The Royal Wedding

The Royal Wedding's invitation card

 PWM President, James Lee & Tina Lee

 L-R: SL, Lok, Benson & Paul

 Julia & friends

 Paul Foo & Azlan Ahmad

The celebrations (and ceremonies) of The Royal Wedding between HRH Princess Hafizah Bolkiah and Pg. Haji Muhammad Ruzaini Pg Dr. Haji Yakub commenced on 16th September 2012 and culminated with the Royal Banquet (Majlis Persantapan Diraja, the eight day of celebrations) held at Istana Nurul Iman last night. We departed for the Istana at 7.00pm (took the company's van with a driver) and reached the Istana at 7.20pm. At the entrance of the Istana, shuttle buses ferried the guests to the reception area where our "admission" cards were stamped; after which we were ushered into the dining hall (Zone G) to be seated. From then on, it's chit chatting among the eight of us at this particular table until the arrival of the Royal Couple and the rest of the Royal family. From where we were seated, we couldn't see what was going on, maybe a giant screen in our section of the hall would be helpful. Dinner was served at 8.50pm and the function ended at around 10.00pm. At that very moment, outside the Istana, fireworks lit up the sky as everyone were exiting the banquet hall. However, a heavy downpour prevented us from getting a closer look at the fireworks display and also delayed our departure. The rain stopped shortly afterwards and we hitched a ride in a friend's car which was parked at Istana Darul Hana (quite a distance away) back to Traders Inn where we left our cars earlier on. Lastly, let's not forget to wish the Royal Couple happiness forever!

Malaysia's 55th National Day Celebration

 PWM members

 The ladies of PWM

 Alias & Azlan (Double A)

 The departure of GOH

 With Mr. Hassanel, the boss of Maybank Brunei

Last night, the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Brunei, Dato' Abdullah Omar Sani and Datin Adeda Rahimah Ahmad hosted a reception at the Songket Ballroom, Rizqun International Hotel to celebrate Malaysia's 55th National Day and the 49th Malaysia Day, the day when Sabah and Sarawak (it was called North Borneo in 1963) joined the Federation of Malaya. About 300 guests from the diplomatic, business, government and Malaysian community attended this function. On behalf of PWM, we would like to thank Dato' and Datin for the invitations and hope to see you again in the not too distant future. 

Ozone Run 2012

Ministry of Development Building

My 12km Finishers' Medal

 Today's Borneo Bulletin

The ozone layer absorbs more than 97% of the sun's UV rays which is potentially harmful to life forms on Earth and all I know is that the ozone layer is gradually being depleted via our vehicles' exhaust fumes and release of CFCs from our air-conditioning units. Of course there are other factors which I'm not technically or scientifically inclined to understand! To mark the 25th anniversary of World Ozone Day, the Department of Environment, Parks & Recreation (JASTRE) under the Ministry of Development, organized Brunei's first Ozone Run 2012 on 16 September 2012 to create awareness to the plight to prevent the ozone layer from further thinning. I registered for the 12km run (the other two categories were the 3km and 6km) which flagged off at 6.30am and I finished the run at 7.56am (time taken from my phone as no timing chips were given). After that, I queued for the finishers' medal and certificate and finally got my medal but no certificate (missing) at 9.00am, more than an hour's wait! I left right after that as I've to get some rest (woke up at 4.30am) before my next appointment (movie) at 12.20pm. 

Hari Raya Open House for Pusat Ehsan's Special Kids

 Our Executive Director, Datin Hjh Fatimah (L) with one of the guests

In the past years, Traders Inn has been hosting "sungkai" for Pusat Ehsan's special kids but this year we decided to host a Hari Raya Open House instead. It was held on 8th September 2012 at Traders Coffee Lounge. We invited 40 special kids and their minders but not all of them turn up as there were several events going on at the same time (wrong timing!). Maybe we will hold future events on a weekday. Our Executive Director, Datin Hjh Fatimah (together with Dato') also attended and later distributed "green packets" to all the guests. Thank you to everyone who attended and selamat hari raya!

Pusat Ehsan Charity Bazaar 2012

 Arsai, Dato Jack & Hj. Hamid

 JIS volunteers

Arsai getting a cold latte from Coffee Bean

 Cold drinks, anyone?

A smiling volunteer; well done!

 Engraving on a piece of "jade" costs B$10.00 each

This year's Pusat Ehsan Charity Bazaar 2012 took place at the Jubilee Park near Kiulap. It was opened for three days, starting on 31 August 2012 till 2 September 2012. On the first two days, opening times were from 8.00am to 10.00pm while on the final day, it will close at 5.00pm. As I have purchased some coupons, we (Arsai and I) went on the second day at around 11.00am. The good thing is that there were not many people around as it was still a working day being a Saturday morning but the negative side of it is that the weather was very warm and I was soaked in perspiration in no time. But then again, we were there to show our support for a good cause so no complaints!