AS THE 68th birthday celebrations of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam took centre stage in Tutong yesterday, well-wishers lined up to greet the monarch, with some also taking the opportunity to present pesambah.

A number of pesambah were presented, one of which came from the Prisons Department.

The department presented a pesambah in the form of a wooden carving of Surah Al-Ikhlas.

As Chief Prison Officer Hamdani Mohd Salleh explained to the Bulletin, the pesambah was made out of kulimpapa tanduk wood and was carved by inmates of Maraburong Prison.

Another pesambah came from Haji Sigai bin Haji Ghani. He presented an artefact which had been in his family for generations, and which he says is over 200 years old. Haji Sigai also highlighted that he felt it would be an honour to present the artefact as a pesambah and expressed his best wishes and greetings to His Majesty.

Meanwhile, City Neon Brunei presented His Majesty with a pesambah that came in the form of a wooden tasbih. City Neon Brunei’s Managing Director, Jack Ting said the tasbih is handmade out of cendana wood.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Brunei also presented a large ornament as a pesambah. Nazeer Ahmed Zakaria, the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Brunei explained that the ornament is from Dubai and is made of gold plating and crystal.

In addition, the Tionghoa Community of the Tutong District presented a pesambah that came in the form of a specially-made, brightly coloured cake. The cake was designed with the number “68” on it, with a message reading “Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik”. The cake also had a large Chinese symbol etched on it, along with two peaches and a peach tree.

The Tionghoa Community’s Chairman, Soon Seng Lee explained to the Bulletin that the Chinese symbol represents long life and the peaches represent prosperity.

Adding on, he voiced the community’s birthday greetings to the monarch, and wished His Majesty long life and prosperity. - Borneo Bulletin (20 August 2014)