| Rokiah Mahmud |
MINISTER of Defence II cum Chairman of the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Board of Directors Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof yesterday led a delegation from Yayasan for the third day of the open house at the Istana Nurul Iman.
The delegation comprised more than 200 Yayasan personnel and Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah School teachers.
Yayasan Managing Director Dato Paduka Eddy bin Dato Paduka Haji Sunny was also in attendance.
The yearly activity aims not only to allow delegation members to extend their festive greetings to 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, Her Majesty Duli Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha binti Al-Marhum Pengiran Pemancha Pengiran Anak Haji Mohamed Alam and members of the royal family, but also to instil the tradition among the younger generation.
Meanwhile, over 500 members from the Islamic Da’wah Centre embarked on a similar visit yesterday.
Islamic Da’wah Centre Acting Director Haji Abdul Aziz bin Haji Abdul Kadir, who led the delegation, told the Bulletin that the visit is part of the centre’s efforts to strengthen ties among Muslim converts and at the same time provide them the opportunity to extend their well-wishes to the royal family.
The visit also allowed them to experience the ambience at the Istana Nurul Iman and provided them the opportunity to express their gratitude for the assistance received from the Government of His Majesty, he said.
After the palace, the delegation was to visit the homes of the minister of Religious Affairs and deputy minister of Religious Affairs, as well as permanent secretary and deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
The annual tradition, which has become a local culture and identity, sees the involvement of people from all walks of life. It even caught the attention of KBS TV, a media team from the Republic of Korea.
A KBS TV spoke spokesperson told the Bulletin that the crew had been in the Sultanate since Thursday, and had also taken the opportunity to visit places of interest in the country.