| Danial Norjidi |
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and members of the royal family will participate in the National Family Day celebration, which falls on May 7, Sunday.
This was announced during a press conference yesterday that took place at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS).
This year’s National Family Day will see a number of events and activities held from May 6-8.
The first Sunday in May each year is National Family Day.
The celebration is jointly organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), the MCYS as well as the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with various government agencies, corporate bodies from the private sector and non-governmental organisations.
The press conference was chaired by Datin Paduka Dr Hajah Norlila binti Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Jalil, Permanent Secretary at the MCYS, along with Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof, Permanent Secretary at the MoHA as well as Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Aziz bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Haji Mohd Yusof, Permanent Secretary at the MoRA.
The three permanent secretaries are the joint secretaries of the Executive Committee for the National Family Day 2017 celebrations.
They were joined in the press conference by DSP Hamri Aslan bin Haji Abu Hanafiah, the Acting Head of Operations for the Traffic Control and Investigation Department under the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), as well as Haji Md Ruzaimi bin Haji Rosli, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Brunei Darussalam Cycling Federation.
In the briefing, Datin Paduka Dr Hajah Norlila explained the themes and events of the National Family Day celebration. The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Keluargaku Penyayang, Negara Gemilang’, and highlights the importance of having a family that is loving, united, with family members that care for each other, respect each other, communicate well and bear joint responsibility for the future of the family, society and country.
The focus of this year’s celebrations is to raise awareness of the importance of affection among family members to create happiness and harmony for the family and household.
Datin Paduka Dr Hajah Norlila also touched on the format of this year’s celebration, which is being carried out on the basis of certain clusters through events under the religious cluster, the community cluster as well as the recreation and sport cluster.
The National Family Day celebrations will begin with a thanksgiving ceremony of mass Fardhu Maghrib and Isyak prayers, reading of Surah Yaasiin, Tahlil and a special National Family Day prayer on May 6, Saturday, beginning at 5.45pm which will be held at mosques in all four districts, centred on four main mosques, namely: Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Mateen Mosque in Kampong Mulaut for the Brunei-Muara District; RPN Kampong Pandan Mosque for the Belait District; Pengiran Muda Abdul Wakeel Mosque in Kampong Kiudang for the Tutong District; and RPN Kampong Rataie Mosque for the Temburong District.
A briefing regarding the thanksgiving ceremony was delivered by Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Aziz.
The route for the Family Harmony Recreation and Cycling event
The highlight of the celebrations will be the Family Harmony Recreation and Cycling event. Abdul Mutalib shared that the cycling event will begin at 6am at Bandarku Ceria, Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien in Bandar Seri Begawan. His Majesty has consented to attend and participate in the event, along with members of the royal family, he added.
Before the event begins, participants, visitors and families are given the opportunity to begin their day with the ‘Masjidku Ma’mur, Negara Berkat’ programme by taking part in mass Subuh prayer and listening to a Tazkirah Subuh related to National Family Day at Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Mosque.
The Family Harmony Recreation and Cycling event will go 16km around Bandar Seri Begawan and will cross main roads including Jalan Pretty, Jalan Elizabeth Dua, Jalan Masjid Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien, Jalan Kianggeh, Jalan Sekolah, Jalan Kumbang Pasang, Jalan Gadong, Jalan Perdana Menteri, and Jalan Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien, and will end at Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien.
Participation in the event is free of charge and open to the public. Participants are required to wear a helmet and appropriate attire.
In addition, a number of family events will be held, including a bird show and bird sounds competition. There will also be sport exhibitions and demonstrations of tug-of-war, boat racing, cycling and martial arts.
To further enliven the proceedings at the cycling event, there will also be a ‘Karnival Mudahnya Sembahyang’ organised by MoRA and held in conjunction with the National Level Israk Mikraj celebrations, which will provide activities and briefings such as a Wudhu and Tayammum Clinic, an Al-Fatihah Clinic and a Prayer Clinic.
Meanwhile, DSP Hamri Aslan explained that the main roads that will be controlled for the duration of the aforementioned events will be in the area of the Jalan Haji Basir traffic lights and along the road at the traffic lights of Taman Jubli; the area of the Jalan Kumbang Pasang traffic lights, which is near the Raja Isteri Girls High School (STPRI) up to the entrance of St George’s School; the Jalan Ong Sum Ping traffic lights, at Jalan Menteri Besar towards the roundabout; Jalan Airport Lama towards Jalan Menteri Besar; the traffic lights at Jalan Pertahanan; the traffic lights at Jalan Residency/Jalan McArthur; and the junction of Jalan Stadium and Jalan Persidangan.
In addition, the day before the event begins, parking lots must be vacated at Jalan Tasek, Jalan Kianggeh, Jalan McArthur, along Jalan Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien, along Jalan Stoney, along Jalan Haji Basir, along Jalan Kumbang Pasang, along Jalan Stadium, along Jalan Pasir Berakas and along Jalan Delima.
Aside from the cycling event, there will also be a talk entitled ‘Ceramah Perdana Pengukuhan Institusi Keluarga’ in the afternoon of Sunday at the Plenary Hall of the International Convention Centre in Berakas. This lecture, which is themed ‘Creating a Sakinah Mawaddah Warrahmah Family’, will be presented by Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia (Dr) Ustaz Haji Awang Abdul Aziz bin Juned, the State Mufti.
Also to be held is the ‘Anakku Kesayanganku’ event, which will see the awarding of special prizes of appreciation to infants born beginning 12am to 11.59pm on Sunday in three main hospitals, in conjunction with National Family Day 2017. This event will be held concurrently on May 8 at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital in Bandar Seri Begawan, at Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Belait District and at Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Hospital in Temburong District.
A number of side events will also be held by all ministries, mukim and village consultative councils (MPMK), NGOs and private companies.
MPMK will take the opportunity to promote products from all four districts under ‘One Village, One Product’, while private agencies such as Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB) will also promote family products. All parties are encouraged to enjoy the National Family Day celebrations this year by conducting activities considered appropriate and share their activities through Instagram @harikeluargakebangsaan or #hkknbd2017.
It was also highlighted in the press conference that it is important for people to understand and appreciate the message and goal of National Family Day, which is to make the celebration of National Family Day a platform to strengthen and increase awareness of the importance of love between family members for the creation of happiness and harmony in families and households in line with this year’s theme of ‘Keluargaku Penyayang, Negara Gemilang’. This is because a strong sense of love for family will lead to a strong community, and strong communities will result in a glorious nation.
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