Bandar Seri Begawan - Mukim Pengkalan Batu was declared the winner for the Domestic Science Exhibition 2007, at the launching and prize presentation ceremony at‘ the international Convention Centre, yesterday.
Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha officially launched the annual exhibition, which was organised by the Pertiwi Association, in conjunction with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam‘s 61st birthday celebrations. This year, the working committee invited 14 Mukims for the participation at the exhibition. Each Mukim was given the opportunity to showcase its farm products such as kuihmuih, makanan ringan, processed meat and a wide variety of handicrafts.
A competition was also opened to individual women in the Brunei-Muara District and their winning products were also featured at the exhibition.
The competition was amide at giving more opportunities to women in the district to display their ability, skills, as well as creativity in the fields of cooking, baking and craftsmanship.
Datin Hjh Fatimah Dato Seri Setia Hj Abang Razali, chairperson of the exhibition, in her speech, said that all the activities were useful as a source of income, or just as a hobby to fill in spare time.
A total of 16 categories were allowed in the competition, which were divided into four major groups of masakan, kuih muih, makanan ringan and handicrafts.
The winner, Mukim Pengkalan Batu deserved the first place, looking from its impressive product line up and achievements. The mukim displayed eight varieties of rice cultivated in its area, including pusu, bario, adan, keladi, rimba, pulut hitam, pulut maikan and pusu merah. The mukim sold the rice to the visitors at the exhibition, at a price of $10 per package.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Hj Tahir Hj Tarip, the Penghulu for the winning mukim, said that it was exciting, considering it was their first participation.
Hj Tarip explained that among the eight types of rice, three of them, pusu, bario, and dan, have the highest demand and were the most suitable for the cultivation in their area.
The Mukim had a project, called Projek Kemsyarakatan Ladang Padi Wasan in which 209 residents from the seven villages of the mukim took part.
Meanwhile, Mukim Sengkurong and Mukim Tamoi won the second and third places, respectively.
Joining the exhibition was Royal Brunei Catering Sdn Bhd, which displayed various recipes and demonstrated impressive skills in designing their cuisines. Royal Brunei Catering also launched -a cooking book in both English and Malay.
Some of the items featured at the exhibition were the traditional sinjang, flower arrangements which were made from used materials and also rocks with drawings.
Source: www.brudirect.com (27 Agustus 2007)
