| Wani Roslan |
RELIGIOUS Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) through its Student Association, Student Representative Council held the Islamic Arts and Culture ceremony at its campus yesterday in conjunction with Brunei’s 35th National Day.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin was the guest of honour.
Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Putera Maharaja Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Ghani bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahim, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Datin Paduka Dr Hajah Norlila binti Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Jalil, Ra’es of KUPU SB Dr Haji Adanan bin Haji Basar, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy and Religious) at the Ministry of Religious Affairs Haji Mohd Serudin bin Haji Timbang, Acting Deputy Ra’es of KUPU SB Dr Abang Haji Hadzmin bin Abang Haji Taha, Acting Assistant Ra’es of KUPU SB Datin Dr Hajah Noor Hira bin Haji Noor Kaseh; representatives from Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Universiti Teknologi Brunei and Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali; as well as directors, acting directors, key officials, lecturers, staff and students of KUPU SB were also present.
The ceremony began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and Asma ‘ul-Husna led by Head Exco of Islamic Arts and Culture Mohd Faizzuddin bin Murni, followed by the singing of the national anthem and reading of Al-Quran verses.
In his welcoming remarks, President of the Student Association for 2018/2019 Abdul Nassir Saufi bin Hassan shared that the culture of the country is mostly influenced by Islam and Malay customs, with the most well-known Islamic influence in the field of arts being Jawi or calligraphy.
“In KUPU SB, we are emphasising on the arts and culture of Islam by wearing modest attire such as Baju Cara Melayu and Baju Kurung as our official attire and adopting Jawi as our main [Arabic writing system],” he said.
“It is desirable to hold firmly onto the aspiration for Brunei to be a prosperous country, increase solidarity among the people, improve the standard of living of the people, as well as uphold the Islamic Syiar and glorify Islam as the official religion of the country.”
The event saw poetry and calligraphy demonstrations and Silat, Syaer Al-Marhum, hadrah, archery and Pentomen performances by guests and students of KUPU SB.
The ceremony aimed to realise Brunei Vision 2035 and instil the spirit of patrio-tism and Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) among the youth through the showcase of local arts and culture.