His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam last night attended an informal working dinner hosted by the Malaysian Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in honour of the heads of state and government attending the 11th ASEAN Summit.
 

Also present was His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bolkiah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The dinner took place at a leading hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam expressed satisfaction on the positive development of the East ASEAN Growth Area for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, BIMP-EAGA. His Majesty also warmly welcomed the involvement of Australia’s Northern Territory as well as the People’s Republic of China as development partners of BIMP-EAGA. The Monarch made the remarks Sunday at the Second BIMP-EAGA Summit at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, KLCC. Also attending the summit was His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Brunei’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
 

The meeting was chaired by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. His Majesty joined other leaders in endorsing the BIMP-EAGA Roadmap to Development which outlines the measures to further coordinate and strengthen collaboration within the sub-region. The summit highlights a high-level discussion on the sub-regional cooperation and current issues, as well as further directions in accelerating socio-economic growth. The goal of EAGA is to increase trade, investment and tourism in the region. Brunei Darussalam becomes a member of the bloc in 1993.

The first ever Brunei Marathon has been hailed as successful. The event was officiated at by Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah. On arrival at the Empire Hotel, Her Royal Highness was welcomed by members of the organising committee led by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Retired Major General Pehin Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Mohammad. Subsequently, Her Royal Highness consented to declare the Brunei Marathon open.

The full 42-kilometre marathon was divided into Open Class for Foreigners which offered thirty thousand US dollars in cash. The Brunei Class Category offered ten thousand Brunei dollars. In all, sixty-five foreign and seventy-one local athletes competed in this category. Her Royal Highness also officiated at the 21-kilometre race. This category offered a ten thousand US dollars cash prize for foreigners, and five thousand Brunei dollars for Bruneians. A total of fifty-eight foreign and 202 local participants competed in this event.

The 18-Kilometres Race for Veterans was launched by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Dato Paduka Haji Hamdillah. 203 runners including sixty-three foreigners took part. The Director of Tourism Development at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Sheikh Jamaluddin, officiated at the Students 13-Kilometres Run. A total of one hundred and forty-three students took part. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Retired Major General Pehin Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Mohammad launched the Fun Run which covered a distance of 5.5 kilometres. This category was the most popular of all, recorded more than five hundred participants, and offered attractive lucky draws for participants who completed the marathon.

The Open Marathon attracted some runners as far a field as Africa, South America, European countries and Asia Pacific. The first Brunei Marathon of this kind, dubbed as the Shahbandar Challenge, has indeed put Brunei Darussalam in the world spotlight. According to the organisers, the first Brunei Marathon created a perfect combination of flat tarmac, beach and hill runs, and passing through a few landmarks for which Brunei Darussalam is very well-known for Bio-Diversity. The Open 42-Kilometre Run was won by Matolo Benjamin Mutua from Kenya, while Sefli Akhar won the Brunei Class.

Brunei Darussalam has been experiencing a stable economic growth. The Second Minister of Finance said in the second quarter of this year, the economy recorded a growth rate of 1.7 percent compared to the same period of last year. He noted that it is more encouraging that the economic growth was generated by the rapid progress of the non-oil sector which, for the second term of this year, has recorded a growth of 9.4 percent compared to 3.9 percent in the same period of last year.

Pehin Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahman was speaking Saturday night at the Marketing Night 2005. In his speech, the Minister also highlighted the company’s excellent performance and some of the milestones achieved in 2005. These include the launching of 20 new road tankers, maintaining market leader status in the competitive lubricant market, the national road safety campaign, achieving zero lost time injury, fleet card and contributions to various charities. The function also saw the presentation of the long service awards, emblems and gifts to the Brunei Shell Marketing staff.

Village leaders in the country are urged to show their concern for the welfare and affairs of the residents under their care. The matter was underlined by the Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Dato Paduka Haji Adanan bin Haji Hanafiah, at a gathering to present the certificate of appointment to the ketua of Kampung Amo in the Temburong District, Sunday. Dato Haji Adanan added that a village leader also needs to be always proactive by visiting the village vicinity in order to learn more closely about problems faced by the society. The new head of village, Awang Jenggak @ Ginggak anak Rentap, 76, was a labourer at the Sultan Hassan Bangar Primary School from 1973 until 2003. Awang Jenggak’s responsibility in his latest appointment as a community leader in October this year includes the administration of the whole of the village as well as the Long Houses of Amo ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ of Mukim Amo.

Kampung Amo has a population of more than 520 people. From the Amo ‘C’ Longhouse, the Acting Permanent Secretary then went to Kampung Sumbiling Baru to present the certificate of appointment to the new head of the longhouse there. Dato Haji Adanan in his address at the function, called on the villagers to always cooperate fully with the village leader, among themselves and with the government in ensuring the continued well-being and prosperity of the nation.

Brunei DPMM FC collected one point after a one all draw with Johore in an away match last night at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru. The first half produced no goal. Brunei DPMM FC led in the second half with a goal through Antonio Lombardo Tosi after the referee awarded a penalty kick in the 24th minute. A minute later, Ahmad Latif Kamaruddin equalised for Johore also through a penalty kick.

Brunei DPMM FC’s next match will be against Pulau Pinang NTFA on the 18th of this month at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

The Kyosho Regional Final was won by Badrul Hisham Ahmad of Malaysia. The champion will represent ASEAN at the 6th Kyosho World Cup to be held in Paris. Singaporeans Philip Lee and Kelvin Yong came in second and third respectively.

Four Brunei participants and six others from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore took part in the Kyosho Car Race at the Taman Jubli in the capital. The race pitted radio-control racing cars of the one tenth scale.