| James Kon |
PARTICIPANTS of the Singapore-Brunei Youth Leader-ship Exchange Programme (SBYLEP) got the opportunity to meet His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and his wife, Chew Poh Yim, in the capital yesterday morning.
His Royal Highness, Deputy Prime Minister Teo and his spouse were on a morning stroll at the newly opened Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas before heading for breakfast.
The SBYLEP participants comprised 30 young leaders from Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
The SBYLEP, which ran from October 31 to November 5, allowed participants to share the best practices in Brunei and Singapore, as well as to foster closer ties between both countries.
Speaking to the Bulletin, Mohammad Amsyar Alidin, a representative from the Brunei delegation, said, “I am very grateful to have met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Singapore Deputy Prime Minister. Overall, it’s been a wonderful experience for us Bruneians and Singaporeans to build on our friendship and share our experiences.
“His Royal Highness and Deputy Prime Minister Teo seem to be very encouraged about the unity between the people of Brunei and Singapore through this programme.”
Pauline Tan, the leader of the Singapore delegation, explained the benefits of the programme, “Both countries have already established a very good relationship and this programme actually brings the additional dimension of personal relations between the people of both countries.”
The theme for this year’s exchange programme is ‘Youth Empowerment.’
Mohammad Amsyar Alidin elaborated further, “We come from different backgrounds and agencies. We managed to gather ideas and exchange experiences to improve the future, especially for the youth on how they can grow to become valuable assets for both Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. The programme has been a wonderful experience for me as a government servant as it’s very eye-opening to look at different perspectives and to learn from our Singapore counterparts.”
When asked about what she will miss most about Brunei, Tan said, “Definitely the people of Brunei, who are very hospitable and gracious. We love to host Brunei delegates in the future and hope to maintain the friendships which were built over the six days of the programme.”
The next edition of the Singapore-Brunei Youth Leader-ship Exchange Programme will be hosted by Singapore in 2018.
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