| Lyna Mohamad |
THE Oman Embassy in Brunei Darussalam hosted an appreciation lunch for Hassanal Bolkiah Arabic Boys Secondary School (SMALHB) students yesterday for their participation in the Oman National Day Reception 2018. The event took place at the embassy in Kampong Pengkalan Gadong.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Aziz bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Haji Yussof, the guest of honour, presented tokens of appreciation from the embassy to the students.
Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Brunei Darussalam Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashel bin Rashed bin Hashel Al-Maskari in an interview said the lunch was held in appreciation of the talented performance by the SMALHB students where they performed both the Oman and Brunei national anthems at the Oman National Day reception 2018.
The students performed excellently and pronounced the Arabic Language in a very classic and clear voice, said the ambassador.
He added that the video of their performance was broadcast on Oman TV where viewers were impressed with the Arabic Language proficiency in Brunei as it is part of the education curriculum here.
“For us at the embassy, we feel pleased and privileged to see Bruneians are now keener to learn the Arabic Language. We share that common language because of Al-Quran, and more and more people are in command of speaking the language.”
The Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) and Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) students who had gone to study in Oman were very supportive during Oman’s participation at the Brunei Book Fair 2019, where it was the Country of Honour for the fair.
Some of the students studying in Oman on Brunei government scholarships and some on an eight-week course sponsored by the Oman government were involved at the book fair, translating from Arabic to Malay for visitors to the Oman pavilion as well as demonstrating the making of Halwa.
Touching on the education collaboration between Oman and Brunei, the ambassador noted said there is a wider scope of cooperation, whether sending exchange of students at the level of higher education or exchange of some programmes as the rising interest in learning the Arabic Language can be seen.
There are also some universities from Oman and Brunei who are also trying to explore opportunities for a wider scope of cooperation. The ambassador also emphasised on the strong support and cooperation provided by the Ministry of Religious Affairs to the embassy.
Also present at the event were officials from the embassy and SMALHB.