First thing first. This is supposed to be P&C, but if you were born in Brunei, lived (or is living) in Brunei and interacts (-ed) with Bruneians, you will know NOTHING in Brunei stays confidential for long. Rumours spreads around faster than wild fires. If I have to say something about this, I am truly thankful for the scary network that is the Bruneian grapevine, because without it I will only find out about this two weeks plus after the so-called upgrade.
OH EM GEE. I know right. Being an overseas Bruneian can have its cons, e.g. forced to be in a LDR because your significant other just can't be bothered to drag you from the airport before boarding calls, you see.
While an upgrade is all very well and the teaser seem quite plausible (Brunei does desperately need more tourist attractions, like seriously, because even us Bruneians are bored sometimes and need a place to go that is NOT Miri/Limbang/Kuching/Kota Kinabalu - point is not outside the international boundary), it just makes me wonder what the Tourism Board has done this time. Of course the Brunei Tourism website looks quite impressive, but that's shouldn't be the only effort they put in, right?
On another note, Eqah is releasing a new song soon!! Here's the teaser preview from her official YouTube channel:
I don't wanna sound like a bitch, but isn't she wearing pink lipstick on her last digital single cover? Maybe she changed her mind. ANYWAY...
I love If It Isn't With You, mainly because I support Bruneian artists like that. More so because she was in P2F (I definitely have a weakness for P2F contestants with beautiful names. Just ask my friend Pengiran). I even buy it off iTunes for once instead of my usual rip-from-YouTube-video which I have gotten quite skilled at because if you are a poor student who listens to K-Pop or J-rock, it's one thing you must be able to do. Or if you can't, just get someone who can to Bluetooth it over to you. I mean, that's what Bluetooth is for, right?
I forced my non-Asian friend to give If It Isn't With You a listen and she fell in love with it. She was surprised when I told her it's sung by a Bruneian, which made her a racist, just kidding. I mean, BRUNEIANS CAN SING TOO OKAY?
It's coming soon but no date was mentioned. I think she's trying to avoid the "Janji Melayu" trap. Kudos.
The train tickets to Bristol. Pretty cheap considering I booked it only this morning haha. Had a bit of an exasperation moment with the ticket machine when trying to collect them in the freezing cold. What's a touch screen when you have to hit the screen very hard to get it to work? Seriously...
Next month: weekend trip to Kent to visit Qays. I've promised him haha.
I wish I can book anytime return tickets back to Brunei this easily and at such a bargain price too. At the rate the prices are going, I probably can only book after Chinese New Year's. I'm betting the price will have at least gone done by £100 by then. If it hasn't...well, I still have to book it anyway.
Please let me pass my May exams smoothly so I won't have to worry about retakes in the summer.
This is not really an update, but an update is still an update, ね? If you feel as if you have read part of this post before, don't go around accusing me of plagiarism. Chances are, I wrote them somewhere else and feeling too lazy to babble the same stuff again, had copied and paste. So nobody stands guilty of plagiarism.
So. Bruneian Dream. Being a most epic fan of G-Dragon, Korean Dream is one of my favourite tracks on his album. I mean, it's meaningful and everything. I like it so much I even did a parody. All in the name of respect to G-Dragon, of course.
What could be a 'Bruneian Dream'? A typical one will be making Brunei proud. Since actions speak louder than words, I must stress that to move forward, we must get rid, or at the very least tone down, our infamous malas tah ku ingau attitude. That means more action and less talk!
The recent (OK, maybe not-so-recent) Earth Hour, in my belief, weeds out those incapable of taking action, in a good way, maybe?
For me, my personal Bruneian Dream will be as simple as Let me contribute to my own country in my own way. Of course, doing something that puts Brunei on the world map will be great, too. Even something as simple as introducing myself as a Bruneian counts, since for most populations of the EU 'Brunei' is probably a new word.
Speaking of G-Dragon, I must mention YUI had recently released a new single, titled to Mother. The tracks are, as usual, simply amazing. The A-track, to Mother, is a song about a girl with a bad relation to her mother, something I can relate to; the B-track, Tonight, is nice too, although I haven't have time to interpret the lyrics well as I have been busy with revision. Not.
I'm ending this post in a think-out-of-the-box-ish way. Ask yourself this question Have you ever regret anything/any decisions you had made in the past? and be honest with yourself. Denial is nice, but it won't get you anywhere - especially if you want to fulfill your own Bruneian Dream.
So just now when I was busy packing away all my (useless) things for end of term, I received a message from Saidi. I hope he don't mind me posting the contents of the SMS. It's nothing too private, anyway. SMS language haters should probably skip this part for health reasons.
Ping hye! How are u doing ? I knw ur just doing great and have an enjoyful time. So i just miss asking what's ur result last time?
If you don't want to offend me, rule #1: Do NOT ask about my results if I didn't tell you myself, unless you are Yamin or Saidi. Or have a mask of either Yamin or Saidi on to humour me.
I replied:
Don't ask =.=
It's not that I don't want to tell him. It's just I find it hard to keep it positive when my results are bad BAD and Saidi's is probably so good the results sheet shines with a golden light which blinds anyone who look at it too closely. No offence to Saidi of course, I am just very hard on myself.
I pretty much did NOT expect the long reply from Saidi (and I almost want to kill myself from the SMS language - no offence).
Ah, sorry if it bothered u that much. =) anyhow u will do just fine, i knw u wil, u can do it,believe in ur own potential.Bt i do always hope that u tke cre there,and do your best yeah. I m here to support u,dspite the fact tat lots other people support u as well(our frens) even my mom sumtimes ask about u. That's how much u meant a lot,so don't give up! =)
I was so touched reading the contents of this SMS language filled message I forgot to kill myself. I mean, even his mom? That's cool. I mean, I have such a bad mom who don't ask after Saidi that's something I totally didn't expect at all.
Dr Thrower said I have been spreading myself too thin revising for too many things at once and this is probably what pulled my grades down. Mrs Morgan proposed I do thirty minutes of intense study rather than study for over three hours (which is what I have been doing all this while!!!)
I don't like it when people tell me how much they are supporting me, because I feel so touched I want to cry. And I don't like crying. I'm not being an ungrateful person but I just hate crying. So, uhm, yeah.
Speaking of which, the Earth Hour Representative in Brunei actually commented on my last post on Earth Hour...!!!
Thanks for supporting Earth Hour for this while! Hopefully by having Earth Hour representative in Brunei, we can bring awareness, and educating more people about climate change and global warming.
After all, its not only about switching off the light, but also to reduce our carbon footprint and to educate our next generation for greener & better future.
Yes, it indeed is not only about switching off lights *glaring at Blogger Kumin*
Unless you are bored enough to check out The Lollidella, you will find me extremely boring of late.
For the second reaction, that's because I'm blogging about Earth Hour 2010 in BRUNEI! Exciting, isn't it, Brunei is finally officially take part in Earth Hour!
For those who had no idea what I am babbling about check out this post and this post.
I, of course will be taking part in this humble activity! And I flame the person that wrote this post, because clearly a small thing can make a difference!
Anyway. Back to the topic. For those with the third reaction, I just felt like citing my sources first. Why? Because this time my sources are from Bruneian blogs! Great stuff! I have no doubt DENcorp will write something on this topic soon.
THE Earth Hour Global representatives in Brunei will be inviting the private sector, associations, individuals and other agencies in Brunei to take part in conserving the power consumption by switching off the unessential lights and other electrical appliances for only one hour.
The volunteer blackout will commence from 8.30pm till 9.30pm on March 27. Some Brunei households and companies such as The Empire Hotel & Country Club and the Sheraton Hotel participated in this initiative last year.
Earth Hour Global is committed to having Brunei Darussalam as an official participant of Earth Hour Campaign in 2010, and place Brunei in the Earth Hour International Map.
Statistics from the Electrical Services Department show that the Ministry of Education’s average usage of electricity is 6,581,472 KWh a month, which costs $658,147.23.
I'm plain bad at convincing people so I'll shut my trap now. All the more reasons to check out the hundred of links in this post!
Since I came back from UK my father had let me use his DST broadband. It was fast, and initially quite reliable, though I was unable to update my antivirus software.
Then suddenly it refused to work. Please bear in mind the broadband is unlimited. Or does 'unlimited' actually mean 'limited, but not many people will use this much MB anyway so we'll just call it unlimited'? Sounds very Bruneian, don't you think?
The four days without internet connection was unbearable. I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking, 'Gosh! I must have tons of emails in my inbox. And there'll be lots of notifications on FaceBook. Not to mention I wasn't online at all, he'll think I'm mad at him! This is not good!'
Unable to bear this torture inflicted by DST broadband any longer, I went to TelBru today and got myself a b.mobile broadband. Unlimited. (I hope they know what unlimited really means.) B$60 per month. HuaWei HSDPA broadband modem.
Back at home, I stared at the b.mobile broadband. B$60 per month is roughly the same price I pay for my 3 broadband back in UK - £25 is around B$63. A level scholars like me who own a 3 broadband will know it's a HuaWei HSDPA broadband modem as well. Only of a slightly different model.
I plugged the b.mobile broadband in, and the whole installation process took about 20 minutes (I even have lunch in the mean time). Then, the moment of truth.
In less then 15 seconds, I was online on MSN. Then I tried to update my antivirus software. "Downloading 156.76KB of 58.49MB..." OK so the antivirus software is updating. Let's not jump up and down yet. Google Chrome. How long does it take to load Google UK? (Sorry la Google Brunei)
Answer: less than 10 seconds.
So I actually like b.mobile broadband. I might change my mind, though, if their 'unlimited' turns out to be 'not-so-unlimited'.
It makes me angry that the people from my countries, those people calling themselves Bruneians, are shrinking away from us overseas Bruneians, blaming us for the spread of H1N1 in the otherwise peaceful country. I am aware this post only apply to a handful of those Bruneians, can I make my sarcasm clear, you guys are the sickest person ever.
I was aware of H1N1 when it first broke out in Mexico, and when it spread over to USA and the first case of H1N1 in UK was in Scotland. I knew there was a case in Bristol, and various dotted places in London, so can you blame us for taking the precautions more seriously than anyone else?
Face masks are TOTALLY UNEFFECTIVE against H1N1. It's expensive, it's ineffective. No point getting them. No vaccine for H1N1 is available yet - at least not until September anyway. We washed our hands with soap and water diligently, we used those antibacterial hand gel over seven times a day. I bet some Bruneians don't even wash their hands after visiting the toilet, let alone use antibacterial hand gel.
We are doing our best not to travel, but that's like asking a growing baby to stop growing. Travel is essential. As scholars we need to frequently travel from one part of UK to another. My school is in Wiltshire - Brunei Hall is in Greater London. Don't travel? OK, I'll just stay here and most likely when I got back to Brunei, I'll still be quarantined anyway. This world has long been an unfair place.
To those idiotically paranoid Bruneians, may I present you this article:
Don't panic, urges Health Minister "WE DON'T have to live in fear and there is no need to panic. It's not necessary." By Azlan Othman
"WE DON'T have to live in fear and there is no need to panic. It’s not necessary." That was the message relayed by the Minister of Health in a press briefing as the country recorded 24 new Influenza A (H1N1) cases yesterday, the highest surge since the nation was hit by the flu more than a week ago, thus bringing the tally to 66.
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Data Seri Setia Hj Suyoi also said that the pandemic is here to stay.
"According to its cycle, it can remain for two years. But within that period, there could be a lot of changes as well."
"We hope that there will be a vaccine for H1N1 soon. At the moment, we have to be very careful as such a vaccine is not yet available. It might remain mild, and patients would recover from it and the public should not be afraid," the minister added.
Epidemiological studies indicate that as of July 1, 2009 at 3pm, the flu has affected 49 Bruneians and 11 foreign nationals, with Brunei-Muara recording 41 cases, Belait 16, Temburong four, Tutong three and transit one.
As of July 1, 2009, those with travel history constituted to 30 cases, out of which nine were patients who returned from UK, Kuala Lumpur (eight), Kota Kinabalu (six), Johore (one), La-was (one), Singapore (one), Philippines (one) and Laos (one).
The Ministry also said, 24 cases were transmitted via contacts, while another 12 are still under investigation.
It also informed that there is a possibility of community transmission involving a 15-year old girl who neither has a travel history nor contact with other cases.
He also said the ministry is reviewing the possibility of renewing the management protocol. Among these would be strengthening treatment at homes for mild cases and the suitability of home treatment to ensure that there are no close contact with those who have chronic diseases or pregnant women.
Pehin Dato Hj Suyoi also said there is a possibility to turn Pg Muda Mahkota Pg Muda Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah hospital in Tutong into a full isolation centre for H1N1.
This is a control measure, as H1NI patients should be treated separately.
As an initial stage to ascertain the continuity of the service at the hospital, steps such as relocating outpatient services to Tutong Health Office and relocating physicians, dermatology, midwifery and pediatric services will also be made to Tutong Health Office effective July 4, 2009.
Specialised OMF, ENT and ophthalmology services will also be moved to bungalow B and C of the Tutong hospital beginning July 4.
The Ministry sources stated that the H1N1 cases here are mild. However, we should step up our precautions as the disease is easily transmitted and causes many illnesses, thus affecting daily activities. There is also a possibility of mutation of such virus to become more dangerous and that there is no vaccine to prevent such H1N1 yet.
Due to the surge in the reported cases, the ministry urged the public to step up precautions and not to be complacent. For those who have just returned from the affected countries in the past seven days and developed the symptoms, they should see a doctor at health centres and hospitals immediately.
The public were also advised to reduce social activities and avoid crowded places within seven days such as community gatherings, shopping centres, markets, stalls, restaurants, cinemas, swimming pools and the like.
The public should also practise good personal hygiene such as to wash their hands thoroughly and often with soap and water, cover nose and mouth with a piece of tissue paper when coughing or sneezing.
Just wanna inform u guys, the plan awal2 about ke Meragang together tu, have to be cancelled. Since after every flight balik, we must stay quarantined for about a week. So, inda jua dapat buat papa kan.
Poor Saidi! Why does such a nice guy has to be exposed to the wrath of those ignorant Bruneians?
So, a message from us all. We are doing everything we can here to not contract H1N1. If we contract it, it's NOT our fault. Stop blaming us. We ARE Bruneians too, you know.
I was chatting with Caesar, my senior, on MSN (yes, again...) when he suddenly told me he had to write this MinDef essay for Brunei Times. I was immediately awed - it is my dream to see my work on a newspaper, a considerably huge headline with the words 'by Jolene Wong' or some pseudonym underneath. Life have thrown him oranges, and demand he make jam out of them.
At that time, he confessed that he had no idea how to write it at all. His life story and how he came to be who he is today. The essay is supposed to be inspirational. Life is a huge topic - there are just too much to write about, and halfway through it he thought he had written a sob story instead, to the extent it made him want to cry. Not a good sign. I tried to cheer him up and on, because if he overcome the dilemma, he can really write a very inspirational story. I know because his level of essay writing is way above mine. I know I sound conceited but I consider myself an excellent essay writer.
However, just hours later he produced an essay, and moi is proud to present it to you! P.S. I titled the essay. It seemed to be his sixth version. And if you think the title for this blog post seemed familiar, it is. It is the opening sentences in Rihanna's song, Unfaithful.
Story of My Life by Caesar Chin
My life journey as far as I can remember has always been a rough, choppy sea; there were many turning points full of setbacks, difficulties and…tears. I’m the second child in my family after my sister with two younger brothers and therefore luxury is a word not found in our dictionary. My family of six had to cramp into the two rooms in our rented house till I was in primary six. I remember I had to drag the goats we rear out to the grazing field almost everyday before and after school (sometimes it was the goats which dragged me!) and water the vegetables and fruits every now and then.
When I was in primary school, I was never inspired to study hard, mainly because I never managed to be the top 3 in my class which my father highly expected me to. Yes, I often do badly back then and my father will discipline me with the famous “rotan” treatment. However, as I look back, my first turning point would be when I joined the Brunei National Junior Table Tennis Squad in primary 4 which allowed me to represent Brunei in many overseas competitions held in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia. The training was intensive but the notion of hard work began to creep into my mind. Eventually I managed to get 4A 1B in my PCE exam. Nevertheless it was not enough for me to enter Maktab Sains, which my father had hoped.
Life became much harder after PCE. I was transferred to a government secondary school and my family had to move into my late uncle’s old deserted house which we renovated ourselves. Thus till now we have no proper water and electrical supply. Yet this was the most important of my life experiences so far as it made me strong-minded. I was third in class when I had my first assessment in Form 1 and that motivated me to work diligently. However, the deep desire to be “Number 1” burns deeper and I vowed to change the current predicament of my family. The lack of electricity did not hold me back from striving for my goals even if I had to study by candle light for public exams.
As I entered A-Level I began to play and study hard; I became known as the most competitive student in school and also the person who keenly participated in almost all the CCA available in school. I also have a big passion for music and I have taken up violin since my L6 and now I’m going to venture the saxophone when I’m overseas. True enough, the efforts were worth the time and the fruits collected were abundant.
I believe everything happens for a reason…and the reason is who I am here today. From a happy-go-lucky person to a strong-minded and proactive individual, I realised the prestigious MINDEF scholarship is the best path for me as it gives me many opportunities to expand my potentials beyond my horizon. To be the first student sent to France also makes me feel really honored. I hope when I graduate I can shape Brunei into a stronger, dynamic and prosperous nation that we can all boast about! To my Government of Brunei, my family and friends, I thank you all because without everyone, I wouldn’t be where I am standing today.
"If we have hope, we will have light and the light will guide us to be a better person everyday than we were yesterday. So never give up hope!"
To read the article in luxury Brunei Times format, click here.
Sheepishly, I would like to say that I had written my own version as well. I never pass up on writing as far as essay writing (not academically) is concerned. Mine is injected with too much colourful details, but that's just me being conceited. Into the fifth paragraph I was just starting to talk about my rascal-ness of my primary school years. It is so long compared to his, I think I best not post it up this time.
Maybe next time after I refined it a bit. * wink *
Brunei has placed yet another vote in support of Earth Hour as the Orchid Garden Hotel and the Empire Hotel and Country Club have jumped on the proverbial bandwagon along with the Sheraton Hotel and HSBC.
On Friday, the Department of Electrical Services made a last ditch attempt to raise awareness in Brunei by encouraging the public to join the world in switching off their lights. But the question remains - is this too little too late? The lights will be going out for Earth Hour organised by the World Wildlife Fund to draw attention to global warming. About 2,800 cities in 83 countries have signed up, according to WWF.
The latest to jump on the Earth Hour bandwagon here in Brunei is NBT Sdn Bhd.
"We have registered ourselves on the Earth Hour website... we will switch off the lights between 8.30pm to 9.30pm," announced Ninan Chacko, NBT Managing Director.
"We also encourage our customers to send their vehicles for regular servicing to further reduce motor emissions on Brunei roads," he added.
While the initiatives made by these admirable few are commendable and exemplary, Brunei's efforts have been far overshadowed by the vast efforts in the neighbouring countries leaving Brunei, a country that makes up one third of the Heart of Borneo, far behind in eliminating complacency and ignorance of climate change and its devastating effects on the Earth.
Earth Hour 2009 will take place tonight between 8.30pm and 9.30pm local time and one can only hope to see the capital and the rest of the country plunge into darkness for a mere hour.
HSBC will be switching their lights off at its main branch in the capital as well as their roadshow to be held at The Mall, Gadong, later tonight.
Orchid Garden Hotel, the Empire Hotel and Country Club and the Sheraton Hotel will also join in and switch off for a full hour tonight.
According to the Straits Times, more than 10,000 people and 450 schools, malls, hotels and companies have signed up in Singapore to turn off their lights for an hour on Saturday from 8.30pm.
A local hospital in Singapore will also be switching off their lights in its wards, along some corridors and those on the facade of its building, the Straits Times reported.
Zahir Latif, a 25-year-old Singaporean said that ubiquitous advertisements and government-produced public service announcements have been circulated for weeks prior to Earth Hour which will be held today at 8.30pm local time worldwide.
Zahir will be just one of the thousands in Singapore who will be switching off their lights later tonight.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Malaysia, similar events have been organised across the country.
Syu'aib Rafie, a Bruneian student at the Lim Kok Wing University of Creative Technology in Kuala Lumpur, is impressed by the efforts of the Malaysian government in banding the people together in support of the event.
"They're switching off the lights for a whole hour in the city!" he exclaimed. "My university is doing its part by having a candlelit cookout and an acoustic concert."
"All these efforts encourage me to do my part for the earth. My lecturers and friends will also be watching the Earth Hour DVD as an awareness incentive prior to the "blackout"," he added.
So has Brunei done enough to match these efforts as they announced their participation on the eve of the event?
A 19-year-old local student studying at Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah admitted to being ignorant of Earth Hour.
When told of the efforts of schools in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, she said: "They never mentioned anything about Earth Hour in school let alone what it is about."
The absence of local public service announcements has also left much of the public "in the dark" on the significance and importance of Earth Hour 2009.
"I would love to see the Brunei capital go dark for the event but other than an informed few I don't think the average Bruneians either know or would want to switch off their lights," one local commented.
Few, however, have started their own initiatives in support of the global fight against climate change.
Last ditch attempt?! Don't make me laugh. Taught in school or not, I registered on the Earth Hour website a week ago. Don't make petty excuses.
I feel like I'm just one dumb Bruneian getting all concerned about an important thing called climate change for nothing.
After months of not having Borneo Bulletin in my grasp, I miss the Bruneian newspaper so much that I visited the website. It is not as good as reading it in paper form, but it sure is more environment-friendly, or green as media put it.
Since I was, and still am, an avid fan of Borneo Bulletin Weekend, I checked out that part of the website first, and found an article relating to just what I had been blogging about two posts ago. Due to the fact that the BB website is updated frequently, to retain the article I will post it here.
Change your attitude, change your life By Kartini Knox
"I have some kind of infection, the doctor doesn't know what's wrong and I'm in bed, on painkillers and antibiotics, until who knows when", my friend groaned over the phone. I couldn't help feel sorry for her.
Maybe it was coincidence or maybe not, but in a spate of recent bad luck, she had slipped and injured herself, had her car dented and split up with her fiancée.
On reflection of our past conversations and exchanges, the idea flashed through my mind, that there was always something going wrong for her. Circumstances and situations had a tendency to go belly-up, leaving her in despair. Bad luck followed her around like a bad smell. Was she jinxed?
Not being the superstitious type, it dawned on me that maybe her problems could be pinned to her attitude. We've all had days when we got out of the wrong side of bed and things got progressively worse as the day went by. If anybody deserved the label "Misery Guts" tattooed across their forehead - she was one of those people.
When not ranting on about her job, her colleagues, deadlines, rules and regulations, she would moan about her salary, which wasn't enough she said, to compensate for all the headaches she put up with in the line of duty. "Phone bills, car bills!" she'd sigh. Apparently, her monthly pay packet never lasted long enough - (a daily fact of life for most of us!)
Apart from her working life, her personal life was a frequent topic of mind-numbingly repetitive grumbling.
Her rants about how her nearest and dearest constantly disappointed her were not only restricted to coffee-shop conversations. Whenever somebody incurred her wrath (and it didn't take much - forgetting her birthday would do the trick) she would have no qualms about expressing her temperamental frustration online through Facebook for all to see. If she was expecting sympathy, it had the opposite effect. The next thing we'd hear about would be how the latest love of her life had deserted her. I wasn't surprised. Her attitude was enough to scare anybody away!
That's not to say I didn't sympathise with her. But her attitude needed a makeover! It's no secret that positive thinkers seem to have better luck than negative people. On the other end of the spectrum, her on-going resentments and disgruntlements were taking over her life! Any redeeming qualities she had once possessed were fast disappearing, along with her sense of humour. This girl could never remain cordial with anybody for long, and was constantly picking fights for no reason, other than what could be put down to her personal insecurities. Her lack of faith in herself and low self-esteem seemed to drive away friends, old and new. Apart from providing an open ear to her dramas, there was nothing I could do to help, short of telling her to stop being such a grouch!
You may have had a terrible childhood, spent half your working life unemployed and had your pet cat die on you after paying a fortune on vet bills, but limiting the chronic commiserating with friends, will do wonders for your social life!
If you've known a Chronic Complainer, who'd rather blame others than accept responsibility or look into their own character flaws, forget about offering any sound advice. It will fall on deaf ears.
If any of these Perpetual Pessimists are reading this, then maybe this is a wake-up call - to change your attitude and change your life!
The above article is a copyrighted material from Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, March 21, 2009.
So now, let's visualise a soceity full of people with attitude like that of the said author's friend. I couldn't bring myself to even sympathise at all.
Here is another article, this time on World Forestry Day in Brunei.
World Forestry Day: Brunei a perfect carbon sink By James Kon
Brunei yesterday celebrated the World Forestry Day with a flurry of green activities at Bukit Shahbandar Recreational Park. The guest of honour for the celebration was Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awg Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources.
In his opening speech, he said, "Brunei Darussalam is one of the countries that don't contribute to the greenhouse gases because the sultanate's pristine forests act as an effective carbon sink. Brunei's peat swamp forests have been cited by numerous scientists as capable of storing carbon in its ecosystem."
"In the report by the International Panel on climate change assessment, new evidence has shown that climate changes has started to affect many part of Asia. A study on Southeast Asia and the South Pacific for year 2001 has detected changes in regional temperature and rainfall trends.
"The result shows significant decrease in cool days and cold nights. In rainfall patterns, the number of rains days has decreased significantly in Southeast Asia. However proportion of annual rainfall has increased on most stations which mean lesser rainfall events but greater amount of downpour.
" The heavy downpour coupled with rising sea level is an indication of how climate change will affect Brunei Darussalam. Our country will definitely be affected considering temperature and rainfalls are important variables in our economic activities.
"The government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has never stopped to fulfill its responsibility to mitigate global warming.
"Brunei Darussalam has actively participated in the UN Framework on Convention of Climate change (UNFCCC) which signify the country's interest to stabilise concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
"Brunei Darussalam is also a member of the convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). Members commit themselves to achieve a significant reduction of biodiversity loss by 2010."
At the national level, the minister revealed that, "Numerous agencies and organisations in Brunei Darussalam have undertake green projects such as reforestation, energy conservation, energy efficiency promotion and public awareness programmes. The national forestry policy of Brunei Darussalam recognised the basic need to harmonise the relationship of the environment and the human population".
During the ceremony, the minister also presented Dayang Rafidah Hj Omar of Science College, the winning prize for the World Forestry Day Logo 2009 competition. The prize however was received by her representative.
The above article is a copyrighted material from Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, March 22, 2009.
