| Azaraimy HH |
A SERIES of colourfully choreographed special field performances charmed thousands who congregated at the field area of the Tutong District Civic Centre Complex yesterday to attend 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’s annual get-together ceremony in conjunction with the monarch’s 71st birthday celebrations.
The enchanting field performances summed up the affection of the people of Tutong District towards their ruler.
The spectacular show involved around 571 individuals, comprising 471 students from secondary and primary schools in Tutong District, members of local ethnic communities, representatives of mukim and village consultative councils, local youths and the Tutong District Volunteer Group.
Cikgu Aziz bin Hamdan, chairman of the special field performances in Tutong District, in an interview after the event said, “Alhamdulillah, we had rehearsed the performances nearly a month last May. We had to temporarily stop the rehearsal to give respect to the holy month of Ramadhan and Hari Raya celebration. Today, as chairman of the special performance I feel satisfied and very proud of how the participants, especially our young students performed. We hope that His Majesty is also satisfied with the performances.”
Some of the young people involved in the performance included students from Nusa Jaya, Muda Hashim, Tutong Camp, Bukit Beruang, Tanjong Maya, Tumpuan Telisai, and Sengkarai primary schools as well as students from Muda Hashim, Sufri Bolkiah Tutong, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha, Sayyidina Othman, Tanjong Maya secondary schools and Mahad Islam Brunei.
Carrying the theme ‘Raja Bijaksana, Negara Makmur, Rakyat Sejahtera’, the colourful 20-minute performance reflected the beloved monarch’s charismatic leadership, benign characteristics and capable kingship in ensuring the wellbeing of the people and prosperity of the nation under the guiding national philosophy of Malay Islamic Monarchy.
Tutong has diverse ethnic groups, and the performances featured the distinct cultures of people from Puak Tutong, Puak Kedayan, Tiong Hua community, Puak Dusun and Puak Iban, Cikgu Aziz said.
He said three songs were made especially for this year’s performances, created by himself and co-chairman of special performance Mohd Amir bin Haji Umarali. The songs were ‘Gerak Belia Perkasa’, ‘Gema Perpaduan Rakyat’, and ‘Raja Terungul Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patek’.
Describing the songs, Cikgu Aziz said ‘Gerak Belia Perkasa’ symbolises youths as the nerves of the nation. ‘Gerak Belia Perkasa’ reflects youths as inheritors of the nation’s heritage and identity. Part of the lyric of this song is ‘Orang Tutong Orang Kita’ which expresses the love of people of Tutong towards the nation and the king. The song ‘Raja Terungul Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patek’ highlights the respect and loyalty of the people of Tutong District towards the beloved king.
The special performance session was divided into four segments.
The first segment portrayed the young generation of Bruneians as the future hope of the country and highlighted the progress in the field of education through the implementation of farsighted policies by His Majesty that give birth to young citizens with big heart.
In this segment, a group of young students played a musical drama titled ‘We are Children with Big Heart’. The drama told the story of the young generation of people who are faithful to the religion and the king, possess big ambitions, respect their parents and teachers, and always strive to realise a noble ambition. Their skills were shown through their ability to communicate, hold dialogue and sing. The performance involved some 100 students aged 12 and below.
The second segment showcased the active participation and sound leadership of youths who are capable of spearheading the nation towards a respected position. Involving some 150 students, the segment began with a synchronised movement and singing entitled ‘Gerak Belia Perkasa’ (Mighty Motion of the Youth). These motions reflected the boldness of the nation’s youths in entering a more challenging field for the sake of the nation’s development. This group of youths represented different sectors such as creative and innovative industry, tourism, agriculture, arts and culture, entrepreneurship and others. This segment showed the group of youths forming the number 71 in both Jawi and Roman alphabets. On a whole, the segment showed that the nation’s youths are responsible and progressive and have a strong spirit of teamwork.
The third segment showed the solidarity of citizens and residents towards creating a peaceful and prosperous life.
In this segment, a community of people, represented by some 100 participants, staged a performance based on the concept of tradition – brought together from various traditional musical feats such as ‘Bermukun’ and ‘Berdundun’ into one musical melody titled ‘Gema Perpaduan Rakyat’ (Echoes of People’s Unity).
This segment reflected the principle direction the nation is taking in its development, maintaining its rich heritage and culture, towards reaching the goals of Vision 2035.
The fourth segment was a combined show of all the participants together with the citizens and residents in Tutong District expressing their unwavering loyalty and love towards the beloved monarch.
This segment also included a patriotic song ‘Raja Terungul Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patek’, reflecting the solidarity of people towards a peaceful and prosperous living.
The performance ended with loud cries of ‘Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik’ (Long Live His Majesty) by the performers and attendees.