ao electrifying the crowd with his solo performance

Click image to enter website

 

Download SnapFeed app on your smartphones and check out the latest deals in Brunei and also get rewarded from respective merchants such as BurgerKing, KFC and Sushi Tei to name a few and also check out the new movie listings as well.

 

Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Amal Jefriah (left) recently attended Laksamana College of Business (LCB) graduation ceremony for her son’s (Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Muhammad Abdul Razaaq bin Pengiran Sura Negara Pengiran Anak Haji Muhammad Bey Muntassir) graduation from the University Foundation Course programme. Image courtesy of Dean Kassim.

Laksamana College of Business (LCB) held a graduation ceremony for 620 students who successfully completed their courses in business, hospitality and computing last Friday.

The ceremony was held at the Songket Ballroom, The Rizqun International Hotel.
In his welcome speech, the Minister of Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong, highlighted the importance of equipping oneself with necessary skills for a bright future and to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

“His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in his titah during last year’s Teacher’s Day and 100 Years of Formal Education celebration, has mentioned Brunei Darussalam’s capacity nowadays as a human capital provider rather than a financial donor, through the provision of local English teachers to neighbouring countries, for example.

YAM Pengiran Anak Muhammad Abdul Razaaq receiving his certificate from Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong, Minister of Education

The Minister with his welcoming remarks

David Campbell, British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, giving a few words

Siti Kamaliah binti Haji Awang Damit receiving her certificate

Some of the courses fro next year’s intake

“We have been dependent on the oil and gas industry since 1929. Alhamdulillah, it has provided us with much prosperity and opportunity since then. However, it is time to grow and expand the economy; strengthen the current niche industries, and build new sustainable ones to last for more centuries to come and to ensure our economic sustainability. Therefore, the higher education sector’s support is vital to develop talents to reinforce and build up these industries,” the minister said.

Also present during the graduation ceremony were Pehin Orang Kaya Ratna Setia Dato Setia Haji Awang Abdul Hapidz bin Pehin Orang Kaya Laksamana Haji Abdul Razak and Haji Suhaimei bin Awang Haji Besar, Directors of LCB; Ian Pirie, Principal and Director of LCB/Kensington College; David Campbell, British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam; Dr Chris Haslam, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Chester, UK; Dr David Balsamo, Dean of Social Science University of Chester and Garfield Southall, Associate Dean, Faculty of Science and Engineering.

The graduation ceremony began with a recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah by Awang Haji Azis @ Abdul Aziz bin Haji Mohd Yassin, a Mosque Affairs Officer from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, followed by other welcoming speeches by Ian Pirie and Dr Chris Haslam.

The graduated students were then presented with certificates and a few selected students gave speeches on their experiences at LCB.

Established in Brunei as a business course provider, LCB is a subsidiary of Kensington College of Business (KCB) in London. Text courtesy of Fizah HAB of Borneo Bulletin and images courtesy of Dean Kassim of Borneo Bulletin.

You can check out their comprehensive website here for the courses and also follow them on their Facebook Page.

Good luck all of you. Do us proud 😀

They are currently in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – the band of Waht?! and D-1 with soloists Lim Ao (guitarist) and Brigette Ang (vocalist) who recently won in the competition hosted by Expression Music Brunei in association with Trinity London College. They are accompanied by Lily Chiam, founder and music director of Expression Music Brunei and the music instructors from Expression Music and also Chiam Su Lee, Trinity College London’s Brunei Representative.

All the young musicians will compete in the Regional Semi-Finals of the Asean “Be our Rock & Pop Soul” Music Competition which begins tonight (6th September). They departed to Vietnam last Friday.

It’s good to see our youngsters competing in the regional level as they will give more exposure and confidence on our local talents. Let’s hope for the best to all the performers. I have seen them performed a few weeks’ ago and I was totally impressed. On another note, I had to forgo the Vietnam trip with them as I have other commitments. Perhaps next year 😀

Lily Chiam, founder and music director of Expression Music Brunei, with all the musicians and singers who will represent Brunei in the Regional Semi-Finals of the Asean “Be our Rock & Pop Soul” Music Competition at Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The event begins tonight (Sunday).

The musicians being interviewed by The Brunei Times

Free style posing for the camera

Loving their logos to represent the band

Group photo with the music instructors

The night that the Lim Ao wooed the judges with his solo guitar performance. He was also industrious in finding sponsors for the team. Awesome lad!!

Representing the D-1 band

Waht?! band will also represent Brunei in the semi-finals

Taken during the previous competition where D-1 won in the band category

D-1 had their sound check and practice session at Saigon Opera House, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Waht?! band also their practice session. Good luck to all of you.