By Danial Norjidi
Thousands of hands reached out to greet His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday as the Brunei-Muara District held a get-together to celebrate His Majesty's 64th birthday.
A sea of people lined up from the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar 'Ali Saifuddien all the way until the Lapau for a chance to greet their beloved monarch during the fourth and final get-together this year for His Majesty's birthday celebrations.
Accompanying His Majesty were HRH Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, HRH Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, HRH Prince Haji Jefri Bolkiah, HRH Prince Haji 'Abdul 'Azim and HRH Prince 'Abdul Malik.
The get-together began as the national anthem rang through the field, followed by the resounding call of "Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik" by members of the Legislative Council, Mukim Penghulus, village heads, representatives of non-governmental organisations and multi-ethnic societies, as well as all those who were present at the Taman.
The Brunei-Muara District Officer, Haji Jamain bin Momin, then spoke at the event. "This morning's event will be featured in three segments of performances, beginning with a Hadrah performance by secondary school students, followed by a Nasyid performance from Tilawatil-Quran youth participants and finally a choir performance from a combination of students from Maktab Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien and Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri."
He said the wise leadership of His Majesty's government has allowed citizens and residents in the district to continue to enjoy a life of safety, comfort, security and prosperity.
"The Brunei-Muara District has continued to enjoy rapid progress and development," he said and added, "This includes in the fields of religion, economy, health, security, communications, education, infrastructure facilities and others, which have all contributed to raising the standard of living for citizens and residents in the district."
A Hadrah performance then followed, which saw 300 students play the popular traditional instrument in unison to create what was truly a breathtaking display of precision percussion playing.
Next was the Nasyid performance, entitled "Sultan Berjasa, Payung Mahkota", which was followed by a choir performance "Raja Khalifah Islam".
After watching the performances, His Majesty and the royal entourage proceeded to receive greetings from the many well wishers who waited eagerly for the opportunity to greet the benevolent ruler in person.
Later, His Majesty and the royal entourage proceeded to the Santap Hall for lunch.
- Borneo Bulletin
(26th July 2010)
