"Dressing appropriately to meet and greet His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam in conjunction with the monarch‘s 61st birthday celebration this year is crucial in order to preserve Brunei‘s own culture, uniqueness and identity to distinguish itself from other countries in terms of portraying respect towards the monarch."
This was said by the Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Hj Adanan, in a series of district meetings held at Dewan Santap in Kuala Belait yesterday morning. The meeting was aimed at observing and gaining insights into the final preparations and developments carried out by the Belait committee for His Majesty‘s birthday celebration this year, particularly on the annual get-together ceremony with the rakyat in the district this year. Also in attendance were the Deputy Minister, Permanent Secretaries and Belait District Officer.
The get-together ceremony with His Majesty is the biggest event in the district and is a much anticipated event for its 70,000 people and is also a major draw for tourists from neighbouring countries.
This year, more than 3,000 people are expected to participate in the ceremony‘s field performance illustrating the official theme ‘Nostalgia Seri, Classic Silam‘ with an illustration of seven different segments.
The performers comprise people from the public sector, educational institutions, private sector, non-governmental organisations, members from Mukim and Kampong Consultative Councils and multi-racial communities in the district.
The minister in his welcoming remarks said in increasing the quality of the celebration‘s side events, the Belait National Committee must have already identified weaknesses and problems that have arisen from celebrations in the previous years through its ‘post mortem‘ meetings. The minister also said that problems should be treated as a learning platform for them to improve the quality towards ensuring a smoother event.
The minister expressed hope that the programmes and activities will receive an encouraging response from members of the public which include youths. Their participation would instil the spirits of patriotism, teamwork and a sense of belonging apart from jointly contributing their dedicated services for the ruler, he noted.
He also urged for cooperation and active participation from village leaders, heads of government departments, youth association leaders, NGOs and the private sector. He called for participation from various parties within government or private sectors, mukim and village consultative councils, takmir masjid, women‘s associations, learning and volunteer associations as well as the rest of the population in the district.
Such efforts are for the sole purpose of enlivening His Majesty‘s 61st birthday celebration this year apart from it being a symbol of appreciation and undivided loyalty towards the monarch.
The Minister of Home Affairs concluded his speech by advising village leaders to consult the residents in respective villages to hoist the national flag as well as government departments, private sector, educational institutions and any form of establishments including the residents.
During the meeting, it was heard that more than 20 events will be taking place during His Majesty‘s birthday celebration which include the climax of all events - ‘Meet and Greet‘ the ruler; soccer competition; festive stalls; night stage performances; religious performances; tug of war competition; water festival; handicraft and cooking competition and exhibition; healthy baby competition; arch decoration and lighting competition; cleanliness and landscape competition; chess competition; domestic and imported cat competition; golf competition; agri-food competition; sporting events; silat competition; private sector performances; basketball tournament and arts and photography competition.
The agenda of the meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs yesterday morning included outlining details on final steps of the preparations for His Majesty‘s visit to Belait District for the ‘Junjung Ziarah‘ and get-together ceremony and field performances. Issues on logistics and safety were also raised.
Source: www.brunei-online.com (2 Juni 2007)
