Rain or shine, the weather did not dampen the spirit of the 660 performers of the get-together ceremony for His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in the Tutong District yesterday.

The performers comprised members of the district's several ethnic communities, school students as well as government and non-government personnel who came together to perform a string of colourful and entertaining performances.

Yesterday's performance carried the theme "Wawasan Raja, Wawasan Rakyat, Wawasan Negara" (Monarch's Vision, Citizen's Vision, Nation's Vision) and was performed under the concept of "Perkembangan Kemasyarakatan, Kebudayaan dan Sukan" (Community, Culture and Sports Development).

The theme elaborates on the authority of a monarch in generating the vision to bring the country and citizens to become a dynamic nation in embellishing a committed spirit of unity towards responsibility with full commitment, determination and willpower in achieving the nation's development vision through Brunei Vision 2035.

The first segment of the performance featured a synopsis of the paradigm of a monarch preserving unity and cooperative ties between the citizens of various ethnic backgrounds in the community as the main shield to face any wave of challenges that could hinder the nation's well-being and prosperity.

This portrays the unique ability of a tribe or community to breath the same air, walk side-by-side towards reaching an objective and hope, and the cultural concept enables the country to be safe, peaceful and stable and to advance in every field in this modern and sophisticated millennium.

Through the synopsis, the present setup conserves the strong cooperative ties between the monarch, tribes and ethnic communities from different perspectives, and this unity exists through two related mechanisms, namely objective and hope.

In the cultural concept, it strengthens a strong community towards well-being, stability and peacefulness.

The cultural segment began with a "Sembah Kesyukuran" which was followed by the opening act of Zapin Brunei Medley and Joget Sri Kenangan whereby the message was depicted in the dance movements.

The grand finale portrayed a united community forming the main core of the nation's direction towards prosperity and excellence where the community concept is the instilling of patriotism, love for the monarch and national spirit by building a more productive and progressive community of high quality and integrity.

The nation's success and glory also rely on how far the culture is practised by an active and energetic community.

A medley of three songs, namely 'Sultan Ke-29', 'Anak Brunei' and 'Masa Depan Kehidupan' were performed in the grand finale which saw the active participation of government officers and staff, students, youth associations as well as the district's tribes and communities.

The segment highlighted the responsibility that prioritises unity in a community as the catalyst to the integrity of the monarchy system, citizens or community that possess the same attitude as a Bruneian that can be combined with the loyalty to the monarch and nation.

The performance began with an interlude of a comical tug-of-war act followed by a showcase of acted sports.

It was presented through active movement and the portrayal of sports as a platform towards a harmonious community.

The song 'Sultan Ke-29', meanwhile, instilled a move to increase the patriotic spirit of love for a monarch of authority with some of the performers making up the letters "HB" to denote "Hassanal Bolkiah".

Meanwhile 'Anak Brunei' saw a group of Hadrah performers along with other performers carrying the 'Bunga Manggar' to accompany a group of participants who represented the bringing of glory to the nation in the field of sports. Silat and Wushu performances were also showcased.

Yesterday's performance concluded with the singing of the song 'Ikhlas Iltizam' that portrayed the sincere determination of all and willpower to foster the direction together to reach the nation's excellence in generating the vision of Monarch, Citizen and Nation. - Borneo Bulletin (18 July 2012)