| James Kon |
PREVIOUS recipients of the Sultan’s Scholar scholarship are looking to officially establish a Sultan’s Scholar Alumni group as a means to give back to the local community by involving its members in Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah’s volunteering projects as well as other related activities. The group will also regularly participate in education intervention programmes as well as conduct after-action reviews and propose improvements to its short-term plan.
This was revealed by Awangku Haji Muhammad Zaki bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Zaini, President of the Sultan’s Scholar Alumni group interim committee during his presentation on the alumni group’s actionable plan at the reflection ceremony for the Sultan’s Scholar development programme (which took place this year) yesterday morning.
Minister of Education Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, who is also the Chairman of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah’s Board of Directors, was present at the ceremony to listen to feedbacks and recommendations on the programme.
For its midterm plan, besides participating in Yayasan volunteering projects, the minister outlined that “the alumni would also propose new projects such as motivational and financial literacy talks in schools,” adding that for the Sultan’s Scholar internal project, “there would be icebreaking activities for new scholars, a buddy programme for students, as well as other group activities to foster closer ties.”
For the longer term, he said, “We are thinking of collaborating with organisations such as Persatuan Kemajuan Insan (KESAN) – a non-governmental organisation that fosters character development of youths in Brunei – and the Brunei Council on Social Welfare (MKM), as well as continue arranging visits to the various ministries for our members. This is meant as a learning experience for them and to expose them to work best practices and have them participating in working sessions or forums.”
Also in attendance at the reflection ceremony were Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, who is also the Vice Chairman 1 of Yayasan Board of Directors; Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Mohamad Roselan bin Haji Mohamad Daud, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, who is a member of the Sultan’s Scholar Steering Committee; Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud, Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, a member of the Yayasan Board of Directors; and Dato Paduka Eddie bin Dato Paduka Haji Sunny, the Managing Director of Yayasan.
This year, the Sultan’s Scholar Development Programme comprises two programmes – the Singapore’s Leg and Brunei’s Leg.
The Singapore’s Leg programme was carried out in collaboration with the Singapore High Commission in Brunei Darussalam and the Singapore Civil Service College to provide programme participants exposure to Singapore’s civil services. In total, 12 recipients of the Sultan’s Scholar scholarship participated in the four-day programme, which began last month on July 4.
The Brunei’s Leg programme meanwhile is further made up of two components, the first of which is leadership training and team building. These activity segments were facilitated by Trandie Marina Resorts Sdn Bhd in Temburong for three days from July 10-13.
The second component was an in-country familiarisation programme organised for government agencies and the country’s private sector. The visit to the government agencies – led by Hajah Donnaliza binti Abdullah Puasa, Assistant Managing Director of Yayasan – involved delegations from Brunei Islamic Religious Council, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Finance, PENGGERAK Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Department of Town and Country Planning under the Ministry of Development.
It is hoped that through the development programme, recipients of the Sultan’s Scholar scholarship will gain a better understanding on the development and progress of the country, and be ready to serve the Government of 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 raise their efforts to contribute to the country’s development.
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