Upon arrival at the Dato Othman Primary School Wednesday, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Brunei Darussalam was greeted by the Minister of Development, Pehin Dato Doctor Awang Haji Ahmad, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Dato Awang Haji Adnan and the Brunei Muara District Officer, Dato Awang Haji Adnan.

The function began with a recitation of the surah Al-Fatihah led by Syari'e Subordinate court judge of the Brunei Muara district, Pengiran Haji Mohammad Tasim bin Pengiran Haji Hassan. The Brunei Muara District Officer, in his welcoming address, called upon the recipients of the land lots and house keys to be grateful and to give their undivided loyalty to His Majesty as well as to continue support the monarch's wise leadership.

His Majesty then consented to present land lots under the Kampung Lambak Kanan National Housing Scheme to 57 people, and to another 231 people who received Land lots and house keys under the Kampung Rimba, Gadong National Housing Scheme. Three people received keys to the semi-detached house under the Kampung Rimba Landless Scheme for Indigenous people and eight people received their house keys for developers' houses under the Kampung Rimba Landless Scheme for Indigenous people at Kampung Tungku (Katok 'A') and Kampung Madang.

According to statistics of the Housing Development Department that 7448 houses and land lots nationwide under the national housing scheme have been handed over to the applicants. The department also stated that there are more than 41 thousand people nationwide have applied for the housing scheme since 1980 until last year, and from that total 29,382 applicants are from the Brunei Muara District. Doa selamat was read by the Syari'e Subordinate Court judge of the Brunei Muara District.

His Majesty first visited the Dato Othman Primary School. More than six hundred pupils from the housing area and several other kampungs nearby are currently studying at the school. His Majesty consented to plant a mango tree on the school grounds.

Then His Majesty visited the Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat jati Lambak Kiri Mosque. First opened in 2003, the two million dollars mosque can accommodate around 1,200 worshippers from the housing area and nearby kampungs. The mosque is headed by a graduate officer and two imams. The mosque is also active in numerous religious and welfare activities in upholding His Majesty's Titah to glorify mosque.

From the mosque, His Majesty proceed to the residence of the Kampung Ketua of the Kampung Lambak Kiri Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme, Awang Haji Hamdani bin Omar. He was appointed as a kampung ketua in May 1995 for a population of over six thousand in the housing scheme, nearby housing areas, Jalan Pasir Berakas and Kampung Lambak Kiri with nearly 700 houses.

It was indeed a great opportunity for kampung residents to interact personally with His Majesty during His Majesty's visit to the residences. His Majesty continued to get a closer look at the companies operating at the Lambak Kanan Industrial Area. First visited by His Majesty was the Kim Lee Hong Motors Sendirian Berhad. The company is a showroom of imported cars and a workshop which started operating since 1997. There are currently 12 employees, 7 of whom are locals.

His Majesty also consented to visit the Asia Printers, a locally owned printing company which has been in business for over 30 years at the forefront of the print graphics industry. His Majesty also visited S & L Trading Sendirian Berhad, a company that provides repair service and selling of imported tyres. His Majesty's next stop was at the C-E Industrial Sendirian Berhad, a company that runs the production of electrical switch boards.

After a series of visits by His Majesty to companies, His Majesty then consented to visit The residence of Ketua Kampung Lambak Kiri, Awang Haji Bujang bin Ahim. He was appointed as Ketua Kampung in July last year. Kampung Lambak Kiri comprises Kampung Lambak Kiri 'A' and Kampung Terunjing. The kampungs have a population of 4244 residents with 400 houses.

The Agricultural department also came under His Majesty's scrutiny. His Majesty was greeted by the Minister of Communications who is also the Acting Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Pehin Dato Awang Haji Zakaria. The three-block complex includes the veterinary health and Quarantine Unit that has the mission to maximise the business of livestock and to encourage commercial livestock industrial growth. The unit also provides a veterinary clinic for pet treatment, with 90 percent of them being cats.

His Majesty's next stop was the Phase Five of the Kampung Rimba Housing Scheme Project Site. The project provides 1048 land lots where 80 percent are for housing. One land lot covers an area of 0.167 acres. Since 1986 a total of 4511 houses and lands under the national housing scheme in the Brunei Muara District have been occupied. House key recipients of Kampung Rimba National Housing Scheme also got the opportunity to mingle with His Majesty. The Scheme is aimed at creating a cohesive and harmonious society in line with the objective of balanced national development. This is consistent with the housing's policy and objective of creating a high standard of living for the people in a well-planned and harmonious environment, besides giving the opportunities for them to own land and houses.

His Majesty also visited houses constructed by developers under the Landless Scheme for the Indigenous People in Kampung Rimba, Kampung Tungku (Katok A) and Kampung Madang. Besides government and national housing schemes, private sector also plays an active role in the provision of housing in the country. Besides houses constructed by developers, houses built under the Brunei Shell Petroleum housing loan scheme for its personnel and the special housing scheme by the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation to assist fire victims, new converts and the less fortunate members of the society, help to increase the provision of housing as a whole.

His Majesty later visited the DataStream Technology Sendirian Berhad, DST in Tungku. Here His Majesty was greeted by a Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office who is also the Chairman of Brunei Investment Agency, Pehin Dato Awang Haji Yahya and the Acting Managing Director of Brunei Investment Agency who is also the Chairman of DST, Dr. Hj Mohd Amin bin Abdullah. Formed in April 1995, DST Group is fully committed to the process of nation building and the improvement of life in Brunei Darussalam in its role as a network operator, service and entertainment provider.

The visit ended with a luncheon at the Empire Hotel and Country Club in Jerudong. The National Housing Development Programme and other housing schemes visited Wednesday testifies to the firm commitment of His Majesty's government to provide properly planned and comfortable housing for his citizens, since this is key to promoting the welfare of the people of the sultanate. It is such a unique experience for residents of the country to have the Monarch consent to present keys and land titles personally to his people from all various kampungs and districts of the Sultanate.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizaddien Waddaullah, the Sultan and Yang Dipertuan of Brunei Darussalam arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, late Wednesday afternoon to attend the "Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami".

At the Halim Perdana Kusumah Airport, His Majesty was greeted by The Indonesian Minister of Public Works, His Excellency Djoko Kirmanto and other senior officials of the government of Indonesia. The special ASEAN Leaders Meeting is part of regional efforts to coordinate measures to deal with the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami.

At the meeting, leaders are expected to discuss ways to develop cooperation on disaster management at the national, regional and international level. It is also expected that the meeting will request the United Nations to take action, including the establishment of a special emergency fund for the relief and reconstruction of countries affected by the tsunami. The meeting will be concluded with the adoption of the joint declaration.

Also present at the Halim Perdana Kusumah Airport were the Brunei Ambassador to Indonesia, His Excellency Dato Paduka Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohd Amin and officers of the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in Jakarta.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'zzaddien Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam Wednesday afternoon left the country for Jakarta, Indonesia to attend the "Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami".

Accompanying His Majesty to Jakarta was His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad Bolkiah the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Present at the Brunei International Airport to bid farewell to His Majesty were His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muthadee Billah, the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Prince Abdul Malik. Prior to the departure, doa selamat was read by the State Mufti, Pehin Dato Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz. Also present at the Brunei International Airport were Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Pengiran Cheteria, cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and other senior government officials.

The Minister of Development, Pehin Dato Dr Awang Haji Ahmad in his opening speech, which was read by his representative the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Dato Paduka Haji Sheikh Adanan said small states face the problem in developing and diversifying their economies. Small populations do not allow economies of scale to be reached when producing only for the domestic market. Capital markets may not be as developed as they would ideally be. And research and the potential for invention and development of new products may be constrained when compared to larger economies with larger populations.

The Minister said His Majesty's government places strong emphasis on human resources development and the country places a high premium on knowledge and skills. In a titah made by His Majesty in conjunction with His Majesty's annual 2005 New Year titah, speaking about the country's development, His Majesty underscored the importance of all the sectors to pool together towards this end and purpose. In His Majesty's view, the process of national development would not be complete without the involvement of the private sector. In this relation, His Majesty urged government agencies to fully support the private sector and make this a priority, especially towards the establishment of the small and medium businesses owned by the citizens and people of Brunei Darussalam.

Tsunami aid pledges continued pouring in; in the latest figures released, the Brunei Committee Members of the Aid Fund for the Tsunami Victims have collected more than six hundred and sixty thousand from Brunei donors.

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, Awang Haji Jemat bin Haji Ampal who is also the Co-Chairman of the Aid Fund in an interview with RTB, said the emergency aid is to help lessen the burden for the survivors. Awang Haji Jemat said the Community Development Department is currently negotiating with certain parties of the affected countries responsible in handling disaster cases. This to ensure that the contributions made by the Brunei Darussalam can be shipped and received by the tsunami's victims.

Members of the public who wish to make donations can contact the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports on telephone numbers: 2380667 or 2380693 and the Community Development Department, telephone number: 2380444 and 2381555 or any authorized Aid fund throughout the country.