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Borneo Bulletin, Monday July 15, 2019
Page 14
Royal Birthday
| Lyna Mohamad |
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 in his titah
for the 34
th
National Day highlighted
on the nation’s need of a vibrant young
generation that is brave enough to lead
its development.
“It is our desire to see our nation
progressively develop further, and it is
the noble aspirations of an independent
nation which should be shouldered by
the younger generation,” said His Majesty,
adding that the youth must seize on all
opportunities to enhance their capability
through programmes offered both locally
and abroad.
“Youth are usually rich with new ideas
and certainly courageous to face various
challenges. They are expected to give a
fresh impetus to developmental efforts
in the country. In this new era, the use
of information technology is widespread
and plays a crucial role. No doubt, it also
redirects our focus towards creating
a digital economy that is widely open
to be explored. This is also a mounting
challenge,” the monarch said.
Inanswering thiscall, Social enterprises
Generasi
Bekarih
and
Al-Huffaz
Management teamed up with Legislative
Councilmember YangBerhormat Iswandy
bin Ahmad for organising the inaugural
Brunei Young Leaders Convention (BYLC)
in August last year as a newly developed
platform for local youth to answer the
nation and His Majesty’s call for youth
to be actively involved in achieving the
Brunei Vision 2035.
Yang Berhormat Iswandy pointed
out that with a lot of young Bruneians
wanting to play a part in achieving the
national vision but not knowing how, the
BYLC bridged the gap by bringing youth
together to be able to make positive plans
and develop projects that will help Brunei
achieve its vision.
Yang Berhormat Iswandy said that
within the national vision, which covers
13 strategic areas, there are opportunities
for youth to integrate and implement new
projects, and by better understanding
the national vision, BYLC hopes to enable
youth to actively participate in the “whole-
of-nation” approach that His Majesty’s
Government is seeking.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and
Sports, meanwhile, commissioned the
Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies to
conduct a National Youth Survey end of
last year, whichwill take amore grassroots
approach to gauge social issues affecting
young people.
With the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”
creating a need for the policy to
be reviewed to reflect and address
challenges faced by youth in the digital
age as stated by Secretariat of the
National Youth Survey, Muhd Ihsan Sabri
Haji Abdul Manap, the survey serves to
update Brunei’s youth policies, with the
aim of gathering feedback from a wide
variety of people outside established
youth organisations.
At this year’s 35
th
National Day
celebration, the monarch in a Titah again
expressed his aspiration for more younger
generation to continue the agenda of
nation building, hence calling on the
young generation to redouble efforts for
the country’s development.
The monarch underscored that there
have been such high hopes in previous
years for the young generation to lead
the country’s development in a proactive
manner and
Alhamdulillah
, by degrees,
these hopes are being fulfilled with youth
showing encouraging accomplishments
in entrepreneurship, economy and
community.
The monarch also pointed out that the
government agencies, meanwhile, are not
far behind in providing infrastructure and
providingassistancetotheyouth,especially
those involved in entrepreneurship.
“I wish to see an increase in such
efforts, until the youth are truly capable
of working together with the government.
To achieve this, government agencies
need to reinforce their role as facilitators
by providing strong infrastructure,
transparency and easy regulations.
Firm support and cooperation from all
stakeholders are also needed in providing
guidance and assistance.”
Youth showing encouraging
accomplishments in entrepreneurship,
economy and community development
Youth power country’s progress