| Rokiah Mahmud |
AS PART of the government’s effort to enhance the quality of life of the people in the country, 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 presented key plaques to 860 new house owners in a ceremony at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Berakas yesterday.
A total of 716 were terrace house recipients and 140 were semi-detached house recipients under the National Housing Scheme (RPN) Kampong Panchor, Mengkubau. Four received terrace houses under the Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme (STKRJ) in Kampong Tungku (Katok ‘A’) and STKRJ Kampong Mata-Mata (Katok ‘B’).
His Majesty was greeted by Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar in his capacity as the Acting Minister of Home Affairs; Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof in his capacity as Director of the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), upon arrival at the ICC.
Acting Brunei-Muara District Officer Haji Ali bin Matyassin in his welcoming remarks expressed gratitude and undivided loyalty towards His Majesty, on behalf of the house recipients.
After presenting the house key plaques to the recipients, His Majesty visited several schools in the capital.
The schools included Pusar UIak Primary School, Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam (SMJA) Secondary School and Raja Isteri Fatimah Primary School.
During his visit to the schools, the monarch interacted with students, teachers and staff to learn about the progress of the institutions and toured the various facilities and exhibitions displaying the schools’ latest projects and achievements.
His Majesty’s visit to the schools reflected the monarch’s concern on the welfare and well-being of the students, especially in ensuring that students get holistic education to enhance not only their academic achievements but also life skills, creativity, confidence and religious knowledge.
The visits were part of the continuous efforts by the monarch to ensure that all strategies and initiatives relating to education are effectively implemented at education institutions in the country to the highest quality and are making a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching and learning.
His Majesty later visited the residence of the Village Head of Kampong Sungai Akar Haji Ramlee bin Haji Mat Zain where the monarch took a closer look at the village’s progress and learned more about activities that are being carried out there. Kampong Sungai Akar is home to 6,620 people.
The monarch also visited a number of residences of housing scheme recipients in RPN Kampong Panchor Mengkubau including those of Norhasrinah binti Hassan and Muhammad Deni bin Mohd Dali, recipients of terrace houses; and Dayangku Norhayati binti Pengiran Haji Yakop and Muhammad Husin bin Abdullah Merikan, recipients of semi-detached houses.
With an area of 121.5-square metres, each semi-detached and terrace house at the RPN Kampong Panchor Mengkubau has three bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen.
During the visit, recipients whose houses were not in the schedule of His Majesty’s visiting itinerary also had their wishes fulfilled by the caring monarch. His Majesty was seen happily accepting invitations to the houses and walked through the streets under the glaring mid-day sun with his subjects.
RPN Kampong Panchor Mengkubau has 4,000 housing units. Of this, 2,400 are terrace houses while 1,600 are semi-detached units. Built on 309 hectares of land, the project’s construction cost is over BND300 million.
The housing scheme will be equipped with a school, mosque, commercial amenities, community centre, parks, playground and recreational areas in the future.
To date, the National Housing Scheme has provided more than 29,000 houses while 27,379 individuals have received houses under STKRJ. Of this, over 18,000 are from Brunei-Muara District.
Since the nation attained independence in 1984, citizens and residents in the country continue to enjoy various facilities including affordable housing, under the leadership of His Majesty.
This reflects the monarch’s concern for the people and demonstrates the government’s commitment in upholding the aspiration of the monarch to provide sustainable and affordable housing, in line with the Brunei Vision 2035 and the objective of the National Housing Scheme to enhance the quality of life in the Sultanate.