James Kon
Participants of the upcoming Brunei Darussalam’s 37th National Day Grand Assembly and Parade ceremony put on a near perfect performance in a full dress rehearsal at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien yesterday morning.
This year’s celebration will be carried out in smaller scale compared to the previous years to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2,600 participants marching in the National Day parade are split into eight groups – head of parade, national peace, smart society, public and private sectors, public movement, education sector, cycling and frontliners – while some 1,237 participants in the Mutiara Darussalam performance are divided into five segments.
The performance lasting 13 minutes are divided into a narrative on old Brunei, the shaping of Brunei, human resource development, wawasan and the finale.
Following the rehearsal, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin said, “Today’s performance is very good. Well done everyone. I am confident that on Tuesday, the performance will be even better because of our love for the country.”
Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Haji Abdul Aziz bin Pengiran Jaya Negara Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar, Chief of Adat Istiadat Negara observed the rehearsal.
Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud, Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar, Deputy Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohd Salleh and other Executive Committee of Brunei Darussalam’s 37th National Day Celebrations were also present.
