This morning I had attended a ceremony to receive an award, nak kata besar tak nak, kata kecil pun tak juga, so it’s a meaningful ceremony if I were to describe it. It was the Brunei LNG Academic Excellence Award presentation 2009. It was organised by of course BLNG & this year Sekolah Rendah Lumut 1 & Sekolah Ugama Lumut 1 were given the trust to be the coordinators. It was held in the Liang Lumut Recreation Club. I guess this is the 2nd time only I had step foot onto this LLRC, the 1st time was to see RTB 'Menjejak Kampung' few years back & this time I’m here to receive an award!
Since the letter stated for students to arrive at 7.30am, I arrived a little bit earlier than the stated time. Before entering the hall, we (award recipients) had to register to receive a nametag stating ‘PENERIMA’. The teachers in the hall say ‘pakai nametag atu jangan disimpan/dipegang’. Since 7.30am is a little early for some of us which are on a ‘hiatus’ mode till university admission, some grumbles can be heard. But overall, ‘joy was in the air’ as some of them can see their classmates whom they have not seen since February. At first, we were simply sitting in places marked ‘penerima anugerah’, then we were arranged according as per the list in the programme booklet.
In a ‘freezing cold refriroom’, a little after 9 am the chief guest, Yang Mulia Awang Haji Md. Mahdi bin POKDG Seri Diraja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Abdul Rahman, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs arrived. The ceremony starts with the reading of surah Al-Fatihah which is the norms in most functions in Brunei & Quranic verses.
This was followed by the speech by the Chairlady of the event, Cikgu Hjh Sediah binti Madeli, Principal Sekolah Rendah Lumut 1. 1 important point in her speech that I wish to touch is this year there are changes in this year’s ceremony. Usually, these awards are only awarded to students from Mukim Lumut schools only. However, this year this award had also been awarded to students from Belait District schools no matter its government or private schools. In addition, this year teachers were also awarded for producing excellent results in public exams. In her speech she also thanked BLNG for its continuous support & concern towards education, in particular in making this annual event a success. This awarded was intended to award students who have worked hard for their exams & it serves as a ‘pembakar semangat’ for the students to do even better in the future. Lastly, she thanked all parties that had ensure this event runs smoothly & also the local media for covering this event. From my observation, I spot RTB crew, Pelita Brunei journalist, a Chinese newspaper crew & surprisingly a ‘student blogger’ who happens to receive an award too. While from the booklet, it states that RTB, Borneo Bulletin & Brunei Times is covering the event. So, award winners I suggest you all to grab a copy of your local Sunday newspapers (Sunday Bulletin, The Sunday Times, etc) to contribute back to Brunei economy,
Next, the chief guest also gave a speech. He talked about the importance of internet to students nowadays. In 2009, internet penetration rate in Brunei as provided by AiTi which is as high as 78.5% which is marginally higher from that of 2008. He advises parents to ‘mata-matai’ their children internet usage so that they won’t be exposed with negative contents on the internet which may lead to social issues. He further adds that social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter) should be used cautiously. In his speech, he also stresses on the importance of Religious Knowledge. This is in line with His Majesty's titah that was conveyed early this year. The chief guest also adds that education is important to the country in building its human capital. A human capital that is not of a good quality is a lost to the nation.
After the speech, there was a drama presentation by the cute Primary kids from Chung Lian School Sg Liang titled ‘the story of the young moth’. The morale of the story is you should obey your parents/elders. Well as in the drama ‘I Not Stupid’ says ‘ITS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD’. LOL! Another message could be ‘don’t play with fire as you can get yourself burnt’ or in Malay ‘Jangan main api nanti terbakar diri’!
Then, the time that everyone had been waiting for: award presentation. 1st, 16 students from Mukim Liang primary schools & 20 students from Belaitwide Ugama schools received awards for Primary 1-5 top students. The award recipients each received a trophy, certificate & pen. As many as 114 students from various schools in Belait received awards for excellence in public exam in 2009. 41 students received awards for PSR which entitles them to get a trophy, certificate, $200 TAIB Akaun Remaja & pen. 13 students received awards for SSSRU which also entitles them to receive the similar prizes as those of PSR. The PSR & SSSRU award were presented by Awg Hj Mahri bin Hj Matahir, BLNG Corporate Affairs Manager. 17 students received awards for PMB which entitles them to get a trophy, certificate, $250 TAIB Akaun Remaja & pen. 9 students received awards for Brunei Cambridge GCE O Level which entitles them to get a trophy, certificate, $300 TAIB Akaun Remaja & pen. Since SMSA is the only 6th form centre in Belait District 31 students (including me) from SMSA received awards for Brunei Cambridge GCE A Level which entitles them to get a trophy, certificate, $400 TAIB Akaun Remaja & pen. Not forgetting 3 students from other schools outside Belait also received the similar awards. All these awards for excellent students in public exams were presented by the chief guest. 1 interesting thing to note is students from some schools are extremely polite, by bowing before receiving their awards.
After 150 awards were presented, the ceremony takes a break from award presenting to listen to tausyeh performance. Then a further 19 awards were presented by Awg Hj Salleh Bostaman bin Hj Zainal Abidin, Managing Director & CEO BLNG for teacher’s best performance award. For PSR & SSSRU teachers received $250 cash, certificate. For PMB teachers received $300 cash, certificate. For Brunei Cambridge GCE O Level teachers received $400 cash, certificate. The only representatives for Brunei Cambridge GCE A/AS Level comes from SMSA.3 teachers received $500 cash, certificate. The recipients were for AS Level Mr Nyiau Ah Lek Physics tutor, while for A Level were Accounting tutors Miss Cheryl Lim Lo Yin & Miss Emily Tan Phek Suan (my tutor).
To thank the chief guest for gracing the event despite his busy schedule, a token of appreciation was presented by the Chairlady of the event. A doa selamat was read to mark the end of the ceremony. While the chief guest was viewing the mini exhibition set up by various parties, students quickly arranged themselves for a photoshoot. Smile for the cam! Then, another photoshoot with the chief guest & other guests. A small ‘makan’ was also prepared for those present. As the event ends, a rain falls from the sky maybe its ‘hujan rahmat’. The whole event was smooth except for a few mistook the trophies incident. A quick look at the pen is it’s custom-made, not your usual $1.80 pen! And it’s made from stainless steel, because it’s quite heavy.
Now, its time for my
Maka dengan ini berakhirlah sebuah kisah yang sungguh panjang & lagi membosankan!
The blogger thinks that sesiapa sahaja that curi his selipar must be poor thus he halalkan sahaja. In addition this blogger is in a good mood.
What The Media Says
Sunday Bulletin reports that students should acquire extra skills in overcoming the increasing challenges in academics.
Vancetan.com had a few pictures on his website vancetan.com & a video on youtube Youtube video
RTB News reports that parents should monitor their children internet usage.
Pelita Brunei also reports that parents should 'mata-matai' their children online activities.
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