16 more days to the UN Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen. Cast your vote for Earth now at the Earth Hour site. Your vote will contribute to a global mandate for action on climate change, to be presented to world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. I already did!
WordPress is having its PMS today so I could not upload any picture. Else you would be able to see my bareback being massaged. Not!
It felt like eternity that I havent put up a post here. I wasnt in a mood to post anything here but life goes on. For the past couple of weeks I have been experiencing one spa after another, just to de-stress and calm myself down. I didnt realise there are so many spas in Brunei, like mushrooms after a rainfall. I always refer to this useful site called Sanctuary Guide for guidance on the local scene, apart from words of mouth of course. Words of mouth works best in Brunei so dont waste your money on expensive advertisements and, dont forget us, bloggers :p
It is really hard to decide which is the best in Brunei as there are a number of factors to determine that special award. Personally for me, the location is a priority. I had this wonderful Asian massage for almost two hours and when I stepped out of the place, what did I see? Car wash, car tyres and sound pollution coming from nearby workshops. There goes serenity.
Another factor for me is the massage therapists, not sure if some are really qualified to be call as such. There was this spa with products I love but I didnt like the therapist. She was really rough though I have told her many times to be a bit gentler. I dont know, maybe she was having a bad day or PMS. The next day my body ached and I called her boss. Nope, I didnt return back to the spa; that was the first and the last.
Ambience is also important. You want to have a wonderful, blissful heaven and not a ‘kedai kopi’ or kiosks atmosphere. I was at one spa owned by a Bruneian and all throughout my session, the therapist was exchanging remarks and gossips with the other in the next room. I didnt finish my session and asked her to stop, paid for the session and complained to the lady boss. The boss put her long face. I thought she was upset with her staff but it turned out she was angry with my comments. Well, its her business and I was her customer. Not recommended.
Expensive does not equate to high standard. An expensive (to me) package that I bought for one session at one of the hotels proved to be one of my regrets. I was wrapped with mud all over my body except my hair. I wish it was chocolate so I could lick it and let it melt in my mouth. I fall asleep as it was so good but was awoken with a shiver as the mud had dried up and the therapist was out of sight. When I called her, she rushed and apologised profusely for ‘leaving’ me. I asked what the time was. When she told me the time, I realised she has left me in cracked mud for more than three hours!
Next, I was supposed to have an hour soak but because I had three instead of an hour mud-wrap, the therapist asked if I could step out of the bath in less than half an-hour. I asked why and she said there’s another customer waiting and all baths were fully utilised at that time. Fine, I was already cold so I agreed to step out. Then I was supposed to have two hours of Swedish massage and you guessed it, its only an hour, maybe less. Oh why do this things happen to me? When I dressed-up I asked to see her boss and I complained on their poor service. At least, this time the boss was sympathetic and upon checking on the time I was in, she agreed to give me a discount by almost a quarter. She also noted on the attendant’s name and promised she will be dealt with. I left, unsure if I wanted to go there again.
I won’t say that I always have bad experience but when you are paying, your expectation is high. I did have a couple of good time at least at a couple of spas and health saloons. I wanted to venture out to Belait and Seria. I will ask my friends there for recommendations.
In the meantime, what prompted me to put up this post is this news on the Fifth AsiaSpa Awards held last night at a glittering evening in Hong Kong. I wish I was part of the scene. Read more here. I wonder when would Brunei be recognised as a spa haven. This spa-tourism is not new in other countries and I sincerely hope the Tourism Department is considering this type of tourism. Eco-tourism? Sabah and Sarawak are also doing the same so why not spa-tourism in Brunei. Anyone out there who would like to be my partner? Seriously.
Okay so the winners of the AsiaSpa Awards 2009 are (and where is Brunei?):
Destination Spa of the Year: Six Senses Destination Spa, Phuket, Thailand
Urban Spa of the Year: Bliss Spa, W Hotel, Hong Kong
Day Spa of the Year: Green T. House, Beijing
New Spa of the Year: The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Sanya
Spa for Men of the Year: Chuan Spa at Langham Place Mongkok, Hong Kong
Spa Retreat of the Year: COMO Shambhala Retreat, Uma Ubud, Bali
Eco-Spas of the Year: Spa by Mandara, Alila Villas Hadahaa, Maldives
Socially Responsible Spa of the Year: The Shinta Mani Spa, Cambodia
Medi-Spa of the Year: S Medical Spa, Bangkok
Asian Spa Capital of the Year: Thailand
Spa Association of the Year: APSWC – Asia-Pacific Spa & Wellness Coalition
Spa Event of the Year: Global Spa Summit
Spa Personality of the Year: Karina Stewart, Co-founder, Brand & Concept Director, Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary
In-Spa Training of the Year: CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La
Spa Academy of the Year: Banyan Tree Spa Academy
Spa Design of the Year: Green T. House, Beijing
Best Children’s Spa Menu of the Year: Ice Cream Spa, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
Spa Treatment of the Year: “Hilot Trilogy”, Mandala Spa & Villas, Boracay
Holistic Treatment of the Year: “Sound and Stone”, Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, Australia
Men’s Spa Treatment of the Year: “Man Space Healing Balance Massage”, i.sawan Residential Spa & Club, Grand Hyatt, Erawan Bangkok
Spa’s Therapist Team of the Year: Mandarin Oriental
Spa Product of the Year: Algotherm
Anti-Ageing Product of the Year: Aromatherapy Associates, ‘Fine Line Face Oil’
Natural Product of the Year: il?, ‘il? Face Oil for Glowing Radiance’
Men’s Product of the Year: Pevonia, ‘Easy-Glide Shaving Emulsion’
Spa Cuisine of the Year: The Farm, Philippines
Spa Marketing of the Year: CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La
The US Embassy in Brunei has released the International Religious Report 2009. Of interest, there is a Brunei report starting off with what the Brunei’s Constitution states on religion: “The religion of Brunei Darussalam shall be the Muslim religion according to the Shafi’i sect of that religion: Provided that all other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony by the person professing them in any part of Brunei Darussalam.”
I am picking up stats and info from the report. During the reporting period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009:
The report said that the Brunei Government categorizes Catholics as distinct from other Christians. There is also an indigenous population that adheres to traditional beliefs, although they often convert either to Islam or Christianity.
Disclaimer: Please note that I didn’t get anything for putting up this poster. This is entirely done due to the main cause of this event. Please do come along and experience a little of the many challenges face by the visually-impaired.
Fri, 6 November 2009 @ Hua Ho Manggis. Be part of the Seeing is Believing Charity Fund.
I hope I am not being hit by marriage counsellors because of this post but this can be a fact of life. Just take the humorous side of it yeah. P/S: Dont let this deter you from getting married.
#CASE 1
Getting married is like going to a restaurant with friends. You order what you want, then when you see what the other fellow has, you wish you had ordered that.
#CASE 2
At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, “Aren’t you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger??” The other replied, “Yes, I am. I married the wrong man.”
#CASE 3
Before a man is married, he is incomplete. Then when he is married, he is finished.
#CASE 4
Marriage is an institution in which a man losses his bachelor’s degree and the woman gets her master’s status.
#CASE 5
A little boy asked his father, “Daddy, how much does it cost to get married??” And the father replied, “I don’t know son, I’m still paying for it.”
#CASE 6
Young son : “Is it true, Dad, I heard that in some parts of Africa, a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her?”
Dad : “That happens in most countries son.”
#CASE 7
Then there was a man who said, “I never knew what real happiness was until I got married, and then it was too late.”
#CASE 8
A happy marriage is a matter of give and take; the husband gives and the wife takes
#CASE 9
When a newly married man looks happy, we know why. But when a ten-year married man looks happy, we wonder why. Affair ?
#CASE 10
In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
#CASE 11
After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, “You know, I was a fool when I married you.” And the Husband replied, “Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn’t notice it.”
#CASE 12
A man inserted an ‘ad’ in the classified : “Wife wanted”. The next day, he received hundreds letters. They all said the same thing “You can have mine.”
#CASE 13
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing : either the car is new or his wife is new.
#CASE 14
A woman was telling her friend : “It is I who made my husband a millionaire.”
“And what was he before you married him?” the friend asked. The woman replied, “A Billionaire.”
The 4 degree map - the impact of a global temperature riseof 4 degrees C (7 degrees F)
Imagine what happen if the global average temperature rises by 4 degrees Celcius above the pre-industrial climate average. The Act on Copenhagen site says that the impacts of climate change will be widespread across the globe. In order to understand more about what the human impact of high-end climate change might be, a map (above)produced by the UK’s Met Office Hadley Centre was produced which represents the latest peer-reviewed science on the impacts.
Go to this page on the 4 degree interactive map to click the interactive controls and select which impacts you want to see, zoom on specific geographies and access on more information on the science of the map. Of my interest, I click a zone very near to Brunei which shows the rise in sea level. Here are some of the findings in a summary:
Not a complete set, the rest of the books I have on my desk - not collecting dust! Natural History lovers should have this set.
I have previously posted The Seashore Life Of the Brunei Heart of Borneo booklets last June. According to the project leader and main author of the books, Roger Mc Ilroy who reported from cold and windy Scotland; the booklets were launched last Friday, 16 October, when BSP – the sponsor of the booklets – planted their 10,000 trees at Badas. I was away at that time and so I miss the boat. You may have read on the news of the launching from The Brunei Times aptly titled ‘BSP digs deep to preserve HoB’.
I did promise to give an insight on the booklets in my post. I will do as soon as I got more details from Roger on where the general public can get these very useful books on Brunei’s natural history. The plan, Roger said, was to distribute the sets to the schools around Brunei and made them available at all bookstores. Although the book is intended for students, anyone interested should also grab them and have a read.
Page 17 of Vol 5 - The Crustaceans show a pic of a stressed crab that it foams. Maybe thats where the word 'crabby' comes from.
One of the photographers for the booklets was none other than Jan Shim whose pic of a foaming Horn-eyed Ghost Crab was selected in Vol 5 – The Crustaceans. The pic, as always from any of Jan’s work, is superb. Quoting from the book…”The Horn-eyed Ghost Crab is considered to be the most seaward living of the Ocypodes, one of the many types of crabs….” And the foam? Well, the book says: “When the Ocypode crab is stressed, it blows bubbles.” You have to read more from the book on the how 
Its only Tuesday and now its 15:30 hrs as I type and I am already drained. Yesterday at work was hectic, not only because its Monday but my computer crashed. I just got back to work and I was sure emails and tasks would be shouting for my attention. I tried to sign in and all there to see was this blue screen. Nice! So now I am working from another work-station which is painfully s-l-o-w that even I have time to multi-task other stuff that doesnt need a click on the keyboard in between coffee and chocolate chips. Tuesday now and still no sign of recovery of my computer, I have to resort to the turtle work-station.
While googling for “energy booster” or ‘energy drinks or quick-fix food to boost energy level or smarter lunch”, I came up with this interesting article on ‘Out of Energy’ by one Denise Schipani. Denise outlined that there are nine things that zap our energy and writes how to fix them. She started the article with ‘It’s 3pm….’ How timely!
To save your energy reading the full article, I have put a summary of the list of the energy zippers and their fixes:
Okay I feel rejuvenated posting this here and reading THAT email make my day too
Its Blog Action Day today. Every 15 October, bloggers from all around the world unite to talk about the same issue on the same day with the hope that their voices will provoke discussion on the issue of global importance. From the Blog Action Day’s site, 7,194 blogs from 141 countries across the world have registered to join and talk on the issue of climate change. Here’s my take on the issue on my way to a training course and during my lunch break.
Climate change is already happening. Every day we hear devastating news about all these natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes which left hundreds and thousands to lose their livelihoods. I am really hopeful for the world leaders who will meet in Copenhagen this December will come up with a real, sensible outcome on how to tackle climate change.
Now don’t say that Brunei is not affected. I don’t know if anyone knows that Brunei is among the highest carbon emitter per capita. Tiny Brunei with a population of about a quarter million is not spared from the effect of climate change. The best example will be the flash floods. Bruneians are not used to experience what seem ‘normal’ for neighboring countries like the Philippines and Indonesia in facing calamities like typhoons and earthquakes due to its geographic location.
However, early this year, the country was suddenly awakened with the worst flooding it has seen for decades. I remember that night. Barrack Obama was just sworn in as the President. As the Americans and the rest of the world were watching the inauguration live, Bruneians were experiencing hours and hours of non-stop raining. The next morning, people from areas which have never experienced flooding were awakened with an unexpected sight – water with mud everywhere.
So what is happening? What was it that we did? Has Mother Nature lost her charm and unleash her fury. I think so. So what do we need to do now? I don’t suggest that everyone should go to the forest and hug a tree but more to our every day habit like switching to energy-saving bulbs, using less paper, re-cycling and re-using items, and no plastics. These little things that we do every day. Every one of us should be responsible in their own actions as it affect the future generation. I want my great-great-grandchildren to be still able to smell the flowers and breathe fresh air. If you are not sure what you can do to tackle climate change (or what on earth this climate change that I have been yapping on and on is), just google for ways to tackle climate change. I particularly like this Climate Change – Bloom from the BBC. Click on it.
Climate change, act on it for a greener world.
Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra province was hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on 30 Spet 2009. A number of villages there have been declared as mass graves. Hundreds have died and many more have been misplaced or reported missing and are now feared to be buried under the rumbles. According to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency website, the quake has left 608 dead, 596 seriously injured and 2,039 lightly injured; 179,629 houses damaged and more than 83,000 in ruins. The death toll may exceed 1,000 said the agency.
I am so much impressed with the internationl aids from around the world which have provided clean water, money and other forms of aids to the area. At least 35 international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations are helping victims in Padang. Some 4,000 volunteers are working in the city.
On a related note, Masjid Abdul Rahman Auf in Kuala Lumpur would be compiling an anthology of poems remembering the Padang quake by the end of this month as a move in solidarity and humanitarian act on the tragic event. The launching and reading of the poems will be held on the 31st October and 1st November at the Dewan al-Ghazali, Masjid Abdul Rahman Auf, Km 5.5, Jalan Puchong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Condolences to the familes of the victims of the earthquake. Al-Fatihah.
One of the earliest 1 cent stamps from Brunei.
I dont know if most people use slow mails nowadays with the advancement of technology. E-cards, e-invites via social networking like Facebook and Twitter are the norms now. I dont know how postal departments around the globe are surviving now. I do, however appreciate stamps. For a start, a stamp can be part of our history, our culture, tradition; everything that encompass our daily lives.
According to the Postal Services Department, the earliest known use of a postage stamp in Brunei was one bearing a Brooketown (an old name for Muara) postmarked 24 April 1894 - thats more than a century ago. A small post office was set up at Broketown in 1893 for the coal-mining workers of Brooke. The office was under the Sarawak Government operating a monthly mail service to and fro Kuching until 1907. If anyone remembers Brunei’s history, 1906 was the year when the first British Resident came to Brunei. You can read more on Brunei’s postal history from the Postal Services website. I do notice a typo error though under its introduction when it says that “….The manager of the Central Borneo Company of Labuan, one John Robertson, obtained a concession in 1984 from Sultan Hashim to operate a postal service in Brunei Town (Bandar Seri Begawan)...” Can’t be 1984!
I was looking at the latest thematic stamp produced by the Brunei’s Postal Services Department which will be issued as of this Friday, 9th October 2009. The name of the latest issue is ‘Wild Orchids of Brunei Darussalam Series I. The stamps are in the denomination of $1.00, 20 cents and 10 cents and designed by one Ajihis bin Haji Terawih.
More informative and interesting stamps (and notes) can be found from our own Brunei’s Numismatist and Philatelist aka Brunei Daily Resources. Go check it out. Thanks for sharing Tuan Haji.
Brunei Shell Petroleum marks its 80th anniversary by launching a community campaign on road safety today. Labelled as ‘Tell-A-Friend’ BSP hopes that the campaign will help further improve road safety in the Abode of Peace. The campaign was launched by His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei this morning where His Majesty also officiated the 80th anniversary. Read more on the event from BSP’s official website.
It does make anyone wonder what to be of Brunei without oil? Well, if you look to the open sea, you will think of oil and gas but if you turn your head around, you will see our intact rainforest. Al-Jazeera has recently made a Tv programme saying that brunei’s oil is saving the rainforest. Watch the video on the report more here.
Congratulations BSP for the 80 years and I pray for many more years of oil and gas exports for Brunei, amin.
I woke up this morning to hear people talking about the massive power outage which lasted for up to four hours last night. The papers said that 75% of Brunei area was without power supply last night. All three districts, except Temburong were badly affected and were left in total darkness. I slept soundly last night as the area where I live was not affected.
Gadong commercial area in the dark. Pic by The Brunei Times ~ www.bt.com.bn
The Borneo Bulletin reported that quoting the Electrical Services Department, DES, saying that ‘the shutdown was due to what it termed as a “technical glitch” which caused the power cut that affected most of the capital and larger parts of the country, stretching to Lamunin and Penanjong and into the Belait District with disruptions reported in Lumut and Mumong.’
I could sense the irony when that the paper went on to say that: ‘Just hours after the nationwide prayers to mark the 16th Civil Service Day and amid growing calls for the public service to make good on their promises to provide the more efficient and effective services to the citizens and residents of Brunei Darussalam, the darkened canvas that blanketed the capital and most parts of the country stood as a shocking reminder.’
The Brunei Times quoting the DES said that the disruption was as a result of the main turbine at Gadong 2 going offline due to reasons which are still under investigation. Read more on the report here.
Graphic on where Ketsana has hit the Philippines. Image from Reuters.
I am not complaining here, not just because my area was not affected but just look across the South China Sea and see what’s happening to our close neighbour, the Philippines. The country was affected by the Typhoon Ondoy as its known locally there, or Ketsana, internationally. According to reports, heavy rain which amounted to a month’s fall, fell in a few hours last Friday/ Saturday. The Philippines Government has appealed for international humanitarian help as the death toll rose to 240 and weary survivors sheltered in squalid conditions. Almost half a million people are affected and water and electricity has been cut off in the worst part of Manila.
Whilst the Philippines is no stranger to extreme weather, Typhoon Ondoy has been reported to be the worst for the country for over 40 years. Now does the number ring a bell to Brunei as Brunei was also affected with its worst flooding early this year for the last 40 years? It worries me to think how ready Brunei is to face such calamities. Nau’uzubillah…
Its the start of the fourth term for schools in Brunei today and its only the eight of Syawal. Still in Raya mood? Came across pictures of old Hari Raya cards from the early 60’s to the early 70’s from Bruneians via email. Whoever said that ‘Cut, Copy & Paste’ is a new technology? Please also note on the fashion on those days. I love the ladies’ glasses – cool shades. They are back in fashion now isnt it? So dont throw away your accessories just yet. Personally for me, I did receive a couple or so Hari Raya greetings cards this year. Not sure how long this tradition of sending the paper cards will continue with the so-called modern technology of e-cards. Even Facebook has Hari Raya e-cards and Duit Raya, I just wish they are real ones, the duit raya that is :p
Look at the hairstyle. Not much different from Zac Efron's (of High School Musical fame)
Could be an influence from the royal insignias? This is from the 1969.
Cool shade with easy hairstyle.
This lass has two trophies to show. Excelsior? Its Latin for superior, lordly or ever-upward. The word is also the motto for the Science College 
A 'cut & paste' technology in 1973
One of the few potrait-oriented greetings card.
Aww...what a sweet couple. Remind me of my teenage life...hehe
Another 'cut & paste' technique. Note the shade, note on the shade! Not the trees, the sunglasses.
Rafeah again with her cool shade. This was in 1970 - were the Beatles the craze at that time?
Dia tulis arab dah. Jawi-writing was widely-used at that time.
Peace sign yo. And look at the hairstyle.
From the wild, wild, west.
Another 'cut & paste'
From the girls...
From the boys...
Brunei Darussalam will be celebrating Hari Raya Aidil Fitri or Eidul Fitr tomorrow, Monday 21 September 2009 after the new moon of Syawal was not sighted early yesterday’s evening. Hari Raya Aidil Fitri or also known as Hari Raya Puasa or Lebaran or Eidul Fitri (depending on where you are) marks the end of Ramadhan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, and the start of Syawal, a month for joy and celebration.
Raya itself is a Malay word meaning big so yes, its a big celebration for Muslims around the world. Other Raya word use in Malay is ‘jalanraya’ meaning road and the other one at the top of my head is ‘hantu raya’, a type of ghost though I am not sure if this particular ghost is the biggest ghost of all. This interesting post on why Indonesians use ‘Lebaran’ to refer to the big day says that the original word of ‘lebar’ actually comes from a Javanese word meaning afterwards that is after the fasting month; and not the ‘lebar’ which is English for wide.
Hilal or the new moon. Brunei celebrates Hari Raya on Monday, 21 September 2009.
Every year, it has been like a tradition for Bruneians to gather around their Tv or radio sets to know the outcome of the sighting of the new moon of Syawal as it determine the first day of Raya. For some, the good news will be welcomed by praising Allah with tahmid and takbir and for some, with the sound of firecrackers. And the bad news when the moon is not sighted? For some, the news may either be followed with a sigh or a joy, depending on one’s situation.
The decision to the manner and method on determining the beginning of Ramadhan, Syawal, Zulhijjah and Muharram for Brunei Darussalam through rukyah or the sighting of the moon was made at a meeting in 1994. There, MABBIMS countries which group Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore agreed that Brunei will exclusively uses rukyah while the rest of the three countries jointly agreed that if the new moon is not sighted through rukyah then the beginning of the new moon will be based on calculations.
This page from the Brunei Astronomical Society quoting a joint-reply from the State Judiciary Department and the Survey Department explains more on why Brunei uses rukyah. Furthermore, it quote that a fatwa or religious rulings from the State Mufti saying that rukyah being practised in Brunei Darussalam is based on clear hadiths or sayings of the Prophet. It also says that on 1 October 2003, Brunei’s Muslim Council will not accept rukyah results from other countries as from 1424 Hijrah. We are in the year 1430 Hijrah now, so that was six years ago.
Its time to celebrate, well, at least tomorrow for Brunei. I would like to wish all Muslims around the world, a Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir & Batin. Eid Mubarak. Taqabballahu minna waminkum, waja’alna minal aidin wal faidzin.
Era from Brunei, seated, stuck in the evening tent in Wanaka, New Zealand. Pic from www.commonwealthexpedition.com
Era, who, Insya Allah, will be the first Bruneian to reach the South Pole come New Year’s Day 2010 will now be able to concentrate on her training and forget about worries on the funding. Good news is that the whole team of eight women from the Commonwealth has been granted a full fund to finance their trip to the Antarctica after Kaspersky Lab has agreed to fund the trip. Kaspersky Lab is a developer of a secure content management solutions.
This will be very good news indeed has team members have been sourcing for funding here and there. The expedition is now being re-branded as The Karspesky Lab Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition. Read the full press release here from the sponsor.
Brunei’s own Polar Girl, Era has previously lamented on the lack of her fund through this news article here. She has previously won Br$8,000 from the BIBD Wish campaign where the money she received was used to fund for her training in New Zealand. She will be back home tonight. Read on the training account in New Zealand here.
On a related Commonwealth news, Commonwealth with its two billion people from 53 countries is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The expedition to the South Pole is part of the celebration. Now, those living in the Commonwealth can have their say about the Commonwealth and how to shape. More information from the Commonwealth Conversation.
Okay so alligators are only native to the United States and China. Alligators and crocodiles come under the group of crocodilian so they are somewhat related, thanks also to their similarity in appearances. Well, I am about to talk about crocodiles which have made headlines in Brunei for the past week or so. Two people including a four-year old boy have fallen victims to two separate crocodile attacks, within a space of days apart.
Personally, I have had a very close encounter with these not-that-gentle- creatures. On a way to do a filming for a Tv documentary, my crew and I have to cross a river to reach Kg Belabau in Ulu Tutong, which is the furthest village in Tutong. I heard this village has been deserted now as no one lives there anymore. Anyway, all the way from Bandar to the jetty in Tutong, my witty cameraman never stopped cracking jokes, only to be join by the same level-headed soundman and our driver. I became their audience, laughing my gut out.
It was already five-thirty in the afternoon when we reached the jetty. A boatman whom I have already booked earlier to ferry us across the river, was already waiting for us. We were to spend a few nights at the village to film the documentary. The boatman, a resident of Kampong Belabau itself was maybe in his 30’s, strong-built and smiled all the time. The boat was not your typical boat but the traditional long and narrow boat call temuai. This type of boat is made that way so that its easy to manoeuver the winding river in the rural areas.
Our boatman was a man of a few words. He just smiled when we asked questions or talked to him. The only words I remember until now coming from his mouth was for us to be careful. In half an hour, it was pitch black as it get dark quickly in rural areas. By then, my crew was in total silence; they must have gone tired with the long journey or from the jokes they made. I kept glancing back at our boatman who was right behind me. He just smiled. God, I wish I knew why he smiled.
Have you heard that silence can be deafening? Well, the silence was killing me but as I was not that familiar with the area, I just sat still and prayed the journey would be over soon. Suddenly the boatman stopped paddling. He kept quiet. This time he didnt smile. I signalled him what’s wrong but as expected, he didnt utter any word. I closed my eyes trying to enjoy the stillness, if there is anything to enjoy. It was just a mere second that I blinked my eyes when I thought I heard some splashing not far from our boat. Suddenly I realised that there were many red dots on both sides of the river banks. I gasped and looked at the boatman. He syhhed me while putting a finger on his lips. For the rest of the journey, the boatman let the current took control of the boat. After what seem like ages, we finally reached the village. I glanced at my watch, it was almost seven in the evening.
When we reached the jetty, my crew ran as fast as they could, up to the jetty and on to the ground. Then they laughed. Boys! I didnt find that funny as that’s still one of the top scarriest moments in my Tv life. The village headman came to greet us. I immediately asked him what were those red dots. His answer: the eyes of the crocs at night time. And the splash? The boatman told the headman who in turn informed me that two huge male crocs were swimming alongside our boat, one of them made a splash as it slid under our boat to get to the other side.
Thanking God for the safe journey, I made sure I would not be very near the river for the rest of the assignment. But then river is part of the residents’ lives so I have no choice. Very early the next morning, my ever-cheerful cameraman said that he has found a good location to film the river activity – where else but by the riverbank. I recced the area and had to agree with him. Soon, women, young girls and children came out from the longhouse carrying clothes in pails and buckets and towels. It was actually a lovely morning. The water was really cold and I was really amazed how the residents could stand the coldness of the water. Nope, they dont have water-heaters, its a river.
Now what made me write this post is this interesting part which relates to the crocodiles. Some parts of the river banks were high enough for the young children to do their somersault. I guess they know we were filming so they wanted to show off but honestly they were very good at making the acrobatic feats and jump to the river. Everytime they wanted to jump in they said something. At one stage I was trying to understand what those words were and in the end I just couldnt contain my curiosity that I asked the young girls clad in sarong. The girls said that everytime they want to jump in to a river, they will shout: ‘Anak Bayo’ meaning son or child of a crocodile. I dont need to know why they must say that.
Now this article in today’s Borneo Bulletin has many interesting facts about crocs. For a start, the report said quoting the Brunei Museums Department – champion of protecting endangered species in Brunei – 34 species have been listed under the protected List of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The estuarine crocodiles, locally known as ‘Buaya Katak’ that inhibit the rivers in Brunei are under Appendix 1 of CITES. No one is allowed to ‘hunt, kill, capture, collect, disturb or own their eggs, horn, head, teeth, tusk, bones, nails, fur (didnt know crocs have furs), skin or any other body parts. Offenders could face a year in prison and slapped with a $2,000 fine in Brunei. One exception of the rule is when these animals prey on humans or enter the turf of humans, these crocs may be captured or even killed, said the report.
Another related croc story is that Crocs, those crayon-coloured sandals which have survived the global recession, may be facing some problems too. More here. Have you got a pair or two of Crocs? “Anak Bayo” indeed.
Please note that my personal account above is copyright protected. Please contact me should you need to quote my story for permission. Thank you.
How timely for my sister to send me an email telling about a talk on souls during the holy month. According to the talk, citing one hadith or sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh); when Ramadhan commences, all souls gather at a place called Luh Mahfuz. As far as I know, Luh Mahfuz is a place where our fate has been determined by God - how old we will live, our soulmate and our rezki or wealth.
Anyway, back to the talk. As Ramadhan starts, all souls gather in Luh Mahfuz to seek approval from Allah to go down to Earth. Some are permitted, some are not. Those who are allowed to go back to the Earth are those who have done good deeds throughout their lives when they were alive or those who have been blessed by prayers from either their children or relatives and friends. Those who are not allowed are those who have sinned when they were alive and have not receive any prayers from those who are still alive since.
The talk continued that the first thing these souls do when they reach Earth is to visit their own graves, to see their bodies. I would like to add here that this could be why Bruneians clean around a cemetry usually on Friday mornings and especially during the holy month, which has become a practise or tradition for them. I think if the souls are to visit during the start of Ramadhan, then the cleaning part should be done before the holy month and not during the month, yes? I am also yet to find out the significance of that air asah-asahan or the brownish-scented water usually poured over the tombs. Businesses in selling this type of water are also brisk during the holy month.
So, these souls will then pay a visit to the homes of their families – their children’s, to houses of those who receive their wasiat or will and to the houses where the occupants extend prayers for them. All in the hope that those they visited will continue to pray for them in the after-world. These visits will continue until the start of Aidil Fitri of the Eid-ul Fitri, which marks the end of Ramadhan. Usually we chanted the Takbir Hari Raya or praises to Allah as from the eve of the festival. Now I remember when I was small, my late grandmother would not allow me to do the praises during the holy month. My age of innocence.
At the start of Aidil Fitri, the souls will bid good-bye to their own bodies and to those they have visited and bring along with them all those prayers they have received throughout the holy month. The point of this talk (or post) is to always say your prayers and Al-Fatihah to the dearly departed with the hope that their souls are at peace. One famous hadith on death says that when a man dies, he is being cut-off from everything except three – prayers from the children, beneficial knowledge they acquired when they were alive and good deeds they have done.
Now as I type this, I am missing my late father, late grandparents and my late brother. Al-Fatihah for them and to those who have departed before this moment. Al-Fatihah.
“Setinggi mana kasih sayangku, Allah lebih berhak menyayangimu. Damailah engkau di sana, dibawah rahmat dan kasih-sayangNya. Sesungguhnya aku akan menyusulmu dikemudian hari. Al-Fatihah buat semua muslimin dan muslimat yang telah pergi.”
Sounds of Hope? The first time I heard that from my dearest Zie, I thought it’s something like an underground music or club. Does it sound anything like the Ministry of Sound?
Sounds of Hope is Brunei’s answer to youth volunteering who devote their time, resources and energy to eradicate poverty in Brunei by the year 2035 – a vision echoed by His Majesty last year in line with the country’s Vision 2035. Yes Brunei do have the poor and the country is yet to come up with its own definition of poverty.
My earlier post on Zakat money has a definition of the poor in accordance to Islamic terms. A fakir is a Muslim who has no source of income or wealth or those who are unable to fulfil half of the needs for him/herself and those of their dependants; a miskin is a Muslim who, though has a bit of wealth or source of income but could only manage to contribute for more than half of his/ her own need and their dependants.
According to the Baitul Mal, a body that look into the affairs of the poor and the very poor; there are about 13,000 who fall into both categories. Japem, the Department responsible for the community has a higher stats – that there are 17,000 poor in Brunei in their record.
So what has this Sounds of Hope (SoH) done? A recent Tv interview in Rampai Pagi said that SoH volunteers have visited the poor around Brunei. Pictures in this post are actually taken from the SoH’s fan page at Facebook. Senor Pablo has more heart-warming pictures. SoH now has more than 40 volunteers from a humble six when they were first formed last March. Their next biggest ambition is to hold a charity gala night next month where patrons can buy tables to watch performances by local artists. (See next post on the gala poster). For assurance, SoH also operates under the auspices of the Women Business Council and the volunteers registered under Japem’s Volunteering Programme.
A number of intial programmes lined up by SoH includes adopt a (poor) family; sponsor a child’s educational needs and micro-credit for the unemployed women. I assume the latter will be for single mothers who do not have any source of income?
For more info on SoH, visit: Sounds of Hope (a Facebook fan page actually). SoH has more than 3,000 fans so far. Hope the number of volunteers is also increasing? I was thinking if SoH aims to get volunteers, Facebook is the right tool as thats where the young and the young-atbut if they need sponsors, they have to open up at least a blog. Most are free too. Feel like writing to SoH? Then drop them a line at: soundsofhope.brunei@gmail.com
Lets extend our hands to help the poor.
Heaven is a place call Earth, as one karaoke song goes or is it that heaven is up there? From the holy Quran, heaven has been decribed as a place which could not be found anywhere on Earth. When I was small, my late grandma (peace and blessings for her soul) always told me stories how those who do good deeds, would end up in heaven. I would aksed her again and again on how heaven look like. From her answers, I always imagined that heaven is so very peaceful and calm; not too hot and not too cold, with the most beautiful creatures flying around and streams of honey, wine and milk flowing endlessly…ahh…childhood.
Now this news report from LiveScience says that a new discovery has found the coldest, driest and calmest place on Earth. Could it be the closest to heaven? Where? Its an area known simply as Ridge A; 13,297 feet (or 4,053 meters) high up on the Antarctic Plateau on the continent at the bottom of the world. Located within the Australian Antarctic Territory, the site is 89 miles (144 km) from an international robotic observatory and the proposed new Chinese ‘Kunlun’ base at Dome A its called, a higher point on the Antarctic Plateau.
An iceberg in Gerlache Strait, Antarctica. Photographer: Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren, NOAA Corps (ret.).
The study revealed that Ridge A has an average winter temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius and an extremely low amount of water in the air. The site is also extremely calm, which means that there is very little of the atmospheric turbulence that elsewhere makes stars appear to twinkle. Oh, I would love this place. Actually this place is a perfect recipe for an astronimical observation’s point of view, so as to speak. Well, at least its the calmest place on Earth.
Okay so I am cancelling my journey to Siberia but heading to the Antartica now.
I received a chain email saying that Poco-poco actually originates from the Philippines, used widely by the Christians there. The email argued that the line dance, which now has gain its popularity in Brunei as well, actually made a cross through its steps and wondered if it will be banned by some Muslim countries after the furor of yoga and its mantras. The steps take the dancer to the four directions of a room and is said to be similar to the ‘Nutbush’ or ‘The bus stop’ and other western disco dances.
From the searches that I made on ‘poco-poco’, it reveals that the very popular social dance originated from the Sulawesi about 20 years ago to accompany a new pop song at that time called ‘Poco-poco’. The lyrics described a man’s admiration of a beautiful woman of Minahasa.
This Minahasa site quoting one Ibu Harimawan, a ballroom dance teacher said that poco-poco was made popular by the ABRI or the Indonesian army. Apart from poco-poco, two other community dances – tebe-tebe and sojojo have been popular since the 1990’s, said the site. Another Yogya’s dance teacher said the poco-poco originates from the Moluccas, specifically from Ambon.
One Jamaican English dictionary listed ‘poco-poco’ as Jamaican answer for ‘How do you do?’ meaning ‘not too good and not too bad’. However, there appears to be a number of words associated with ‘poco’ in the dictionary which relates to a kind of wild dance under the possession of what was believed to be, of ‘ancestral spirits’.
One account recorded by Washington Post during the era of General Suharto’s rule cited that thousands of students protestors streamed into the streets demanding his ousting. The riot police found out that force could no longer cow the crowds so they cranked up the loudspeakers and put on the poco-poco and asked the students to dance. The students who were suddenly confronted with the irresistible rhythm, danced the poco-poco. Nice.
Another search resulted saying that rural farmers in the Irian Jaya danced the poco-poco style when they are harvesting the padi. The arm movement during dancing the poco-poco actually resembles hoeing, rowing or sowing. This reminds me of Brunei’s own folksong and accompanied dance, the Adai-adai, which tells the story of a fisherman going to the sea and leaving behind his wife for the whole day.
Now the moves for the poco-poco below. Try it and tell me if it’s anywhere similar to a cross
While facing the front:
- walk to your right; step right, left, right and bring feet together
- repeat to the left; step left, right, left and feet together
- step forward with one foot….
Better learn by watching the video below:
Some of the leaves along Tungku Link have turned brown.
Nope, we dont have the four seasons in Brunei, only two – hot as in sunny and wet as in rain. These poor trees are actually a result of the recent forest fires which destroyed much of the vegetation and made the country hazy. A couple of pictures where the helis were called to help fight the fire can be found from ‘Who’s Talking?’ – Sopokondo blogspot dot com.
According to news report citing the Bomba or the Fire Services, more than 190 hectares of forest were consumed by fire within a two-week period in early June 2009. The Pollutant Standard Index or PSI which measures the quality of air were recorded slightly than normal at 30. The worst hit area was Belait district where the PSI reading was over 100 which is unhealthy. Some of the fires were reported to originate from the act of open burning.
I sincerely hope that JASTRe’s effort in curbing open burning will be a success. It is a law already to ban open burning in Brunei. The question now is how is this law being implemented?
I am sure that everyone in Brunei would have notice that the Brunei Grand Sale is now on. Nothing wrong there, I support this as its good for the Brunei’s economy – that ’Buy in Brunei’ attitude though it’s not the tagline for the grand sale. So how grand is grand? The grandest of all? THE sale of the year? I don’t know. From my view, for every quarter of the year, there is bound to be a sale – Back to School sale, Quarterly sale, Mid-Year Sale, Holiday sale….all sort of sales. Some business establishments will claim that they have sale of up to 70%. Hmmm…. I am sure they have marked up their prices or else, where got untung or profit, yes? Also THE Raya-themed expos have already started as well, just only within the first week of Ramadhan…so I say, let the war of sales begins. Here’s one of them:
Brunei starts its Ramadhan today Saturday, 22 August 2009 after religious officials failed to sight the new moon last Thursday evening. Interestingly, the sermon in yesterday’s Friday prayer touched on the moon-sighting issue. Imams reading the sermon said that there should not be any questions asked or issue raised whenever the moon is not sighted. This is especially true when it comes to the Syawal month where the method of sighting of the moon is again use to determine the end of Ramadhan and the start of the Muslim festival.
I agree. Why should there be an issue on the results of the sighting of the moon? Some would say that other country has already started fasting and we havent. Well, for a start, we are of different locations. Also, this method of physically sighting for the moon is actually the afdal or better way to determine the start of any month particularly for Ramadhan and Syawal. The traditional method as followed by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is to look at the sky and visibly sight the crescent moon (Hilal) that marks the beginning of the month.
Alhamdulilah, so now we are able to meet Ramadhan again this year and may we be given with endless rewards and blessings in this holy month and get the best night of all nights, the Lailatul Qadar. Amin.
Suggested: Develop world-class public transport system, promote ‘Green’ transport and adopt Green car and building policies.
YB Dato Idris – To ensure sustainable development, Brunei need a masterplan. The country’s masterplan is outdated. It was introduced 20 years ago and a new master planner would be appointed soon.
Bandar Seri Begawan – Bandar was under ‘attack’ this afternoon. Explosions were heard at around 2:30 in the afternoon which made the general public panic. They were caught off-guard as the security personnel complete with sirens, moved in to Bandar. Within minutes, the parameter around Jalan Pretty was sealed…except that it was just a live explosives exercise.And the armed forces? The recently concluded and successful Bridex 2009 talked on how some of the armed forces around the world are now asked to do non-traditional military tasks such as helping in during natural disaster.
What concern me being a member of the general public is safety. If I am to walk around Bandar where there are like, scores of people in the open and suddenly there’s a big explosion. The first reaction would of course be panic. People would try to take cover but where? Where in Bandar or in Brunei can the public take cover? I dont think there’s a shelter area for the public.
By-standers with the Polis at the scene. How safe are we if it really happens?
Then came the police, Bomba, paramedics and other security personnel, maybe in plain clothes, though I would not be sure who will come first and in which order. Who should I listen to when all of these ‘authorities’ give command at the same time? And I imagine that its not just one person giving one command but different personnel with different commands, complete with military lingo and acronyms such as A-S-A-P (okay we all know this), KISS (keep it simple, s@$#*), ACM (Air Combat Manoevering) or words such as ’negative’ and ’civvies’ (civilian clothes).
My point is, the public should also be communicated like, now before anything happens so they know what to do and where to go in any emergency event and not just as by-standers.
Imagine how the Earth looks like at different locations but at the same time? It’s 16:10 hours now in Brunei and so it must be 09:10 hours in London now or 04:10 hours in New York or 01:10 hours in Los Angeles. While I am having high tea, someone in London will be having a morning break…Interesting. It will also be interesting to see photos on how the Earth’s doing at the same time but at a different location.
Heapfo (which stands for “Heaps of Information”) is organising one event where people from all over the world will take a picture or pictures on how the Earth looks like at exactly the same time. Its on Saturday, 24 October 2009 at 06:00 hours Brunei time, thats 66 more days to go. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to be part of this project.
The goal is to capture one single moment in time from every country, the Antartica, the Artic, the space, under the sea and out at sea. Go register yourself at Heapfo’s Facebook (you have to be a Facebook member then to access it).
Have you eva_wanda_ y? These are old questions but has anyone found the answers? My comments follow after the questions.
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
The red sun at around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, 4 August 2009 in Gadong
Haze blanketing Brunei Muara. Istana Nurul Iman could usually be seen in the background but not this morning.
Part of Kampong Ayer or the Water Village this morning. Not only its hot now in Brunei with the maximum temperature recorded at 40 C yesterday but its also hazy.
A worker prunes a plant at Yayasan as the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque stands majestically in the background with haze around.
The stalls for the birthday celebration in Bandar will come to a close tonight and not last night contrary to what many believe. As the national flag was lowered down in a ceremony yesterday morning, marking the end of the birthday celebrations for this year, the general public thronged to the Gerai Perayaan last night to enjoy what they thought would be the last night. I think the ceremony must be the confusing factor.
Rows of vehicles lined all roads leading to the stalls, which like in previous years, are located at the parking space in front of the Royal Regalia Building in the capital. I think last night must be the busiest night for the business operators at the stalls as there were so many people around. The stalls have been in operational nightly for the past two weeks. Some business operators started their business hours as early as five or six in the evening until mid-night.
One business operator selling fresh and chilled fruit juices and other beverages that I spoke to said that there were not that many customers on the previous nights but last night he lost count after his 50th customer, and that was only an hour or so after he opened up. A cup of the drink he sold costs Br$1 and an average of three cups were bought per customer; you do the maths on how much he earned last night. It was also a warm night last night so a refreshing drink surely quench one’s thirst.
Apart from beverages, items being sold include the famous sotong tutuk or hammered smoked calamari (always popular during local celebrations) and local delicacies to clotheswear (pirated sportswear aplenty) and even CDs and DVDs (have to check for originals). I think these are what one would normally see in local celebrations. For some it would be a waste of time to go round and round the stalls selling similar items year after year though I would say that this time, the items are getting better. For some, like me, its just the mood, the atmosphere or the air and spirit to be part of the happening though I would not go there every night. Hotels nearby are also benefitting everytime there’s the Gerai Malam as they charged $3 per entry for those who would like to use their parking lots. Business-minded indeed.
A local band who was not performing but more to promoting their CDs was also there last night. Usually there would be stage performances like in the past years but there was none this year due to the H1N1 situation in Brunei. Restaurant operators at the stalls also reported brisk business last night. I was there with my big family and ordering a simple teh tarik and fried noodle took forever but it was fun waiting as the place was really abuzz with people.
The Gerai Perayaan was previously cancelled. From what I was told by one business operator at the stall, their rental fees was refunded by the organiser as the celebrations were put on hold and they were not sure when the celebrations would start. That was quite a blow for them as such festivals is one of the ways for the SMEs to earn profit. But in the last minute, it was announced that the stalls would go on but there wont be any stage performances. So, yes am grateful for this decision too as I could understand the SMEs predicament.
The birthday celebration of His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei is an annual festivity that Bruneians and tourists alike always look forward to. Its like a tradition. This year, due to the H1N1 situation, His Majesty himself has announced that all events held in conjunction with his birthday are to be postponed to a later date. Not sure when this would be as (1) the H1N1 situation still lurks (the authority said that its still mild in Brunei) and (2) the holy month is approaching with the start of Ramadhan might either be on the 21st or 22nd of this month, thats about three weeks away.
So you still have tonight…I will update this post with pics.
Oh I look forward to the Big Makan. (Makan is a Malay word for eat – Eat_Me? :p) The ‘Big Makan’ is an event that involves, what else, food and is a theme for the Brunei Food Festival this year. When it come to food, Bruneians know it better though the Italians must do it better. Not much to do here in Brunei but eat, eat and more eating, some would say.
So the Big Makan is set to be held on Friday 7th until Sunday 9th of August 2009 at the Indoor Stadium. This venue is better as it has ample parking lots than the previous ones where parking posed a problem for the visitors a.k.a. foodie-lovers.
Kueh Seri Muka. Pic from wikipedia.
Also, the organiser said that the opening ceremony on the first day will see the cutting of the biggest kueh or local delicacy ever made call Kueh Seri Muka. It is made from steamed glutinous rice and topped with a layer of coconut milk and eggs with sweet pandan leaves as the natural colouring. The kueh to be made on that day will be of 4 feet by 8 feet in size and weighs 50 kilogram. Visitors on the first day got to have a slice of the cake for free. Hope it taste as nice with that size!
This news report said:
“Featuring a wide range of Brunei culinary favourites and food cultural displays, the festival provides an interactive platform for customers and businesses to come together in celebration and recognition of the local culinary industry.
More than 20 SME participants will be showcasing their local products and services in this year’s Food Festival, according to the organiser.
In all, some 50 participants will be involved in the event. Participants include, namely, KFC, Jollibee, Saffron, I-lotus, Tuah Star Baker, Mulaut Abbattoir, Halaqah, Ideal Multifeed Farm, Seri Pakatan, Sinar Cahay a restaurants, Dreamcomes, Perusahaan Bebola Emas, G & A Snowhouse and Saudah C.”
Foodies, mark your calendar!
As announced by the Syariah Court:
Nisfu Syaban (or the middle of Syaban) falls on Wednesday, 5 August 2009.
Moon sighting to determine the first of Ramadhan is on Thursday, 20 August meaning the holy month may start the next day or Saturday, 22 August.
Marhaban Ya Syaban.
Its not even Ramadhan yet but Vogue is having its Hari Raya sale already. Go to the Kiulap Plaza Hotel this Thursday & Friday and ladies, dont forget to bring your girl friends; you know, for helpful advice and persuasion. Have fun!
![Slide1[1]](http://chittychat.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/slide11.jpg "Slide1[1]")
It seem that the hotel industry is picking up in Brunei despite the global recession. The latest hotel in Brunei is located right in the heart of Kuala Belait and its called Tat Place Hotel. I like the name. Its called that way because it is THAT place hotel. The hotel is the sister company of The Swiss Hotel Apartment which is located within walking distance from the hotel.
The hotel which has been in operation very recently has 12 boutique rooms. Standard Room costs Br$120++ while the Deluxe Room costs Br$130.00++. Its Executive Room is at Br$150++ and its most expensive is the Loft at Br$250.00++. Nope I havent seen the hotel with my own eyes but from its website here, I really love its contemporary design. Go check them out.
As I was reading the hotel’s packages and services, I noticed that the hotel has a fire-proof carpet and internet cable throughout its building. Yes, safety first. These cables, says the hotel promo email, do not emit poisonous chemical fumes like ordinary cables when they got burnt.
Thanks to my sis @ BSP for the info…
This weekend The Empire Hotel & Country Club is organising its ‘His Majesty’s 63rd weekend birthday celebration’ with, well, 63 fun and games lined up to live up the celebration with good room promotion. I heard the hotel’s guests for the weekend reached around 3,000 guests staying in just for tonight.
For the past couple of weeks, the hotel has been promoting on why people should be at the hotel this weekend through the mass media. For me one of the best reasons is the firework display. Why? Well, as everyone knows, celebrations for His Majesty’s birthday have been postponed due to the H1N1 situation. As in previous years, one of the highlights of the celebration is THE firework display and only The Empire is doing this, for now. The display went on for about 20 minutes. Fireworks are fireworks, they are all beautiful. I was told that the display was seen as far as Subok in the capital. I guess depending on where you are…
Image from the Brunei Astronomical Society website
So, it was indeed not a rainy day to watch the eclipse though a bit cloudy early in the morning. My own eye-witness report would be that the day suddenly turned dark as it was like six-thirty in the evening when in fact it was only about 8:30am. The local news report said that the partial solar ecplise in Brunei lasted from 8:48am until 10:32am.
Elsewhere in the world, this news report said that at least one woman died and six more hurt as a result of a stampede on the banks of Ganges River in India where 2,500 people have gathered. The Hindus believe that bathing during special occassions like the eclipse will cleanse away one’s sins. As Buddhists prayed in temples in Bangkok, Muslims in Brunei prayed for a special prayer and sought protection from Allah this morning.
Today’s total eclipse is the longest in this century since 11 July 1991. There will never be any more longer eclipse the world will see until the year 2132. How old would I be by then? The next solar eclipse in Brunei, also partial, is on 15 January2010. So mark your diary sky-gazers.
Below are some pictures I took from my backyard and from a friend in Bandar…
At 8:37am
At 8:41am
At 8:48am
At 8:50am
At 9:24am
Okay, sorry thats it as both my friend and I have to earn a living after 9:24am….
The news on the assault of Erin Andrews (who?) grabs my attention. Erin is a FEMALE sports journalist with ESPN and she is attractive, friendly and knowledgeable in sports. What happened was Andrews was videoed in her birthday suit with a hidden camera from her hotel room’s peephole. Note on this ladies! Yes, don’t go round naked in your hotel room without first masking off that peephole.
That’s not the morale of the story actually. This news article by Maggie Hendricks said that female journalists are now scared after what has happened to Andrews. I say, of course female journalists would feel that way after what has happened. In the news article, Hendricks mentioned a number of western female journalists who were either harassed and humiliated. Working as a journalist and being a female at that is never easy.
And what can I say (hope :p) with the Bruneian counterparts? This is what I think based on my personal experience. You conclude my story yourself. When I was a journalist, I asked my Chief Reporter to assign me to a football match. Why? Because I love the beautiful game and I do know its rules and bla…bla…bla. My Chief Reporter said, “Nope, you go and cover a domestic science festival where you will interview the flowers and find out who design the decorations.” Nah, not exactly like that but I wasn’t given the football assignment. It was given to, you guessed it.
So not wanting to wait for assignments, I took my own initiatives and searched for my own news story (with the consent of my Chief Reporter of course). One day, I came to know from the Fisheries Department that there was a red tide around Brunei Bay and I quickly grabbed a mike and went to interview the fish vendors at the wet market. Going to the market was not that difficult, what made it difficult was the vendors themselves.
Scene 1: At the nearest fish stall:
Me (ignoring the whistles and bad names that followed): “How does the red tide affect your business Tuan Haji?”
Tuan Haji (ignoring me as there was a number of customers who wanted his FROZEN fish) “Ten dollars per kilo…”
Me (being persistent then asked Tuan Haji’s assistant): “How’s business?”
Tuan Haji’s assistant (scanning me up and down): “Dudidudidu…what business?”
Scene 2: At the second nearest stall:
Me(putting up a thick skin): “Do you know there’s a red tide now?”
Stall owner: “So?”
Me: “How’s your business then?”
Stall owner #1: “Who wants to know?”
Me (I almost said the President of the United States of America): “Thank you for your time. I see you have frozen fish as well, just like your neighbors. No fresh fish huh?”
Scene 3: Further down:
Me (with a stone-cold face): “How’s business with the red tide?”
Stall owner #2 (another scanner in a form of a human male looking at me up & down): “Yes, it’s okay as long as I have lovely lady-customers coming to my stall.”
Me (asking my cameraman to shoot more frozen fish with the price tag)
Scene 4: Outside the market with more ‘fans’ shouting at me in the background – nice!:
Me (doing my piece-to-cam, being myself): “So here I am at the fish market with no fresh fish in sight. Having interviewed a couple of fish-mongers here they said that they just have to sell frozen and imported fish. The price tags are different too I noticed before the red tide enters the Brunei Bay. The public has also been warned not to eat shellfish…..
Do you get the picture? Of course this is just one story and there are many more stories which are part of parcels of being a journalist, a female one to be exact. Dudidu…didu.. Maybe I should open up a Journalist Academy in Brunei with my first subject: How to beat them and not to join them or you will be just like them?
Now I found this site from the University of Southern California’s Image of Journalists in Popular Culture it says, to be interesting and full of database.
How many of us remember what day is it today? Does someone out there could not even remember what day of the week it is today? Okay its Monday and not just a Monday but a special day for Muslims too. Still blurred? Its called Isra’ Mikraj as today corresponds to the 27 Rejab in the Islamic calendar.
Celebrations have been held here and there to commemorate the event. I hope that people remember what and why we are celebrating and, the most important point is to learn from the stories of Isra’ Mikraj…
The event happened after Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was tested with the death of two of his closest persons in his life and who helped him with the spread of Islam. They were Siti Khadijah, his beloved wife and his uncle, Abu Talib. According to history, Isra’ Mikraj happened 18 months before Hijrah.
Before his journey, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was operated upon by the angels of Jibrail and Mika’il. This is as a prep for his long journey and to withstand from eveyrthing he would see throughout his journey.
A part of his heart called the ‘alaqah was cleansed away with Air Zam Zam, the water said to be originated from heaven and whose well in Makkah never dried up. ‘Alaqah is a place where the Devil whispered doubtness in human beings.
After the ‘operation’, a special creature from heaven called buraq came to the Prophet to transport him from Makkah to Masjidil ‘Aqsa and up to heaven and then back to Earth. Buraq was said to travel at a much faster speed than lightining.
The part of the journey between Makkah and Masjidil ‘Aqsa is called Isra’, while the part where he ascended to heaven is called Mikraj. Some said Mikraj means stairs or ladder from heaven.
While on this journey, the prophet was chased by a genie by the name of ‘Afrit who carried a torch to stop the prophet from continuing his journey.
Some of the symbolic events that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. saw on the way were:
A group of farmers who continously did their harvesting. As soon as their crops were harvested, the crops grew again and were then harvested. The prophet was told by Jibrail that these are the groups of “Fisabilillah” or those who achieved matrydom.
A group of people who bang their heads again and again until their heads were blown into pieces. The heads were fixed again and the people continued to bang their heads again. These, said the Jibrail, are people who do not want to lower their heads to pray.
A group of people who hid away their private parts with a piece of cloth and were chased away like animals. They ate stones and fire from hell. These are people who do not perform the zakat or tithes.
A group of men and women who ate raw meat while there was a cooked meat beside them. These are men and women who committed adultery while they are already legally married to others.
A man who swam in a river of blood and was stoned. These are people who take riba or interest.
A man who collected firewood, could not lift them and kept on adding firewood. These are people who have been placed with trust but could not carry the trust and still continue to take other trusts.
A group of people who continue to cut their tongues and lips with scissors. These are liars.
A group who scratched their faces and chests with their steel fingers. These are people who like to talk bad about other people and framed people.
A big cow who tried to come out from a small hole. These are people who like to exagerate.
A woman who came to the Prophet with a tray full of jewellery but was ignored by the prophet. Jibrail said that’s Earth. If the Prophet gave the woman attention, it meant that Muslims will place the world before the world after.
An old woman who sat in the middle of the journey and asked the prophet to stop and was also ignored by the prophet. These are poeple who wasted their lives till their old age.
A three-humped back woman who stopped the prophet to ask him something. Jibrail said that symbolises the age of the earth which is near its dooms day.
While on his way to meet Allah, the prophet ascended from one layer of the sky to the next.
First: He met Prophet Adam a.s., the first man. The prophet also saw a group of people comprising of those who took interest or riba and the orphans’ asset and adulterious people.
Second: He met Prophet Isa a.s. and Prophet Yahya a.s.
Third: He met Prophet Yusuf a.s.
Fourth: He met Prophet Idris a.s.
Fifth: He met Prophet Harun a.s. who was surrounded by the Israelis
Sixth: He met Prophet Musa a.s. Here, he was asked by Jibrail to lift his head and he could see that 70,000 of his people entered heaven without being judged.
Seven: He met Prophet Ibrahim Kalilullah who was leaning against Baitul Ma’mur. Here Prophet Ibrahim a.s. said to Prophet Muhammad, “Tonight you are going to meet Allah. Your race would be the last and they are so naive. Please pray for them. Ask your race to recite La Haulawala Quwata Illa Billah for a place in heaven.” Other narration said that Prophet Ibrahim said:”Send my regards to your race and tell them that heaven has a good soil, its water’s fresh and its plants are five: Subhanallah, Walhamdullilah, Wa la ila ha illlah wallahu akbar and La Haulawala Quwatta Illa Billahil Azim.”
While here, the Prophet entered Baitul Ma’mur and performed a prayer. It was said that Baitul Ma’mur is located exactly on the top of Baitullah in Makkah.
Eight: This is a place called “Al-Kursi” which is near to a tree from Sidratul-Muntaha. The prophet saw many miracles in this place. The water from the river never change and there were a stream of milk, a stream of wine, and a stream of honey. The leaves and fruits from the tree changed colours and turned to gem stones. Golden birds were flying around. The prophet also saw the Al-Kautsar river which flowed towards heaven. He entered heaven and saw hell with the angel Malik guarding hell.
Ninth: This is the top of the Sidratul Muntaha. The prophet entered inside a light and ascended to Mustawa and Sharirul-Aqlam. He saw a man in the light, a man who while on earth was praising Allah continously and his heart focussed on the mosque and always listen to his parents.
Tenth: The prophet reached Hadhratul-Qudus and Hadhrat Rabbul-Arbab and saw Allah s.a.w. with his own eyes. He immediately prayed. It was here where the prophet had a dialogue with Allah s.w.t.
Allah s.w.t.: Oh Muhammad, raise your head and pray.
Prophet: Oh Rabbi, You have taken Ibrahim as Khalil and you gave him a big government. You have talked with Musa. You gave Daud a big government and he was able to shaped steel. You gave Sulaiman a government whom you have never given to any and made it easy for him to control genies, human, devils and others. You taught Isa with Taurat and Injil and with your consent, he was able to cure blindness and brought people from the dead. You protected him and his mother from the devil.
Allah s.w.t.: Oh Muhammad, you are my number one. I consent that you would be the bearer of good and bad news. I opened up your heart and threw away all your sins. I made your race as the best. I gave priority and specaility to you on the Judgement Day. I gave you the seven verses (Al-Fatihah) where I have never given to anyone before. I gave you the last verses from Al-Baqarah as a treasure under my ‘arasy’. I gave rewards to Islam through Hijrah, sedekah (giving to the poor) and practise good and leave behind bad things. I gave your race to perform prayer 50 times a day.
After the dialogue, the prophet was brought to meet Prophet Ibrahim a.s. and Prophet Musa a.s. who then asked the prophet to appeal to Allah s.w.t. to reduce the number of prayers to five. After nine times appealing, the prophet was too shy to ask some more and so until today, there are five prayer times.
The prophet returned back to Makkah the same night.
Dont forget! As mentioned in my earlier post, the next partial solar eclipse in Brunei is this Wednesday, 22 July 2009 @ 08:48 hours Brunei time. News report said that other countries in Asia such as India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China will witness a total eclipse when the sun will be completely obscured by the moon on that day. This will be the 21st Century’s longest solar eclipse reported the Press Trust of India.
Pic by hazarry from Bruneiastronomy.org. Bad weather disappointed many local sky-gazers to witness the country's partial solar eclipse, after waiting for seven years for one.
The last solar eclipse that Brunei witnessed was on 26 January this year but the weather was cloudy at that time, it even rained at one stage. Local skygazers who eagerly waited for the phenomenon for the past seven years were clearly dissapointed. Lets hope for a clear sky this Wednesday morning.
Dont forget your ‘eclipse-paraphela’ and maybe a raw egg too?
Check out more (and about the egg) from the Brunei’s astronomy association.
Tomorrow is 27 Rejab where it’s significant to Muslims is the Isra’ Mikraj or the journey of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. from Masjidil Haram in Makkah to Masjidil Aqsa in Baitulmaqdis and then on to Sidratil Muntaha which is located on the seventh sky; and back to Makkah again, all happening in one night in the year 721 AD. It’s a year before Prophet Muhamad migrated to Madinah, an event known as Hijrah which also marked the start of the Islamic calendar of Hijrah.
It was during this journey that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. saw the original form of Malaikat Jibrail or Gabriel, the angel. It was said that the angel is so huge that when he spread one of its two wings, it will take a thousand year to completely spread one wing. It was also this journey that the five prayer times were ordered for all Muslims. It was said that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. greeted each and every one he met during the journey and so it’s been encouraged that ‘Salam’ or the longer version of ‘Assalamualaikumwarahmatullahiwabarakatuh’ (May Allah give you peace and blessings) be used as a greeting between Muslims as a show of respect and to strengthen relationships between them.
While in heaven, Prophet Muhammad was passing an area where it has the sweet aroma of small limes. The prophet asked Jibrail on the area. Jibrail replied that it’s the graveyard of Masyitah, the woman’s leader in heaven. Masyitah is the nanny of Firaun’s princess and believed in Allah. Firaun was one of the kings in Egypt who claimed to be god and would execute anyone who didn’t believe in him as a god.
One day, as Masyitah was combing the princess’s hair, the comb fall down and Masyitah cried out the name of Allah. The princess upon hearing this asked who is Allah and reported to her father that Masyitah’s god is Allah and not Firaun.
Firaun was obviously very angry when he heard this and ordered that Masyitah and her family be boiled in burning oil. One by one, Masyitah’s family member was thrown into the smoldering oil until it’s the turn of her baby. Masyitah almost denounced her faith because of her love towards her baby when the baby, with Allah’s consent, spoke to her in clear words. The baby asked her mom not to give up as she was in the right track. So Masyitah jumped in together with her baby, still with her Islamic faith intact.
There are many stories which happened during Isra’ Mikraj which should be learnt and become a basis of a reminder to us all, including myself. It was said that there were a number of punishments that befall women which made Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. cried every time he remembered these. Why women? The prophet was shown that almost two-thirds of those in hell will be women. During the journey, it was shown to our beloved prophet that:
I know many of us have heard of the many stories during the prophet’s Isra’ Mikraj again and again but how many of us heed them and learnt from them?
“Ya Allah, kuatkanlah iman kami dan semoga kami sentiasa diberi cahaya petunjuk dari Mu. Amin.”
Happy 63rd Birthday to Your Majesty. Semoga kekal qarar memerintah Brunei Darussalam dan Brunei Darussalam sentiasa dalam lindungan Allah Ta’ala jua, amin.
This remains my favourite moment of His Majesty when he planted Brunei's own rice with his bare hands on 28 April 2009. Pic from Infofoto.
I have never heard His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei made such a touching and stern titah or speech. Everyone in Brunei is talking about His Majesty’s speech broadcast over the radio news today. I think I heard at some parts of his speech he sound like he was almost choking. I couldnt bear to hear it.
The radio news reported that His Majesty was delivering his call when he attended a meeting with the Brunei’s National Disaster Management Centre this morning. The more I listen to his text the more I love His Majesty. He really cares but tired, shall I say, with whats going on. ‘Tunggu apa lagi?‘ (what else are we waiting for?)
Some of the text that I gathered were (not in order):
On his birthday celebrations, he said that although all events (apart from the mass prayer) have been postponed, the spirit and mood of the 15th July (his birthdate) is still strong. He thanked those who have organised the various event sfor the celebration, however he was unhappy with a number of things:
Frankly, His Majesty said he do not like the celebration to be used as a tool to attract or accumulate donations.
On H1N1, His Majesty highlighted that what has been done by the authorities is to give out advices. The most important preventive measures is to temporarily prevent Bruneians from travelling to the affected areas. Only after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a circular, no one has thought or carried out the measure.
Read news report from Brudirect:
- Some government servats are like robots
- Do not turn royal birthday joy into a media circus
Have a look at the graphs below and take note on where Brunei stands. During the survey period, Brunei is the top 40 countires in the world with the highest growth of cases in the last ten days from the survey with 547%. But then again, Brunei has a very small population and has been the last country in South East Asia to catch the flu. I do hope the Bruneian authroties are coming up with an analysis on the H1N1 so that lessons can be learnt from the situation, our preparedness, our action plans, emergency procedures in an event of a pandemic and the most important of all, prevention. China has offered help as it has its own experience with the bird flu. We can always learn.
Did anyone know which is the mother of all pandemics? Its the 1918 Influenza, also known as the Spanish Flu which infected one third of the world’s population or around 500 million people at that time. Why its 1918? Because it happened way back in 1918 and I think that maybe at that time no one has come up with the H1 family name for virus as yet. You can read more interesting influenza history here.
Source from the rest of this post below: http://www.peterosborn.com.
“Peter has worked extensively on business contingency planning. Since 2005 he has worked closely with Dr. Tony Yardley-Jones to track the threats posed to business by pandemic influenza, and help management teams develop appropriate strategies for their organisations. Tony is a specialist in Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, and He has worked with international businesses for over 20 years in all aspects of occupational health. We concentrate on the issues for Management and business that might be expected to arise from a pandemic.”
This is a summary of the key statistics of H1N1.The aim is to be able to understand the flow of the trends, not to attempt to document individual data or calculate totals from the chaotic reporting that takes place.
These two graphs look at the history of total deaths and total cases so far. Blue trace is death rate (CFR), left-hand axis. Red trace is total cases, right-hand axis. Green dots plot new cases reported daily. Straight black line is linear trend. Black trace is five-day moving average. Red trace is long-term average since 20 April 2009.
Ten-day growth cases with Brunei on the top of 40 countries.
Cases per 10,000 population
Three pandemic waves: weekly combined influenza and pneumonia mortality, United Kingdom, 1918-1919
Alhamdullilah, the number of patients who recovered from the total number of cases has reached almost 44% (see figures above). Despite the fact that schools re-opened last Monday, only ten new cases were reported yesterday but again, its too early to say now. Lets see whats the statistics say at the end of today as those catching the flu will only display symptoms after three days?
I hope people are not panicking but should observe personal hygiene and be vigilant. I was wearing a mask last night when I was visiting at the hospital. I saw that a number of visitors also wore masks. I then met a relative who was not wearing one and joked about me wearing a mask. He said, ‘Wah, trying to protect yourself from catching the flu? You will get it eventually. I better stay away from you too!’
I said to myself, ‘WT*’ with his attitude so I ignored him. I am sure people will agree, I am protecting myself and those around me. People wearing mask would not want to spread the virus if they got it or would not want to catch it. We have to make an effort, right. Berusaha, berdoa dan bertawakal.
Back to the hospital, I could not believe my eyes when I was passing through the A&E area. It was so full of people and not just adults but babies and young children as well. I overheard a lady who said that she was down with a flu and went to the Ong Sum Ping Health Centre (about ten minutes drive from RIPAS Hospital) and her queue number was 205! So she decided to go to RIPAS instead and what did she find? More people!
The number of people in the A&E area is one matter but what matter most was when I saw this family of six with the mother holding her baby in her arms. I dont know who wanted to see a doctor, its either the mom or the baby but it look like the whole family was having a picnic. They were enjoying the atmosphere by eating keropok or snacks and drinking in the open; and not wearing a mask. I dont know if they realised that they are risking the young ones to the virus. Okay maybe I sound paranoid but can they be at least considerate to others?
Reading the local news for the past few days also caught my attention. It look like life does go on in Brunei with endless expos at The Mall and elsewhere, a concert with local artists and one upcoming popular treasure hunt to be held soon. I heard more than 800 people have registered to join in the hunt? Not sure if the numbers’ right but I do hope people are aware that the virus is in the air?
As of Thursday, 2 July 2009. Influenza A H1N1 status for Brunei
Brunei recorded its first death for the Influenza A H1N1 of a 12-year old girl on Thursday, 2 July 2009. The deceased, who has been critically ill since 26 June 2009, was suffering from Auto-Immune Hepatitis, End-stage liver failure and Pneumonia. Lab tests conducted on Thursday morning showed that she was also tested positive for Influenza A H1N1. The Ministry of Health is investigating on the background of the victim. Al-Fatihah to her.
Read more from the Ministry of Health.
Being a Friday today, mosques and religious halls will be conducting a special Sunat Hajat prayer to seek for God’s protection against the disease and other calamities.
As of 7pm on Friday, 10 July 2009, half of the cases have recovered.
Healthline – 145
or
8220991 (non-working hours)
Come 7 December 2009 and we will see world leaders gather in Copenhagen, Denmark to respond to one of the greatest challenges facing humanity – nope, not oil price but climate change and sustainable economic growth. The UN Climate Change Conference is hope to protect our planet and create a green economy that will lead to a long-term prosperity.
Now, the United Nations think that not only governments will be depended for that hope but also public pressure is needed from across the globe. Here’s your chance to show that you really care for our only Earth by signing the “Seal The Deal” that encourages passionate green lovers to sign a petition online. The petition will then be submitted to the world leaders in Copenhagen.
I have done it! I was scanning through the list of petitioners and could not find anyone from Brunei as yet. Bruneians, here’s your call and seal the deal! When I refreshed the page at 08:16 hrs Brunei time (12:16 GMT) , the petitions have been signed by 4,092 names.
Campaign activities include:
Don’t say that Brunei is or will never be affected by climate change, it has! The January/ February flashfloods and landslides are the signs. The effect of these were seen right after the unexpected events where crops especially paddy were damaged which led to loss of income for the farmers. Further effect would be health such as air-borne diseases and social unrest. So its time to act now, before its too late.
Read more on the Seal the Deal 2009.
This is one of his best songs, and I love it. Our only earth.
STOP PRESS!
News has just spread as I type that the current school-holiday which is suppose to end tomorrow, Sunday 28 June 2009 has now been extended for a week due to the rise in the Influenza A H1N1 in Brunei. Teachers, however, been asked to go to school as normal as from Monday, 29 June 2009.
News reports said that as of yesterday, Brunei has 20 confirmed cases of the flu. AnakBrunei’s post in Facebook at 11:38am today says its already 25 cases.
I’ll protect you from the hooded-claw
Keep the vampires from your door
Aye..ai..eyai..yai
Feels like fire
I’m so in love with you
Dreams are like angels
They keep bad at bay
Love is a light scaring darkness away
I’m so in love with you…Oh just watch this video from Legacy: Frankie Goes to Hollywood with The Power of Love. The song always send shiver down to my spine.
Still in the mood of love, look at the picture-story below. Awww….even birds show their love.
A female swallow was hit by a car as she swooped so low across the road. She couldnt move.
A male swallow, must be her companion, brings her food and attends to her with love and compassion.
He brings more food but she was already dead. Shock, he tries to move her, an effort rarely seen in swallows.
Now aware that she is really dead, he cries out loud.
He stand by her, still crying with adoring love
Finally aware that she will never return to him, he stand still with sadness and sorrow.
Yes, animals do have feelings too.
Now that Brunei has confirmed its second Influenza A H1N1 case of that of a 16-year old girl who returned from Singapore, what else can we do apart from observing personal hygiene or stuff that the MoH has advised us to do? And also, not to panic?
Being a Muslim, I found the following prayer to be the best, as a prayer is a Muslim’s best weapon. We make an effort, we pray and we will leave things to God…
The following text are in Malay and Arabic but in nutshell, the prayer said that we seek protection from God’s perfect words from all evil.
Doa Pilihan Pelindung Keluarga
Ajarilah anak-anak kita, diri dan keluarga kita dengan doa yang sohih dari nabi ini iaitu :-
من نَزَلَ مَنْزِلًا ثُمَّ قال أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ من شَرِّ ما خَلَقَ لم يَضُرَّهُ شَيْءٌ حتى يَرْتَحِلَ من مَنْزِلِهِ ذلك
Ertinya : sesiapa yang keluar dari rumah dan membaca doa “Aku berlindung dengan kalimah Allah yang sempurna dari segala kejahatan makhluk” maka dia tidak dimudaratkan oleh sesuatu apa pun sehinggalah dia kembali ke rumahnya semula.”
(Riwayat Muslim, 4/2080)
Disebut dalam satu riwayat lain, nabi bersabda :-
فقال رسول الله من أي شيء قال لدغتني عقرب قال رسول الله أما إنك لو قلت حين أمسيت أعوذ بكلمات الله التامات من شر ما خلق لم يضرك إن شاء الله
Ertinya :
Nabi bertanya : kena apakah kamu ?
Lelaki berkata : aku disengat kala
Nabi berkata : sekiranya engkau membaca pada setiap petang “Aku berlindung dengan kalimah Allah yang sempurna dari segala kejahatan makhluk”, nescaya dengan izin Allah kamu tidak akan ditimpa mudarat”
(Riwayat Ibn Hibban, 3/298 )
Juga sebuah lagi doa yang mudah dari hadis sohih:-
رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يقول من قال بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الذي لَا يَضُرُّ مع اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ في الأرض ولا في السَّمَاءِ وهو السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ لم تُصِبْهُ فَجْأَةُ بَلَاءٍ حتى يُصْبِحَ وَمَنْ قَالَهَا حين يُصْبِحُ ثَلَاثُ مَرَّاتٍ لم تُصِبْهُ فَجْأَةُ بَلَاءٍ حتى يُمْسِيَ
Ertinya :
Rasulullah s.a.w didengari berkata. ‘Sesiapa yang berdoa : “Dengan nama Allah yang tiada dimudaratkan sesuatu apapun dengan namaNya samada di bumi dan di langit, dan Dialah maha mendengar dan maha mengetahui” sebanyak 3 kali, maka dia tidak ditimpa kesusahan bala dan musibah sehinggalah subuh esoknya, dan barangsiapa membacanya ketika subuh 3 kali, dia tidak ditimpa kesusahan bala dan musibah sehingga petangnya”
(Riwayat Abu Daud, 4/323 ; At-Tirmidizi, 5/465 dan Ahmad ; Tirmizi : Hasan)
Mudah-mudahan Allah menyelamatkan kita serta keluarga daripada azab bala bencana seperti selesama babi dan lain-lain. Amin.
Wassallam…
Waduh, ini Hari Bapak yah. Kepada semua bapak-bapak di seranto dunia: Happy Father’s Day from all of us; daughters, sons, moms, ibu-ibu, babu-babu, step-sons and step-daughters…
Also, Al-Fatihah as always for my late father who passed away on a leap day, 1992. May God bless his soul, amin. Miss you pa…
My earliest memory of him was when it was my first day at school, the Sekolah Rendah Raja Isteri Fatimah. After school, I remember saying that I love school and thanked him for staying with me throughout the first day ‘ordeal’. He smiled, oh what a moment.
More Father’s Day images (ciplak dari sesarang – websites):
My late father taught me many things when he was alive. He didnt give me a fish to eat for a day but taught me how to fish.
Nasi Lemak is a Malay cuisine. The main ingredient is of course the coconut milk which replaces water when cooking the rice. The concentrated the milk, the better it will taste. Accompanying the rice are usually fried chicken, sliced cucumber, peanuts and sambal belacan or shrimp paste.
Nasi Lemak in Brunei are being sold from the road-side stalls (usually costing as little as one Brunei dollar) to restaurants, even fine ones. The best one that still hit my taste bud until now is the small and cosy cafe at Jubilee Hotel in Bandar. The nasi lemak there cost Br$5 per dish and you either have a choice of fried chicken or beef rendang. When I worked at a bank in the capital and where lunch hour can be flexible, I would either go there with my best friend very early at 11am or bit late at 1pm. After that time, it will be a sold out. Sadly, the cafe with so many memories for me has closed down due to the bad business climate.
Anyway, I don’t want to start the debate on which country from the Malay archipelago Nasi Lemak originated from as each country would claim theirs. Now, the Hang Tuah Nasi Lemak is claiming to be the world’s best in its category. They are now at 3rd Floor, The Mall and will be in Brunei until 19 July 2009. Must try this and lets see the verdict.
Hang Tuah by the way is the Malay’s greatest hero and was said to possess special magical power. Nope, no hanky panky according to legends. He lived during the golden days of the Malaccan Empire and has many interesting stories which include the mystical tale of a very beautiful princess who lived at Gunung Ledang.
The Malaccan king at that time was so obssesed with the princess that he wanted to marry her. The princess agreed but set certain impossible conditions as the dowry such as seven mosquito hearts, tears from seven virgin girls and other requests which involve seven. I guess the Malays are obsess with the number seven.
So, Hang Tuah was tasked to lead this mission by the King and he did it (as he has magic powers) except one last request, the blood from the King’s own prince, meaning that the prince must die. Now go and google the result if the King did really have the heart to kill his own prince in return for a beautiful, new bride. And Hang Tuah? Some say he just disspeared into thin air and actually still lives until now. As I mentioned, tales have it that he has supernatural power. You be the judge.
Check out the Hang Tuah Nasi Lemak at 3rd Floor, The Mall….
After a chocolate soak therapy and meditating, I felt just like a new-born..okay thats an exaggeration. Actually, I am still feeling all charged up as I type and energised (my energy batteries did the trick). I now look forward to a new chapter in my life as the first half of this year almost come to an end.
Not wanting to be 2000 late, I have already joined Twitter a few months ago and watch in amazement as Twitter take the world by storm. From the man in the street to the CEOs and even world’s royalty, twits have been exchanged every seconds apart. Are you in Twitter? I say, now that people are in front of their screen all the time or can access the net right from their handphones, Twitter will soon replace text messaging or the SMS.
Many may have realised that with the advancement of the ICT, the world has gone smaller. I think the days are getting shorter too, not just because its summer now in the northern hemisphere. Sometimes I just feel that there’s so much going due to this explosion that I grow anxious and yes, its unhealthy. Maybe I have too much caffeine too, caffeine over-dose?
Find a secluded and the quietest spot (and use the same spot all the time) to meditate.
The only way to relax is to exercise and meditate. There is no need to explain on how beneficial meditation is especially to Muslims who has find solace through praying. Now I stumbled upon a good site on four easy ways to meditate. I think this would help especially to those who have problems sleeping or feeling anxious or just want to learn how to relax the mind.
Easy? Try doing the steps and give your mind and body to relax in just below 15 minutes every day. Be healthier, sleep better and happier too!
Belgian Chocolate, Lemon Curd, Fresh Berries, Mango Raspberry Couli from obcess blogspot dot com.
After visiting the obcess blog, I can’t help drooling at the Belgian chocolate pic in one of its posts. I think I deserve a treat after going twice to Badas in a week and have literally covered about a hundred kilometer for the same period. I have been running around the office as I raced against the time, trying to finish the 1,001 tasks before I go on leave.
Chocolates are like a therapy to me. Mmm….heaven.
A brief on Belgian chocolate from the visitBelgium dot com:
Belgian chocolate has been the food of champions, a lure for lovers, the indulgence of the rich and later, the favorite of the masses.
Belgium produces 172,000 tons of chocolate per year with more than 2,000 chocolate shops throughout the country.
Pralines in Belgium are sublime chocolate confections. A beautifully sculpted chocolate shell conceals a center of filling which explodes with a surprising texture and flavor in your mouth. Many chocolatiers still make their pralines by hand. Every town and even small villages have chocolate stores with luxurious pralines.
So, time to visit Belgium?
The US Embassy in Brunei has issued a 2009-report on the trafficking in persons. The report, the most comprehensive of its kind, this year assesses 175 countries. Countries are assigned ranks, based on standards set by the United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA).
Brunei has been categorised in the report as Tier 2 meaning that the Government is making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards.
Extract on Brunei report:
Read more on the report’s introduction and a section of countries narrative which include Brunei. I read the victims’ stories with much awe; yes, human trafficking do happen around the world. Please help stop this immoral activity from going on. We are all humans.
In less than a week, I was back to the Badas Forest Reserve Area to plant more Kapur Paya with the British High Commissioner himself, his staff and more lovely ladies and more enthusiastic men from the Brunei Adventure Recreation Association or BARA. The Polar Girls were also there as well media personnel; Aziz and Farah from the Borneo Bulletin and Rash from the Brunei Times.
I saw the high commissioner, His Excellency Mr John Saville literally getting down to his knees and planting the trees with his bare hands. He look so natural. Now I remember His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei who also used his bare hands to plant Brunei’s very own padi Laila recently. These are all great leadership.
Today I think I will just let the pictures tell the story as I am still exhausted – need to recharge my batteries soon.
This is what you call re-use. A worker re-uses a canvas to transport 30 tree sapplings at a time to the planting site.
As always, a group photo is a must...
So I end my post today with this:
An average person creates 9,000 kg of CO2 per annum. An average rainforest tree captures 20 kg of CO2 per annum. You need 450 trees to offset your CO2 emission. 450 trees!
I heard that schools have not respond in to this tree-planting activity. I hope once the school re-opens after the current school holiday, there will be more Bazlaa’ Billah and her peers who would be involve in such beneficial activity. Anyone wants to join the Brunei Generation Green?
…has been cancelled said the Panaga Natural History Society. Just look at the image below, so sad.
What is now of Badas. Image from the Panaga Natural History Society.
This was then…
Dated November 2008. Nepenthes rafflesiana of Badas. Photo J. Henrot, det U. Baeur.
However, Dr Jacqueline Henrot, Chairperson of the PNHS told me that the pitcher plants should come back, as they did after the fire from 1998 but it will take time. Over the next two years, Dr Henrot will visit the site regularly and monitor the plant succession and the re-appearance of interesting plant species – pitcher plants, sundews, Burmannia and orchid that were present on the site.
I do hope these plants will come back. Lets see on the progress.
Weather is a good ice-breaker and not only the British are fond of talking about the weather, the Bruneians do too. This morning I was awoken by the smell from an open burning from my neighbour. I don’t know if they don’t really know (or care) about what’s going on with the weather now but it is very unhealthy and very dangerous as we hear forest fires destroying hectares of lands.
The Panaga Natural History Society has cancelled a trip to Badas this Thursday to look out for the pitcher plants as the area was badly damaged by the recent forest fires. So sad to know that precious plants like the pitcher plants are lost due to this. Surely we can stop the fires if we have civic-minded people.
The weatherman said its going to be dry and hazy until August for Brunei. The weather has been very hot and very dry indeed. Along the way to work at lunchtime, I saw bush fires in front of DST Headquarters Building. They (the bush) just cant stand the heat 
And guess what happened at around two in Bandar and elsewhere in Brunei Muara today? Thunderstorm complete with lightning and thunder and heavy rain. I am truly grateful for the rain. May Allah bless Brunei, amin.
Pics below courtesy from my friend at Yayasan…muchas gracias dear.
At 2:20pm today. The Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in the background couldnt be seen as the rain was heavy.
By 2:49pm, it was drizzling and stop a few minutes later.
The main author of the Seashore Life of the Brunei Heart of Borneo series, Dr Hans Dols, has wrote in to me to say that the booklets will be sold at the Panaga Highland Games in Seria at a cost of Br$40 for the whole set just for this weekend.
Please buy the books. So many interesting info can be found. I will update on its content.
Friday @ 09:30 hours – Badas Forest Reserve – 600 trees planted in an hour! Amazing! The plan was to plant the 600 in about two hours but as there was such much enthusiasm and high-spirit around, we managed to do it in an hour.
Dr David Taylor, Principal of ISB, led us with the tree-planting activity. ISB has initiated the re-planting of trees in the degraded area in Badas which is part of the Heart of Borneo. To date, 6,000 trees have been planted since the project began in October last year.
The target is to re-plant 50,000 trees by the end of October this year where His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei will plant the 50,oooth tree. The 1,000th tree was already planted by HRH the Prince of Wales and the 1,001st by HRH Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince, both last year.
Today we planted Drybalanops Rappa, an indegenous tree to the Kerangas or heath forest. The tree is also known locally as Kapur Paya. The British High Commission which organised the trip was joined by a couple of well-known bloggers, journalists, the Brunei Chevening Alumni and members of the Brunei Youth Programme. A second batch will plant another 600 Kapur Paya trees next Wednesday at the same area.
We are here. Dr Taylor showing where we were in Badas. The ISB's 50,000 trees cover an area of eight hectares in Badas.
Planting of Kapur Paya in progress. The weather was nice, spirit was high and we managed 600 trees in an hour.
A seedling of Drybalanops Rappa or Kapur Paya being planted by one of the volunteers, 12-year olf Bazlaa' Billah. She hope to come again and plant a thousand more trees and more.
Now who is this famous blogger? Hint: My favourite recipe book. He was very enthusiastic and wanted to be part of the worthy-project.
Another famous blogger. Hint: Maurina. A lovely lady, she is a crowd-puller. She managed to bring ten of her friends from the BYP group.
The tall tree, Agathis Borneensis is a type of rainforest conifer found in Brunei. It can grow to the maximum height of 55 meter. There's man on the bottom left and you can imagine the tree's height compared to an average man.
Green slime mold found on the floor of the heath or kerangas forest. I was told that these molds were once used to fill in pillows and mattreses as they are very light and comfy. Mmm...nature.
One for the album. Happy at the end of the hour.
Leave nothing but your foot-print. So sad to leave but we will be back again next week for a second session with the High Commission.
If you want to volunteer to plant the trees or sponsor one lot of trees, please contact ISB or check the Million Trees Project website. Remember, one tree can off-set 20 kg of CO2 per year for the next 40 years.
From yahoonews quoting AFP: The World Health Organization has declared a swine flu pandemic on Thursday(around Friday 4.30am Brunei time) – the first global flu epidemic in 41 years as infections in the US, Eruope, Australia, South America and elsewhere climbed to nearly 30,000 cases.
WHO Chief, Dr Margaret Chan made the announcement after the UN agency held an emergency meeting with medical experts. Dr Chan she is moving to Phase 6 – the agency’s highest alert level which means a pandemic or global epidemic is under way.
Read more on the news.
Remember Brunei’s Healthline: 2384234 or 145.
My sis sent me this a couple of hours ago via email. I think this is amazing. Pick your brain and see if you can read the whole text below:
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.
If you can read this, your brain is 50% faster than those who can’t. If you can read it, you may forward it.
Since my last post on Adam, I have been reading on the Volume 1 – The Physical Environment from the Seashore Life Of The Heart of Borneo series. Page after page and I just couldn’t put the book down. There are seven more volumes to go, am sure going to enjoy my weekend reading these precious books on Brunei’s rich biodiversity.
In a nutshell, the booklets describe the range of species that inhibit Brunei’s seashore, the only place in Borneo where the Heart of Borneo rainforest extends uniterrupted from the mountains to the sea. The books were put up by members of the Panaga Natural History Society and sponsored by Brunei Shell Petroleum.
From the booklets website:
“Read these booklets and be inspired to get on the beach and do some beachcombing, and find out why Brunei is one of the best places in the world for the array of exotic nuts, seeds and shells washed up. Share your visit with the wildlife, the ever present patrols of crabs, migrating birds, and examine the fishermen’s catches.
Marvel at the variety of plant life that has adapted to the seashore environment, with their colour and texture and understand the climate: the seasons with their winds, tides and their effects on the beach.
Lastly, find out the effect of man, the dominant species, and the only one that can protect, nurture and conserve this wonderful heritage, or destroy it all.”
The booklets will be on sale at Br$5 each, available in bookstores in Brunei; where the authors hope that the books would be available even within the reach of the children’s pocket money. And yes, just five dollars and its worth reading them with so much interesting and thought-provoking facts on the species that inhibit Brunei’s seashore. And read this: all proceeds will go to the Heart of Borneo. Now’s your part.
All seven series of the booklets will be on sale at B$5 each available at bookstores with proceeds to the Heart of Borneo
"I'm an entertainer, and who I am and what I do in my personal life is a separate thing. It shouldn't matter. Except it does. It's really confusing." Am confused too.
At 2:00am, my eyes opened wide when I read on omg! Yahoo news that Adam Lambert has confessed on his sexual orientation. He is gay, he told the US Rolling Stone mag which hits (US) stands today.
He said that it should be of no suprise when people hear about the news and that he was proud of being gay.
Am not convinced when he said that he is no poster boy for gay rights. Look at the picture of him on the right which is the cover of the RS mag. He does look like a poster boy, a wild Idol, a glam rocker and yes, a gay, all rolled into one.
It doesnt matter to me really. That’s Adam private life. I just want to know him as an Idol who sings from low note to a high one and back to low again in one breathe.
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Commemorated yearly on 5 June, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The day’s agenda is to:
The theme for WED 2009 is ‘Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change’. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.
This year’s host is Mexico which reflects the growing role of the Latin American country in the fight against climate change, including its growing participation in the carbon markets.
Mexico is also a leading partner in UNEP’s Billion Tree Campaign. The country, with the support of its President and people, has spearheaded the pledging and planting of some 25 per cent of the trees under the campaign. Accounting for around 1.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the country is demonstrating its commitment to climate change on several fronts.
In Brunei, we have the One Million Trees project spearheaded by the International School Brunei (ISB). The school has been very active, even more with the Heart of Borneo project. The school is inviting interested individuals and organisations to buy trees. One indigenous tree planted and maintained for two years costs br$5.00. At maturity, each tree can capture up to 20kg of Carbon Dioxide per annum for forty years.
Supporters can offer to buy one or more blocks of 1,000 trees each at Br$5,000; half block of 500 tress at Br$2,500 and a quarter block of 250 trees at Br$1,250. Each block will be identified by a low carbon footprint sign indicating the sponsor(s) of that block.
So make your pledge by calling the ISB Million Trees Hotline at 233 2613 or email them at:
milliontrees@isb.edu.bn. Find out more from the One Million Trees project website.
milliontrees@isb.edu.bn. Find out more from the One Million Trees project website.Read the following story and come up with an answer after the question. The result is at the bottom. This is not a trick question. It is as it reads.
A woman who was at a funeral of her own mother met a guy whom she did not know. She thought the guy was amazing. She believed that the guy is her dream guy so much that she fall in love with him there and then but didn’t ask for the guy’s number. She could not find him after the funeral. A few days later, she killed her own sister.
Now the question is, why did she kill her own sister?
Please give some thought before you scroll down for the answer.
dum di dum…
di dum…
dum dum…
forever young…
i want to be forever young…
dum di dum…
Answer:
She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.
If you answered like this, you think like a psychopath. This was a test conducted by a famous American Psychologist to test if one has the same mentality as a killer.
Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the same.
If you didn’t have the same answer, good for you. If you did, please don’t say hello to me when we meet in the street.
Senor Pablo has done it again. After the success of the ‘My Favourite Recipe Book,’ he is now inviting bloggers to plant a tree. What’s with this project?
The British High Commission in Brunei plans to plant 1,200 trees in the Badas Forest Reserve area in Belait. The area is still suspectible to fire even now. A news report recently said that it took a week for firemen to douse out the fire in nearby Anduki area.
Why Badas area? In my post on the peatswamps in Brunei, I have mentioned that the area was badly affected by forest fires in previous years. Badas is a peatswamp forest and it is very important in mitigating climate change because of its sponge-like nature in absorbing water.
Jonathon Davies, an expert on peatswamps said that the peatswamp forests of Brunei have a very high biodiversity values; most peatlands have a doomed structure, upon which are found unique vegetation communities. Brunei is the last stronghold for some of these communities.
Having been to Kuala Balai, next to Badas recently; I mentioned on my first-hand experience on understanding more about peatswamp forests. The Badas Reserve Area is part of the Heart of Borneo which aims to preserve 220,000 square kilometers of rainforest.
The area where the tree-planting activity is going to be held is also the very area where Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince planted a tree each last year. Last year, Prince Charles has coined the term climate crunch where he warned the dire need for the world to note the climate change during the time when the world was facing the credit crunch.
So now, for those who really care in saving the Earth, come and join hands in planting even just one tree in Badas. Would it feel good to drive past by Badas and know that you have a tree planted by your own hand there?
The date is Wednesday, 17 June starting at 9am. Those who would like to join in, please email the high commission at brithc@brunet.bn by 4th June 2009.
They are also in Facebook so you can register there too to find out more.
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces is 48 years old today. From RBAF’s website:
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces was formed on the 31st May 1961. Known as ‘ASKAR MELAYU BRUNEI’, (‘BRUNEI MALAY REGIMENT’) it was honoured with the royal title on the 31st May 1965 when the word ‘DIRAJA’ was added to the title. It was then known as ‘ASKAR MELAYU DIRAJA BRUNEI’, (‘ROYAL BRUNEI MALAY REGIMENT’). Since Independence Day on 1st January 1984, the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment is renamed as Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (‘ROYAL BRUNEI ARMED FORCES’).
Happy to note the progress made by our armed forces. Entry requirement to enter the forces is now those with ‘O’-levels; previously those who completed their lower secondary schools were able to join in. School cadets are now being re-activated shall I say, thanks to the interest and enthusiasm led by HRH Princess Sarah, the Crown Princess. There are also scholarships being offered to those who are interested to become army doctors and such. And in less than two months’ time, BRIDEX 2009 will be on.
The following are pictures taken by my brother who was at the ‘Askar Day’ this morning. Thank you bro.
Feeling a bit lousy for the past two days as I was down with fever, I remembered something that I need to know first thing Sunday morning. As soon as I woke up, I turned on (err, not Tv) the pc and quickly searched for ‘Britain’s Got Talent’; only to read the news that Susan Boyle won second place.
Not sure if Brunei is following the ITV programme but Britain’s Got Talent is Britain’s answer to the American Idol and yes, the gruesome Simon Cowell is also one of the judges.
So whats with this Susan Boyle? She is a 47-year old spinster from Scotland and her overall image would not make anyone think she can be a star. But wait, don’t judge a book by its cover. She got talent! Listening to her rendition of ‘I dreamed a dream’ from the Les Miserables play made me shivered down to my spine. Her performance uploaded in YouTube has more than two million hits.
Being able to watch the show on YouTube, I wonder if its really necessary to subscribe to Astro now especially that Astro has been playing repeats over and over again. Okay thats another story. Watching the video, I wonder when Brunei would have its own reality show with sugh magnitude. Susan Boyle is already an Internet pop culture sensation. I know that the final of RTB’s ‘Aksi Video’ was on last night but that didnt create much buzz even among Bruneians. I am sure Brunei got talent too…
This video embedding has been disabled so please go to YouTube…
Ola! Not sure if they have salsa or flamingo there as well. Go check it out. People of the world! Every boy and every girl…spice up your life with the Mexican Fiesta.
Its going to be a long weekend this week due to the public holiday which falls on Sunday, 31st (Anniversary of Brunei’s armed forces). As its a Sunday, Monday has been declared a holiday in lieu of Sunday.
Datanglah bersukaria, bawa keluarga biskita. Come & have fun, bring along your family. 
Sungai Matan in Kota Batu, and its Consultative Council will be organizing its third carnival, called the ‘Karnival Matan 2009′ as from tomorrow, Friday 29 May untill Monday, 1 June 2009. Wow! The villagers there must be very energetic and active people to be able to organise such event for four straight days. Hats off to the Sungai Mataners.
There will also be 40 (FORTY!) booths selling local products from the village and an exhibition showcasing the place as a fishing village. I love fish (and chocolate too – okays thats an odd combo).
The tours I mentioned earlier are:
1. River Cruise along the Brunei River using a pontoon boat to see the villages along Mukim Kota Batu at B$15 per person for an hour ride; and
2. Wildlife Mangrove Safari at B$25 per person for a two-hour tour.
Kenali Negara Kitani. Whereabout is Kampong Sungai Matan? In Kota Batu.
RTB, says the organiser, will cover the event; I assume on the first day so there’s a chance for you and your family to see your faces on the national Tv station. Now the best part is that a free stamp will be chopped on your KNK’s passport. KNK is Kenali Negara Kitani or Know Your Country, a campaign from the Brunei Tourism to boost tourism among the Bruneians.
So, dont forget to bring your (KNK) passport and your family, along with cash to enable you to go for the tour. Have fun! The location is Simpang 702, Jalan Kota Batu and the epicentre is the premises of the village’s head residence.
For more information about Kampong Sungai Matan, the village has its own blogspot at www.kampongsungaimatan.blogspot.com
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Please read this very useful information document from the Ministry of Health in light of the Influenze A H1N1. The document has all those basic information on the flu, the whats, where, when, who, why and the how (5w’s and 1H).
Download document: influenza_a_h1n1_english
Stop press! Singappore has reported its first confirmed case of Influenza A H1N1. Its a 22-year old woman who just returned from New York last Friday, 22 May. She was reported to develop cough on her way back to Singapore. As she did not suffer from any fever, she passed by the thermal detector undetected at the airport. The same morning, she went to see her local GP on her cough but was sent to a hospital due to her travel history.
Read more from the Singapore’s Official Flu site.
Now what does that story tells us? Hint: thermal detector. Please take note.
I am a great fan of Tuan Haji Daily Brunei Resources, simply because I love his informative and entertaining posts. I am now a happy bunny to have the pleasure of a copy of his first published work with the title – The Golden Warisan Brunei Darussalam Volume 1 – a compilation of some of his posts which he put up in his blog or those which have appeared in The Brunei Times.
I am a happy bunny if I have a book in my hand. The Golden Warisan signed personally by the author.
I have the copy, signed personally by the author and it cost Br$12 each. The books are available from Bismi or the Best Eastern bookstores. As the title says that its Volume 1, so you can expect more from the very author of Daily Brunei Resources in the future. Volume II is in the making now according to his post on the book. Looking forward already.
I am also an avid reader of his weekly Golden Legacy articles that come out every Sundays in The Brunei Times. The last one was about Ambuyat, Brunei’s own national dish. I noted that there were two similar paragraphs from my earlier post of the same subject in his article. I feel honoured.
Reading through the book, one can find interesting history of Brunei such as the grand Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, the story of padian or woman-vendors in boats who used to roam Brunei River for centuries, only to be wiped-out completely by modernization as well as the story of pengalu, the male version of padian. Also on canons and old coins and currencies found in Brunei.
Then there was a story about circumcision. In that post, Tuan Haji wrote that young boys who have been circumcised have many things to observe such as not to step-over a stone pestle or else their organ would grow to the same size as the pestle. I laughed at this and asked mom if thats true. She also laughed it off and asked to ask my brothers. Nevermind. I don’t want to know :p Girls and young ladies should not walk infront of these boys (who will soon turn to an adult man). Tuan Haji said, at the age of 15, stimulation is the last thing these boys need after being circumcised.
I dont want to spell out each and every post. Please go and buy the book and support our local authors. Its difficult to find published work by Bruneians in English. Not that many, maybe a handful. I have raised this issue many years back in a forum. There, I said that Brunei have many Malay writers but those who write in English?
I hope that more Bruneains will come forward with their works, both in English and Malay but English has more reach yes? Lets see if there will be a Bruneian who can win a Nobel Prize in literature.
Waking up at 2ish in the morning…drank warm water and saw my Weetameal biscuits. Munching the biscuits, I thought of doing some work but instead opened up my emails. Read one of those ‘Pick your brain’ tests from one of the emails and said to myself, ‘At two in the morning? Why not.’ See if you know the answers.
There are four questions below and one bonus question. You must answer the question as fast as you could. Lets see how fast you can answer:
1/ Q. You are in a race. You are over-taking the current second-place winner. In which position are you now?
A. Second as you are taking that place now.
Now, do not refer to the first question to answer the next one.
2/ Q. If you over-taking the last in the race; in which position are you now?
A. First. How could you be the last if you are over-taking the last one.
Okay forget about the race. Please use your brain only for the next question. Do not use pencil and paper or a calculator.
3/ Q. Take 1000 and add in 40. Add another 1000 more and plus 30. Add another 1000 then 20 then another 1000 and plus a ten. What is the total?
A. Not 5000 but 4,100. (Check with a calculator if you don’t believe this)
4/ Q. Mary’s dad has five girls. First is called Nana, second one is Nene; third is Nini; fourth is Nono. What is the name of the last girl?
A. Mary. Read the first sentence.
Now for the bonus question.
Sam is mute and need to buy a toothbrush. When he arrives at the grocery shop, he gestured to the shop assistant by brushing his teeth. The assistant pass him a toothbrush.
Sally is blind and need a sun-glass. How does she explain to the assistant on what she need?
Just by saying that she need a sun-glass. I didn’t say she’s mute.
Okay… back to work now.
The British High Commission and the Brunei Music Society are bringing in British violinist Sebastian See-Schierenberg to play before a Brunei audience at a concert on Saturday 6 June 2009. It will begin at 7:30 in the evening at the Orchid Garden Hotel.
The British High Commissioner, John Saville said: “We are pleased to work with the Brunei Music Society in bringing in Sebastian and Susana to show their work in Brunei. We are looking forward to the concert and I am sure the audience will enjoy it.”
Sebastian will be playing with a fine old Dutch violin from maker Hendrik Jacobs of Amsterdam, dating back to 1690. The concert will be a night to remember.
Playing with a fine old Dutch violin by maker Hendrik Jacobs of Amsterdam, dating back to 1690, the recitals will comprise of a selection of some of the most beautiful repertoire for violin and piano duos and piano solos by Alfredo Oyaguez. The concert will be presented by Susana Galván, who will provide the audience with fascinating insights into the music business, unbelievable facts about the composers and plenty of audience entertainment.
John Dalman, Vice Chairman of the Brunei Music Society said: “The artists have prepared a delightful programme for our enjoyment. The violin is a wonderfully rich yet subtle instrument and we do not have many opportunities to hear it played by musicians with international reputation. We are very grateful to the British High Commission for the suggestion and sponsorship of this event. With the talented Alfredo on piano and an insightful presentation by Susana, it will be an evening to remember.”
Tickets are now on sale from the Brunei Music Society costing $25 for non-members; $20 for members and $10 for students. Please send SMS to 8824850 or 8883358 or email to dalfam@yahoo.com
Tickets can also be purchased at the British High Commission from 3:00 to 5:00pm from Monday to Thursday.
The Brunei Music Society is a voluntary, non-profit group that has been organising concerts of classical music in Brunei since 1972. BMS stages about eight concerts per year with an average audience of about 120.
Violinist Sebastian See-Schierenberg and concert presenter Susana Galván work together with guest pianists to bring their unique form of presented recitals, music masterclasses and educational activities to a wide range of audiences in Europe and Asia.
Oh what a day. I woke up before dawn realising what a real nightmare it was last night. Adam lost to Kris! That was the biggest upset for this year; well so far. For the whole day yesterday, I resisted to check from the Internet for the news on who is the American Idol 2009. The two hours show was too long to bear. Okay so there were top entertainers like Fergie and fellow Black Eyed Peas, Cindy Lauper and even the Queen. Both Adam and Kris sang ‘We are the Champion’ with the band, now I don’t know how to feel thinking of that part.
Reading the Brunei Times today add a bit of melancholy when I saw on the front page, a picture of Kris smiling, he must be in shock and he should be; and Adam? He must be shocked too, but he look cool.
Oh, that’s it. I have enough of bad news for today. I am not reading or watching any more news. I am packing up my things, close this blog, clear my debts, leave a will and on my way to Siberia.
Nah, just kidding. I am imagining these are the thoughts of those who voted fo Adam. Adam will bounce back and Adamia will be a big thing soon. He already is. As the Malays would say, ‘Ingati tampat ku duduk ani’ or rememer where I sit now (not sure why should I remember where the talker sits when in fact we should remember what was being spoken, right).
Have a lovely Friday.
Can you feel the fever? Tonight will see who will be the next American Idol amidst the Influenze A H1N1 spreading world-wide now.
For fans of the two finalists out there, here are some facts about Adam and Eve…Oppsie, Kris. (from the American Idol website):
Adam
I’m a red head. (You know what they say about red-heads? – Flame!)
Kris
I had a rib removed when I was 13. (Okay. I didnt notice that when I watched him on Tv)
Adam
I’m 6′1″. ((Thats like a statue compared to petite me)
Kris
I was hit in the head with a salsa jar while walking down the road, one time. (Okay)
Adam
I used to be fat (sort of, 240 lbs.) (Aww…and look at you now!)
Kris
I’ve been to 8 different countries. (So?)
Adam
I cut my head open twice and the scars form an “x” on my head like a treasure map. (Awww…poor boy. Does it still hurt?)
Kris
I grew up playing the viola. (Yeah? I plays the keyboard everyday – ie my computer)
Adam
I’m an Aquarius and share my birthday with Oprah. (Let me check if Aquarius and Libra equals to harmony…Oprah equals very big influence, I can see where you are heading to Adam)
Kris
I didn’t want to play music growing up. I always wanted to play baseball, but I turned out to not be that athletic. (okay)
Okay, so its obvious that I am voting for Adam. Hehe…My partner was right all along. He like Adam right from the start while I like Danny (missing him already). May the winner, err, wins and the other one? Well, there’s no loser here. Kris can be successful, look at David, the younger David, from last year’s season. I like his song ‘Crush’. Anyway, its difficult to predict if Adam wins as he was once at the bottom three. Geeze, who says life is simple?
By the way, did anyone watch Malaysia’ Akademi Fantasia? The final was last week?
Summer is upon us. Ahak!Nah. No summer in Brunei. We have the sun all year round. Bless us. I was browsing through the numerous health sites and happened to come across an article about dieting and summer, with a title ‘Lose a pound with one biscuit.’
Some may not be interested about dieting as (1) Some just don’t need one, and (2) Those who does need dieting , do not believe in it anymore. The latter may be due to frustrations and disappointment with previous experience on a failed diet.
Dieting has been a misunderstood word. When I say that I am on diet, the normal response would be, ‘Oh! Trying to slim down?’ or ‘Why?’ (with eyes scanning my whole figure, front and back too) and followed with ‘Ahhh…!’ (while locking the gaze at a particular spot).
Lets see. Dieting doesn’t mean that I am not taking any fatty, salty or sweet food at all. And, oh, I love food especially chocolate. Yes, I have been a wee bit over my ideal weight now. After delivering my baby almost three years ago, I was over-weight as my appetite was getting bigger and better. There was one point that I was so stressed out that I broke-down. I quickly recovered thinking that wetting my poor pillows wont help me slim down.
So I stop feeling sorry for myself and do what exactly I have to do. Exercising, especially yogalates and dieting. Alhamdullilah, I am on my way now to my ideal weight now, s-l-o-w-l-y. It was not very easy, it takes a lot of self-effort and will-power.
Diet cookies anyone? says Dr Siegel.
Now, the article I mentioned earlier talked about this cookie diet from Dr Siegal (who?) which has been tried and tasted. It claimed that half a million have taken the diet with millions losing weight through it. Surprise to read that they have been around since the mid-70’s. Oh, where have you been cookie monster?
Dr Siegal; a renowned physician, author and a weight-loss expert, came up with the cookies which have helped even Hollywood celeberities. Kim Kardishan (of the ‘Keeping up with the Kardishans’ at E! Channel) was said to take the cookies before her photo-shots. Yes, I know, this is a gimmick to sell but its worth trying, right?
Am checking the cookies ingredients first before ordering them….From its website:
Dr. Siegal’s COOKIE DIET® Hunger-Controlling Diet Cookies
Our famous cookies were created by Dr. Siegal in 1975 to control your hunger and help you stick to your diet. Each Weekly Box contains 7 Daily Bags of 6 cookies each and replaces 14 meals at a cost of about $4.20 per replaced meal when used as suggested. Includes a free one week sample of Dr. Siegal’s COOKIE DIET® brand Premium Multiple Vitamin & Minerals supplement. Flavors: Oatmeal Raisin, Chocolate, Blueberry, Banana and Coconut.
Price: $59 per Weekly Box (about $4.20 per replaced meal)
CONTAINS: Milk, Eggs, Soy, Wheat and Non-Vegetable Protein
Hmm…non-vegetable protein. Okay, pass me my reduced salt Weetameal biscuit please.
Still in the champion mood. Give it up for the Queen with We Are The Champion…okay; and about one minute and 20 seconds of ‘We will rock you’.
This concert was held at the Wembley Stadium in 1985 during the Live Aid Concert (in the wake of the global AIDS at that time).
Ive paid my dues -
Time after time -
Ive done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
Ive made a few
Ive had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But Ive come through
We are the champions – my friends
And well keep on fighting – till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
cause we are the champions – of the world -
Ive taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it -
I thank you all -
But its been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I aint gonna lose -
We are the champions – my friends
And well keep on fighting – till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
cause we are the champions – of the world!
Result: Manchester United vs Arsenal 0-0
Happy 18th championship to all Man U supporters!
In front of 75,468 spectators at Old Trafford, Man U drew nil with Arsenal clinching its Premier League for the third year running. Man U only need one point from their remaining two matches to be the top of the league, with second placed Liverpool trailing by six points.
Minutes after the final whistle, a text sent to me said: “Alhamdulilah!! Glory, Glory Man Utd. Happy 18th Championship to all MUFC supporters!! The best is always the Best! The Gunner babies could not help the poor Liverpool. Try again next year and the next 100 years. MUFC will dominate the next 100 years. Bring on Barca now. Stand up for the champion of England, Europe and the world!!”
The text was sent to all of my other siblings from, who else, my Man U FANATIC brother. Three-quarter of my family are MU fans and a quarter – you guessed it, are Liverpool fans. There are always two sides of the room whenever we all gathered at mom’s place. Another text reads: ‘MU rules, Liverpool drools.’
I can tell that my MU FANATIC brothers are a very happy man, at least for now until the next league’s season.
Read more on the nail-biting goalless draw match from MUFC’s official website.
Beribu-ribu lemon...many health benefits of this nature from God.
1. Lemon, being a citrus fruit, fights against infection. It helps in production of WBC’s and antibodies in blood which attacks the invading microorganism and prevent infection.
3. Lemon lowers blood pressure and increases the levels of HDL (good cholesterol).
4. Lemon is found to be anti-carcinogenic which lower the rates of colon, prostate, and breast cancer. They prevent faulty metabolism in the cell, which can predispose a cell to becoming carcinogenic. Also blocks the formation of nitrosamines in the gut.
5. Lemon juice is said to give a glow to the skin. I agree on this.
Lemon juice can act as a cleansing agent for your digestive system and liver.
6. A few drops of lemon juice in hot water is believed to clear the digestive system and purify liver as well. See above. If you have a healthy liver, it will show on your skin.
7. The skin of lemon dried under the sun and then ground to make powder can be applied to the hair for a few minutes before bath which relieves head ache and cools the body. Noted.
8. Applying lemon juice to acne dries the existing ones and prevents from getting more.
9. Lemon juice acts as a natural hair lightner and skin bleach which reduces the pigment melanin and prevents the risk of chemical allergic reactions which is common with hair dyes and bleaches.
10. Lemon juice is given to relieve gingivitis, stomatitis, and inflammation of the tongue.
11. Lemon juice is given to prevent common cold. Old wives’ tale.
12. Lemon juice is given to prevent or treat urinary tract infection and gonorrhoea.
13. Lemon juice is applied to the sites of bites and stings of certain insects to relieve its poison and pain.
14. Lemon juice relieves colic pain and gastric problems. Hmm…I have gastric and lemon juice would be the last on my list.
15. Lemon juice soothes the dry skin when applied with little glygerine.
Add that tangy taste to your food, lemon juice can also kills micro-bacteria in raw food. Sushi anyone?
16. Lemon juice used for marinating seafood or meat kills bacteria and other organisms present in them, thereby prevents many gastro-intestinal tract infections. We all know this. Right Chef Nash?
17. Lemon juice with a pinch of salt (warm) every morning lowers cholesterol levels and bring down your weight. Nice! Will start tomorrow morning.
18. Lemon juice is the best drink to prevent dehydration and shock in case of diarrhoea.
19. Lemon juice can also be used as a mouthwash. It removes plaque, whitens the teeth and strengthens the enamel. And cheaper too!
20. A table spoon on thick lemon syrup everyday relieves asthma.
21. Lemon juice relieves chilblains (huh?) and itchy skin.
22. Gargling lemon juice relieves throat infection and also used as a treatment for diptheria.
23. Lemon juice is an excellent treatment for dandruff and greasy hair.
24. Lemon applies over the face removes wrinkles and keeps you young. Forever young…I want to be forever young…suddenly Alphaville plays in the background.
25. Lemon juice helps to prevent and cure osteoarthritis.
Lemon is not usually allergic or toxic to many, so why don’t you try its natural benefits first and then go on to medical treatment.
The successful bidder of the My favourite recipe limited edition signed by HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah is Sheikh Khalid of the Arab families. Sheikh Khalid placed the highest bid of $5,586 almost 40 minutes before the stroke of midnight last Saturday night, the deadline to bid, to get a copy of the edition.
In an interview over Kristal FM this afternoon, Ranoadidas who initiated the bidding process said that he sent a text to the other bidder saying he has a higher bidder but was unanswered. I can imagine the excitement of such bidding, well, any bidding actually.
The famous Arab family in Brunei.
Yesterday, Pilihan FM, RTB’s radio channel interviewed Sheikh Khalid who at that time still wishing to remain anonymous. He didnt want to spill the bean on who he was as yet but the more the DJ asked, the more personal information he gave out. At one stage he said, all I can say is I am a businessman when asked why he wanted to bid. He then said he is into food business so buying the recipe book make sense, or something like that. Later he said, we are in a family-business, having been around for 35 years so we want to contribute back to the society. At the stage I could already imagine its him.
Anyway, it doesnt matter now as the mystery is over. Look out for the limited edition of the book with frame courtesy of AnakBrunei. Sheikh Khalid said the framed page where HRH put down her signature, will be displayed in their Serikandi restaurant in Kiulap. So go and take pictures of yourselves there and, mesti makan jua. Nda kan begambar saja ke sana, galak rasanya.
What I can say about the whole project is that the book has managed to collect $10,586 with all of its 500 copies sold in two weeks time. Thats an amazing feat. Bravo! Bravo! bravo! and take a bow Pablo! Also Rano…oh they both end with an ‘o’. Whats next Senor? To Alin, the Kurapak man for designing the front cover (and joked about dancing before eating Maggi!). Thank you too to the Arab families for your kind gesture. May God repay you and family for your kindness. Amin.
I myself, look forward to contribute in the near future.
Call it a killer application or an addict and Twitter is here to stay – for a very long time I predict. Remember how the world of SMS has changed our lives? Couldn’t live without sending a text? For most, yes. Its just the fastest way to communicate, of course you can make a call but SMS has been the preffered way.
So whats this with Twitter? Another new media that has taken the world by storm (mambari watir bunyinya) Its introduction on its homepage says its a service for family, friends and co-workers to communicate and stay connected hrough the exchange of quick, frequent answers to a simple question – what are you doing?
Sound like a busybody for the cynicals but hey, some want to know on what you are up to. Just grasp the idea and join in the band-wagon? Senor Pablo has discussed this moons ago.
Now what make me post on Twitter today is a cartoon by Borneo Bull’s Eye in the Borneo Bulletin today. For those who could not receive the paper, I took the liberty to upload it below. The moral is that even the senior citizens are using Twitter…spot on Bull’s Eye!
Borneo Bull's Eye in today's Borneo Bulletin.
Wahai perigi
perigi
airnya biru
Tempat bermain
si ikan kalui
Timbulah bonda ku
oh timbul lah
…antah
I cant remember the full lyrics of that song in the old movie ‘Bawang putih Bawang merah’. The Western version of the movie will akin be Cinderella. I do love old movies, not only they are entertaining, they really make sense even until at this age.
Take for example, P Ramlee’s ‘Seniman Bujang Lapok’. In one scene, Aziz Satar was shouting at the top of his voice, he was ready to behead his own wife because the wife forgot to add belacan or shrimp paste to his veggie. Suddenly Sudin came in and demanded that Aziz seek for apology to the wife adding that Aziz is a mean man who uses force against helpless women.
Now what does that tell us? Yes, abusive husbands and discrimination against women. I am not saying here that women should fight against men; thats a BIG no-no. Not only its un-lady-like but its against the teachings of Islam as well. I seriously think the late P. Ramlee is a man of vision. Al-Fatihah for him.
Anyway, am back to feeding my ikan kalui….wahai perigi, perigi, perigi airnya biru…hum…hum..hum
P/s….move around your cursor in the azure area and click so you can feed my ikan kalui…the fish will follow your cursor too. wahai perigi….lagi.
…to all moms in the world today.
Personally for me, my mom is my bestest friend in the www (whole wide world). Its funny when we think that our mom wouldn’t understand whenever we have a problem but believe me they do. They may have not know how to send text through Twitter or log in to Facebook or Friendster but they really do know what life means, regardless of time.
My mom is a full-time housewife. Hers was a time when girls were not allowed to go to school so she was illeterate. Soon after getting married, she only focussed on the house and the twelve of us, her children. Over the years, she managed to teach herself and through our help, on how to read and write. I love it when mom has this amazing and logical reasons to everything about life in particular to health and economy.
When I moved in to my own place, she reminded me to buy things in bulk. Its cheaper that way she said. But I told her, if I buy, say, lemongrass at the Tamu for one dollar, it will take me ages to use it all up. She said, ‘Sadakahkah saja,’ or just give some around maybe to my neighbours. We all know that the more we give, the more we get in return.
So, thinking about the day….Many eating outlets and bakeries are busy promoting the Mother’s Day event; and not forgetting spas and massage parlours. I have been receiving texts from a number of these on the many promotions being offered for the day.
Up to individuals on how to treat their moms - not just on Mother’s Day but on any of the 355 days but since most outlets have promotions, so why not treat mom on this day, yes? Worldly gifts can’t repay for what our moms have done for us but a little something would mean so much for them.
Spaghettini at the Empire is having its Mother’s Day set lunch today. For Br$48 per pax, the fine Italian restaurant is offering a four-course set meal. Click here for more info with, shall I say, seductive pics from the obcess crew blog.
Fitness Zone Kiulap is also offering FREE use of its facilities and FREE classes today. Head down with your mom to the gym (in proper attire of course) and sweat it all out. Maybe after a couple of hours after the Spaghettini trip?
I also like a promotion from the Jerudong Park Medical Centre, JPMC. I was surfing through its website for the promo but none. Anyway, I remember seeing one advert from the centre on their Mother’s Day promo – a health check for moms at a reduced price. Isnt that a nice idea?
So after our nice n yummy lunch at the Empire, we head to the Fitness Zone, Kiulap and soon after losing so much calories, we drive all the way back to Jerudong again to JPMC for the medical check-up. How’s my plan? Ranoadidas has loads of promos.
Get up close and personal with your innards with these 15 amazing 3D-body shots. Almost all of the following images were captured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a type of electron microscope that uses a beam of high-energy electrons to scan surfaces of images. The electron beam of the SEM interacts with atoms near or at the surface of the sample to be viewed, resulting in a very high-resolution, 3D-image. Magnification levels range from x 25 (about the same as a hand lens) to about x 250,000. Incredible details of 1 to 5 nm in size can be detected.
Max Knoll was the first person to create an SEM image of silicone steel in 1935; over the next 30 years, a number of scientists worked to further develop the instrument, and in 1965 the first SEM was delivered to DuPont by the Cambridge Instrument Company as the “Stereoscan.”
Here you’ll experience the power of SEM in a journey of self-discovery that starts in your head, travels down through the chest and ends in the bowels of the abdomen. Along the way, you’ll see what’s normal, what happens when cells are twisted by cancer and what it looks like when an egg meets sperm for the first time. You’ll never see yourself the same way again.
3. Purkinje neurons. Image: Annie Cavanagh, Welcome Images. Of the 100 billion neurons in your brain, Purkinje neurons are some of the largest. Among other things, these cells are the masters of motor coordination in the cerebellar cortex. Toxic exposure such as alcohol and lithium, autoimmune diseases, genetic mutations including autism and neurodegenerative diseases can negatively affect human Purkinje cells.
4. Hair cell in the ear. Image: Welcome Photo Library, Welcome Images. Here’s what it looks like to see a close-up of human hair cell stereocilia inside the ear. These detect mechanical movement in response to sound vibrations.
5. Blood vessels emerging from the optic nerve. Image: Freya Mowat, Welcome Images. In this image, stained retinal blood vessels are shown to emerge from the black-colored optic disc. The optic disc is a blind spot because no light receptor cells are present in this area of the retina where the optic nerve and retinal blood vessels leave the back of the eye.
6. Tongue with taste bud. Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Welcome Images. This color-enhanced image depicts a taste bud on the tongue. The human tongue has about 10,000 taste buds that are involved with detecting salty, sour, bitter, sweet and savory taste perceptions.
7. Tooth plaque. Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Welcome Images. Brush your teeth often because this is what the surface of a tooth with a form of “corn-on-the-cob” plaque looks like.
8. Blood clot. Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Welcome Images. Remember that picture of the nice, uniform shapes of red blood cells you just looked at? Well, here’s what it looks like when those same cells get caught up in the sticky web of a blood clot. The cell in the middle is a white blood cell.
9. Alveoli in the lung. Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Welcome Images. This is what a color-enhanced image of the inner surface of your lung looks like. The hollow cavities are alveoli; this is where gas exchange occurs with the blood.
10. Lung cancer cells. Image: Anne Weston, Welcome Images. This image of warped lung cancer cells is in stark contrast to the healthy lung in the previous picture.
11. Villi of small intestine. Image: Professor Alan Boyde, Welcome Images. Villi in the small intestine increase the surface area of the gut, which helps in the absorption of food. Look closely and you’ll see some food stuck in one of the crevices.
12. Human egg with coronal cells. Image: Yorgos Nikas, Welcome Images. This image is of a purple, color-enhanced human egg sitting on a pin. The egg is coated with the zona pellicuda, a glycoprotein that protects the egg but also helps to trap and bind sperm. Two coronal cells are attached to the zona pellicuda.
13. Sperm on the surface of a human egg. Image: Yorgos Nikas, Welcome Images. Here’s a close-up of a number of sperm trying to fertilize an egg
14. Human embryo and sperm. Image: Dr. David Becker, Welcome Images. It looks like the world at war, but it’s actually five days after the fertilization of an egg, with some remaining sperm cells still sticking around. This fluorescent image was captured using a confocal microscope. The embryo and sperm cell nuclei are stained purple while sperm tails are green. The blue areas are gap junctions, which form connections between the cells.
15. Colored image of a 6 day old human embryo implanting. Image: Yorgos Nikas, Welcome Images. And the cycle of life begins again: this 6 day old human embryo is beginning to implant into the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.
In my post on peat swamps forest in Brunei last year, I mentioned on the importance of such forests in mitigating climate change as they are huge carbon stores, just like a sponge absorbing water; and in their natural state actively accumulate carbon from the atmosphere.
Yesterday, I got a chance to see for myself on the peat swamp forest located in Kuala Balai in a remote part of Belait; the western part of Brunei. I haven’t been to Ulu Belait for donkey years; the last was when I was with the RTB crew, filming Sungai Ingei for a Tv programme. Sungai Ingei is much further than the one I went to yesterday.
Anyway, back to the peatlands, I was interested when Dr Davies, an expert on peatlands and who also led the trip briefed us on the importance of peat swamps and the rich biodiversity the forest holds. Along the way, he showed us the strange protruding roots of the red meranti trees, a tree stump, a river canal with its dark brown colour and even pointed out a sole of a shoe. See the pictures below.
Crossing a small canal using skinny logs can be challenging. Notice the colour of the water, its dark brown, a natural element in a peat swamp forest.
This tall tree is Shorea Albida also known by its trade name as red meranti, usually made for furnitures. The Badas peat swamp next to Kuala Balai has its canopy composing entirely of such trees.
The sky is ... somewhere up there. At least I can see light shining through. The forest has a rich biodiversity. If one of the elements is gone, the ecology will be damaged.
A typical parasite plant, the fern attaching itself to the red meranti tree. I love nature. Masya Allah.
I dont think this one is a parasite nor part of the biodiversity. A close look reveals a ... sole of a shoe. Someone was at the forest before us and definetely left his/ her print behind. Look like a UK size 7 to me. Anyone?
Dr Davies showing one of the red meranti's roots. "This is normal," he said. Trees in peat swamps have their roots emerging above the soil, just like those in mangrove swamps. Aahh...I see. Allahu Akbar.
One of the Indonesian wetlands specialists shows how water can easily be obtained in a peat swamp forest; this one is just about 20cm from the soil. He said he never usually brings water when he is in such forest and the water is safe to drink (albeit its colour). Just make sure there is no logging or human activities around as then the water may be polluted, he warns.
The RTB crew has interest in stumps. The tree may have been strike by lightning said Dr Davies.
Wet and soaky, natural elements of a peat swamp. Peat swamp forests are like a sponge, holding almost 90% water. They are very fragile, once they are drained example, for logging, the peat starts to decompose and release the carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, lose their carbon-accumulating and flood-control functions, and so much biodiversity is lost. Kuala Balai is part of Brunei's forest reserve areas.
I wonder how it feel like just soaking yourself under the sun, okay, under the shade and do nothing but blogging, snorkeling, eating, feeding fish or maybe clean a pool AND on top of that receive around USD110,000 after six months doing these things; well, basically nothing.
oooOooOOooooohhhHHhhhh....so serene...so blue..
Ben Southall, aged 34, a charity fundraiser from Britain will be just doing those and getting that amount after being selected as the caretaker of Australia’s Hamilton Island. Yes, the best job in the world!
News from Reuters said that Ben was said on live television from Hamilton Island after being named the winner: “To go away now as the island caretaker for Tourism Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef is an extreme honor.
“I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and the responsibilities that the task involves,” he said, adding he would soon be joined by his Canadian girlfriend on the island.
The campaign, launched early this year, received an over-whelming global attention as news on the job which sound like a paid holiday spread across online social networks. I hope the Brunei Tourism can learn something from this campaign. Pulau Sibungur? Pulau Selirong? Pulau Cermin? Maybe the latter…
The front cover of My Favourite Recipes by Foodie bloggers selling at Br$10 each. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Brunei Special Olympics Team.
by Foodie bloggers is selling like cucur pisang or hot cakes, says Senor Pablo in his blog. As of Tuesday, 5 May 2009 at 6:39pm Brunei Time or 11:39am GMT, Senor Pablo reported that only 150 copies left from the 500 printed copies.
And nope, he is not done with the selling part as yet as he has another marketing strategy to sell the book which costs Br$10 each. There is this mystery of missing ingredients (thats a plural there) under the, what else, The Missing Ingredients Quiz. Read more from his post here on this quiz and Senor said that three lucky winners will win Bunny Yummies dessert vouchers. Ohh… I’m drooling already here on the mention of Bunny Yummies. Luuurrrvveee her yummies, all of them LOL! Too bad, contributors to the book are illegible to take part in the quiz.
Ranoadidias also got ONE copy of the book signed personally by Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah and its open for bidding. Words were, bidding which started at Br$50 has gone up to Br$250 so get your act now and text 8677773 with your name and bid NOW! Proceed will NOT go to Rano but to the special olympics team too.
So, I have a copy in my hand now and I do love the design and the pictures and of course, the recipes. My two contributions were included in the book, the Tanghoon Salad and the Mango Pudding so once again, a very big thank you to Senor Pablo for the invitation to contribute (happy to do charity works here).
I must say that the book is worth it, nope I didnt type that because of my own contribution but just look at the rest of the recipies, from Tangy prawn delite to Obsessed burgers and Crispy Tortilla Tomato Dip, also Chicken Ala Bin Khalid (you can tell who came up with this) and the winning entry at the Foodie Blogers Challenge, Reeda’s Quick and Dirty Lamb…oh, I’m so hungry now.
To end this post on a hungry note, I applaud the hard and sweaty but sweet work being done and the whole idea of contributing the procced of the sale for the Brunei Special Olympics Team. Bravo Senor and all of those who are involve (you know who you are).
This ad is looking for ‘two catwalk models’ for a gala dinner in Brunei. The ad says the height requirement is 175cm and above.While I like the part where it says age does not matter but height does, one line did make my jaw dropped. It says ‘skinny frame’ as one of the requirements.
Now, now. Where did the campaign on not to use skinny models for shows go? I dont know if it just applies to the west but the east should not be of any different at all. In last year’s runway shows from New York to Milan and London, more models with the real curves (skinny does not count as curvy) were seen on the catwalks.
Skinny equals to eating disorder and this is unhealthy. Was it Kate Moss who started the trend when she entered the fashion scene back 20 years ago with her ultra thin frame? Two models who died from complications due to eating disorder in 2006 has made Europe starting their act by banning skinny models in their shows.
Okay so this modelling job in Brunei may gives the model RM3000 (Br$1,500) for a one day stint but skinny? I beg to differ.
WHO has renamed the swine flu as Influenza A H1N1 after complaints from the pork trade yesterday. Now,
I hope the attached leaflet below issued by the UK’s health authorities will be useful to our Bruneian students and families who are in the UK at the moment.
The UK has reported two suspected cases of swine flu and the WHO has reported that the UK is one of two countries in the world where it is fully prepared in any event of a pandemic.
Click this link —> dh_0986801
On this Friday morning, I pray that we all will be protected from any diseases, amin. I remember there was a special prayer carried in the local radio stations when the birds flu was rampant a couple of years back. I think the prayer must be for all type of flus. I will check and post here Insya Allah.
Come and show your support while having fun at the Fundraising Walkathon which starts at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin in the capital as early as 6.30am this Sunday and ends at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium where a chairty fun bazaar awaits those taking part. The bazaar starts at 9am until 5pm on that day.
The day is dedicated to raise enough money for the Brunei’s Special Olympics Team to sustain its annual activities and programs such as the regular training for its atheletes and hopefully will generate enough money for the team to prepare for the World Special Olympics to be held in Athens in 2011.
Also on sale at the bazaar will be the books from the Ultimate Bloggers Foodie Challenge. I read from Senor Pablo that orders have been received even as far as the UK and Australia, so come on Bruneians… The more you give the more you will receive, sometimes unknowingly.
Come and join in to raise money for the Brunei Special Olympics Team. Call 2425290
To find out more, click the Brunei Special Olympics website.
LV hand phones, limited edition handbags, wallets and many more.
After the success of the last sale which saw the largest collection of neck ties on sale in Brunei, the La Maison Brunei Sale is now on again this weekend. This time it will be held for two days starting tomorrow from 11am to 9.30pm at the Presidential Suite, the Orchid Garden Hotel in Berakas.
Mark your diary! I am getting ready for a marathon shopping this weekend; there’s another one for charity on Sunday. See my next post.
PHASE 1
No animal influenza virus circulating among animals is reported to cause infection in humans.
PHASE 2
Animal influenza virus is known to have caused infection in humans and is therefore a potential pandemic threat
PHASE 3
Animal or human-animal influenza virus causes sporadic cases or clusters of cases in people, but no human-to-human transmission, except in specific circumstances
PHASE 4
Human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza virus able to sustain community-level outbreaks.
The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic.
PHASE 5
The same virus causes sustained community-level outbreaks in two or more countries in one region.
While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalise the organisation, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
PHASE 6
The virus causes sustained community-level outbreaks in more than one region.
Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way.
POST PEAK
Pandemic disease levels in most countries with adequate surveillance will have dropped below peak observed levels.
The post-peak period signifies that pandemic activity appears to be decreasing; however, it is uncertain if additional waves will occur and countries will need to be prepared for a second wave.
POST PANDEMIC
Influenza disease activity will have returned to levels normally seen for seasonal influenza.
Swine flu interactive graphic map.
Up to 159 people are thought to have died from swine flu in Mexico. Legend: Black mask - deaths; Red mask - confirmed cases; Yellow mask - suspected cases
The World Health Organisation has raised the pandemic threat level from swine flu to five – its second highest level. It now believes a global outbreak of the virus is imminent – and has called on all nations to act immediately. This report from Sky News about two hours ago said that WHO chief Margaret Chan said “it really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic”.
“All countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans,” she added.
“Countries should remain on high alert for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia.
“At this stage, effective and essential measures include heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases, and infection control in all health facilities.”
The threat level is raised to five when there is human-to-human spread of the virus in at least two countries in one region.
Once the virus shows effective transmission in two different regions of the world a full pandemic outbreak would be declared.
The raising of the level follows intensive consultations with experts and analysis of the spreading virus within and from Mexico.
Sky’s health correspondent Thomas Moore said: “I think it’s really important that people don’t panic.
“This really is a message to governments and to the pharmaceutical industry that a pandemic is imminent.
“That you have to do everything to ramp up your plans, to ramp up vaccine production and also to make sure there are anti-virals drugs in stock.
“This is really important for them.”
What a night for DPMM FC last night. Playing against Indonesia’s Pelita Jaya in the RHB Singapore Cup, the Brunei’s beloved team won one nil by Abdelhamid Berguiga in the 76th minute. The Algerian was reported to chased down a long punt and appeared to push the ball past the covering Ardan Aras with his hand, before rounding the Pelita goalkeeper and slotting the ball into the unguarded goal.
Many said that Berguiga used his hand except the referee, T. Arayinthan and his assistant who didnt see if there was a handball. Coach Vjeran Simunic insisted Berguiga did not use his hand for his goal. Fandi Ahmad was clear about how the controversial goal came about.
“In cup competitions only victory is important,” said Vjeran Simunic.
“There was a handball, everyone saw it, but we only have ourselves to blame for the chances that we missed,” said Fandi Ahmad.
The Indonesians piled on the pressure in the last quarter of the game, but the Bruneians hung on grimly to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 games, as they qualified for the last eight of the Singapore Cup.
Meanwhile, this Singapore Soccer News site has a list of the S-league top scorers. As of 29 April 2009, Sairol Sahari, spotting DPMM’s jersey # 3 is on the 11th spot sharing 3 goals eight others players in the league. The current top scorer is Gabriel Obatola of Gombak United FC with eight goals.
Click DPMM FC’s website.
The Asian Development Bank has released results of its study regarding the climate change among the South East Asian region. It says that Southeast Asia, one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change, faces a poorer future unless global warming is controlled, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) study, titled The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review.
Using reviews of previous studies, impact assessment models and extensive consultations with national and regional climate change experts, the study examines climate change challenges facing Southeast Asian nations, both now and in the future.
The study finds that the benefits to the region of taking early action against climate change far outweigh the costs.
Rad more from on the full report of the study.
The Malays have long known the benefit of ginger. Mix with honey and warm water, the mixture will soothe your sore throat. Mothers in confinement will also be grateful for the ‘heating’ power of ginger during the period. Women who experience menstral pains would also like to try the ginger drink before or during their period. Apart from these, read on the following benefits of ginger.
The powerful healing effects of ginger have been well documented. It’s a proven remedy for upset stomach. Reams of studies show that it inhibits inflammation. And there is substantial evidence that it fights cancer too.
For instance, a recent University of Michigan study showed that when ginger was added to ovarian cancer cells in the laboratory, it caused the cancer cells to self-destruct (a process known as “apoptosis”). In a separate study at the University of Minnesota , researchers injected colon cancer cells into mice that were bred to have no immune system.
Half of these mice were routinely fed gingerol, the main active component in ginger. The researchers found that the mice that were fed gingerol lived longer, their tumors were smaller, and the cancer did not spread as widely as in the control group.
With all these health benefits, you should be using ginger as often as you can. The best way I’ve found to get a healthy serving of ginger is to juice it. (The brand of juicer I use is an Omega.) Two or three days a week, I juice an apple or two, some carrots, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, and a big piece of ginger root. The ginger gives the drink a great flavor and a powerful anti-cancer kick.
I dont want to cause panic but we should be vigilant with the news on the swine flu affecting the world at the moment. News on the outbreak with the epicentre in Mexico surfaced over the weekend and has caused alarm for many governments as health officicials said they are investigating suspected cases in people who travelled to Mexico and come back with flu-like illnesses.
As of Sunday, 26 April, 103 deaths have been reported in Mexico with more than 1,600 cases have been reported. The World Health Organisation, WHO is co-ordinating the global response to human cases of the swine influenza A and monitoring the corresponding threat of an influenza pandemic.
Read more from the WHO’s site. Also download the PDF file below on the Q&As on the swine influenze.
No warnings from the Brunei’s relevant authorities on this as yet. Lets see if there’s any in tonight’s news.Pigs-rearing has been banned in Brunei since 1993. Come to think of it, I havent seen any live pig in Brunei for donkey years now.
WIPO is focussing on promoting green innovation this year
26 April 2009 has been declared as the World Intellectual Property (IP) Day carrying the theme ‘Green Innovation’. In conjunction with World IP Day, the U.S. Embassy in Brunei has planned on several awareness activity to shed light on this important topic, one of them being the screening of a National Geographic documentary on illicit trade. Below is a brief description of the documentary.
ILLICIT: The Dark Trade travels the globe to expose the dire consequences of this dirty industry: money laundering, political corruption, and the subversion of entire governments. From knock-off handbags to bootlegged compact discs to fake pharmaceuticals, this hard-hitting special reveals how consumers’ insatiable demand for counterfeit merchandise has given birth to a vast criminal system. View the trailer from the National Geographic site.
Most people are aware of intellectual property (IP) – of copyright, patents, industrial designs and trademarks. But many still view these as business or legal concepts with little relevance to their own lives. To address this gap, WIPO’s Member States decided in 2000 to designate an annual World Intellectual Property Day. They chose April 26, the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO originally entered into force in 1970.
Each year, WIPO and its Member States celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with activities, events and campaigns. These seek to increase public understanding of what IP really means, and to demonstrate how the IP system fosters not only music, arts and entertainments, but also all the products and technological innovations that help to shape our world.
Find out more on the World IP Day.
Watchdog says children under 16 should not be given Bonjela
Mouth ulcer? Have you ever experience it? Especially when you hit the spot while brushing. Ouch! Come Bonjela to the rescue. I have used Bonjela in the past but ever since I knew the magic of the pure plain water, aka water therapy, I cant remember when the last time I used it to soothe ulcer. The trick is just drink seas of water and your ulcer will go away, slowly and less painfully.
Bonjela is designed to relieve the pain and swelling caused by mouth ulcers, denture sores and brace sores. The latest article from the SkyNews six hours ago on Bonjela says that children under 16 should NOT be given it to treat mouth pains.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued an alert on oral pain relief gels which contain salicylate salts, including Bonjela and Bonjela Cool mint gel.
The salts have the same effect on the body as aspirin, which is not recommended for those under the age of 16.
There are concerns that young children could develop Reye’s syndrome, a rare but serious condition which leads to serious liver and brain damage.
It is thought a previous viral infection, such as flu or chickenpox, and exposure to aspirin could trigger the illness.
However. no cases have yet been reported in connection with Bonjela.
Bonjela Teething Gel for young children contains a different formula to the adult varieties and is unaffected.
Read more on the article here.
Who in Brunei do not know where Pasir Putih is? Its a long and winding stretch of road in Telisai joining Tutong and Belait, perhaps more famous because of its pure white silica hills surrounding the area hence the name, Pasir Putih or white sand.
Apart from its ’snow’ness, Pasir Putih is also known as a haunted, lonely road. Not sure how true this is as there have been many stories on ghosts roaming the road. I am yet to encounter one. Not looking forward to it actually. Malam apa ni ah?
Have a read at this story which came to my Inbox today. I voted this story to be the best 2009 email for making me read with suspense.
This happened about a month or two ago near Pasir Putih, and even though it sounds like something out of the X-Files or from Alfred Hitchcock Presents… it’s real! This guy drived from Muara to Kuala Belait and decided to drive after midnight as traffic is usually less.
The inevitable happened when he reached the Pasir Putih area, his car broke down – he was stranded miles from nowhere. Having no choice he started to walk on the side of the road, hoping to get a lift to the nearest human habitation.
It was dark and raining and pretty soon he was wet and shivering. The night rolled on and no car pass by, the monsoon rains were so strong that he hardly saw a few feet ahead of him.
Suddenly he saw a car coming towards him. It slowed down and then stopped next to him. Without thinking the guy opened the car’s door and jumped in.
Seated in the back, he leaned forward to thank the person who had saved him when he realized there was nobody behind the wheel! Even though there was no one in the front seat and no sound of any engine, the car started to move slowly.
The guy looked at the road ahead and saw a curve coming (remember, this is in the hills and there is a steep drop beyond the curve).
Scared almost to death he started to pray, begging the Lord for his life. He had not come out of shock, when just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and moved the wheel so the car made the curve safely and continued on the road to the next bend.
The guy, now paralyzed in terror, watched how the hand appeared every time just before a curve and moved the steering wheel just enough to get the car around each bend.
Finally, the guy saw lights ahead. Gathering his courage he wrenched open the door of the silent, slowly moving car, scrambled out and ran as hard as he could towards the lights.
It’s Telisai..
Wet and still in shock, the guy headed to a roadside nightstall, which was open, and asked for water. He started to tell at whoever was in the stall about the horrible experience he had just gone through.
A silence enveloped everybody at the stall when they realize the guy was not crazy, and was really frightened – he cried and shoke. So they gave him more water and talked about what they should do, whether to call the police or find a bomoh (witch doctor), send him to the hospital or what.
But then another two guys walked into the stall. One of them said to the other; “Look Daud! That’s the jerk who got in to our car when we were pushing it!”
Kurang asam.
Adopt Me...aww.... Love our Earth, embrace it
What is Earth Day? On 22 April each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Apollo 13, the Beatles’ last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, the birth of Mariah Carey, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina – an incident not acknowledged for 18 years.
It was into such a world that the very first Earth Day was born.
Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest “to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. ” “It was a gamble,” he recalls, “but it worked.”
At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.
Participants in Earth Day 1970. Pic by EPA History Office
On 22 April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
You can read more on the day’s history from the Earth Day site.
Has Brunei done anything about the Earth Day? Yes but I don’t think it’s enough. Efforts are there, campaigns are there; budget? And awareness? Awareness must first be implemented. Remember Earth Hour recently. Only on the last minute (or hours?) some organizations pledged to be involved. If awareness is raise like months before, on each and every day, just like the road safety messages by 24/7 Road Assist playing in the radio channels, I am sure Bruneians would be more aware. If hitting their heads each and every second with the same repetitive messages do not work, I don’t what else will.
I agree with the setting up of Energy Clubs among secondary schools as reported in the news yesterday. We should start at the grassroots’ level. I think such clubs should start even from the kindergarten level. Imagine our kids growing up with ‘green minds’.
Islam has reminded mankind to take care of the earth. For decades and even centuries, mankind has caused destructions and damages to the earth. Pollution, flooding and landslides are among the effects. In the holy Quran from Surah Ar-Ruum, Ayat 41 has mentioned that damages and calamities have occurred on the land and in the sea because of the act of mankind themselves. This is what God wanted them to feel because of their own bad deeds so they will change and repent. Sadaqallahul’azim.
So what can you do on this day rather than feeling sorry for what has happened? You may wish to take part in the ecological footprint quiz; sign up to be an Earth Day activist; buy Earth Day posters and t-shirts, join Earth Day network and many more. What are you waiting for? Come and join me and millions of other people in celebrating the day. Remember, not just to celebrate but to take actions as well.
Here’s to our only Earth!
The Ministry of Health has lifted the ban on the Chinese products, reported the daily local papers today. The papers reported that: ‘The ban has been lifted after the ministry is satisfied with the precautionary measures and steps that have been taken by the General Administration on Quality Monitoring, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China in handling the melamine contamination in food products, including milk and dairy products. In relation to this, all food products originating from China and produced on or after 10 February 2009, can be imported and sold in Brunei’.
Okay, so its almost the end of April now and hope consumers should always check the manufacturing/ expiry dates before purchasing any food products.
The ‘melaminegate’ hit most of the world last year especially in China itself where thousands of young children were affected, some even deaths. I reported in my blog in September last year when, at last the ministry banned the selling of all China-made milk products and dairy items in light of the baby formula scandal.
Some of the lists in my other post were the popular Dutch Ladymilk drinks – banana, honey dew and strawberry milk, Animal Party biscuits (lets party now?) and the White Rabbit candy.
I can think of the reputation of China products now. Image (or brand) takes a long time to be established but can be tarnished in just one day. As a consumer, I don’t think I want to buy any at the moment, let’s see in a couple of years.
In a separate article, the ministry now warns against toxic substance called ethylene glycol found in most hot/ cold packs though they said that none of the products are being sold in Brunei. I think such products are popular among athletes and travellers, as they are handy and fast relievers of tense muscles or sprains.
The list of products, according to the ministry:
What I found out about the liquid is that Ethylene glycol (monoethylene glycol (MEG), 1,2-ethanediol, IUPAC name: ethane-1,2-diol) is an alcohol with two -OH groups (a diol), a chemical compound widely used as an automotive antifreeze. In its pure form, it is an odorless, colorless, syrupy, sweet tasting, toxic liquid. It is used in coolants (such as automobiles), hydrate inhibition (such as in long multiphase pipelines that convey natural gas from remote gas fields to an onshore processing facility) and many more.
According to the National Institute for Occupational safety and health, the major danger from ethylene glycol is ingestion. Due to its sweet taste, children and animals will sometimes consume large quantities of it if given access to antifreeze. Upon ingestion, ethylene glycol is oxidized to glycolic acid which is, in turn, oxidized to oxalic acid which is toxic. Ingestion of sufficient amounts can be fatal.
Hotline for the Food Safety & Quality Control Division is 2331100/ 5/ 6/ 8/ 9 or 0 or fax: 2331107.
healthy_juices_for_total_wellness1
Print-out and place the above document near your fruit juicer. Its the same with the article below but minus the images.
Carrot + Ginger + Apple > Boost and cleanse our system.
Apple + Cucumber + Celery > Prevent cancer, reduce cholesterol, and improve stomach upset and headache
Tomato + Carrot + Apple> Improve skin complexion and bad breath
Bitter gourd + Apple + Milk> Avoid bad breath and reduce internal body heat
Orange + Ginger + Cucumber> Improve skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat
Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon> To dispel excess salts, nourishes the bladder and kidney
Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi> To improves skin complexion
Pear & Banana> To regulates sugar content
Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango> Clear body heat, counteracts toxicity, decreased blood pressure and fight oxidization
Honeydew + Grape + Watermelon + Milk> Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increases cell activity and Strengthen body immunity.
Papaya + Pineapple + Milk> Rich in vitamin C, E, Iron. Improve skin complexion and metabolism
Banana + Pineapple + Milk> Rich in Vitamin with nutritious and prevent constipation
With the explosion of the Internet, the world has surely grown smaller. Brunei is indeed a very small country but the name would crop up once in awhile in the Internet. Being a Bruneian, I am interested in what other people or other countries say about Brunei, good or bad.
I am use to people mixing up pictures between the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and the Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah or even that of the Istana Nurul Iman. I think the golden dome is the confusing part. I am also used to Brunei being located somewhere in the Middle East or even in Africa.
Now this country profile on Brunei really caught my eyes earlier. I read all the way down to the last information on the national anthem and I almost fell from my chair.
It says that the Brunei national anthem is like this:
National anthem:
For the Lord Himself has said
That nations vanish from the earth
But Albania shall live on
Because for her, it is for her that we fight
Now, this is surely incorrect. This is NOT the country’s national anthem. And what’s Albania got to do with Brunei I wonder? Has the site been hacked or the editor’s not checking the page? The profile even have the cheek to say that the information was correct on the date of first publication, Saturday 18 April 2009.
The following is the correct Brunei National Anthem with its translation (taken from Mr Brunei Resources).
Did you notice that the anthem is almost the same with the UK’s?
National Anthem
(Lyrics and Arrangement)
Allah Peliharakan Sultan
Music by: Haji Awang Besar Sagap
Lyric by: Yura Halim
Ya Allah lanjutkanlah Usia
Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia
Adil berdaulat menaungi nusa
Memimpin rakyat kekal bahagia
Hidup sentosa Negara dan Sultan
Ilahi selamatkan Brunei Darussalam
(Translation)
God Bless His Majesty
God Bless His Majesty
With A Long Life
Justly And Nobly Rule The Kingdom
And Lead Our People Happily Forever
Peacefully Be, The Kingdom and Sultan Lord, Save Brunei, The Abode of Peace
Updated on Tuesday, 21 April 2009.
Upon checking on the profile page this morning, the Brunei’s National Anthem was replaced. A note on that website said that there was an editor’s error whereby the Albanian anthem was put instead.
As many knows, Thailand, one of the ten Asean member countries is currently under the state of emergency following anti-government protests. Coincidentally, RBC is now promoting the Songkran Festival right here in Brunei, not to the water-pouring activities but more to the Thai foodies. Details on the poster below.
Songkran, regarded as the Thai traditional New Year, has been an exotic Thai tradition for generations. Not only its for the Thai very own people living in Thailand is celebrating Songkran, but also for those who speak the language which has the same origin as Thai such as Laotian, Thai people in Myanmar who live near the border at the north of Thailand, and Thai spoken Chinese people in Hunan.
In general, ‘Songkran’ is the word popularly used. But the actual word, in full, is ‘Troot Songkran’ which will be described as follows.
‘Troot’ means ‘cut’ or ’separation’ which refers the end or the separation of the year. Therefore, ‘troot’ represents a celebration that the old year is ended and people manage to live throughout the year. Traditional Thai believes that April is the month where the old year and the new year comes together. Merry-making on troot days last for 3 days. Monks are invited for blessings.
Songkran means movement or displacement, referring to the Sun as it moves into the new year. New year days last from April 13th-15th, annually. April 13th is called Maha Songkran day.April 14th is called Wan Nao , and April 15th is called the beginning of new year day. These may be called differently in the North, but still easy to understand. For example, April 13th, called Sungkarnlong day, which means that the old body, mind and spirits of the old year are leaving. April 14th, called Wan Nao, April 15th, called Wan Paya Wan, means a first important day of the New Year.
The story of Songkran, as found in historical records at Wat Pra Chetupon, mentioned the origin of Songkran as below.
There was a rich guy who was accused by a drunken neighbour who said that his richness is useless because it can’t help him to have any children to succeed the family. So the rich guy went to pledge at the banyan tree on Songkran day. ‘Indhra’ helped him by commanding ‘Dhamabal Dhewabutr’ to be born to the rich guy’s wife. After birth, the baby boy was named Dhamabal Kumara. His father built a seven-storey tower for him under the banyan tree. Dhamabal was a very wise man. He finished his Tripesa when he was only 7 and also knew bird’s language. Kabilabrahma came to test Dhamabal’s intellect by asking him 3 questions. If he could give the right answers, Kabilabrahma would cut off his own head to worship. The questions are:
Kabilabrahma would come to get the answers in 7 days.
On the sixth day, Dhamabal still could not find the answers. So sneaked out to hide at the two big palmyra tree where a couple of eagles live.
In the evening, the female eagle asked her husband where would they get their food on the next day. The male eagle replied that they would eat Dhamabal kumara’s dead body, got killed because he could not gave Kabilabrahma the right answers. The female asked what were the question and the answers. Her husband told her the answers, which were;
After Dhamabal heard what the eagle said, he rushed back to his tower. On the following day, Kabilabrahma came to ask the questions. Dhamabal gave him the answers he heard from the eagle. Kabilabrahma lost, so he had to cut off his own head as promised. But Kabilabrahma’s head had great supernatural power. If the head fell to the ground, the earth would be on fire. If the head was exposed to the air, there would be bad drought everywhere. If the head was dumped into the water, the ocean would be suddenly dried. Seven daughters must, therefore, use tray to carry the head in the parade around Mount Prasumeru . The head was then kept in Kantabuli cave at Mount Krai Las. When it completes a circle of 365 days or a year, one of the seven daughters had to carry the head of Kabilabrahma in the parade around the Mount Prasumeru. It is appointed that April 13th is Maha Songkran day, the daughter who is assigned on that day had to be a person who carried the head. The assignment is as below ;
Songkran has been a Thai ceremonial tradition for a very long time. From April 13th to April 15th, people perform merit-makings which includes releasing birds and fish, and also bathing monks. People then play water throwing and native sports.
The tradition of releasing fish is a very good activity because it helps a natural reservation. In April, it is very dry and hot. Water resources become dried. Fish gather in small water resources. When these places become completely dry, fish will all die or become other creatures’ pray. Humans help them by bringing them to the river and release them. In raining season, fishes, survived from the drought, come back to breed and become food for humans.
Songkran in Chiang Mai
During Songkran, in the North and Northeast, there are water throwing everywhere. It is common that they stop working for up to 7 days, in some places. The most famous and most fun Songkran celebration is held in Chiang Mai. People of Chiang Mai would do as described here ;
April 13th, called Wan Sungkarnlong, is the day to clean up their houses.
April 14th, called Wan Nao, people will bring food for monks and relatives. This day is the beginning day of the new year. They must not do anything bad, not to speak rude words to others.
April 15th is Wan Paya Wan, regarded as the best day, merit-makings are main activity. There is an organized parade to bathe monks, elderly people and wish for blessing.
The eminence of Chiang Mai, which attracts people to come to play Songkran in Chaing Mai, is that it has a canal surrounding its inner ancient city. People from everywhere gather at the canal around the city, throwing water to people with fun. The other important activity is that Wat (temples) bring their own sacred Buddha images into a remarkable long parade such as a parade of Pra Singha, parade of the white crystal Buddha. These Buddha images are between 700-1000 years old. The parade goes through the center of the city and people can take part in bathing those Buddha images with scented water. Every year, during Songkran, the city of Chiang Mai is packed with people. It can be said that the city is closed for Songkran for the whole 3 days.
Boy, thats a whole lot of background info on the festival. Go and check out the RBC’s promotion. You may win prizes to go to Thailand, hopefully the air-ticket is an open ticket, considering the current political situation in the kingdom.
Mmm…The goodness of barley. Barley is not Brunei’s staple food but can be found in other forms such as in drinks and health supplements. Received the following through an email and thought that it would be a beneficial read. Here’s to our health…
High in fiber, barley is also a kidney cleanser. Better yet, regular intake of it helps prevent heart disease. BARLEY water was always a regular drink when we were still living at home. Whenever we had to go for a medical exam that included a urine test, my mum would make us drink barley water a day before it to make sure we got a positive result!
My mother was a wise woman. I later found out from an Australian naturopath that barley is known to be a kidney cleanser, and he happily downed glasses of it at a meal we had in a coffee-shop here.
Barley is good for your intestinal health too. Try to eat the barley grains you find in your drink or sweet broth with fu chook (bean curd skin) and ginkgo nuts. It’s high in fiber which feeds the friendly bacteria in the colon and helps speed up the transit of fecal matter in it. In this way it helps prevent haemorrhoids and colon cancer. The propionic acid and beta glucan from barley’s insoluble fiber also help lower cholesterol and prevent the formation of gallstones.
Eating barley regularly is a preventive step against heart disease as, besides the fiber content, it is also high in niacin, a B vitamin good for lowering cholesterol. Diabetics should eat more barley as the fiber will prevent blood sugar levels from rising too high. It also provides relief from constipation or diarrhoea for those suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Barley is rich in selenium which prevents cancer and relieves symptoms of asthma and arthritis. It is a good source of manganese, copper and phosphorous. Malt sugar comes from sprouted barley which, when fermented, is an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.
Barley, whose Latin name is ” hordeum vulgare” , has been cultivated for more than 10,000 years. Since ancient times, barley has been used for healing purposes and has been known to the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Athletes in Greece and Rome in those days were known to eat barley bread to give them strength.
Besides the usual things we do with barley, I enjoy having it in a western soup. The larger pearl barley is used and I love the sticky bite of it. Here’s a recipe for barley soup:
Barley soup with roasted garlic1 cup pearl barley
5 cloves whole garlic, roasted
2 litres chicken stock, steeped from 1 chicken breast simmered in three litres water
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 large onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
150g turkey ham, cut up
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsps sea salt or to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Method
Wash barley and soak it in a bowl of water for three hours. Drain.
Heat oil in pan and fry onions. Add carrots and celery, then the barley and fry for three minutes.
Add chicken stock, pepper and roasted garlic and simmer over low heat for at least an hour, or until barley is soft.
Add salt to taste and serve the soup garnished with chopped parsley.
Look what technology can do for us today. If I can simply ‘copy and paste’ a baby, no, make that a genius baby, I would surely do. The picture below is a copy and paste as well…
Forget about the hassle of scratching coupon-parking tickets to park your car in Bandar. The first custom bikes show in Brunei is now on and it would surely make your eyes and mind open. We are used to seeing others from around the world customising a bike either on Tv (aka Astro) or magazine (err, THE custom bike mag) or through the Internet and now, as a proud Bruneian, I present you Brunei’s very own. Give it up for QCB!
The show is on as from today until this Sunday the 19th and is being organised by the QCB (Qlap Custom Bikes) at the open space at Yayasan Complex in the heart of the capital.
I went there during my short lunch break, tagging my partner with me. He is not into custom bike but more to the fast and furious ones like the rider but because he loves me, he went along (hehe).
It’s a very hot day even now as I type so I did’t see many people at the show. Maybe, it’s a working day today. Lets see tomorrow and the weekend. Other than the QCB’s own crew members there are other exhibitors like the Brunei Toursim (supporting QCB) and a family pet show. So yes, apart from the beautiful and creative custom bikes, you also get to see worms and hamsters. Plus if you want to part your one dollar, you will be able to see other pets (of course live ones).
A bit of history of QCB: Established in September 2007, QCB pride itself in customizing a Kawasaki Vulcan 500cc bike by founders Sham and Harry to be a ‘custom bike’; imitating a design from Australia and was hence named ‘Predator Bike’. It took five months to fully customized the original bike and QCB said Predator Bike ‘has been tested by its resilience and strength and has not encounter any problems until today’.
With the success of Predator Bike, five more bikes came under the creative hands of QCB, each with their own unique designs. By the way, the ‘Q’ in QCB is Qlap, taken from the name of Sham’s residence in Kiulap. I tried to surf the QCB’s website given (www.qcbbikerz.com) but no results were found.
Anyway, go and show your support to anything ‘Bruneiana’. Maybe one day, we can see custome bikers riding in a convoy in Brunei roads – considering health and safety as always. That would be spectacular. Vroom! Vroom! (I dont think thats how custom bikes sound as ‘vroom-vroom’ is usually for riders).
You dream (about it) and we make it. This is the Brunei custom chopper.
I over-heard this little boy asking his dad to take a picture of him with the bikes as a background. Awww...boys will be boys?
QCB Gallery with pictures of w-i-p (work in progress) in customizing a bike. The Predator Bike pic is framed and sitting pretty under the flat screen.
No pressure said Senor Pablo. Join in the challenge for a cause.
Received an invite to the Ultimate Foodie Bloggers Challenge. Geeze…I slept it over last night after thinking about it yesterday (my usual way of making decision) and this morning I humbly and regretfully have to decline. Maybe tasting the entries will do?
So for those who love to share any recipe and do a demonstration at the challenge, please contact Senor Pablo, the host. Recipes must be in by Wednesday, 22 April and the event itself will be on the following Sunday, 26thApril. Anak Brunei is set to give a handphone for the best entry. Witty Chef Nash’ and his crew from the obcces bogspot dot com will also do a live do at the Sunday event.
Recipes will be compiled into a book and publish (this your chance to get your work to be published) to raise up to BND$3,ooo for the Brunei’s Special Olympics team. So this is not just a chance to meet up and socialise but for a good cause too.
So what are you waiting for? Please note that this event is not just for bloggers but for anyone. More detals from SP’s blog and if you are in Facebook, details there too.
Good luck and if anyone would like to share on how the event go, please do yeah. Thanks.
Monday, Monday…. Its just another maniac Monday
I wish it was Sunday
Coz thats my fun day….
Hmm….even though its an office holiday today, I am in no good mood. Maybe I spent too much time lazing around over the long weekend or maybe its that time of the month again. I had a terribel teribel terribel terrible headache yesterday. Mood swings every five minutes. My partner is miles apart now, sensing my mood swings; maybe running for his life. He’ll be back, no worry.
Checking my emails, I noticed one from my brother which he sent moons ago. Sorry, its just that sort of email which you will open when you have the time in the world, like today. Boy, he’s email just hit me right. Now I feel good, my day’s not bad at all. Maybe moody moms, ladies or girls out there would feel good too after looking at the pics below. Just remember when you have bad days, there are people out there who may have worse days than yours. Right?
Dry and fresh? Brunei Times now come in plastic cover.
Still thinking about the straw and talking about plastic..I receives my weekend Brunei Times (BT) at home since the paper is delivered for free to ANY destination in Brunei, they said. Usually the courier would put my paper on my porch, if the gates are open. There are times when the gates are closed and since we are yet to install a bigger post box to accomodate the paper outside, the courier would just squeeze in my paper in between the gates. Not his fault, right.
As from last weekend, I was surprised when my BT paper came wrapped in plastic. I understand the reason would be to avoid it getting wet or damaged but I prefer my paper to be without the plastic please. I wonder how many plastic covers are use everyday to deliver the paper to it customers. Not environmentally-friendly indeed. p>
If someone is 14, I can imagine the person to be very young, energetic and dynamic. Always looking ahead to a very bright future (look at the end of the tunnel, says Paulaland, our Bruneian in Holland).
Apart from TelBru, DST Group is also celebrating this month. Its their 14th anniversary and they are also in a ‘celebratory’ mood now. As a way to say thank you to its hundreds of customers (I think the whole of Brunei lol); the company is holding a ‘Customer Appreciation Day’ all across the country, pack with goodies and freebies.
Formed in April 1995, DST or DataStream Technology Sdn Bhd can proudly say that they are an example of a profit-making Government’s privatisation programme. GSM mobile system, broadband (beating TelBru but they were beaten in the 3G handphone by B.Mobile), Kristal-Astro, Kristal FM; their businesses are diverse in the media and technology fields.Whats next? 3.5G?
A literally-very-big Thank You from DST at its Headquarters in Tungku Link to its customers for the 14 years
Sorry, as there’s no story actually. I am just wondering about it myself. Okay its not an issue, let alone a national issue that should be researched, analysed or reported.
lt all began when I was craving for teh tarik (sweatened tea - literally being ‘pulled’) this morning. It was still early, 7ish in the morning and the nearest shop to my office will only be opened by 10am. I went out a bit further from my office to a restaurant; serving hot, steamy murtabak. Nope, didnt order that.
Me: “Teh Tarik satu. Tapau ah.” (One teh tarik, take-away please)
Waiter (shouting across customers): ‘Teh tarik satu. Tapau!?” (One teh tarik for take-away!) Waiter: “Lagi? (Anymore?)
Me (feeling a bit embarrased as customers looked at me): “Nah.”
Now my question is, why was there a straw for a hot drink? This is not actually the first time I have encountered this. When I worked with a bank previously, and ordered teh tarik for take-away from a restaurant, they also gave me a straw. Why oh why?
Those who answer logically will get free teh tarik from me. Just for today.
To prove my story..hehe...nah. Just to show the trivial dilema I had this morning.
I am a follower of Global Voices. Only recently I realised there’s a Malay version of the site but its just not any Malay but the Indonesian Malay. Now I happened to notice a link to my blog from the website in Bahasa Indonesia regarding the January’s flooding in Brunei previously put up by Senor Pablo.
Honestly I need to brush up my Indonesian Malay. Without referring to the original post in English by Senor Pablo; what is:
Berperan – I guess its ‘berperanan’ in standard Malay which is ‘role’
Disrik – District (thats easy if you read from the whole sentence)
Dampak - impact?
Merembes – pouring?
Terjebak - involve?
Kemacetan - please help me with this
Petualangan – obstruction?
Berwenang – relevant?
Koran – newspaper
Ijin – permission
Apart from the single words, I have to read twice to understand what these sentences mean:
Lorong jalan lintang susun utama di ibukota dan beberapa sekolah ditutup karena banjir. Ini menyebabkan pengalihan lalu lintas – The main roads in the capital and several roads were closed due to the flood. This cause for traffic diversion?
Polisi Royal Brunai telah menutup semua jalan yang tidak aman untuk dilalui pengendara motor – The Royal Brunei Police has closed all (can’t be peaceful – thats direct translation) roads..oh help …
Siaran langsung video melalui telpon genggam bisa langsung dilihat dalam genggaman tangan Anda. – I know this one as I wrote it in English and was quoted by Senor Pablo. What i meant was that there should be video streaming direct to the handphone.
Did I tell you that my five-year old nephew has an Indonesian accent because his maid is Indonesian? One day I over-heard him talking to the maid: “Cepaten dong. Mana sih? Saya lapar. Kepingin sekali mau cepat minumnya.” (Quick please. Where is it? I am hungry or maybe thirsty. I am craving to drink it quickly) I think its cute but hopefully it wont make him confuse with the standard or even brunei Malay as he grow up.
Okay am back to read the rest of the Indonesian version in Global Voices.
How many of us would meet the eyes of the mentally disturbed? For some, they would avert from looking at the direction of the mentally disturbed person. Some would pretend not to hear and simply walk away without even looking from the corner of their eyes for the plea or attention sought.
How aware are we, the general public, on this type of illness or disoder? Usually nil until a friend or a family member is a victim of one then only people would open up their eyes. Mentally illness is usually a social stigma, no one cares for the victim and the community would shun such victims.
Mental illness is a lonely journey. Did you know that mental illness is not contagious? You wont get infected with it. How many of us would dare look at one, or even hold their hands and look straight into their eyes?
Sadly, the trend of the mentally-ill is rising in the Asia-Pacific region as noted by the World Health Organization, WHO. According to a WHO report, mental and neurological disorders in 2002 accounted for 17.6 per cent of the total disease burden in the WHO’s Western Pacific region, with depression alone responsible for more than six per cent. There were about 331,000 suicides in the region that year, the latest for which full data is available.
Worldwide, suicide accounts for 33 per cent of all violent deaths among men and 57 per cent among women, the WHO has said. “They (mental and neurological disorders) create a major and unnecessary burden for individuals, communities and societies,” the WHO’s regional committee for the Western Pacific said in the report.
In Brunei, the country is yet to establish a mental hospital. We do not have a rehab centre or an asylum for such victims and patients are treated at the public hospital. From 2004 until 2007, there has been a remarkable increase of 62 per cent in patients in Brunei Darussalam diagnosed with mental illnesses, according to the Ministry of Health.
Statistics released by the Psychiatry Department of the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital (Ripas) have shown that the number of outpatients diagnosed with mental illnesses in 2006 had risen alarmingly to 6,335 cases as against 3,889 in 2002.
The report said that it is also noteworthy that the Psychiatry Department for children and teenager have recorded 350 cases of young people suffering from mental illnesses such as depression, emotional and behavioral problems since its establishment in 2005.
I remember when I was small, the famous hospital’s ward for the mentally-disturbed was known as ‘Wad Lima’ or ward 5, now renamed ‘Psychiatry department’. Now every time I passed the ward, I would quickly run away as fast as I could as I was really scared with the occupants. I would blame such reactions from our own society who taught us when we were small to run away every time we come across a ‘mad man’ or ‘orang gila’. I hope here is no such stigma now as we understand more on the illness. The role of the society is equally crucial in curbing such stigma.
Did you know that in Brunei, those suffering from psychological problems (aged 15 years and above) may receive $200 each month while his/her spouse will receive another $150? Their dependents (children) will receive $150 for those aged 15 years and above and $90 for those aged 15 years and below.
Now to relax our minds…Forwarded emails just keep on circulating. This morning the following came in to my Inbox which prompted me to blog about the subject. Additional note: the texts below are meant to be humourous and is no way intended to prejudice certain groups mentioned below. Thank you.
MENTAL HOSPITAL PHONE MENU
Hello and thank you for calling The State Mental Hospital. Please select from the following options menu:
If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.
If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want, stay on the line so we can trace your call.
If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be forwarded to the Mother Ship.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell You which number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, hang up. It doesn’t matter which number you press, nothing will make you happy anyway.
If you are dyslexic, press 9-6-9-6.
If you are bipolar, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep or after the beep. But Please wait for the beep.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. Our operators are too busy to talk with you.
If you are menopausal, put the gun down, hang up, turn on the fan, lie down and cry.
You won’t be crazy forever.
If you are blonde, don’t press any buttons. You’ll just mess it up.
A whole year of free e-speed! Hmm….Thinking hard here…Three is the word and ’T’ is THE letter for TelBru’s third year anniversary with the free e-speed up for grabs (and many more). Themed ‘TelBru Trilogy: The story of treats, thrills and tributes’, the promotion is for TelBru’s customers and non-customers alike. I made a typo-error for ‘treats’ up there earlier where I noticed I typed ‘threats’! Hope there ain’t any.
TelBru was once known as Jabatan Telekom Brunei and it was corpratized as TelBru in April 2006. Telekom’s BruNet is Brunei’s first service provider, launched in 1995 and have, over the years produced a number of products – dial-up, broadband and others. Complaints were there right from the start. I can imagine its really difficult to meet the high expectations of today’s highly-learned and sophisticated customers especially when it comes to technology. It beat me myself.
If anyone notice, TelBru did receive a number of complaints in the Borneo Bulletin Opinion Page for its e-speed service eversince it was launched. I don’t have the stats but I should say that the complaints were many. Week in and week out, there were complaints and, I must say this, TelBru replied to explain their short-comings. Hats off to you guys!
On its current promo, TelBru said: “Throughout the TelBru Trilogy month in April, the public is in for a treat as the TelBru ‘eSpeedster’ Van will travel across the four districts to hand out many goodies and prizes. To know the destinations of ‘eSpeedster’ Van, public must listen to Pelangi and Pilihan FM, official TelBru anniversary networks, as it will only announce 30 minutes before arriving at each destination. Loads of goodies stand to be won on-the-spot and at each destination lucky winners will also be chosen to be in the running to win the 1 year free eSpeed.
Besides ‘eSpeedster’ Van, public may also win the free 1 year eSpeed through contests such as ‘Photo Hunt’ and ‘Blog and Win’ that will definitely thrill photographer and bloggers enthusiasts alike.
TelBru promises the trilogy of treats, thrills and tributes will bring much fun to the public throughout its anniversary month of April. For more information of all the events, public is welcomed to surf TelBru’s website; visit any TelBru branches or call 121. Also, read Anak Brunei’s recent post on the promotion.
P/S - Anak Brunei has only recently, joined the firm, he said in his post.
In a Toilet:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW
In a Laundry room:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT
In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS
In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN
In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD
Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING – BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC.
WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?
Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS
Spotted in a safari park:(I sure hope so)
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR
Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN’T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR
Notice in a farmer’s field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.
Message on a leaflet:
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS
On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR – THE BELL DOESN’T WORK)
These are great ideas for your home. I like the ‘garden’ paintings. Will a skillful artist, please stand up. I want to commission one to do such work. Impressive!
Mind-boggling advert in The Brunei Times today
Flipping through the Brunei Times paper today, I couldn’t help noticing the above advert placed under its Classified Page. Not the ‘Hot Seat’ one; the one above it.
It says that the advertiser is looking for software developers who like a challenge. I am no software developer but I took the challenge and found out the answer to the advertiser’s number.
P/s the extension number is 137.
All that I want is a that magic card. Ann (not her real name) was a fresh graduate and just landed a good job with a salary to match. Considering she’s single, she don’t really have that many commitments to meet. With her salary, she can easily save two thirds of her income every month and put it aside for ‘rainy days’ (or for the elders, under the pillow).
Now it all began when she got her first credit card. As she swiped her card in exchange for that Prada or latest Gucci, she began to realise how good it feel to simply just swipe. Swipe and there you have it. Swipe and here’s your Versace. After a year of swipping and swapping, Ann began to build up debts to the credit card companies . This was when the problem start. Ann was in debts and couldnt pay. How many times have we heard of such stories?
Now showing in cinemas in Brunei. Watch and learn?
Having watch the movie ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ now playing at the cinemas, this is what we call reality check. How much can someone afford to have a credit card is not for me or the credit card companies to answer. That movie made me smile and I can connect the feeling of being one ‘Rebecca Bloomwood’ in that movie.
A quote from the movie: “You know that thing when you see someone cute and he smiles and your heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down a hot toast? Well, that’s what it’s like when I see a store. Only it’s better.” I just laughed at the scene. I know the feeling. I was there (not at the store). For some, its like a therapy.
There was one episode in Oprah where Oprah was telling about this one book. I think it was entitled ‘ Does this mess make my butt look bigger’ or something like that. Anyway, that episode was about how a messy house make the occupants feel literally trap and down. There was an example of a family whose was so very messy and the lady owner was asked on why she keep on buying clothes when the house was already full of clothes.
Her answer was that she love going to the stores because she can easily find things at the stores and they are clean; everything’s in order. Basically she was saying that she feel happy in a store than being in her own house. So my conclusion was that it was theraupetic for her just to be in a store.
Anyway, I hope we all learn something from the shopaholic movie and not just have a good time watching it.
The Pencil Maker took a pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
“One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone’s hand.”
“Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.”
“Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”
“Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.”
“And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.”
The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.
One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.
Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.
And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.
Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.
Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change. I am still learning just like a pencil…
Interesting facts.
Mosquito repellents don’t repel. The spray blocks the mosquito’s sensors so they don’t know you’re there. (We are very big what?)
.
Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. I keep my toothbrush in the living room now. (eeww!)
.
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma. (Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood)
.
No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. (Try it)
.
Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes. (bad, bad @$$es)
.
You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. (so dont stay-up if you want to lose weight)
Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older. (So don’t chop down the old oak tree)
The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley’s gum.
The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache. (yeah? So who notices this?)
A Boeing 747’s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother’s first flight.
The wingspan of the B-36, a retired USAF bomber, was twice as long.
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class.
.
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
.
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets. (would anyone care?)
.
Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin. (another ewww…)
.
The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer. So did the first ‘Marlboro Man.‘
.
Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
.
Marilyn Monroe had six toes.
.
All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn’t like being seen wearing them in public. (Lets see about Obama)
.
Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
.
Pearls melt in vinegar.
.
It is possible to lead a cow upstairs…but not downstairs.
.
A duck’s quack doesn’t echo and no one knows why.
.
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
This is a good article from the yahoogroups I received via the email. In Islam, the story would be translated to ‘Qada and ‘Qadar or the good and the bad. Qada and Qadar is one of the six Islamic faiths. Everything happened for a reason. My friend said that if something happened, it was meant to be, so be it.
The Malays have this belief about instinct. When you are about to leave home, sometimes your instinct says something that make you wanted to step back inside, wait for a few seconds and then only make your way out. Havent you notice that sometime you would say, ‘if I was to be there at the accident spot at that very time, I would surely be involve in the accident. Luckily I was a few seconds behind (or ahead).
Procrastinating can sometime be good or bad. More goodness for me. I sometimes procrastinate and feel guilty about my act but then in the end, something else happen as a result of my procrastinating.
Now I can’t vouch for the story’s validity but I believe in the moral of the story. So, read on….
Whatever happens in life, happens for good, so stop worrying about the future and forget the past.
After Sept 11th, one company invited the remaining members of other companies who had been affected by the incident on the Twin Towers, to share their available office space. At a morning meeting, the head of security told stories on why these people were alive and all the stories were just ‘little things’ that had happened to them that day. He started:
“As you might know, the head of the company survived that day because his son started kindergarten.
Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
One of them missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
One’s car wouldn’t start.
One went back to answer the telephone.
One had a child that dawdled and didn’t get ready as soon as he should have.
One couldn’t get a taxi.
The one that struck everyone was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning; took various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.”
Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a ringing telephone, all the little things that annoy me. I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.
Next time your morning seems to go wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can’t seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light; don’t get mad or frustrated. I am still, and forever, learning…
To All those Born in the 50’s , 60’s & early ’70s.. The article below was written by Patrick Teoh in his blog “Niamah!!”. I think this is more for boys. I have added my Bruneian girls’ version in bracket.
First, we survived with mothers who had no maids. They cooked /cleaned while taking care of us at the same time.
They took aspirin. Candies, floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrups and diabetes were rare.
Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for fever.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
As children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles/ motorcycles for 2 or 3. Richer ones in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a private taxi was a special treat.
We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.
We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our kites (and playing masak-masak), without worrying about the UV ray which never seem to affect us.
We go to jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes.
(As I was born in Kampong Ayer, I always look forward to the high tide as it would bring all sort of floating toys and dolls)
With mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be a endless game. (My sister was the village champion in main simban)
With a ball – tennis ball best, boys would ran like crazy for hours (and girls would endlessly played bola belidar, main tinting and main gatah - awww! I missed those games).
We caught guppy in drains / canals and when it rained, we swam there.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually worry about being unhygenic.
We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies, bread and real butter and drank very sweet soft sweet coffee/ tea, ice kacang, but we weren’t overweight because……
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. AND WE DONT HAVE HANDPHONES TO BUG US. And we were O.K. AND WE ARE SAFE.
We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, X-boxes, Nintendo’s, multiple channels on cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no phones, no personal computers, no Internet. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and we still continued the stunts. (My elder brother would always stole pucuk or young shoots from the fruit tree and asked me to be as a look-out. I always got caught by the owner – sob! sob!)
We never had birthdays parties till we are 21
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and just yelled for them!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
Yet this generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 40 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
PS: -The big font was because of long-sightedness or hyperopia at your age. he… he…
Here’s what you and family can do for the holiday. Dream Charter is having a school holiday promotion from 23 to 27 March 2009 at a price of BND400 only for a maximum of ten people. Sailing hours: 9:00-16:00
INCLUDES:
3 hours sailing
Stopover at Pulau Pelumpong
Swimming
Picnic on beach
Learn to sail
Pickup Point: Serasa Ferry Terminal, Serasa
Other Dream Charter activities:
*Daysailing * Sunset Cruise * Fine Dining Tour *Wedding Pictures *Honeymoon Cruise * Family Trip *Fishing Trip * Birthday Parties* *Business Meeting * Package Deals: 2Days;1Night Limbang Trip* *2 Days;1Night Labuan Trip*
Booking @ DREAM CHARTER, Brunei Darussalam
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Today is the last day of school. I just feel so free and very, very happy. I am tired of driving around and the traffic jam during school days is not my bread and butter, not even my cup of tea. So yes, empty road ahead.
Schools start their holidays for the first term as from tomorrow and will resume on Monday, 30 March 2009. Now why do schools have to start on a Monday? I mean work also start on a Monday. Maybe we should start the week on a Wednesday or even Thursday. Friday? I wonder how it feel?
My girl didn’t go to her ugama or religious school since the last few days because, this is according to her, her teacher asked them not to. I think the teacher was discouraging them to go to school so they can mark the term’s papers in peace. Peace and quite. Ahh….
I was passed a memo for all parents and guardians from my girl’s school. The memo was signed by the school’s principal, attaching a copy of a letter from the police’s traffic control division. That really opened up my sleepy eyes this morning.
It said that students should use the pedestrian’s overhead bridge which was purposely built by the police for the school to ensure the students’ own safety and to avoid traffic jam. The police, said the letter, are constantly monitoring the use of the said bridge AND will take action under the Section 39 (1) (a) RTA CAP 68 to all drivers and, under Section 39 (1) (b) RTA CAP 68 to students who ignore police instruction and may be imprisoned up to a year. Gulp!
The final sentence from the letter said that under the amendment of the pedestrian rules 202 Section 13 (b), action will be taken which may lead to a fine of up to $500. I didn’t even know we have a pedestrian rules but ignorant is no excuse.
Anyway, I am not among those parents who let their kids cross the road recklessly as I send mine right inside the school area. Pity today was the last day of school so there were not that may cars around the school area. I saw a couple of police personnel monitoring vehicles and students. I guess all parents must have read the letter.
I don’t have statistics on how many students have been hit or were involve in such accident but I am sure there must have been such cases before. Just imagine when you see in front of your very eyes that your kid got hit by an incoming vehicle to get to the other side. Who should be blamed?
Remember one tragic story a couple of years ago when a driver who was said to be busy sending text while driving, hit a school boy who was crossing the road to go to his school. The boy’s home was just across his school and it was said that his own mother saw the accident. If I am the mother, or even the driver, I would have trauma for the rest of my life I think.
I agree with the police’s letter. I hope parents would heed such warnings to avoid regrets. To the students – enjoy and make full use of your holidays.
I have updated my ‘About Me’ page and selected a new design. I don’t know the exact reason but I thought of revamping the whole thing as I like changes – for the better that is. Aisyeh!
Some visitors have thought I am a male. Seriously. If only they can check – my posts I mean. I have this hunch (not on my back) that people assume bloggers are male – God knows why. Female bloggers usually have frills and curls and shocking pink on their sites, not mentioning about the posts where they usually blogg about emotions, feelings, heartaches, relationships (mostly failed ones) or if they are a happy lot, they will talk about shoes and bags and gossips and more relationships (also failed ones) and cupcakes and cakes; and,oh! Weddings and such.
Nothing wrong there, those are their blogs so I shouldn’t mind and its up to them to do whatever they fancy. Some are creative I admit. Anyway, I am a female species with curves (round is a shape what). So myself? Refer to the last sentence. (Lame)
Someone asked me if my name is Eva or Eva Wanda as my email is evawanday@yahoo.com and I have put my name in my yahoo profile as Eva Wanda. Truth is, its not. I have that email for donkey years now but I do know why I created my email address like that.
Many years ago (ehem) when English words started to be corrupted by the world of chatting, words with a long or even short spelling were abbreviated to the shortest spelling as possible to save time. Later came the sms lingo which actually came from the chatting world too.
So ‘ltn’ as everyone know is long time no see; ‘hru’ is ‘how are you?’ And ‘ever’ is spelt as ‘eva’; ‘wanda’ is wonder and that letter ‘y’ at the end of my address is ‘why’ so ‘Ever Wonder Why?’ Get it? Now why did I ever come up with that was that at the time I was creating a name for my email address, I was always thinking and pondering and such, yang sewaktu dengannya. I was like, forever thinking.
Now I have stop or reduce myself from too much thinking as it lead to insomnia, something which I suffer every now and then but its getting better these couple of years. Alhamdullilah.
Actually I have been mulling to halt or maybe rest for awhile from blogging to concentrate on other things. I have been enjoying putting up the posts so far and I hope visitors to the site feel the same way too. Lets see.
I was reading from the Borneo Bulletin’s Opinion page today about the callous mother of two who sent out her two under-aged girls to satisfy men’s lust in return for money. The heading was ‘Moral outrage at heartless mother’ by one ‘Hayy bin Yaqzan’. Read on the news story here. When I read the news that day, it really got into my nerves. Yes, kami ini marah!
I agree whole-heartedly to the comment, NOT to the mother’s cruel act. How can a mother have the heart to do such a hideous act? Yes I am condemning her, pardon my word. At 15 and even 12 and her own flesh and blood; how could she?
I cant understand what got into the mother’s head when she came to a conclusion that the only way out of her dilemma was to ‘hire out her own girls’. The report said that she was so desperate for money. Grrrr!!!!! ‘}
My friend who was also angry with the act said why didn’t the mother just sell her own body. Whoah! Not that way hun. I said, she can do other better things, like selling Nasi Katok. The late P.Ramlee said in his ‘Nujum Pak Belalang’ movie said even the worms living in a stone would know how to survive or find food, let alone humans who have been given brains. Hi five for this wise thoughts from the late actor.
Going back to the news, I really feel sorry for the girls. At those ages, they should be looking forward to a very bright future. Think about the physiological effect of their experiences. Thanks to their mother!
Puberty can stink, so I thought when I was at those ages but this is worse. I pray for the girls well-being and to the mother, if she is fit to be called a mother, let just God punish her.
‘Ya Allah jauhkanlah kami dari sifat-sifat buruk dan yang Engkau murkai, amin’.
Come Sunday, 22 March 2009; yes, this weekend and it will be the much-anticipated Brunei sports meeting in the UK ever. The BruNotts Easter Games is back with more noises and fun and sweat where some 400 students are expected to take part in three sporting events and hundreds more will be supporting and volunteering for the games. Am sure that Nottingham will be abuzz with kurapak Brunei or Brunei lingo that day.
Brunei students teams from across the UK will compete this year for trophies in the fields of football, netball and badminton. Squash has been dropped due to lack of participants, according to BruNotts website. Also being competed will be the best banner where the winner will be awarded with a £50 cash.
BruNotts is the Bruneian Nottingham Society and has been holding the games for the past six years. This year the slogan for the games is ‘Here to win’. Here is their website with links to other Brunei students’ societies in the UK. Check them out.
Many stories have been told about Prophet Muhammad’s personal life (peace and blessings be upon him) especially on his many wives. The West may have been painting bad pictures about this either by saying that he was unfair, mis-treating women, denying women’s rights, etc as he practised polygamy.
I have always been fascinated with stories by how our prophet treated his wives but this particular story (yet to validated) on how romantic our prophet was, really touch me every time I remember the story.
Prophet Muhammad saw is the best example of a husband who practised polygamy. He was said to be fair and romantic to all his wives. It was said that one day all his wives gathered in front of him and he was asked which one among them was the one that he loved most.
Our prophet just smiled and said, “I will tell you all later.”
After the gathering, the prophet gave a ring to each wife with a note asking not to tell the others about the gift.
After the first gathering, the wives gathered again and asked the same question.
Prophet Muhammad replied that the one he loved most was the one he gave a ring to.
All his wives smiled to the answer as each thought that its only her that was loved most by the prophet and felt that she was not alienated.
Holding hands by Illuminations on Flickr
It was also said that there are a number of ways to create a romantic air between a husband and wife as practised by the prophet. One hadiths said that when a couple hold hands, sins of the both would come out from among their fingers.
Prophet Muhammad always held hands with Aisyah when he was home. He would trimmed the nails of his wives, showered together and would asked each wife to take turn to travel with him to strengthen the bond among them.
I hope by sharing these stories would help to deepen our love to our prophet and helps to make a relationship work. So grab and hold your spouse’s hands even when he or she is busy with house chores or do not wish to be disturbed. I am still learning…
“Ya Allah cantikkanlah akhlak ku seperti mana cantiknya akhlak Rasulullah SAW, tenangkanlah hati ku bagai tenangnya air di tasik, dan serikanlah wajahku bagai bercahayanya bulan purnama di hari berserinya wajah orang-orang beriman…” Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin
…………………..
Wallahualam
Today saw the opening of the fifth session for Brunei’s Legislative Council. I was tuning to the one o’clock radio news this afternoon to hear what’s new but as usual, disappointing news report. I wish to hear issues but none; guess I just have to wait for tonight’s Tv news or till tomorrow from the papers. A quick check on the LegCo’s website reveal the same disappointment. Its last news was 11 March 2008, a year ago.
Anyway, the Brunei Times highlighted on its front page today that security, agriculture and education likely to tops this year’s agenda, apart from the budget allocation. Interesting.
A year on since my last post on the meeting, there have been physical changes in terms of infra-structure around the country. Education too has seen changes especially with the introduction on the country’s new education system, the SPN 21 which I am confident will bring about changes in producing multi-talented students in the near future. Lets wait for five to six years from now on before we can judge if its successful or not. The education system will be fully implemented as from next year starting with Year One or Primary One.
Agriculture – the country’s aiming to triple its local production by next year so hopefully this will be achieved – weather permits. Isnit it? With the current weather condition, I pray for continuos blessings from above. I also wanted to know if the proposed high-tech Agro Technology Park in Rimba will be materialised this year. In my previous post exactly a year ago (what is this, a flashback?), I have written that the park will have its own Halal Science Centre, SME’s offices and complete with high quality landscape environment.
Security – always high on any country’s agenda. This is not just the askar (army) or police protecting the country but others such as the Narcotics Control Bureau. Yes, there are Bruneians involve in the international drug syndicate now. Shocking news to the peaceful Brunei it is.
More news reports on such arrests of drug-related activities reported the police just yesterday. The bureau also made fresh warning to the public that there might be a fox in sheep’s skin I may call, among us. Reports said that the international syndicate has asked locals to recruit friends and family members with promises of very handsome pay, luxuries and such. I don’t know how gullible people can be – falling for such things as promises and wealth.
Okay, with that sad note, I wish the LegCo members an interesting and maybe a ‘heated’ debate.
For background info on LegCo, read from Mr Daily Brunei Resources here. I also eagerly await his spot-on coverage of the session. Please ah Tuan Haji Rozan. Thanks.
How interesting to read that even the world’s richest have to bear the cost of the financial disaster. In the latest report from the Forbes.com on the world’s billionaires, it says that:
‘Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the World’s Billionaires, a 30% decline from a year ago.
It’s been a tough year for the richest people in the world. Last year there were 1,125 billionaires. This year there are just 793 people rich enough to make our list.
The world has become a wealth wasteland.
THE BILLIONAIRES
Read the full rank of world’s billionaire’s here.
Moshi! Moshi! When you think of Japan, what images come to your mind? Kimono? Sushi? Sakura? Mount Fuji? Ikebana? Ultraman? Or the geisha girls from Memoirs of a Geisha? For the next four days starting tomorrow, it will all be Big in Japan at UBD.
Japanese Pop Culture will be the theme for this year’s Japan Language & Culture Week, jointly organised by UBD and the Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam.
Wed, 11 March 2009
2.30pm – Opening ceremony with performances on Japanese Language, Yosakoi Dance, Modern Dance and Japanese pop songs
2.45pm – 5.00pm: Exhibition
4.00pm: Anime screening – Doraemon
8.00pm: Anime screening – Rorounikenshin
Thurs, 12 March 2009
10.00am – 5.00 pm: Exhibition
3.0pm – 4.00pm: Fashion show – Cosplay & Modern Fashion
8.00pm: Anime screening – Doraemon
Fri, 13 March 2009
10.00am – 5.00pm: Exhibition
2.00pm – 3.00pm: Origami Workshop
3.00pm – 4.00pm: Modern sushi making demonstration
4.00pm: Anime screening – Tonari no Totoro
8.00pm: Anime screening – Sky of Love
Sat, 14 March 2009
10.00am – 5.00pm: Exhibition
2.00pm – 4.00pm: Public lecture on Japanese Pop Culture by Koichi Wabuchi from Waseda University) and Kosaku Yoshina from Sophia University.
Admission is free and all events will be held at the Chancellor Hall of UBD at Jalan Tungku Link.
Sing-along the lyrics below to the tune of “You’re Beautiful” when you need something to cheer you up during workdays I am humming now…
My job is stupid,
My day’s a bore,
Inside this office,
From 8 to 4.
Nothing ever happens,
My life is pretty blank,
Pretending that I am working,
Pray I don’t get canned.
My cubicle, my cubicle,
It’s 1 of 62,
It’s my small space,
In a crowded place,
Just a six by six board booth,
And I hate it, that’s the truth.
When I give a sigh,
As the boss walks by,
No one ever talks to me,
Or looks me in the eye,
And I really should work,
But instead I just sit here,
And surf the internet.
And my cubicle, my cubicle,
It doesn’t have a view,
It’s my small space,
In a crowded place,
I sit inside there too,
And sometimes I sit here nude.
Ops!
Sigianto Setiawan of Indonesia, a four-time winner of the ASIAN Championship and three-time gold medalist in the SEA Games is expected to take part at the 1st ASEAN Mountain Biking Championship 2009 to be held at the Berakas Forest Recreational Park, from March 12-15, 2009.
According to a press release, the Brunei Darussalam Cycling Federation (BDCF) with the cooperation of the Youth and Sports Department, Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports, and the full support from the Brunei Tourism Development Department will be hosting the first ASEAN regional mountain biking competition.
The release says Brunei Darussalam was chosen by the ASEAN Cycling Association to host the event last year. Therefore, in preparation for the event, the BDCF will be organizing the Commissaries Course for members and those interested in marshalling for the championship. The course will be held from March 7-11, 2009 (excluding March 9) at the Kuliah Hall, Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium to begin at 8:30 am, where a short press conference for the 1st ASEAN Mountain Biking Championship will be held.
The championship is offering a total sum of about BND $6,000.00 in prize money and will be expecting a total of about 90 cyclists from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, and Brunei Darussalam who will be represented by 6 local mountain bikers.
Among the aims of organizing the event are:
- To promote Brunei Darussalam as a sports tourism destination
- To improve the local sports scene by organizing a prestigious mountain biking championship at the ASEAN regional level and hence further develop sports activities in general and to promote mountain biking mainly
- To help the local mountain bikers for their exposure and participation in future international competition
- To promote sports activities in Brunei Darussalam where Berakas Forest Recreational Park is one of the ‘Kenali Negara Kitani’ (KNK) sports activities destination for the general public.
The itinerary for the event are as follows:
March 12, 2009 – Arrival of international mountain bikers
Accommodation at the Games Village, Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex, Berakas
March 13, 2009 – Berakas Forest Recreational Park
09:00 hours – Opening Ceremony
- Seeding’s Downhill
- Afternoon practice session
March 14, 2009
09:00 hours – Final Downhill Competition
- Afternoon practice session
March 15, 2009
10:00 hours – Cross Country Elite / Open
15:00 hours – Prize giving and Closing Ceremony
For further information on the above event, please contact Irwan at 8893310.
Brunei Tourism Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources Jalan Menteri Besar Bandar Seri Begawan -
BB3910 BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Tel: +673 238 28 22
Fax: +673 238 28 24
Contact: Jeffrey Sunnylai – Public Relations Unit (Promotion Section)
Email: jeffrey@bruneitourism.travel
Website: http://www.bruneitourism.travel
Would you believe that? Savers are losers said Robert Kiyosaki of the ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ fame. What? All these ideas of savings that were planted in our heads since we were tiny tots are wrong? Well thats what I heard last week at a wealth talk held in Bandar.
Robert has been arguing that savings doesnt make more money. So what does? Simple – investment. Buy bonds, stocks, shares and unit trusts and the time is NOW. There has never been the right time but now. The global financial crisis which hit almost all parts of the world since last year has bring about a good side of it – the price of these investment is now so low. One financial expert said to me that this is the lowest in 80 years. Thats almost one’s lifetime.
A financial wealth planner from the BICB Capital (a subsidiary of BIA) also said that now is the time to buy shares, equity, bonds etc and dont just limit to one investment but to many. This is akin to the phrase - Dont put all your eggs in one basket.
So how does investment work? Say that you have a gran now and you don’t think you want to use the money now or in the near future. You can either, (a) save it and put all in your savings account; (b) give it to a fund manager and let him or her manage it for you to be invested or (c) put all under your pillow and sleep with it.
If you have chosen (a) you will earn maybe a few cents more in six months’ time but your money is save – hence savings, duh! If you have chosen (b) this is what happens. Your fund manager will invest your money by buying shares from a global trading equity fund company. Such global companies also have shares in different types of global businesses such as agriculture, food, health care, mining, energy and utility sectors, etc. So meaning to say, if one sector is not performing well, the rest of the sectors will continue to support your shares.
Now here is the tricky part. You may have seen the demographic charts or pie charts and shares talk on Tv or you may have seen these in the papers. Because I am an just an ordinary person in the street, I don’t want to look at how my shares are performing or it will drive me nuts to see that the shares are performing very well today but not the next day. So let your fund manager bear the anxiety and heart attacks on the performance and you agree to how long you want the manager to hold your money for.
As in any investment there are always risks. You may lose in a short term and you may also lose in the long term. Nope, I didn’t type that wrong but as mentioned earlier, since now is the best time to buy, the cost of shares are low and you sell them when they cost more. Buy when low, sell when high.
So what happens if you have chosen (c)? I don’t think people still put all their money under the pillows now, do they? They do? Tell me who.
The financial planner who shared his knowledge with me also showed me about retirement planning. He asked the following:
When do you plan to retire? Say, in 20 years time
How much do you think you will need every month to support your lifestyle when you retire? I say, Maybe $2,000 per month (we don’t know how much 2k is going to be worth in 20 years time, right?)
How long do you think you will retire? (That is before you …) I say, 20 years – God knows.
The planner calculated with these facts that I need a whooping $713,254.75 if I am to retire by 55 and if I am to maintain my $2,000 per month lifestyle afterwards.
So, here is the planning:
The financial goal is $713,254.75 and say that I only have 20 years to achieve that amount.
Yearly savings or investment required:
At 2% per annum (low risk) – I have to save $29,355.22 per annum
At 5% per annum (mid risk) – at $21,570.67
At 8% per annum (mid-high risk) – $15,586.19, or
At 10% per annum (high risk) – $12,453.16.
So in a nutshell, the earlier and the higher amount you save, the better it is if you are to achieve your retirement financial goal.
Warning – this post is for information only and is not to be taken as a financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial planner or adviser for further information. Most offer free financial consultation at no obligation here in Brunei. In other countries you will be charged for certain services including consultation.
25-year old Era will be the first Bruneian to reach the South Pole, insya Allah. All the best girl
Congratulations to Era! If all goes well, she will be the first Bruneian to reach the South Pole come New Year’s Day next year. I hope she will help to promote the environmental issues and climate change maybe, as she has promosed when she first entered to join the selection last year
Now that the eight members have been selected, the team lead by 31-year old Felicity Aston will first meet HM The Queen during the Commonwealth Day which falls on Monday, 9 March 2009 when Brunei and other Muslim countries celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Read the full release below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday 28th February 2009
Team selected for Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition.
The Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition Team Candidates (and Trainers). Pic from the expedition's website at http://www.commonwealthexpedition.com
Seven women from around the Commonwealth are one step closer to their
goal of skiing to the south pole following a gruelling selection
process in Norway. After enduring temperatures of minus 17 degrees C
and towing sledges full of logs, the seven from Brunei, Cyprus,
Ghana, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, and Singapore have been chosen to
form the Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition.
“I was ecstatic when I heard I’d be selected to go” said Stephanie
Solomonides, 26 from Cyprus who prior to this week had never camped
on snow before. “The most difficult challenge ahead will be training
once we return to our own countries. We’ll have to work hard to keep
motivated.”
First stop on the route to the pole will be a chance to meet Her
Majesty the Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, at a reception at
Malborough House, London. The expedition team will be presented to
the Queen as part of the Commonwealth Day celebrations, which this
year mark the 60th anniversary of the association.
“The fantastic group of women that took part this week have made
choosing the final 7 really difficult,” said expedition leader
Felicity Aston, 31. “They have not had it easy during our week on the
Hardangervidda, with early starts and long days of skiing in testing
weather conditions, so I know I’ve got a solid team for our journey
to the South Pole”
Aniza entering waypoints into her GPS. Pic from the expedition's website.
The expedition will be officially launched on the 10th March at the
Commonwealth Club, before setting off to Antarctica in November 2009.
Braving crevasses, blizzards and towing a 100kg sledges, the team aim
to reach to South Pole on New Years Day.
The full team selected are:
Felecity Aston, 31, Expedition Leader, from the UK
Najibah Era binti P.A.M. Al-Sufri, 25 from Brunei
Stephanie Solomonides, 26 from Cyprus
Barbara Yanny, 29 from Ghana
Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, 38 from India
Kim Marie Spance, 30, from Jamaica
Charmaine Tate, a 33 Army doctor from New Zealand
Sophia Pang, a 36 year old mother of three from Singapore.
The women from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first
person from their nation to ski to the South Pole. Those from India,
Singapore and New Zealand will be the first women from their country
to do so.
ends
All our prayers with you Era. Congratulations again!
To Aniza, you rock lady! Don’t be disheartened and all the best with your future undertakings.
I received an email from the US Embassy here on the The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and thought of sharing.
The report is an annual assessment of human rights conditions in hundreds of countries that is mandated by the U.S. Congress. This year, under the Obama administration, the report notes that the United States takes no offense at scrutiny of its human rights record nor should other governments consider the report interference in their “internal affairs.” The reports covers internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For Brunei, the 2008 report among others says:
Read the full report on Brunei from here.
…to my beloved country, Brunei Darussalam. May Brunei will always be blessed and protected by Allah subhanallahita’ala. Amin.
Here are some numbers that I gathered from the local media on this year’s National Day celebration:
Personnel at the National Stadium:
Tickets:
Goodie bags:
Mini flags:
Longest satay (to start at 13:00 hrs Brunei time today):
What a way to celebrate your National Day but an attempt to set world records. Come Monday 23rd February 2009, Brunei will try to set the longest grilled satay that day.
The Brunei Times reported in its front page today that the feat will attempt to break the previous holder, the Kopitiam Group of Companies who set the current world record of 140 meter of satay line during the Singapore Food Festival in 2007.
Another history in the making for Brunei to place the country in the world map, don’t forget to come and support the accomplishment by coming (and eat-out) at the Tarindak Restaurant at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club in Jerudong at 1.30pm.
Satay by Hendrian on Flickr
And why satay? Why not. Satay, as previously posted here in my blog, is one of Brunei’s, if not the region’s, cuisines. Its world-wide fame to tourists has been known for a number of years. How come you never heard of it?
I wonder how long it will take to grill more than 140-meter of satay as a half-a-meter satay will usuall take about half-an hour to grill. Maybe the chefs at the restaurant will start like, on the stroke of 12 midnight on that day. So maybe another feat to include is the shortest time to grill the longest satay in the world, yes?
Other events apart from watching the mouth-watering satay being grilled, according to the organiser, are the distribution of the free satay to orphans, the poor, ’selected people’ and the restaurant’s customers; certificates presentation to selected golden citizens to repay their one-year mortgage loans and Beach Carnival. Thanks also to the number of sponsors for the event.
Come bring your family, money and sun-block along!
Have you received one of those emails which asked you to add, multiply, divide or subtract numbers and the result will tell about who you are, your personality, preference, etc? Now try this one below sent by my brother. Its really interesting. Please be honest.
Try doing the maths below without looking at the answers. Please don’t look down until you do it, you’ll love it! I promise (says the sender, not me)
GET A CALCULATOR (YOUR COMPUTER HAS ONE ON IT)
With that final answer, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Einstein
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. Helen Keller
5. Bill Gates
6. Mahatma Gandhi
7. George Clooney
8. Thomas Edison
9. Me, myself & I.
I know. I just have that effect on people. One day you too can be great like me… Believe it!
P.S.: I am your idol, just deal with it!!!! TERIMA HAKIKAT SAJA )))
Hehe…perasaan. My brother got me too! He put his name on the 9th place and I changed it to ‘me, myself & I’. Kurang asam my brother atu. Try choosing all numbers between 1 to 9 and actually all will give ‘9′ as the final answer.
Five days left and counting down. Check on the Brunei’s National Day website.
All the latest news and updates including greetings there. The website is getting better and better with look over the years. Logos and themes from the first celebration in 1984 are there. They make me more patriotic.
Happy 25th National Day. May Allah always bless Brunei Darussalam. Amin.
This is one of my quickie dishes. Good for working mothers or those who like quickies for that matter, as its very simple and quick to prepare. I made this last night. Yesterday was a long day at work.
Ingredients (amount as desired):
Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Method:
Put all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and squeeze lime. Add seasoning and pepper. Put in the fridge and viola! Your tanghoon salad is ready.
You can garnish your tanghoon salad with parsely.
Brunei’s National Day celebration will be next week, Monday 23 February. Already the country is in the mood. What makes this year special is its the country’s silver jubilee anniversary.
Now I don’t know if this famous clock (pic below), located right in the heart of the capital, is really being dressed up or down for the celebration. What do you think?
'Fancy' checking the time hun? The clock in Bandar Seri Begawan, pic taken this morning.
Me? I think it look funny. Remind me of a jester hat or maybe that’s the idea behind this decoration. The person who design this decoration must have a good sense of humour.
A jester hat
Anyway its time to celebrate (and thankful) anyway, so why not.
Continued from my previous post.
Fishing right on your door-step.Fish farm...abundant fresh fish around
BBQ fish. Ikan Selongsong, sold at Br$10 per kilogram from the fish farm, ended on the BBQ stand.
My big brother throwing his fishing line into the open sea. The place was so peaceful. I love it.
This is the electricity line connected to the house we rented out. If you look closely there are a number of fishing lines hanging on it. I dont know what to call this act but my sister said it must be done by some fishing fans who did not look further up to check if its ok to throw their fishing line here.
Stay connected. My nephews just could not leave their world behind.
I dont know if my nieces here are really fishing or posing, maybe both. They both claimed the fishing trip was refreshing (I hope they meant instead of going to the shopping malls?)
Small fish go back to the sea. Come back when you are bigger please.
These are some pictures that I would like to share while on a day out at Kampong Sungai Bunga. Those who love fishing will certainly know this place. Its located by the mouth of Brunei Bay.
There are at least two fish farms near the house that my family rented out in Kampong Sungai Bunga. The farms are selling fresh fish and yes, at a very low price.
Kampong Sungai Bunga resettlement from a distance. Pic taken from a boat, the only way to reach the place. Look at the angle! I nearly fall from the boat taking this pic.
Seri Cermin Fuel Station - your usual fuel station but on water. Cermin is a name of a nearby island. See below.
The legendary Pulau Cermin or Cermin Island from a distance. There's a history behind this island.
My brother-in law and his 115 horsepower boat. Fishing is part of his life. He ferried us across to Sungai Bunga.
Our destination - the rented house. I only spent a few hours here but my family stayed over-night. Felt like we were living in the water village. It was so hot and very humid that day.
…. tbc.
Have you ever feel hungry in the middle of the night and not in the mood to cook? Join the club. Hubby and I were wide awake till late last night only to hear our stomach grumble.
Left-overs in the fridge? Nah. Instant noodle? Nah. An omelete? Nah – just ate scrambled eggs yesterday. Hubby suggested to check if there’s any eating outlet that open that late. It was already past one.
Driving along Jalan Tutong along the direction to Bandar, we noted one with people still hanging around its outer part. The place is called Nasi Katok Corner and its just across the Kilanas Primary School.
I remember that place moons ago and agreed that we should try it again. As expected they have ‘Nasi Katok’ which is not-surpsingly a popular order. As we got in, the place was filled with mostly young people with their flashy laptops. The place offer free wireless Internet access.
Is this in Brunei? Yes it is.
What surprised me was the interior design. I felt like I was not in Brunei but somewhere else. Just look at the picture. Look like a trendy cafe to me. Neon lights and bar stools, just so cool. I dont really expect to see a ‘Nasi Katok’ outlet like this.
And the food, I didn’t actually order Nasi Katok as I saw that they have ‘Soto’ so I ordered one. Just our luck, there was a nice cosy corner for two so we quickly took the seat.
Soto anyone? Fish and chips, Mee mamak and steaming hot fritters are also in demand.
Hubby said the Nasi Katok was not bad, well it cost only one Brunei dollars so nothing to complaint there. What made me put up the post here was the Soto. Unless the cashier made a mistake, hubby said he only paid less than five bucks for our meal which included drinks. He did make sure that was correct and the cashier saidyes, thats correct. Cheap ah.
Come and show your true colors. Sport a yellow, black white or red shirts and walk for a cause this Sunday morning at the National Stadium for Brunei's Polar Girls
News about Brunei’s ‘Polar Girls’ have spread in the recent weeks. Najibah and Aniza have been short listed for the final selection. I must say here that only one of them, yes one, not both, will be selected to represent Brunei for the South Pole expedition. Both will fly to Norway for the final selection. Read more from the expedition’s website.
I have previously put up a post when the news of the invitation was made to Bruneians in July last year.
Senor Pablo have put up a post calling all Bruneians to show support for this history in the making at a charity walk for our Polar Girls. It will be this Sunday, 15 Febraury at the National Stadium in Berakas, starting as early as six in the morning till 1 pm.
Whover will get to present Brunei for the expedition, I wish her all the best. All Bruneians will be proud of you.
I was shock to read The Brunei Times this morning to learn that a second Bruneian, this time a female, was apprehended abroad for drug trafficking. The 26-year-old was caught in Shanghai, China in January 11 this year for possessing an undisclosed amount of heroin in her suitcase says the paper.
The paper published the story on its front page and says that the woman admitted that she was tricked by a male of African nationality, whom she had met on the Internet a month ago.
The first Bruneian was a male, also aged 26 when he was caught, apprehended almost a year ago (27 February 2008 ) in Santiago, Chile for attempting to smuggle 5.73kg of cocaine in his suitcase. Read his news here, which was only reported in September 2008. Brunei Times say that both cases are still in waiting, as the respective Brunei embassies have not yet relayed new information back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Now how come people can be so blind? Promises that are too good to be true ain’t no good baby. Would you believe that say, you only have secondary education background but you can earn a six-digit income within a month? I am not downgrading those with such educational level couldn’t earn that much but if the work doesn’t make sense would you take it?
Drug-trafficking main route. Now how did a Bruneian end up in one of the routes?
I assume that these traffickers lure the victims with very good prospect of good money and in cash. In many cases, the victims’ journey and expenses are all paid for and all they have to do is just carry the ‘item’ from one location to another. Sound simple but very risky and not a very good investment at that. You are risking your life just for the short pleasures.
I imagine that these reckless couriers would only think of the money they will be getting but never thought of the consequences. Imagine being in a position with heaps of cash in your hand and you don’t really have to work very hard, just carry the ‘item’.
Imagine that person being caught, what would be the first thing that comes to their minds? Their parents? Their families? Their own life – spending behind bars in a foreign land with unfamiliar faces and cultures? Brunei? A place that they call home?
And what about their family back home? Have they thought of their parents and relatives? Have they really thought of the disharmony among the family as a result of this stupid act? Have they really thought of all these before they embark on their journey just to carry the ‘item’?
If you are in their shoes, what would you think? Or do you think you have time to think now that its too late?
Bruneians are invited to speak their minds on the current global economic crisis. Go and debate about the crisis in the various channels listed below and the best debate got to be featured in the London Summit official website.
This feature article on the London Summit from the British High Commission website tells more on how to express your ideas. It says that ‘The vision for managing the world’s economy in the global age has to be global too. If you have never taken something like this before, now is your chance.’
How to join in the debate:
Go on and debate! Bruneians bulieehh kali ah. Madam Rogue Economist?
How timely… an email on motivation from my dearest friend at BEDB. Muchas gracias dear.
MOTIVATION
When someone tells you that you can't do something, look around.
Consider all options
Then go for it!
Use all the things that God gave you...be creative!
In the end you will succeed and prove them wrong.
Syhhh! The clueless inspector is up and about. Now showing at cinemas and soon to-be-sold at pirated DVD shops near you.
The Pink Panther 2 stars Steve Martin as the ever clueless inspector in this 2006 sequel of the same name. In the first movie, France’s beloved diamond, the Pink Panther was stolen and Inspector Closeau was assigned to solve the mystery and the death of its owner, French national football coach, Ives Gluant.
This second movie also involve Closeau but working with the ‘Dream Team’ of international investigators on the disappearance of several priceless items from several countries. The team has to find out who ‘Tornado’ is who left behind his or her card behind after the theft.
The Pink Panther is a family movie. We have the original DVD and have watched it for the umpth times that we can memorize each and every script. Its so funny and watching the second movie last night also brought tears to our eyes.
One has to see the first movie to relate it to this second one. For example, in the second movie, Closeau wore his Medal of Honour (even while on duty). In the first one, he was awarded the France’s highest medal for solving the Pink Panther diamond case.
One of the funny scenes was when Closeau was out having dinner with Nicole, his assistant in a restaurant in Rome. He asked the waiter to remember his face after giving tip so he can pick his own drink.
The bottles fall down one by one and he caught them and just threw them behind. Bottles were flying around. At the end of the scene, he hit a passing waiter who was carrying a flaming dish that he sat the restaurant on fire.
Go and watch it. There are so many funny scenes that I just have to stop typing as I laugh everytime I remember the movie. Guess I will be back to watch it again. I hope the cinema guys wont remember my face.
The sun at 9ish this morning. It was already hot and sticky.
At least up to noon now as I type. Alhamdullilah. The Malays have this saying, ‘Ku kira panas hingga kepetang rupanya hujan ditengahari’ which translates to ‘I thought it would be sunny till late but it rain at noon’. This saying means a hopeless wait, in a nutshell. (Now why are Malay sayings so long and the meanings are short?)
Anyway, I hope it will be a sunny Sunday today. I have never miss the sun this much since my student days in the UK. My baby has this song about the sun, thanks to Barney.
Look at my shadow! The weatherman said its a fine day today but cloudy with isolated showers in the afternoon.
Mr Sun
Sun
Mr golden sun
Please shine down on me
Oh Mr Sun
Sun
Mr golden sun
Hiding behind that tree
These little children are asking you
To please come out and play with you…
Aww….
Notice from the National Disaster Management Centre:
Heavy rain is expected from tomorrow (could be as from now as there’s a heavy rain already) until Saturday, 7 February 2009. Water level will be between 2.1 to 2.4 meters. Beware of flash floods and landslides.
Source: Metreological Centre and Marine Department.
Doa ketika hujan lebat:
Ya Allah! Curahkanlah yang bermanafaat (dibaca sebanyak dua kali)
Doa mendengar guruh:
Saya akui kesucian Tuhan yang guruh ini mengucapkan tasbih untukNya
Doa ketika melihat langit:
Wahai Tuhan kami, tiadalah Engkau menjadikan ini dengan percuma. Saya akui kesucianMu maka peliharalah kami dari azab api neraka.
Be very careful and vigilance please. Check where your children are. If you are living in a low-laying area or flood-prone places, get ready!
During His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei’s recent visit to the Philippines, news was that His Majesty has funded a mosque, said to be the biggest in the Philippines. Here are the details I got from here and there:
With its shimmering gold-plated domes and tall, slender minarets reaching up to the sky, the mosque symbolizes the very best expression of the Muslim faith in the country and the aspirations of a long-neglected region, said the designer, architect Felino Palafox Jr. The grand feature of the masjid is the four minarets (towers) rising 40 meters high, the equivalent of a 15-story building.
According to Palafox, the mosque’s architect, the design incorporates elements of Filipino, Asian and Islamic traditions. The designers also took into consideration such requirements of Muslim worship as the structures needing to be oriented toward Mecca, the Muslims’ holiest city in Saudi Arabia, and provisions for an indoor and outdoor prayer hall.
Alhamdullilah. Semoga rezeki Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik bertambah-tambah. Amin.
Now, my sister just emailed me saying that she has also posted another wakaf or endowment in the form of mosque from His Majesty. This time the location is in Danau Tok Ubin in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Malaysia and was named as Masjid Brunei Darussalam.
The mosque, according to her was built in 1992 (where was I?) “It was officially opened by the Sultan of Kelantan and Brunei Darussalam masjid was built in 1992 along with a religious college (the masjid is within a Quran learning college yard) in the name of the late Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin,” she posted.
Here are two pictures from her blog, » §āMmăM «. Nice sis. More from her blog here.
View across the lake. So serene. Pic by sammam-images.blogspot
The jawi script there says 'Masjid Brunei Darussalam'. Pic by sammam-images.blogspot
Weeks ago, His Majesty also called Bruneians to donate a part of their salaries to fund a project to build a mosque. I agree, as long as one is sincere. I hope those who dont work with the Brunei Government, like yours truly, will be able to donate in this project.
Sale @ Orchid Garden, today & tomorrow
Okay I am not posting this because I am a female homo sapien. Thats so sexist. This blog is about lifestyle after all. [Defensive mode - on]
I have been sent this poster on the left via email. The sender is one La Maison who is presenting sale on handbags and men’s accessories it says there, at the Orchid Garden Hotel in Berakas – next to the national stadium.
The poster says ‘New arrivals’ but the products are already on sale. Its on for two days starting today and prices are guaranteed to be below $130, said the poster.
I dont know about other ladies (or men who love ladies’ handbags) but I think that bags should be practical with lots of pockets and compartments to place everything basically. I need to put my handphone, my car keys, house key, vanity bag, my purse, pen & small notebook (in case my handphone die on me) and yes, even the foldable scissors, safety pin… My handbag weighs a tonne!
Brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes Birkin and Chanel will be seen ruling the designer handbag styles for 2009.
Design is another matter, some have very good designs but are not practical. And most don’t come cheap either. LV, Prada, CD and Channel are on some people’s wish list.
Then there’s also the seasonal part where designers showcases their latest products according to the season. But in Brunei? Well, we only have the sun and rain, more rain now, so floral autumn, hot summer, amber spring or whiter winter doesnt matter at all, right?
No! I heard that lady who has endless handbags, shouting from one corner. So every new season, this lady would have the latest. At least four bags a year? Yes if you can afford. For some, bags are a luxury and not a neccessity. Some would say that they deserve to have expensive bags because they work hard so they buy hard too. I dont blame them, its their money, not mine.
This chicstores site says for 2009, bags will be bigger - the bigger, the better trend. ‘The stress will be on bigger and functional designer bags that carry personal belongings at ease’. Right! Nice!
I get nervous myself with public examinations results even if I am not taking any. I don’t know, maybe its déjà vu – had nightmares when ever I waited for any type of results, be it academic, previous job interviews and even health-checks.
Rumors that the O and A levels results are out, have been spinning around these past few days. Usually it’s the end of January (which is like, tomorrow) or early February (next week!).
I suspect that the results will be out this Saturday afternoon. Just like PSR, the Year Six public exam. Can’t recall for PMB, was it on a Saturday too guys? To those who took the exams, have you registered to receive your results via sms?
Ranoadidias concluded that he would not be ‘Robin Hood’ this time to upload exam results in his site as he said its unfair. I think he could meant that its unfair to this ‘SMS’ business or unfair to other candidates or parents whose children took the public exams. The result cost Br$3 per sms.
Your future? Education will not guarantee you a job but a future.
Anyway, this time I wont be talking about moral values. What I am going to talk next is your future or to be precise, next week. Next week as from Monday, 2 Feb and for three straight days, there will be three education exhibitions to study in the UK. Yes three! (3-in-1?)
British Council’s website here says these, if I may quote:
This exhibition will be held in February 2009 rather than coinciding with the Malaysia exhibition in March 2009. This is due to the following reasons:
The Malaysia exhibition is scheduled towards the end of March 2009, when the Brunei school break will take place.
The release of A-level examination results in Brunei is at the end of January.
The Brunei Ministry of Education scholarship submission deadline is two weeks after the A-level results are released. Many Bruneian students studying overseas are sponsored by the Government through various scholarship schemes; therefore, it is important to target those potential scholarship applicants.
I know choosing which course suits you can be daunting and confusing. I hope visitors to any of the fairs above will find more answers than questions in their heads when they leave the fair. Just be prepared; know what you want and know what questions to ask to the exhibitors. Look also for ‘marketable’ courses like those IT-related subjects. Dont apply for a place just because your friend applies there too. Also, you may bring your parents for moral support. Just dont let them choose the course or place for you. You should know what you want, not what they want. Hope I dont get shot by parents for posting this but I know the feeling. I have been there…
All the best with your exam results and your future! All my best prayers are for you all.
Last weekend while a night at the ‘Idyllic Kampong Sungai Bunga,’ I found out a row of brand new chalets along the banks of the Brunei River, near the mouth of Brunei Bay.
No simpang sign to be seen but just look for these HT Enterprise signboards or look for that crab icon. Easy-pitzy.
The address is Simpang 912, Jalan Kota Batu but please bear in mind that the ‘Simpang’ post was no where to be found.
Luckily there are signboards which says something like ‘HT Enterprise Kawasan Ternakan Ketam …’ or it’s a crab-rearing area.
It’s about five kilometres from the Brunei Museums and its on your right if you are coming from Bandar.
Pic taken from my wind-screen to show the size of the road. Yes its a single road. The building with the blue roof is HT Enterprise's office.
The road leading to the chalets is just like a dirt road so I hope it will be improved sooner than later if the chalets are to be open for business.
Another thing is the road is a single lane so only one car can past through in one direction at a time.
Not a good welcome sign huh, so owners please improve the road access.
Nothing but blue skies await you. There's a jetty on your right.
Your not-so-good road experience will melt away as soon as you arrive at the chalets.
There’s one area which look like a reception to me as it has a high-rise counter with a marble-look finish top.
The chalets are to the left with walkways connecting one chalet to another.
The rooms are just like hotel rooms, the two closest rooms I found out were for a single and double rooms.
Yes I know. The light at the end of the tunnel was switched on. The covered walkway.To your right - one of the chalets.
To your left - mangrove forest. Brunei's mangrove forest is among the best in the world. You are close to mother nature now.
A single room. Yes, they are all fully-air-conditioned.
Dressing area and more wrapped furniture around.
Chairs still wrapped in plastic, waiting to be, err, seated?
There was also this big airy, building shaped like an octagon which I assume would be a restaurant as there were chairs and tables, still wrapped in plastic. The centre room was locked and the glass was tainted black so I could not see what’s inside. I imagine this would be for the air-conditioned part of the restaurant.
View from the chalet. The small island on the left is the legendary Pulau Chermin. The settlement across is the Sungai Bunga Resettlement Area.
View from the river. Remind me of the Kampong Ayer or the water village in a modern way.
The unofficial info that I got was that the chalets are own by the same HT Enterprise which rears crab and fish commercially and is also in construction business. In fact its head-office is at the very Simpang 912.
I also heard that the opening will be in March, so that’s about a month away. No wonder there were workers trying to do a finishing touch when I was there.
I hope the pictures tell more of the story, after all a picture tells a thousand words (and am a bit tired of typing today). I will post about the family’s Kampong Sungai Bunga outing next.
By the way, BD3317 is the post code for Kampong Sungai Bunga.
Take the humorous side from events. The notice below received via email over the weekend is like an antidote to last week’s flooding.
Don’t be complacent, be ready just in case. I am yet to hear from the National Disaster Management Centre on what the public should do in the event of natural disaster or at least before it happen. Shouldn’t Brunei need a warning sign by now?
No light at the end of the tunnel by Tryann at Flickr
Attention!
Due to the current global economic crisis and unpredictable weather conditions, the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off.
We apologized for any inconvenience caused.
The weather station said more showers and thunderstorms are expected until the end of this month. So, sediakan tah payung sebelum hujan, literally. (A Malay proverb meaning to get ready in any events).
Around Jalan Kebangsaan at 6ish pm
Near Mabohai around sunset. Notice the dark clouds.
Now this is scary. Around Beribi round-about. When I showed this picture to my non-Muslim colleague, he said in Malay 'Alum lagi kiamat ah' or 'Its not the end of the world yet.'
Ya Allah, selamatkan kami dan selamatkan Brunei Darussalam, amin.
I like mandarins and tangerines so I like this advert from TelBru. There’s nothing wrong in grabbing opportunity like this during festivals. Good for business = good for the economy. Yes?
Mine is the stabilizing force
That perpetuates the cycles of life
I stand immobile
against the Test of adversity
Resolute and unimpeachable
I seek to serve integrity,
To bear the burdens of righteousness
I abide by the laws of nature
- Patiently pushing the wheel of Fate.
Thus, I shall weave my destiny.
I am the Ox.
If you were born in one of the following years, the Chinese say that you were born during the “Year of the Ox:”
- 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Year of the Ox 2009 by Aarron at Flickr
It is really interesting to know that the Chinese New year or the Lunar Year (as it is based on the moon, just like the Islamic calendar) dates from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the Chinese zodiac.
Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. Can you believe that as from 26 January 2009, it is equivalent to the Lunar Year 4707? Now I feel young, so very young.
Apart from the recent calamity which affected most parts of Brunei, I can feel the festive spirit this morning as most parts of the main commercial areas are back in business. Even the sun is shining, alhamdullilah. Rows of cars lining Kiulap and Gadong this morning and the Tamu in Bandar is as busy as ever. Did you know that there are some livestock (though no ox to be seen) being sold at the Tamu too? I assume that those ducks bought are for the New Year Family Dinner. Cant wait for a family dinner.
As I thought of the Chinese New Year and the recent natural disaster, an article appears in the Malay paper, the Media Permata today on astrology. Just for info, the paper always carry articles under its ‘Rohani’ or spiritual page but today I thought of sharing the article here today.
The title was an attention-grabber I would say in my word: Astrologi dan pengaruh syaitan (Astrology and the influence of the Devils). Scarry huh? But why should we be scarred right?
Anyway, it started by saying how from the earliest time of mankind until now, predictions from the stars have great followers across the globe. Some may use the predictions for entertainment or fun and there are those who believe them or those who don’t, at all.
The article said that this is human nature, wanting to know what our future holds and our intuitive mind will work. In the past, people believed that the stars and the heavenly bodies were actually gods and goddesses who have great influence towards the earth and its entire content.
Sihir or magic comes from the Arabic word of sahar which means the moment when it’s the last part of the night and the break of dawn. With this sihir, one would hallucinate, seeing things and such but its actually not happening.
Magic and such have been described many times in the holy Quran especially during the time of the Pharaoh or Firaun. Narrated by Abu Daud and Ibnu Majah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has also mentioned that astrology is part of sihir.
There was also a story that one of his sons, Ibrahim, died during a solar eclipse and words were out that the eclipse occurred because of the death. Prophet Muhammad said that the sun and the moon are among the signs of Allah greatness and eclipses are not related to birth or death. Prophet Muhammad has also reminded us not to curse time or saying that this day is bad or the other day is good.
I think this belief still exist among the Malays where people would seek a ‘good’ day to hold an event in particular weddings. I remember someone gave me a guide to good days. Days are divided into four according to the Muslim month. So the first four days correspond to the first to fourth day and the fifth day and the next three days correspond back to 1, 2, 3 and 4 and so on. The good days are 2 and 4; so when picking a date just calculate the days. Got it? I hope so. Anyway, I don’t believe in this ‘good days’ guide.
So, where’s the devil’s influence in magic you asked? The article was very long and translating it to English took me some time as I read and do the translation at the same time. At last, the last part of the article says where is the devil’s role in magic. It says the devils have an out-standing intelligence to deceit humans where they taught human on astrology and predictions. This is stated in the Surah Al-Baqarah: 102.
It says earlier sihir was taught to two angels by the name of Harut and Marut as a test on what have been taught to them however the devil also learnt about sihir. Fast forward during the time of Prophet Sulaiman, sihir was banned and all books about the subject were said to be buried when the prophet died. Upon being freed after the death of the prophet, the devil found the books and taught sihir to humans.
That was very long but anyway it was a good and interesting read. I hope we learn something today. Have a good Friday everyone.
In what might be the worst flooding ever recorded in Brunei, the Tuesday’s rain has claimed two lives. Yes two. It might be small to other countries but in Brunei even one death is already a big news to us. Brunei is a small country with a small population and so we are like a close-knit family.
The first death was that of a 46-year-old woman who was trapped under the debris of mud and concrete as her house at Kampong Madang in Berakas was affected by a landslide. The news report said that she was fast asleep in her bedroom when other occupants in her house heard a loud bang from the woman’s bedroom which was located at the back of the house. The occupants tried to pull her out of the room but failed. Police report said that this occurred at around 10.45pm on Tuesday night.
Two hours later, a 19-year-old woman was trapped in a drain when she was on her way home. The reports said that the woman and her father were trapped in their car as they tried to reach their home at Kampong Katok in Gadong. The woman insisted to walk home which was only about 600 meters from where they were trapped. The father was trying to stop her as the current was very strong and the water was rising very fast. The father said her daughter slipped to a drain and he tried to pull her out with the help of passers-by. They failed as the woman’s pants got caught to the grill and the current was strong that she drowned.
My condolences to the two families. Semoga roh almarhum dicucuri rahmat, amin.
Flashflood and landslides everywhere! After staying-up to watch the historic inauguration of the new US President, I was awaken very early this morning to the sound of strong wind and heavy rain. When we all left the house there were traffic jams everywhere. Not in the mood to join the ‘jam party’, I turned to the highway though I knew that it would be a longer route to reach Bandar.
Traffic lights were not working here and there which resulted in more traffic jam. Along the way, I counted more than twenty cars were having problems with their engines. One car was abandoned and it looks like it has hit a road barrier.
I would like to thank Kristal FM and DJ Tini for keeping her listeners inform on the road update. I know the sources came from the listeners themselves which I also salute. DJ Tini said there were accidents and that students from Sekolah Menengah Saidina Hasan in Kilanas have been asked to go home today due to the flooding. The school must be in a bad situation, muddy and wet I imagine.
I think its high time for the authority to set up a ‘live’ traffic report especially during the current wet spell and air them over all radio channels in every half an hour or so. Or why not make use of the Internet – after all Bruneians are IT-savvy lots. Video reports live through the handphones to your hands.
MSN weather forecast for Brunei today:
Current conditions (as of 9:30 AM) Today’s forecast:
High: 28ºC
Low: 23ºC
Weather: Fair
Wind: 11 km/hour
From Brudirect
I heard over the news the other day quoting from our local Meteorological Section saying that we are currently experiencing the effect of La Niña until the end of the month. Remember ‘her’?
Translated, La Niña means, “The Little Girl” , but sometimes she is called “El Viejo”, “anti-El Niño”, or even just “a cold event”. La Niña is characterized by cooling of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and stronger than usual trade winds. It occurs almost as often as El Niño and also affects the normal weather patterns in some parts of the world, such as higher than normal rainfall in Southeast Asia.
“In the last few days, we saw a cold air outbreak’ from continental Asia, notably China and Siberia, which affected the Sultanate which is currently experiencing a north-east monsoon” says this report.
More thunderstorms expected until the end of this week says the weather forecast (wallahu’alam), so brace yourself with wetter Brunei. Hold on to your umbrellas or raincoats.
Bruneians will be able to witness a partial eclipse of the sun this Monday, 26 Jan ‘09 (yes, Chinese New Year). A news report today says that the astronomical event starts from 4.42 pm (Brunei time – Brunei is 8 hours ahead of GMT) and finishes until sunset at 6.30pm that day. At the height of the eclipse which is expected to be at 5.54 pm; 84 percent of the sun will be covered by the moon.
Public has been advised not to look directly to the sun during solar eclipses but to use sun-protective filter or a projector with telescope. I know in the past I have been using old x-ray films.The Brunei Darussalam Astronomical Society with the help from the Survey Department said that they will be at the Yayasan Kompleks in the capital as from 4pm until sunset that day. So go and get yourself ready with old x-ray films or 3D-glasses.
The next solar eclipse in Brunei will be experienced on Wednesday, 22 July this year at 10.37am and it’s a total eclipse, according to the society’s site.
Show your support to protect the Earth by clicking the link to the petition below:
From the site:
The world leaders would be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark for the COP 15 to discuss the successor of the Kyoto Protocol (which expires in 2012). This petition will urge them to consider including the role of developing nations when drafting out the details of this new treaty.
Join this group to be a part of this petition to the UN to make clean industries a prerequisite for non-emergency ODA (official development assistance) rendered to LEDCs (less economically developed countries) by MEDCs (more economically developed countries) in an effort to combat Climate Change.
What a strong message it was, made by HM last week on the zakat: “… Why does Brunei have a surplus of BND200 million of zakat? … Only if we can say that Brunei is poverty-free even for a day…” By weekend, hundreds went to the MRA (Ministry of Religious Affairs) and later to the nearby Indoor Stadium to get ‘ a slice’ of the zakat. Read the news here.
Somehow I managed to grab a copy of the suddenly sought-after zakat application form from my brother who got it from, oh, it’s complicated – from someone who also got it from someone and so on. The form comes with a warning. Before filling in the form, the front page made it clear on the definitions of those who have the right to receive the zakat. It says (in Malay) the definition of a:
Fakir - Seorang Islam yang papa tidak mempunyai apa-apa pencarian atau harta atau orang yang tidak boleh mengadakan setengah daripada keperluan untuk nafkahnya dan nafkah orang-orang yang wajib ditanggunya. (A Muslim who has no source of income or wealth or those who are unable to fulfil half of the needs for him/herself and those of their dependants).
Miskin – Orang Islam yang sungguh pun mempunyai sedikit harta atau apa-apa pencarian tetapi cuma dapat mengadakan lebih daripada separuh keperluan nafkahnya dan nafkah orang yang wajib ditanggungnya. (A Muslim who, though has a bit of wealth or source of income but could only manage to contribute for more than half of his/ her own need and their dependants).
So applicants have to ensure that they are considered as a poor or it will be a sin for them to receive zakat when they know that they are not entitle to receive it. The MRA said that in 2007, about 4% of the Brunei’s population were classified poor.
Suddenly the topic on zakat became The Talk over the weekend. Everyone who has debts wanted to apply for the zakat. When I read the news report yesterday, I couldn’t believe that some of those who thronged the stadium for the zakat, came in style, droving in expensive cars. Anyway, there was no zakat but just the forms.
Stories then surfaced that some who have applied earlier are really poor and were turned down by the authority. A village head should authorised in the first instance, as applicant should write in to the Islamic Religious Council through their respective head of village but there are cases that the village head does not approve on the application. Such cases should be investigated.
Some said that what if the Government can just give a certain amount from the zakat to those Muslims who are in debts, mostly from personal loans I assume. In this way, the zero poverty level can be achieved. Not sure about this myself if this is possible.
There were more than $6 billion in loans as of March 2008, according to statistics released by Ministry of Finance. Earlier reports indicate that non-performing loans have increased from $573 million in December 2007 to $595 million as of March 2008. These are loans all put together and not just personal loans or mortgage loans so the numbers will be smaller.
If its possible, yes, why not but if those whose loans have been repaid but do owe up loans later will have to settle themselves. Right?
Love sailing by gardawind from Flickr
Brunei is blessed with the sun and nature. The monsoon winds of Borneo have always provided ideal sailing conditions. For most Bruneians, sailing has always been an activity for the expatriates or ‘expat’ as they are called locally. The only sailing club in Brunei, the Brunei Yatch Club has been around since 1952 with memberships of around 600, says its website here.
The yatch club says that it offer basic sailing training. ‘Six to eight consecutive Saturday afternoons or a full weekend are generally required to complete basic training. There is no charge for sailing instruction, but there is usually a waiting list. The Novice Plate is contested each year with entry restricted to those who have learnt to helm within that year.
Sunday sailing…… for the more experienced, with rules of sailing strictly applied. Regular regattas and races are hosted and contested, involving neighbouring clubs in the Borneo region.
Oppy sailing……aimed at children aged 8 to 15. This takes place on Friday afternoons from 1.30 to approximately 4.00pm and is aimed at beginners. Rigging and sailing techniques are taught by experienced adult sailors.
Cost per month, per child, is BND$10 and the Club provides all boats. Young sailors regularly participate in sailing competitions in the region.’
A new local company providing sailing service call Dream Charter is offering it’s Chinese New Year promotion now. Details below:
Date: 23rd – 26th Jan 09
Time: 15:00 – 20:00
Package:
BND$80 per person
Pickup Point: Sungai Bunga Jetty, Jalan Kota Batu, (opposite Simpang 983) @ car park.
Booking @ DREAM CHARTER, Brunei Darussalam
Call: +(673)8722347 or +(673)7119744
Email: dreamcharter@gmail.com
Sail away…
Someone asked me about tips on buying moisturisers and I hope the article below from the Metro Lifestyle, UK helps. If anyone is was-wis or unsure about the halalness, skip to Saaf Pure Skincare which has been branded halal. Yes, they take halal brand seriously there in the UK.
Personally I think the best bet is to try before you buy and that’s why there are trial or introductory packs. You may never know if your skin is allergic to certain ingredients in a skin care so the miniature size are really handy. It will also save you $$$.
If you want to order the products, please email me. (aisyeh, e-biz tia jua). Better buy in pounds sterling now as the currency value is going down. £1 = BND2.19 (approximately – for January 2009 foreign exchange rate.)
Now read on:
The cream of the crop of moisturizers
Try before you buy: What better way to discover a new skincare routine for 2009 than the current crop of tantalising ‘try-me’-size sets? Mini doses of luxurious complexion creams are a budget friendly way to discover what’s right for you.
Crystal Clear Skincare Intro Pack: Crystal Clear has a huge celebrity following, mainly for its hero product Crystal Clear Polish, which whips away old skin cells to leave the complexion gleaming. This compact cube contains a mini pot of the polish plus an anti-ageing cleanser, an illuminating serum for brighter-looking skin and an intensive anti-ageing serum to lift and firm. It’s a fabulous set for a rejuvenating home facial.
Nude Selection Box: This pick of mini-sized Nude best-sellers includes the Miracle Mask, Cleansing Facial Oil, Advanced Smoothing Complex, Advanced Eye Complex and Age Defence Moisturiser, with each 5ml tube containing enough to last several days. The brainchild of Ali Hewson (Bono’s wife), this range is the current darling of beauty editors.
Saaf Pure Skincare Introduction Pack: Organic and halal brand Saaf makes one of the best cleansing balms around. This try-me travel set contains said cleanser, along with Ultimate Moisture Serum, anti-ageing Complexion Serum and Face Balm for very dry areas. Also included are hair oil, foot balm and body oil, making this extremely good value.
As reported in the local dailies today, the Football Federation of Brunei Darussalam held their first ever annual general meeting last night. Dato Hamid, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry & Primary Resources has been elected as the President after obtaining 14 votes for the seat. The new President said after his election that he would try to do much more for football in Brunei with his experience in football and management. 60 football club members attended the four-hour long meeting. American Idol would be much less in their minds last night thinking on the big tasks that lay ahead of them.
The line-up for the 2009/ 2011 session:
President – Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid bin Hj Jaafar
Vice-President – Haji Salleh Bustaman bin Hj Zainal Abidin
General-Secretary – Sheikh Noordin bin Sheikh Mohammad
Deputy General-Secretary – Lt Col Dr Bahrin bin Hj Bintang
Treasurer – Pg Haji Adanan PSI Pg Hj Ismail
Deputy Treasurer – Mohd Azam DSLJ Hj Mohd Salleh
Registrar – Hj Mohd Yunos bin Hj Mohd Yusof
Tournament Secretary – Hj Mohd Rosanan bin Samak
Ordinary members:
Hj Murni Hj Muhammad
Hj Suhaimi Hj Majid
Liew Chuan Fue
Hj Ahmad Hj Hussin
Mohammad Hj Tunjang
Abd Morad Hj Abd Rani
I remember reading a news article last year saying that Fifa, the world’s football body has given a subsidy to the now-defunct Bafa USD400,000 to build Bafa’s headquarters. Read this news from the Brunei Times.
Wonder what’s happening to the funding now? I hope Mr President, Dato that is, not Obama, would be able to enlighten football fans in Brunei on this matter shortly.
All the best to the new committee-members and lets see some actions this year please.
Did you watch American Idol last night? Two hours of, shall I say, ’same old Idol’ except of course with the new addition of Kara DioGuardi, the other female judge.
I was hoping she would be injecting some new element in judging but I think instantly, she has became as ‘one of the three other judges’ – grumpy-Mr-No Simon, tearful Paula and err, randy Randy. At one stage I though she was trying to hard to show that she’s a serious one; but give her a break and let’s see in the next few weeks.
Anyway, yes, two hours of weirdoes, wannabes and babes singing or trying to sing their hearts out. Why are some people trying to make shame of themselves I wonder. However, throughout the show I can’t help thinking to myself how determine people are to reach the top, to achieve their dreams (whatever these are) and to do anything, anything at all.
One contestant wore a bikini hence a nickname for her the ‘Bikini Girl’. She got the golden ticket, made it to the next level, not because of her almost-there-clothes but Simon said, ‘Beautiful.’ I hope he meant her voice not her body.
The season opener pulled in 30 million viewers, the lowest for an Idol premiere since 2004. I am not surprised as its now in it’s eight season, people are getting bored. I am already bored with the Malaysian version, Akademi Fantasia, AF.
Now Astro was quick to grab opportunities – while grabbing my keropok udang during the commercial break last night, Astro announced AF’s next season’s auditions throughout Malaysia. How ‘timely’.
The fate of Brunei’s football governing body will be known tomorrow. Maybe it will also see the fate for Brunei football players in action at regional and international levels. Maybe, the football team from the Sports School will have to re-think of their fate too. Maybe there will never be any ‘Ikan Pusu’ project. Maybe Bruneians will just play footbal for fun at school grounds or their backyards. Maybe we will never see our own ‘David Beckham’ or ‘Ronaldo’ or even ‘Pele’. Maybe. One thing for sure is that there will never be ladies playing football in Brunei, thats for sure. Okay that’s another story.
A meeting to elect the administrative council for the recently-formed Football Federation of Brunei Darussalam (FFBD) will be held tomorrow evening at the National Stadium. Registered football associations and clubs have the right to elect the council members.
As reported in the local papers today, the Asian Football Association, AFC did not recognised FFBD as the new football governing body in Brunei. Read from Brunei Times here. A press release from the AFC’s website here says that it will only recognise one football association in Brunei in which the office-bearers were elected via the body’s Congress.
As most are aware of, FFBD was set up by football fans following the de-registration of the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam, Bafa last November. It was a shock to many, the de-registration I mean, not the registration. Bafa simply failed to report its annual general meeting to the Registrar of Societies, says Brunei Times. What really happened was unexplained but its too late now as BAFA has been strike off the registered list. Now come FFBD to the rescue who quickly submitted applications to become members of AFC and the International Federation of Association Football, Fifa.
The effect: This statement was posted on DPMM FC’s website:
Breaking news:
1/Because of BAFA’s(Brunei Football Association) inexistense, DPMM FC is unable to participate in the upcoming Malaysian Super League season.
BAFA was formed on 15 March 1956, makit it one of the oldest associations in Brunei. It was affiliated with Fifa in 1969 and to AFC the following year. At the time it was formed, it was known as the Brunei State Football Amateur Association. In 1993, the word “Amateur” was dropped, and since then, the FA has been known as the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam.
There are approximately 2,500 footballers playing with Brunei’s 22 registered clubs. Footballers are mostly amateurs or semi professionals. A check on Bafa’s website shows that ‘the page could not be displayed’ L
Football is no doubt the number one popular sport in Brunei. The AFC website on Brunei says that Brunei is currently ranked 181 in Fifa. So far, Brunei has entered the World Cup qualifying competition only once, in 1986 and has also made only one appearance in the Asian Cup in 1976. On both occasions, they were eliminated in the first round.
Their best achievement was perhaps being Champion of the Malaysia Cup in 1999. What a year that was. I remember that night when Brunei met Sarawak in the final. Back then, Brunei competed in the professional Malaysian league and despite competing against Malaysian clubs, Brunei had previously never made an impact. However, in 1999, they shocked everyone by lifting the Malaysia Cup.
Will Brunei ever achieve its glorious moment in the regional level again? Time will tell and this ‘time’ is the recognised governing body working hand in hand with the players and also equally important, with continuous support from the local fans.
Come on and show your support tomorrow evening. Wear your yellow jerseys. Brunei bulieh kali ah! (Brunei can ah – in Singlish. Brunei can – in English)
Denpasar moon ada di pulau Bali. Remember that song?
If you don’t have plans tonight, why not do a moon-gazing session. This report says that the full moon this month will be the biggest for this year. A recent local news report said that Brunei will be experiencing high tide from around now until the end of the month. Now I see why.
I just stepped out outside to check on the moon but the clouds are hiding it away. I will take pictures and upload them here. Or, you can wait until Monday when its the 15th of Muharram, so dont miss this phenomenon.
The tide is high and I'm moving on ... says Blondie. Brunei is experiencing high tides at the moment until the end of the month.
There is a connection between the moon and the tide. Earth’s oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. (Maybe this will be the best time to surf – will write about surfing in Brunei soon)
A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That’s because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.
At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it’s higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can’t fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.
Try this trick, though: Using a pencil eraser or similar object held at arm’s length, gauge the size of the moon when it’s near the horizon and again later when it’s higher up and seems smaller. You’ll see that when compared to a fixed object, the moon will be the same size in both cases.
I think there’s a special prayer when you watch a full moon. Will search for this too. Happy moon-watching. Weather permits.
Found out that the JH that I blog about recently is not the ‘Jerudong Hotel’. Yes its JH but it stands for Jeruton Hotel. It opened on New Year’s Day. Hubby and I checked it out last weekend and found it’s a neat place with staff running here and there and one or two guests sitting in the lounge. Three staff were at one table, looking very busy or at least trying to look busy; it must been a busy time for them as the hotel have just opened.
Now the room rates. For both standard and deluxe room, it cost BND38 per night. A junior suite cost BND58 and its Executive Suite at BND78. Very cheap, yes?
What I found interesting is that the hotel’s restaurant has also the ‘J… H’ attached to it and some more words after them. Its call, ready for this – the Jeruton Hotel Restaurant Al-Amar Ma’aruf Catering Services. I don’t know why some businesses like to come up with long names.
Anyway, its buffet of Asean food cost BND4.80 per head. Will try this cheap buffet. Maybe there’s Ayam Penyet tuck somewhere in the chicken station.
The name of the restaurant sound familiar. Now I recall one with the same name in Jangsak, just across SMS School (formerly known as the famous PDS). It look like the owner is the same, one Mr Ali Rahman whose name also sound familiar to me.
The brochure says easy transportation but when I asked the Front Staff if they provide airport transfer for guests, she said ‘Nope. Sorry we don’t have that service.’ Yet? They should have, as Jerudong is about 15 minute drive from the airport. So I don’t quite understand what they mean by easy transportation there.
[I have been trying to upload pictures but WordPress is not co-operating. Will try again later]
Today is the 10th of Muharram in the Muslim calendar and is called the Asyura Day. Asyura comes from the Arabic word, asyara which means ten. It is one of the significant days in the Muslim calendar as there are many stories involving prophets, among them, the day:
Normally Muslims would fast voluntarily during this day to show respect and remember the many history behind the day. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. was said to fast during Asyura as it was the norm among Arabs in Makkah. When he migrated to Madinah, he found that the Jews also fast during the day. The tenth of Muharram for them is called Yom Kippur which also means ten.
One big pan of Bubur Nasi or rice broth.. thick and rich.
Now as a tradition for our family in Brunei, Mom always cook Bubur Nasi on Asyura. She will cook in this very big pan and distribute it to neighbours and relatives. I always look forward to her Bubur after a day fasting. In fact she is cooking it now as I type…hmmm…
Mom has been cooking Bubur Nasi on every Asyura day for as long as I can remember. As I grow up with this tradition, I never ask why she do it and now I can understand.
Bubur Nasi is a rice broth cook in thick coconut sauce and mix with all types of nut that you can imagine. I particularly like the broad bean. The secret to a good broth, mom said, is firstly, not to talk during cooking (I think this is more to hygiene, you can imagine); second, pour in the coconut sauce first then only seasoning; and thirdly, that old proverb, too many cooks spoil the broth, is true. I used to play around while waiting for the broth to cook as you can imagine it took hours to make a broth, more if you are cooking in large quantity. Then came my sisters and brothers who also couldnt wait…
For next year, 2010, Asyura falls on the 16 December. Six more hours to go to break the fast…
I heard a briefing on the new education system, the SPN 21 this morning. SPN 21 is an acronym for Sistem Pendidikan Negara Abad ke-21 or the 21st Century National Education System. It was launched yesterday by the Honorable Minister of Education. The system is now being implemented in stages. It will come into full force by 2011.
From what I understand, the system will be much better from the current one.
Newspapers today reported mixed feelings among teachers on the SPN 21. Some are confident about the system while others said they are not ready as some of the subjects offered in the new system are specialized such as music and design. Others said that promoting the students to proceed to the following year will make the students lazier as they know they will still be promoted.
Parents and students checking the classes. Year 7 students start their first day today.
Parents that I talked to said its about time. The system should be implemented years ago as there are many young (and healthy) people who are jobless, they said. I think so.
I mean, previously those who failed their PMB twice will have to leave school. They became jobless at a young age and had difficulty to find job because lack of qualification. This is another story – I will talk on unemployment next.
The other benefit I can think of the SPN is the number of years of studying being cut; the gifted you are the shorter time you spend at school. I agree on this. I know my brother who went through a lot. His was the time when the Pre-School started, he was already over six years old that time. At one stage, there was also a Primary 7. So he spent a total of eight years in primary school.
Then came to the introduction of the ‘N’-level. Remember that? As his PMB was not good, he had no choice but to take three years of ‘O’-level instead of two. So in total he spent 14 years of schooling. With the SPN, the ‘normal’ aka the not-that-gifted one have a total of eleven years of schooling. See the difference?
I hope that the system will work and would deliver results it hoped for. Amin
More on SPN 21 here.
I know its still early in the morning but I am kinda hungry. The first food that come to my mind as I type now is that Indonesian food ‘Ayam Penyet’.
Okay I am not a fan of Indonesian food but after eating this Ayam Penyet on several occassions, I think I am loving it. Maybe it’s because I think more of it that I am missing it and the more I want to eat it. The more you miss something (or someone) the more you yearn for it (or her or him). Yes?
Ayam Penyet serve with rice and salad. Notice the earthenware they put the ayam penyent in. So authentic.
Ayam Penyet is a fried chicken dish so called because the chicken is smashed (I heard with a hammer) before being served hence the word ‘penyet’ which is Malay for smash. Sound cruel? Some call this dish ‘Ayam Kemek’ (aka flattened) as the chicken do look like its being flattened.
On the several encounter I have had with Ayam Penyet, I didn’t notice any funny taste due to the fact that the chicken was smashed. In fact it make the eating experience easier as the meat is already separated from the bone that you can just use a fork to take it to your mouth.
Now the highlight of Ayam Penyet is it’s ’Sambal Belacan’ or permented prawn paste. It is a blast; not too sweet and not that sour but blazing hot. For those who love the hottest of the hot sambal belacan should order the ‘hot’ version just like hubby. The first time we had our Ayam Penyet, his face and ears turned red with sweat running through his face. He had to ask for tissues every few minutes that the waitress gave him a box full. He also asked for a second dish! Now how yummy could that be.
One of the restaurants that serve Ayam Penyet is the Pondok Seri Mas Wani Satay Ala Jawa (what a long name) located just across the Sengkurong Mosque. When my family and I were there for the first time, I noticed there were a number of Indonesians there so the dishes serve there must be authentic. While there I would also recommend it’s satay. The satay there are among the tastiest and biggest I have tasted so far. They are also cheap.
Iced milk tea with brown sugar. It took me about a minute to blend the brown sugar in. This is super-duper refreshing.
A drink that may quash your burning tongue at the restaurant after your Ayam Penyet experience is it’s cold ‘Teh Tarik’, an iced milk tea mix with brown sugar. Its so refreshing that I always order twice for this beverage. You have to stir well until the sugar dissolve then you can feel the euphoria of your dining experience. Alhamdullilah.
I also saw Ayam Penyet being sold at The Mall. Yes the chicken was still flattened or smashed but the sambal belacan is not the same. Different people have different taste buds. You be the judge. I am getting ready to order my Ayam Penyet.
Now the issue with not just with Ayam Penyet is that such dish might end up being one of the popular food in Brunei. Such is the case with kebab and tikka which are widely being sold across the country.
This trend is normal where immigrants would bring in their culture and tradition with them wherever they go. On the positive side this is good as it bring richness to the host country, making it more multi-racial and multi-cultural. Just like the UK. Did you know that Chicken Tikka is now the number one dish in the United Kingdom? Now I really want to see our Ambuyat cuisine being served in major cities across the world. Possible. Let me enjoy my Ayam Penyet now as I think of how to market our Ambuyat.
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