| Daniel Lim |
THE lush voices of choir members resonated across the multi-purpose hall of Anthony Abell College (AAC), Seria, as six choir groups sang their hearts out in the Inter-Mukim Patriotic Songs Choir Competition for the Belait District held yesterday morning.
The competition, organised by the Information Department in conjunction with the country’s 35th National Day celebration, was aimed at promoting patriotism among the choir singers and event attendees, as well as to uncover choir talents capable of performing in national events.
Legislative Council (LegCo) member and Mukim Liang Penghulu Yang Berhormat Haji Abdul Hamid bin Haji Mumin oversaw the competition as the guest of honour.
Also present were LegCo member and Village Head of Kampong Labi 1 Yang Berhormat Hanapi bin Mohd Siput; Acting Director of Information Mawardi bin Haji Mohammad; officers from the Information Department’s Belait District Branch; as well as penghulus and village heads and residents from the surrounding area.
The choir groups hailing from the Belait District included MPK RPN Kampong Panaga from Mukim Seria, Permata 2.0 from Mukim Seria, Rawdah from Mukim Kuala Belait, Al Wanis from Mukim Seria, An-Nasru from Mukim Liang, and MPK Labi 1 from Mukim Labi.
Finishing in first place and winning the BND1,500 grand prize was Permata 2.0 with their song Tanah Airku.
Rawdah came second with their equally spectacular performance Tekad Kemerdekaan, followed by third-place winner MPK Labi 1 with their song Berkibarlah Bendera; the groups won BND1,200 and BND1,000 respectively.
Al Wanis, MPK RPN Kampong Panaga and An-Nasru each received a consolation prize of BND500 for their efforts.
“Having prepared for over two weeks prior to the competition, we as a group were able to focus our attention on perfecting various aspects of our performance that the judges were looking for such as voice, pitch and other singing elements,” said Rosni binti Dulani, an education officer at AAC and one of the choir members of the Permata 2.0 choir group. “This was what enabled us to perform at our best on stage here today and impress the judges and attendees.”
She hoped the competition will go a long way in developing the skills and talents of the participating choir groups and rev up the singers’ and attendees’ patriotic spirit in the build-up to the National Day celebration.
