| Danial Norjidi |
WINNERS of the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest received their prizes at a presentation ceremony held at The Coffee Bean Brunei, The Mall in Gadong yesterday.
The competition was organised by Brunei Press Sdn Bhd to celebrate the milestone of Bandar Seri Begawan as the Asean City of Culture for the year 2016-2017, and was supported by Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Brunei Tourism, and prize sponsors Interhouse Company, The Coffee Bean Brunei and Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd (PCSB).
Attending the event as the guest of honour was Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.
The proceedings saw welcoming remarks delivered by the General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Reggie See.
“In conjunction with this significant milestone of Bandar Seri Begawan as Asean City of Culture, Brunei Press was elated to have the support of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Brunei Tourism to organise the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest in September 2016.
“With the Borneo Bulletin photography contest, aspiring and talented photographers were given the opportunity to capture interesting snapshots of Brunei Darussalam,” he said. “These included popular local art, sport and culture, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), infrastructure, places of interest and living activities.”
He shared that on November 29, 2016 a panel of judges comprising representatives from Brunei Press, the sponsors Interhouse Company, The Coffee Bean Brunei and PCSB as well as a representative from Brunei Tourism had a challenging task to select the winners from more than 700 highly competitive entries.
The winning entries were judged on the basis of creativity, photographic quality, relevance and effectiveness in conveying the beauty and uniqueness of Brunei Darussalam.
Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi presenting the prize to winner of Progresif Cellular Sdn Bhd category.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, presenting the prize to the 2nd place winner of PCSB category. – PHOTOS: BAHYIAH BAKIR
ABOVE & BELOW: The minister presenting the prizes to the consolation prize winners.
Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, tours the exhibition acompanied by Reggie See, General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.
Some of the winning photos. – MUIZ MATDANI
Photo shows Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports; Reggie See, General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd; and Hazizah Osman, Deputy General Manager, along with senior government offi-cials and staff in a group photo with the winners of the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest at The Coffee Bean Brunei, The Mall in Gadong yesterday.
Lai Jian Shin won first prize of a Canon Digital Camera EOS80D c/w EFS18-55mm worth B$1,899, along with a CBTL beverage system ‘Kaldi’ model with three boxes of CBTL beverage capsules, a The Coffee Bean VIP Privilege card and goody bag.
Second place went to Cristopher C Seiga, who won a Canon Digital Camera EOS M c/w EFM18-55 worth B$850, as well as a CBTL beverage system ‘Kaldi’ model with three boxes of CBTL beverage capsules, a The Coffee Bean VIP Privilege card and a goody bag.
Rohana binti Haji Saman won third prize of a Canon Digital Camera Powershot SX410 IS worth B$289, a The Coffee Bean VIP Privilege card and a goody bag. Prizes were also awarded for a special category, ‘Bandar Seri Begawan as Asean City of Culture’. In this category, first prize of a Huawei P9 worth B$1,018 as well as a B$25 Progresif Postpaid Plan for one year was won by Alishahrin bin Haji Mumin.
Two runners-up, Haji Muhammad bin Haji Sulaiman and Muhd Khairulamin Sungkai, each took home prizes in the form of a Huawei G8 worth B$598 and a B$25 Progresif Postpaid Plan for one year.
Speaking to the Bulletin, the special category first prize winner Alishahrin spoke about the story behind his photograph, which is a black and white photograph that shows a man playing a traditional instrument.
Alishahrin, who used a Canon 50D, said that in the photo he wanted to highlight Brunei’s traditional music. As he explained, after hearing about the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest, he discovered that one of his older colleagues plays a traditional instrument, gambus. He asked his colleague to bring it to work the next day, and took a photo of him playing it during a break. Alishahrin’s interest in photography began in 2012 with inspiration from his brother, who is a long time photographer. He said he was both very surprised and happy to have won the special category.
In addition to the top three winners and the special category winners, prizes in the form of a Canon Printer iP2870s and goody bag were also presented to 20 consolation winners.
In his speech, the General Manager of Brunei Press Sdn Bhd highlighted that the success of the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest has been achieved with the attractive prizes from Interhouse Company, The Coffee Bean Brunei and PCSB.
He also thanked the sponsors for additional support: Interhouse Company for printing the winning pictures with PXMA and Canon for display at the prize presentation; The Coffee Bean Brunei for providing their venue for the prize presentation; and PCSB for sponsoring the Bandar Seri Begawan as Asean City of Culture category.
“To the participants of the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest, we greatly appreciate your efforts and congratulate all the winners,” he said. “Your entries will also be considered for use in other publications by Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.”
He went on to add that, in view of the enthusiastic responses for the Borneo Bulletin Photography Contest from the participants, “Brunei Press is planning to organise it again next year. Do look out for the announcement in the Borneo Bulletin and Media Permata.”
After the prize presentation, the minister viewed the winning entries at a photo gallery display around the The Coffee Bean Brunei premises.
The winning photos will be exhibited from now until the end of December 2016, and all are welcomed to view it.
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