His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to present the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Sultan's Scholar awards to five excellent students at a ceremony held at the Istana Nurul Iman.

The recipients are Awangku Muhammad Wafiuddin Pengiran Haji Zulkarnain, Muhd Hazman Haji Abu Hassan, Nurul Hani Haji Mohd Tahir, Liyana Bazilah Haji Jamain, and Durrah Nafeesah Haji Idris. The recipients were accompanied by their parents or guardians during the ceremony.

Also present at the ceremony were His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, HRH Prince Haji 'Abdul 'Azim and HRH Prince 'Abdul Malik.

All the scholars thanked the Government of His Majesty and hoped they could become invaluable assets to the nation in Brunei's journey towards the Vision 2035.

Awangku Muhammad Wafiuddin, who was a student at Hassanal Bolkiah Boys' Arabic Secondary School, will further his education at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He can communicate in three languages - Malay, English and Arabic - and scored excellent results in his 'O' Levels and 'A' Levels, as well as the Sijil Pelajaran Ugama Brunei (SPUB) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Ugama Brunei (STPUB).

Muhd Hazman from Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College (MSPSBS) is the recipient of the Human Resource Special Fund Scholarship Scheme. He finished his 'A' Levels at Shrewsbury School, United Kingdom, with flying colours. He will be furthering his studies in Biomedical Science at University College, London.

Nurul Hani, also from Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College (MSPSBS), had also obtained excellent results in her 'O' Level and 'A' Level examinations, and has a clear vision of the field of work that she wants to get into. After undergoing an internship at the Department of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Communications, she feels very confident in doing her Aeronautical Engineering course at Imperial College, London.

Liyana Bazilah was also the recipient of the Human Resource Special Fund Scholarship Scheme. She sat for her 'A' Levels at Badminton Girl School, Bristol, United Kingdom and achieved excellent results. Previously from Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College prior to her 'A' Levels in the UK, she did her internship at the Accounting Department, The Empire Hotel and Country Club last year and will continue her studies at University College, London, in Mathematics and Economics.

Durrah Nafeesah took her 'A' Levels at Cheltenham Ladies School in the UK under the Human Resource Special Fund Scholarship Scheme and achieved excellent results.

The Kuala Belait resident, who studied at Jerudong International School, has the ability to discuss issues and provide pithy observations. She will be furthering her studies in Geology at Imperial College.

The ceremony started with the reading of surah al-fatihah led by the State Mufti, Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Haji Awang Abd Aziz bin Juned.

His Majesty consented to present the awards to the recipients, followed by a doa selamat by the State Mufti.

His Majesty also spoke to the recipients and their parents or guardians, and posed for a group photo with the recipients.

Also present at the event was the Administrative Board of Yayasan, Chairman of the Yayasan Board of Directors, the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Education, Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, members of the Yayasan Board of Directors, Permanent Secretaries at the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs, Steering Committee members of the 'Sultan's Scholar', senior officials of the relevant government departments and senior officers of Yayasan, principals and some students from the sixth form institutions throughout the country. - Borneo Bulletin (13 September 2012)