YESTERDAY marked the final day of the awarding of the honorary medals to the civil servants of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in recognition of their long and outstanding services consented by His Majesty at the Balai Singgahsana Indera Kencana of the Istana Nurul Iman.

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Deputy Sultan awarded the honorary medals as a representative of His Majesty. Yesterday’s event was a continuation of the Investiture Ceremony that took place recently.

A total of 596 honorary medals were awarded on the third and final day yesterday, which comprised two categories: the Excellent Service Medal or the Pingat Indah Kerja Baik (PIKB) and the Long Service Medal or Pingat Kerja Lama (PKL).

There were a grand total of 1,810 recipients this year.

Yesterday’s recipients made up of men and women from the Ministry of Development, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs.

One of the recipients of the PKL was Sintan binti Hj Nordin, a Special Grade Religious Teacher who is the Assistant Principal of Pengiran Anak Puteri Muta-Wakkilah Hayatul Bolkiah Religious School, Serusop. She has been in service since 1988.

In an interview with the media, she said, “I feel very grateful to His Majesty and also His Majesty’s Government for this award as a symbol of recognition of our efforts in service to the government.” She added that this wasn’t her first time receiving such an award as she was a recipient of the Pingat Indah Kerja Baik in 2005.

Joy can be seen in the faces of Hjh Noraidah binti Hj Kula and Norziah binti Hj Gapor, both recipients of the PIKB, reunited in this monumental event after 22 years of not seeing each other.

Hjh Noraidah, Principal of the Katimahar Religious School and Norziah, a teacher in the Pantai Berakas, ABDB Brunei II Religious School have been in service with the government since 1991 after graduating from the same college in the same year.

“First and foremost, without the blessing of Allah the Almighty we wouldn’t be able to meet today let alone receive this beautiful token of appreciation from His Majesty’s Government.”

They added, “This award is not just something to be proud of but also as a motivation for ourselves as civil servants to input more quality and quantity in our efforts to excel in work ethics.”

Also a recipient of PKL, Abdul Rahman bin Haji Tuah has served 34 years in the Department of Water Services where he retired recently in May this year.

Abdul Rahman shared, “I hope the youths will see these kinds of awards by His Majesty as motivation to the others who are serving the government no matter young or old, fresh or senior, to be more dignified in their field of work and set a good example to others.”

Shahrom Hj Suhaimi, who has been serving 25 years in the Town and Country Planning Department as the Acting Commissioner of Town and Country Planning said he felt very happy for receiving the Long Service Medal and that he was very grateful towards His Majesty.

“We consider this as a huge recognition for us as civil servants. We hope that this will be a greater motivation for us to move forward in our career and performance.”

His advice to members of the Town and Country Planning Department was to be true to themselves regarding their skills and capabilities, to be honest in their work, to ensure that they have a clean record in their career and to bring their potential forward so they can contribute to the government.

“We would not be here if it wasn’t for the public, so we must make sure that our effort is focused on delivering the best service to the public.”

Hj Md Yante Hussaine Hj Ismail, Senior Head Immigration Officer of Immigration and National Registration Department, thanked Allah the Almighty for the opportunity of being awarded the Excellent Service Medal this year and he also expressed his gratitude to His Majesty and Government for his concern and recognition towards workers in the public service.

Abdul Mazid bin Hj Mohamad, Assistant Chief at the Berakas Fire and Rescue Department, Operations ‘C’, with 25 years of service said he was glad to be awarded the Excellent Service Medal and to be among the representatives of the Fire and Rescue Department to receive the Excellent Service and Long Service Medals. - Borneo Bulletin (15 June 2014)