James Kon
Some 3,900 participated in a full dress rehearsal for the upcoming 39th National Day Grand Assembly and Parade at Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohd Tashim bin Pengiran Haji Hassan; Commissioner of Royal Brunei Police Force Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali; Royal Brunei Armed Forces Commander Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan as well as permanent secretaries and deputy permanent secretaries, and executive committee members for Brunei Darussalam’s 39th National Day celebration 2023 were present to witness the final full dress rehearsal.
Permanent Secretary (Culture) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Pengiran Haji Mohd Hasnan bin Pengiran Haji Ali Hassan, as Co-Secretary of the Executive Committee of the 39th National Day celebration, thanked the participants for their ”excellent performance, commitment and dedication”.
He also advised the participants to get enough rest, eat well and take care of themselves.
This year’s celebration theme is similar with the previous year’s ‘Menjayakan Wawasan Negara’ which remains relevant in realising Brunei Vision 2035.
The celebration emphasised cultural heritage as the nation’s identity, which Pengiran Haji Mohd Hasnan said is relevant to the development of the country and the nation.
The parade is split into seven groupings, namely head of parade, Nation’s Peace, intelligent community, public and private sector, education sector, public movement and excellent team.
The field performance featured the pencak silat performance, ‘Gerak Silat’ (silat movement), performed by nine national pencak silat athletes who have won medals at regional and international levels. The performance was followed by a silat dance featuring 60 students from Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Primary School and Pusar Ulak Primary School.
The grand field performance of the national day theme was performed by 2,839 participants from ministries, government departments, primary and secondary schools, colleges, higher education institutions, association, seven ethic groups, youths including persons with different abilities.
The performance was accompanied by the Senandung Darussalam Traditional Orchestra, comprising 120 traditional musicians.
Meanwhile, Awangku Mohd Nazirul Mubin bin Pengiran Haji Abdul Rahman from the Ministry of Defence led the recitation of the National Day Oath by 39 oath readers.
Capping off the performance was a fly-by by six Blackhawk helicopters from Royal Brunei Airforce, led by 922 Captain (U) Muhammad Adib bin Haji Hashim.
