Day: September 8, 2022

The winners of the Photography Contest organised by the Borneo Bulletin 2021 brought home prizes of more than $16,000. The prize presentation was held at a hotel in the capital.

The prizes were presented by Doctor Siti Norkhalbi binti Haji Wahsalfelah, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Community and Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The contest was divided into 5 categories and received more than 800 participation.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

As of December 2021, more than 99 per cent from vehicles registered in the country are equipped with petrol and diesel powered engine. The number contributed to the third-largest share of the Green House Gases emissions from transportation in 2018 and 2020.

Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transportation at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications shared the matter at the Electric Vehicle, EV Dialogue: Driving Towards A Greener Nation. According to Awang Haji Mohammad Salihin bin Haji Aspar, the Brunei National Climate Change Policy has identified that a shift towards electric vehicle as a viable option for Brunei Darussalam. Present were Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Pengiran Shamhary bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mustapha, Minister of Transport and Infocommunications and Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Khairuddin Bin Haji Abdul Hamid, Acting Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Acting Second Minister of Finance and Economy. The Dialogue was held at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, 8th September morning.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Gala Aspirasi Seni 2022 which was held for 3 days, ended on 8th September afternoon, with a Closing Ceremony at the Language and Literature Bureau in Berakas. Among the objectives of the competition was to present literary products with the adaptation of technological sophistication.

Certificates and souvenirs to participants and judges were presented by Pengiran Haji Mohd Hasnan bin Pengiran Haji Ali Hassan, Permanent Secretary for Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Agreement Signing Ceremony of the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah 'Sultan's Scholar' Scholarship for 2022/2023 Study Session between 9 recipients and the Yayasan was held on 8th September afternoon. The ceremony took place at the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex. The signing was witnessed by Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Retired Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister at the Prime Minister's Office as Chairman of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Board of Directors.

The signing was for seven students who will continue their studies to the Bachelor's level and two students to the Master's Degree level. During the signing ceremony, recipients were accompanied by two guarantors. While the Yayasan was represented by Doctor Nor Imtihan binti Haji Abdul Razak, Permanent Secretary for Planning, Land Use and Environment at the Ministry of Development as Acting Managing Director of Yayasan together with Awang Abdullah @ Dollah bin Haji Ahad, Assistant Managing Director of Yayasan.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

During her 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II presided over the sunset of the British Empire and declining British influence, but she also commanded deep respect. The record of her meetings with Asian leaders reads like a who’s who of the region's modern history since World War II. Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Indonesia's Suharto, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and China's Xi Jinping are just a few of the national leaders she visited in Asia or hosted at Buckingham Palace.

As British monarch, Queen Elizabeth served as head of the Commonwealth of former British colonies. She visited many of those countries multiple times. The Asian members she visited included Bangladesh in 1983; Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, which she first visited in 1972; India and Pakistan, which she first visited in 1961; the Maldives in 1972; and Sri Lanka in 1954, just two years after she ascended the throne on the death of her father, George VI.

She also frequently traveled to far-flung Pacific island nations that are in the Commonwealth, such as Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Samoa. Additionally, she was hosted in Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China, and South Korea.

Her 1986 six-day trip to China was the first-ever by a British monarch to the country, where she visited the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Great Wall, and reaffirmed the British commitment to return Hong Kong to Chinese rule. That commitment was fulfilled in July 1997, an act widely seen as heralding the end of the British Empire.

Queen Elizabeth’s last visit to Asia was in 2006, where she was hosted by President S.R. Nathan in Singapore as head of the British Commonwealth.

Her reign straddled the tenure of 15 British prime ministers. The first was Winston Churchill, Britain’s leader during World War II. Her last was Liz Truss, who took office on Tuesday after meeting the queen, just two days before the monarch died.

For the vast majority of Britons, Queen Elizabeth was the only monarch they had known in their lifetime. For citizens around the world, her image is often associated with the rapid decolonization of Britain’s global imperial holdings, but she maintained strong ties with the peoples and leaders of those countries even after their independence.

Elizabeth assumed the throne at age 25. She died on Thursday at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle, a royal estate in Scotland, surrounded by her children. She will be succeeded by her eldest son, the 73-year-old Charles, Prince of Wales.

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Liz Truss as Britain's head of state. She is the leader of the government.

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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 bestowed the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah 'Sultan's Scholar' Scholarship for 2022/2023 Study Session to 9 excellent students. The ceremony took place at Istana Nurul Iman, 8th September afternoon.

Also in attendance were His Majesty's sons, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and His Royal Highness Prince 'Abdul Malik, Chairman of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Committee of Governors.

The reading of Surah Al-Fatihah was led by Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Doctor Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz bin Juned, the State Mufti.

His Majesty then bestowed the "Sultan's Scholar" scholarship to the 7 students who further their studies to the Bachelor's level. The first recipient, Awangku Muhammad 'Ashim 'Afiif bin Pengiran Haji Md Zin, will further his studies in Usuluddin at Al-Azhar University, Arab Republic of Egypt.

The second recipient, Awang 'Abdul Majid bin Haji Shazli, will further his studies in Syariah Islamiyyah at Al-Azhar University.

The third recipient, Dayang Nur Iwana Athilah binti Haji Mahri, will further her studies in Lughah Arabiyyah at Al- Azhar University.

Dayang Patricia Sim Xiang Ru, the fourth recipient, will continue her studies in 'Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics' at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

The fifth recipient, Dayang Lim Jia Yi, will continue her studies in Mechanical Engineering at University College London, United Kingdom.

The sixth recipient, Awang Haji Mohammad Wajdi bin Haji Mohammad Ja'afar, will further his studies in Civil Engineering at University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

And the seventh recipient, Dayang Elmeeza Bazillah binti Abdullah Mohammad Yasrinal Eddy Abdullah will continue her studies in Mechanical Engineering at University College London, United Kingdom.

His Majesty then bestowed the "Sultan's Scholar" scholarship to two students who will further their studies to Master's Degree Level. Awang Muhammad Fikri bin Haji Ali will continue his studies in Operational Research with Data Science at University of Edinburgh.

And Dayang Nurhidayah Binti Abdul Hamid will further her studies in Psychology of Mental Health at University of Edinburgh.

Doa selamat was read by the State Mufti.

Since 2006, a total of 59 students have received this prestigious scholarship. Also present were members of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Committee of Governors, Chairman and members of Yayasan Board of Directors, members of "Sultan's Scholar" Scholarship Steering Committee and Principals of Sixth Form Centres.

Source: Radio Television Brunei

The Government of Brunei and the Ghanim International Cooperation handed over 115,860 food packets to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip. In attendance were H.E. Haji Mahadi Maidin, Ambassador of Brunei to Jordan and Ms. Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA Director of External Relations and Communications.

Brunei’s support was made possible through a government-enabled fundraising campaign: “The Palestine Humanitarian Fund 2021” aimed at alleviating severe socioeconomic difficulties in the Gaza Strip.

“This donation is a bridge of solidarity from Brunei to thousands of refugees in Gaza. It is especially timely given the skyrocketing prices of food and fuel around the world,” said Ms. Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA Director of External Relations and Communications. “UNRWA is doing all it can to overcome acute funding challenges and pursue the delivery of lifesaving assistance in Gaza. We truly hope that the partnership between UNRWA and Brunei will continue to grow,” she added.

The Government of Brunei is a regular supporter of Palestine refugees and UNRWA. In 2020, Brunei provided a generous multiyear contribution in support of the Agency’s work in education and healthcare. In 2019, it provided funds for food and education assistance for Palestine refugees during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Background Information:

UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA programme budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s programme budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.7 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.

Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East