On arrival, His Royal Highness was greeted by The Special Advisor of His Majesty at Prime Minister's Office, who is also the Minister of Home Affairs, Pehin Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa, Deputy Minister of Education, Pehin Dato Paduka Awang Haji Suyoi, Permanent Secretaries at the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Education, and the Brunei Muara District Officer, Dato Paduka Haji Adnan bin Haji Hanafiah.

The function at the Haji Tarif Primary School of Kampung Tamoi Tengah began with a recitation of surah Al Fatihah. The Penghulu of Mukim Tamoi, Pengarah Awang Haji Mokti bin Mohd Salleh in his welcoming speech touched on, among other things, the development in the water village and facilities provided by His Majesty's government for the need of people in the country. According to him Kampung Ayer is made up of six mukims which have 19 kampungs with a population of about 17 thousand people.

His Royal Highness then continued the visit by observing the pupils of the Haji Tarif Primary School in their classes. His Royal Highness was given a briefing by the school's Principal, Cikgu Mohamad Alli Sabri bin Haji Awang Besar. The school was built in 1967 by residents of the kampong and financed by the Educational Department.

Haji Tarif Primary School gives basic education to children from seven kampungs in Mukim Tamoi after it was completed in May 1972 beginning with only 145 pupils. A total of 162 pupils are now studying in pre-school classes up to Primary 6 at this school, taught by 21 teachers, under the supervision of a headmaster. The school also follows the integrated education system. Among the facilities provided are a computer room, a source room and a library, a science room, medical and health room, a guidance and counselling room as well as a Special Educational Needs Assistance, 'SENA' facility which focuses on assisting pupils who are weak in their academic understanding. Last year, 87.5 percent of its pupils passed in the primary school assessment examination, PSR.

His Royal Highness also consented to launch the school's website. It aims to promote and teach information technology to the pupils. The website also enables the pupils to benefit from information technology in gaining knowledge. Through the website parents are given easy access to their children's performance at the school and relevant information of the school. The school's website proves to be a convenient method of checking the school's latest activities and programmes.

From the school, His Royal Highness then proceeded to the residence of the Penghulu Mukim Tamoi, Pengarah Haji Mokti. Mukim Tamoi consists of seven kampungs namely Kampung Pengiran Bendahara Lama, Kampung Ujong Bukit/Limbongan, Kampung Pengiran Kerma Indera Lama, Kampung Pengiran Tajuddin Hitam, Kampung Tamoi Ujung and Tamoi Tengah.

The Mukim has a population of more than two thousand residents. The lifestyle and traditional culture of the residents have attracted foreign visitors to the village, especially their skill in making Malay traditional food. Mukim Tamoi is one of the places of interest in Kampung Ayer which is frequently visited by tourists as well as dignitaries.

His Royal Highness continued his visit to one of the Brunei cottage industries in Kampung Burong Pinggai Ayer. This industry is owned by the family of Dayang Hajah Aidah binti Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Othman. His Royal Highness next stop was the residence of Penghulu Mukim Burong Pingai Ayer, Pengarah Awang Haji Abdullah Sunny bin Haji Bakar.

A gulingtangan performance welcomed the visit of His Royal Highness. Playing the gulintangan - one of the unique traditional musical instruments - is still being practised by the Malay community in the country to this day. An exhibition of traditional handicraft products by the women was also put up. The visit made by His Royal Highness to Mukim Burong Pingai Ayer was significant to the Kampung Ayer residents.

His Royal Highness then visited Mukim Peramu. His Royal Highness first stopped at the residence of Penghulu Mukim Peramu, Pengarah Haji Esmit bin Pengarah Haji Naim. His Royal Highness also made a stop at the Pengiran Anak Puteri Besar Primary School in Kampung Peramu. More than 300 pupils from the kampung and its surrounding areas are attending the school which also practices the Integrated Education System.

The school that has been in use since 1976 promotes the value of excellence in education. During the tour, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also viewed the Balai Ibadat, an endowment from the Penghulu of Mukim Peramu.

Also drawing His Royal Highness interest were the food products made by the residents of Mukim Saba. They were displayed at the residence of the Acting Penghulu Mukim Saba, Awang Haji Ibrahim bin Haji Besar. The products were made from the catch of the fishermen living in Mukim Saba. Mukim Saba has a population of more than one thousand and six hundred people,

a majority of whom work in the government sector. The residents of Mukim Saba also displayed some of the traditional local food such as Kueh Ardam, Sapit, Cacah and others which become their income sources. Mukim Saba is also active in welfare programmes involving youths. A collection of antiques owned by Awang Haji Mahmud bin Mohammad also drew His Royal Highness' interest.

His Royal Highness then proceeded to Mukim Sungai Kebun. The Mukim has six kampungs under the administration of Penghulu Mukim, Pateh Dato Paduka Awang Haji Masri bin Ismail. His Royal Highness also visited a Kampung Ayer Police Post which was built in Sungai Kebun.

His Royal Highness later made a stop at the residence of Ketua Kampung Setia 'A', Pengarah Awang Haji Kapitan bin Pengarah Haji Basi. His Royal Highness also consented to take a closer look at the making of boat industry operated by Awang Haji Kassim bin Bakar one of the resident in Kampung Setia 'A'. At the Perdana Wangsa Kampung Setia Mosque, His Royal Highness performed the Zohor prayer.

In the afternoon, His Royal Highness visited the Awang Semaun Secondary School. Here, His Royal Highness consented to have a luncheon. His Royal Highness last stop was at the Sungai Lampai fire station. At the fire station, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took a closer look at the facilities used by the fire personnel.

Since 1982, a total of one thousand and six hundred residents from eight mukims in the Kampung Ayer including Kampung Batu Marang have become the voluntary firefighters.

Ideas shared during a seminar that was launched Wednesday in conjunction with the 21st National Day anniversary celebrations has specified the meaning of independence. Aside from that, the session has successfully solidified the determination and aspiration of His Majesty's subjects in upholding the sovereignty and strength of the nation in facing challenges towards achieving independence.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Dato Seri Paduka Doctor Haji Awang Hussain laid the emphasis when he officially declared open a two-day seminar on the country's 21st National Day anniversary celebrations. According to Yang Berhormat Pehin, being an annual anniversary, the theme for each year is based on the vision of the current year's celebrations.

The theme of the 21st National Day, 'Bersepadu Memperkasa Mandiri Bangsa' or 'Together we strengthen national self-reliance', is the main focus of discussions in the seminar. Some fifteen working papers are being presented at the two-day seminar by representatives of several government departments, the private sector, corporate figures and prominent figures as agents of nation building. Among the seminar's objectives is to instil understanding on how the community should act in order to bring about unity which can strengthen the nation that is self-reliant in the fields of politics, economy, education, religion, culture and the likes.

At Wednesday morning's function that took place at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Yang Berhormat Pehin also had the honour to launch 15 new books that were written by 15 local writers and published by the Language and Literature Bureau. The writers, comprising of veterans and newcomers in the field, were presented with souvenirs in the form of books. The books deal with academia, anthology of poems and short stories, books for children and herbal medicine. Last year, the Language and Literature Bureau published 41 books.

Meanwhile, more than one hundred photographs that were recorded during the 21st National Day anniversary celebrations are being displayed for the duration the seminar. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Dato Seri Paduka Doktor Haji Awang Hussain was given the honour to officiate at the opening of the exhibition.

The photographs were taken by 50 photographers who are members of the Brunei Darussalam Photography Association. The exhibition that was organised by the association is aimed at encouraging photography enthusiasts to record pictures of special occasions such as the National Day celebrations, highlighting historical events that are preserved for future generations.

The two-day exhibition features photographs taken during the recent National Day celebrations that took place at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin in the capital. The display is part of efforts at collecting and recording information and visuals relating to the historical event. Interest in photography is widening among Bruneians and the hobby is also well received by women members who took part in this year's competition. The exhibition that is being held at the Chancellor Hall of Universiti Brunei Darussalam is open to the public.

Brunei Darussalam is to host the third Southeast Asian Youth Al-Quran Reading Competition 2005 to be held next week. The three-day competition that was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports is hoped that the competition would generate more interest and be more significant in efforts to enhance the quality of Al-Quran recital among youths of Southeast Asia.

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Awang Haji Jemat bin Haji Ampal in a media conference said, a total of eighteen readers from nine ASEAN countries will take part in the competition that is divided into men and women categories. Awang Haji Jemat who is also the secretary of the main organising committee of the Southeast Asian Youth Al-Quran Reading Competition said the competition is aimed at propagating Islamic teachings among Southeast Asian youths and instilling and creating the sense of friendship and cooperation among them through religious activities.

Brunei Darussalam will be represented by a Qari and Qariah, the champions of the National Musabaqah Tilawatil Koran for Youth last year. They are Awang Muhammad Fikri bin Haji Awang Metussin, 19-years-old and Dayang Norezah binti Haji Mohd Deli, 20. Currently, both readers are undergoing intensive training for the forthcoming competition. Brunei Darussalam won the Southeast Asian Youth Al-Quran Reading Competition for the first time in the male category in 2003 through Awang Mohd Fahmie.

The INFORAMA 2005 among the country's schools was launched Wednesday. One of the objectives of the INFORAMA competition, which was first held in 1996, is to create an awareness amongst the community on the importance and significance of the ICT application.

The guest of honour at Wednesday's launching ceremony was the Brunei Shell Petroleum's Asset Manager for Darat, Haji Kamaluddin Bin Haji Bungsu. In his speech, Haji Kamaluddin said Inforama aims to spread understanding and application of the info-communication technology especially in the fields of computer. He also said that in this regard Inforama has achieved its objective to promote information technology education. It is hoped that the involvement of various agencies in the program, will help ICT develop and function as catalyst to other programs based on high technology.

This year's theme 'Enhancing Potentialities and productivity through ICT', fits in well with the nation's aspiration to establish an e-government and gradually work towards the formation of an e-nation. The government has a clear vision to integrate ICT and e-commerce with the national policies to accelerate economic growth, establish an efficient government services and eventually transform Brunei into a technological hub, ready to face global challenges as an e-nation. The launching of INFORAMA 2005 took place at the Syyidina Othman Secondary School in the Tutong District.