By Danial Norjidi
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam devoted seven straight hours of his time yesterday to present 141 recipients with the keys to their new homes, to tour some of the houses of successful recipients and village heads, to view the progress and development of Kampong Lumapas 'A' and visit the Sumbangsih Bahagia Building in the Beribi Industrial Area.
The day began at Wasan Vocational School in Kampong Limau Manis, where a total of 141 citizens residing in the Brunei-Muara District were presented with keys to their new homes from His Majesty, under the National Housing Scheme, Skim Tanah Kurnia Rakyat Jati (STKRJ) for Kampong Lumapas 'A' and Kampong Mata-Mata (Katok 'B').
Of the total, 127 recipients received 'E' type houses in Kampong Lumapas 'A', while nine received 'D' type houses and five received 'E' type houses in Kampong Mata-Mata (Katok 'B').
Before the presentation, the Brunei-Muara District Officer spoke. He said, "Speaking on behalf of the recipients, I, with the utmost respect would like to thank His Majesty for the generous gifts, which will certainly give the recipients a much more comfortable life and improve their living standards, thus instilling within them the want to continue supporting His Majesty's sovereignty with unwavering loyalty."
The benevolent monarch then went on a tour of the Vocational School, where he visited the Food Science Department, the New Rice Field Project by the Agriculture Department under the MIPR, the Fisheries Studies Department, the Training Rice Field for SVW, the Poultry Site, the Agriculture Studies Department and the School Proper.
During the tour of the school, His Majesty also consented to launch the Agricultural Development Area for the Padi Batang Perhantian Cultivation Project.
His Majesty then paid a visit to the house of the village head of Kampong Lumapas 'A', Haji Mohd Yassin bin Haji Hassan, before touring Awang Semaun Secondary School, as well as some of the houses in the Kampong Lumapas 'A' area, where he met the residents who all eagerly awaited the beloved monarch's arrival.
His Majesty toured five specifically selected houses, and also consented to tour those of the many residents who invited him for a photograph in their living rooms.
The house of the Kampong Beribi village head, Awang Haji Zaini bin Dato Paduka Haji Othman, was His Majesty's next stop, before he continued his visit to Sumbangsih Bahagia Building.
At Sumbangsih, which was the final stop, His Majesty toured HSBC Finance (Brunei) Berhad, Momo Corse Auto Company, Perbadanan TAIB, Takaful IBB Berhad, Baiduri Finance Berhad, GHK Group of Companies and Proinsure Enterprise.
- Borneo Bulletin
(27th October 2010)
