Bandar Seri Begawan - The MASTERA Awards were presented yesterday at a ceremony held at the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong. Among those who attended the event were Pehin Dato Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Haji Abd Aziz bin Juned, the State Mufti whose pen-name is Adi Rumi, Indonesia‘s Ambassador to Brunei Herijanto Soeprapto, the Chairperson of MASTERA, Dr Mataim bin Bakar, head of the Indonesian delegation, Dr H Dendy Sugono, and head of the Malaysian delegation, Hjh Izzah bte Abdul Aziz. Also present were the organising committee, officers of the Language and Literature Bureau and other guests.
The guest of honour was the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dato Paduka Hj Jemat bin Hj Ampal, who presented the MASTERA Awards. The MASTERA Awards took place in conjunction with the 14th MASTERA meeting in Brunei Darussalam. The award for Brunei Darussalam went to Professor Madya Dr Hj Hashim bin Hj Hamid; the next award went to Willibordus Surendra Bahawana Rendra of Indonesia, followed by Dato Dr Hjh Siti Hawa Hj Salleh of Malaysia.
The event also saw the signing of the 14th MASTERA Conference General Agreement.
A new book by the Language and Literature Bureau was also launched by the guest of honour. By Jon Tampoi
Source: http://www.brunei-online.com (September 22, 2008)