It was a day of joy and pride for 626 recipients when His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam presented land grants for the temporary occupation licence (TOL) under the scheme in the Brunei-Muara and Temburong districts as well as keys for apartment units and land lots under the National Housing Scheme (RPN) in the Brunei-Muara District yesterday at Bridex Hall, Jerudong.
Upon arrival, His Majesty was greeted by Minister of Home Affairs Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ahmaddin bin Haji Abdul Rahman, Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid and Brunei-Muara District Officer Misle bin Haji Abdul Karim.
The Brunei-Muara district officer, in his welcoming remarks, pledged unwavering loyalty to His Majesty on behalf of the recipients and prayed for the monarch’s well-being, blessed by Allah the Almighty to continue to rule the nation.
Some 218 people were awarded with land grants, 183 recipients of whom were from Brunei-Muara and 35 from Temburong.
Under the RPN, 408 received house keys and land lots, 270 of which were apartment units, one basic house (Karamunting Kodok), four semi-detached houses, 126 terrace houses and seven land grants.
His Majesty then visited Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Arabic School in Kampong Rimba, which opened in January 2020 and currently has 1,746 male students from Year 5-11. The school also has 217 teachers and 23 staff.
The monarch later visited the residence of house key recipients under the RPN in Kampong Rimba – Rosnan bin Haji Abdul Rahman and Mohamad Arman bin Haji Abdullah.
His Majesty then visited the residence of Acting Village Head of Zone 5, RPN Kampong Rimba Md Salleh bin Haji Ahmad.
His Majesty then visited the houses of land grants under the TOL – Noorshafenah binti Haji Abidin in Kampong Lambak Kiri and Haji Abdul Karim bin Awang Abdullah in Kampong Lambak Kiri ‘A’.
The monarch later visited the Royal Brunei Culinary (RBC) in Lambak Kanan West Industrial Park, which offers professional culinary service for the airline sector, healthcare and other institutions.
Among RBC’s achievements include the Excellence Project Initiative award last year through its Central Kitchen, being recognised by Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) as one of the biggest food production service centres in the Sultanate.
The monarch also toured the houses of house key recipients at apartment units at the RPN Kampong Lambak Kanan including Pengiran Mohammad Daud bin Pengiran Matassan and Awangku Noorshah bin Pengiran Haji Zainal.
His Majesty’s next destination was the Centre of Islamic Calligraphy and Arts Studies of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah at Rumah Semaun.
The centre’s establishment is part of an initiative to answer a call by His Majesty to promote Jawi writing and produce skilled people in tandem with Brunei Vision 2035.
His Majesty ended his visit with a santap at An-Naura Hall, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex.
The development of infrastructure and public facilities plays an important role in improving the quality of life of the people.
Various initiatives have been and are being actively implemented to achieve the national aspiration including the provision of housing to the people.
Among the efforts are the two schemes – the TOL scheme and the RPN – to ensure that the people have comfortable, affordable and sustainable homes. – Azlan Othman
