His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to award the State Honorary Medals to 646 recipients in conjunction with His Majesty’s 59th birthday anniversary.

His Majesty was represented at the ceremony by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office. Saturday morning’s ceremony took place at Balai Singgahsana Indera Kenchana, Istana Nurul Iman.

Leading the list of awardees was Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Pendikar Alam, Senior Superintendent of Police Awang Haji Hasrin bin Haji Sabtu, who received the Pingat Bakti Laila Iklas, PBLI.

His Royal Highness also consented to award the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian, PJK or Meritorious Medals to 66 people.  Among the recipients were government servants from various ministries and departments as well as members of uniformed establishments. Among the criteria for receiving the medals include undivided loyalty to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the nation and religion.

Meanwhile, three hundred and twenty-six people received the Pingat Indah Kerja Baik, or PIKB.  Recipients also should maintain good records in all services with His Majesty’s Government including in terms of national security and good conduct.   

Another two hundred and fifty-three people were awarded with the Pingat Kerja Lama or Long Service Medals.  The recipients are those who have attained twenty years of service or more.

To bless the ceremony, a doa selamat was read by the State Mufti, Pehin Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz.

Among those present at the ceremony were Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran-Pengiran Cheteria, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Councils, Deputy Ministers, Pengiran-Pengiran Peranakan, Pehin-Pehin Manteri and Manteri-Manteri Pedalaman.  Also present were Foreign Diplomats, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department.

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Saturday afternoon consented to receive in audience the outgoing High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Ambassador of Cambodia.

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah the Crown Prince first consented to grant an audience to the outgoing High Commissioner of the Republic of Bangladesh, His Excellency M. A. Hakim.  His Excellency has been the High Commissioner of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh to the country since July 2002.

Subsequently, His Royal Highness consented to receive in audience the Cambodian Ambassador, His Excellency Ith Dettola, who has been in Brunei Darussalam since May 2002.

Under the leadership and guidance of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the sultanate is continuously enhancing efforts in benchmarking against international standards.  In the context of supervision of the financial sector, a number of new laws will be introduced this year, while prevailing ones will be amended and updated.  

This was disclosed by the Second Minister of Finance, Pehin Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahman at the official opening of the 41st Conference of the SEACEN Governors and the 25th Meeting of the SEACEN Board of Governors, Saturday.  According to the Pehin, capacity building will remain important on the agenda and will be undertaken continuously in tandem with current needs.

In his speech, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Dato Paduka Haji Ali bin Apong believes that SEACEN has undoubtedly contributed much in the enhancement of the training and research capacity of jurisdictions around this region.   This is inline with the ongoing capacity building efforts of their human resources undertaken by the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.  

The conference gives governors the opportunity to exchange views and share experiences of their respective banks on issues of common interest.  The International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlements also share their perspectives on regional and economic outlook.

Meanwhile, 25th Meeting of SEACEN Board of Governors among others discussed on the operational, management and administrative issues of the centre including training and research programmes in the operational year of 2006 to 2007.  It plays an important role in providing guidance and support to SEACEN as a whole.  This is the first time Brunei’s Ministry of Finance hosted such a conference and meeting, since the ministry became member of SEACEN in 2003.

The Ministry of Health, Saturday announced that the traditional medicine, Oyster Plus Capsules, manufactured by Naning Waygo Health Products in the Peoples’ Republic of China and traditionally used for general health was found to contain Tadalafil, a drug used in the treatment of impotency that can be harmful.

Based on the report from the Drug Control Authority, Ministry of Health in Malaysia, the drug can interact with other medicines resulting in serious adverse affect such as the lowering of blood pressure, if consumed together with some anti-hypertensive drugs. Members of the public who have this product are advised to surrender them to the Pharmacy Enforcement Section, Block 2G, 7th Floor, Bandar Seri Begawan Health Centre, Jalan Ong Sum Ping for disposal.

DPMM FC Brunei beat Kelantan 5-1 on home ground last night at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium in Berakas. His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince consented to watch the game. Also present was His Royal Highness Prince Abdul Malek.

The Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Retired Major General Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Mohammad and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Awang Haji Jemat bin Haji Ampal and Pehin Dato Seri Paduka Doctor Haji Hussein were also present.

Brunei DPMM FC scored five goals through a hat trick from Tiago Dos Santos Roberto during the 4th, 22nd and 38th minute, Rodrigo Antoniov Lombardo Tosi during the 7th minute and Mohamad Shahrazen bin Mohamad Said during the 46th minute of the 1st half. Kelantan scored one goal in the second half of the match through Mohamad Afif bin Amiruddin during the 70th minute. The match ended full time with Brunei DPMM FC five goals, Kelantan one goal (5 - 1).