Sultan officiates Sovereign’s Parade for 8th intake of Officer Cadets
Story by Aziz Idris
Photos By Azrol Azmi & Dean Kassim
HIS Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and the Supreme Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces yesterday morning officiated the Sovereign’s Parade for the 8th intake of Officer Cadets at the Parade Square of the RBAF Officer Cadet School (OCS) at Sungai Akar Camp. The event marked not only the end of training and the beginning of military careers for the officer cadets but has also been described as an unofficial ‘tribute’ ceremony for the 12 fallen heroes who have lost their lives during a heart-rending helicopter crash that shook the nation before the start of last year’s fasting month.
Upon arrival in front of the OCS Headquarters, His Majesty was greeted by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Paduka Haji Mustappa bin Haji Sirat, and the Commander of RBAF, Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin.
Shortly after the arrival, His Majesty received the Royal Salute and inspected the Static Guard of Honour mounted by personnel of the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF). His Majesty was later ushered to the dais and once again received the Royal Salute from 21 officer cadets of the 8th intake and also 48 Officer Cadets of the 9th intake. The Sovereign’s Parade Guard of Honour was under the command of Lieutenant Khairul Faizin bin Haji Abd Gapar.
The monarch also consented to deliver an emotional titah during the ceremony whereby the monarch praised the officers for successfully graduating from OCS and expressed his grief over the crash victims.
The intensive 42-week training for the 8th intake Officer Cadets began on September 28, 2012, which was especially designed to enhance the leadership, personality and intellectual qualities as required in every officer in the RBAF through diverse military training exercises.
The Sovereign’s Parade marked the conclusion of their training and constitutes the beginning of their profession serving in the RBAF by instilling the core values and leadership qualities in addition to serve with full dedication and commitment.
His Majesty then consented to commission the newly graduated officer cadets.
His Majesty consented to present the ‘Sword of Honour’ Award to 19966 OCdt Haji Mohammad Hisham bin Abdullah @ Pg Haji Mahrup. He graduated in MSc in Management & MEng Chemical Engineering from University of Bath, United Kingdom. After being commissioned, he will be the Head of Platoon 10, Company D, 1st Battalion, Royal Brunei Land Forces. The award is the highest accolade of excellence presented to officer cadets.
His Majesty also consented to present the ‘Best in Academic Study Award’ to 21701 OCdt Wafa Nabilah binti Abdullah who graduated in MA in International Security from University of Sussex, United Kingdom. She will be posted as the Advisory Officer in Academic, RBAF Defence Academy.
OCdt 16472 (U) Muhd Ali Saddiqin bin Haji Murni received the Best Military Skills Award, who was a graduate from Lim Kok Wing University, Malaysia in BSc (Hons) in Information Technology. He has completed his basic military recruit training from the 122nd intake in 2002 and previously served for five years as an aircraft engineer at the Royal Brunei Air Force. He is now qualified to be a pilot in training at No 63 Squadron, Royal Brunei Air Force.
His Majesty then consented to present the final award for Best in Physical Training Endurance Award to 19984 OCdt (L) Awangku Faizul Azmizan bin Pengiran Haji Razali/Rajali who studied at Institut Teknologi Brunei taking Higher National Diploma in Communication & Computer System Engineering. After being commissioned as a military officer, he will be posted into the Officer in Training for KDB Darulaman, Royal Brunei Navy.
Three calls of ‘Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik’ were heard shortly after from all officer cadets followed by a thanksgiving prayer read by Assistant Head of the RBAF Religious Department (JAMA’AT), Captain Awang Ariffin bin Amit.
From the Parade Square, His Majesty proceeded to the Sungai Akar Camp Officer’s Mess for a luncheon. His Majesty then consented to receive a Pesambah named ‘Rehal Thamaniah’ from the eighth intake of the Officer Cadet School.
The ‘Rehal’ or book-rest is ideal to lift the Al-Quran. The Pesambah has an eight-pillar formation and ‘Thamaniah’ is an Arabic word for the number eight.
The Pesambah depicts the characteristics of spirituality and piety in the officer cadets from the 8th intake, who proved their loyalty to the wishes of religion, race and nation, to make Brunei Darussalam a Zikir Nation with Al-Quran and Sunnah as our guidance.
His Majesty also consented to the signing ceremony, the Royal Parchment and a book entitled ‘Buku Perjalanan Pegawai Kadet Pengambilan Ke Lapan’ or ‘8th Intake Officer Cadet Book of Journey’.
His Majesty then consented to receive greetings from officers and instructors of the OCS and also subsequently consented to a group photo session. The benevolent ruler also consented to greet the families of the helicopter crash victims.
