The Daily Brunei Resources

[My article below was published in Brunei Times on 13th December 2010] +++++ THE GOLDEN LEGACY The Tales of the Bananas, Dragons and Tigers by Rozan Yunos One of the most interesting facts about animals is that the entire Borneo Island of which Brunei currently occupies a small percentage has no tigers. No one knows why. And yet for a country without tigers, it is quite surprising to note that a few caves found in Brunei are said to be Sawang Harimau or Tiger’s Caves. It is indeed surprising that there are at least two caves in Brunei, one in Muara and one in Kilanas are known as Sawang Harimau. With names like that, one would expect to find that these caves were at least once used by tigers even if they are no longer used by tigers today. But then there were no tigers in Brunei, so why the name Tiger’s Caves? Bukit Tempayan Pisang in Muara housed one of these tiger’s caves. From the top of the 500 metre high hill, one can have a panoramic view of the beautiful beaches around Muara esp...

Many people asked me what is the best book to get if you collect paper money or coins? The answer to that depends on which country's money you are collecting. But if you are focused on collecting Brunei's currency, then the best book to buy is this one - the Standard Catalogue of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Coin and Paper Money. The catalogue is produced by a Mr Steven Tan and as you can see it is in its 19th edition. Steven is almost 73 years old today and had been in the business for the last 50 years. He is one of the most experienced person in today's numismatic world. If you happen to have the old Brunei money, the catalogue priced it as follows: 'Begawan Series' (uncirculated) $1 is now worth RM 160 $5 is RM 360 $10 is RM 450 $50 is RM 1,600 $100 is RM 2,200 'Hassanal Bolkiah 1st series' $1 is between RM20 to RM42 depending on the year of production $5 is RM 120 $10 is RM 175 $50 is RM 450 $100 is RM 800 to RM 1,200 $500 is RM 3,000 to RM 3,500 $1000 i...

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen, Wabihee Nasta’eenu ‘Alaa Umuriddunyaa Waddeen, Wassalatu Wassalamu ‘Alaa Asyrafil Mursaleen, Sayyidina Muhammadin Wa’alaa Aalihee Wasahbihee Ajma’een, Waba’du. Semua perkara adalah berpunca daripada Allah. Nikmat daripada Allah dan musibah juga daripada Allah. Semua ini berlaku dengan hikmah dan sebab-sebab yang tersendiri. Kerana itu sayugia diingat, dalam apa pun perkara, kita jangan melupakan Allah, termasuk ketika menyambut dan merayakan ulang tahun Hari Kebangsaan. Tidakkah kita ingin mengimbas kembali detik bersejarah perisytiharan kemerdekaan, di mana kita telah membesarkan Allah di dalamnya? Kita telah pun sama-sama melafazkan ‘Allahu Akbar’, dengan tujuan, untuk mendapatkan restu Allah serta keberkatan dan pemeliharaan-Nya jua. Alhamdulillah, tujuan ini tercapai, dengan kemerdekaan yang telah berumur 27 tahun itu sedang membuahkan nikmat dalam bentuk pelbagai kemajuan di sem...

The 11th Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee Meeting on Transboundary Haze Pollution which took place in Singapore agreed to continue to be vigilant and prepared for any occurrence of transboundary haze from fires during extended periods of dry weather in the coming months. Representing Brunei Darussalam at the meeting was the Minister of Development, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi. The Ministers noted the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre's weather outlook of occasional periods of dry weather over the next two months. With the possibility of the prevailing La Nina weakening to neutral conditions in the second half of the year, drier weather may be expected during the coming traditional dry season between June and September 2011. The Ministers also expressed their appreciation to Indonesia for its enhanced and new efforts in implementing its Plan of Action in Dealing with Transboundary Haze Pollution. Eight action prog...

Greetings from Singapore. I am attending several meetings, the 11th Meeting of the Sub-Regional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution, the 5th Brunei-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment as well as the 5th Brunei-Singapore Annual Exchange of Visits over the last three days. It ended at noon today and we will be flying back later tonight. We were lucky that on Thursday night, the Singapore organisers invited us to visit the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, you know the famous three tower hotel with a connecting plate on top. That connecting plate on top has an interesting swimming pool (see above) where you can see the entire Singapore. I am not sure whether I would like to swim in that pool. Being up there already gave me the jitters.

I was presiding over the selection of houses last week for both the National Housing Scheme (RPN) and the Landless Scheme (STKRJ) for 160 houses at Rimba and Sungai Buloh. For most recipients this pengundian ceremony is the best as this is the time they actually get the keys to their houses. But of course the most memorable occasion would be when His Majesty hands them the plaque to commemorate the ceremony and for a lucky few, get their houses visited by the monarch himself. During this ceremony, we hold a drawing session where every applicant gets to draw which his house would be his in that area. Many bring their spouses and children and ask their children or their other half to draw on their behalf. A number would be shaking when they open their draw. Some might be lucky and get corner units or houses at the end of the road etc. There was one time when we all saw that one applicant would be getting a relatively larger area compared to the others because of the shape of the land and...

Maulidur Rasul celebrations in Brunei's past histories: