His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday consented to present 73 people with land grants under the Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) Land Scheme for the Brunei-Muara District.

Donned in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces uniform, His Majesty presented the recipients with their grants in a ceremony held at Lambak Kiri Secondary School.

The Brunei-Muara District Officer, Awg Haji Jamain bin Momin, who spoke at the ceremony, said, "I, as a representative of the recipients, would like to extend the highest appreciation to His Majesty for this gift, which is certain to live on in memory and increase the people's standard of living."

After presenting the 73 land grants, His Majesty toured the secondary school, where he spoke to students and teachers while also viewing the school's various facilities.

Later, His Majesty visited the residence of the Village Head of Kampong Lambak 'B', Major (Rtd) Haji Jair bin Haji Abd Wahab, where he was greeted by residents of the area and was briefed by the village head on the various matters pertaining to the village. His Majesty received a pesambah in the form of two caged budgies, one white and one yellow.

His Majesty then visited the homes of various land grant recipients, beginning with Haji Liman bin Haji Raim's house in Kampong Lambak, followed by the home of Ampuan Bakar bin Ampuan Ajak in Kampong Lambak 'A' at Jalan Terunjing Baharu.

His Majesty then proceeded to Kampong Orang Kaya Besar Imas at the Jalan Kebangsaan Lama area, where the monarch visited two homes, namely those of Pengiran Abd Rahman bin Pengiran Basar and Aminah binti Timbang.

These visits were followed by another to homes of land grant recipients Masadine Isma bin Haji Serudin and Aminah binti Haji Abd Rahman, both of whom live in Kampong Manggis.

During His Majesty's series of visits to recipients' homes, the benevolent monarch accepted a number of invitations from other residents and made unscheduled visits to their homes.

Next on His Majesty's itinerary was the Department of Land Transport in Sungai Akar, where the ruler was greeted upon arrival by Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Hj Mohamad Yusof , Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, along with the Acting Director of Land Transport Haji Khalid Haji Mustafa.

The Acting Director briefed His Majesty on the various functions of the department and also showed graphical and statistical information on the number of drivers licence applicants who have passed and failed the test.

His Majesty then moved on to Kampong Belimbing along Jalan Subok, where the monarch first visited the Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Board in the area, before going to the residence of Awang Haji Gapor @ Haji Mohd Daud bin Karim, the Belimbing Village Head.

The final destination in Kampong Belimbing was the home of Dayang Hajah Che Yam binti Che Ibrahim, a batik product entrepreneur. His Majesty viewed some of Hajah Che Yam's products while being briefed on the methods of producing batik products.

Speaking to the Bulletin, Hajah Che Yam said, "My inspiration to do this comes from Allah the Almighty. I like to do on-the-spot, free-form batik, and I've been doing this since I was in school."

She has been in business in Brunei since 1973 and hopes to help encourage the younger generation to embrace the art of producing batik through mediums such as workshops and courses.

The royal visit concluded with a santap at DAR Takaful IBB in the capital. - Borneo Bulletin (28th June 2011)