Lyna Mohamad & Daniel Lim
The 76th birthday of 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 saw the births of 10 babies in Brunei-Muara and Belait districts, giving the new mothers twice as much to celebrate.
July 15 will always be a day of national as well as familial celebration for Siti Musyirah Al-Maheera binti Muhd Musleh and husband Muhammad Hanif bin Abdullah, as she was one of the mothers who gave birth on Friday.
She was admitted to hospital on July 14 and was second in line, delivering her baby boy weighing 3.4 kilogrammes at 10.04am the next day after the 3.20am birth of a baby girl to proud parents Marhani binti Muhammad Rahimi and Norsamdani bin Bidan.
A Majlis Kesyukuran ceremony was held at the Women and Children Centre of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital yesterday to celebrate these births.
Pengiran Datin Hajah Norzana binti Pengiran Haji Rosli, spouse of the Minister of Home Affairs, presented gifts to the parents, with each gift comprising BND100 for a Simanja account with Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (Perbadanan TAIB), a BND50 voucher for the baby’s needs, a certificate and a portrait of the parents with their baby, contributed by the National Committee for His Majesty’s 76th Birthday Celebration.
Datin Hajah Khalsom binti Haji Suhaili, spouse of Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Chairman of Perbadanan TAIB Board of Directors, also presented souvenirs contributed by Perbadanan TAIB.
Eight babies were born at RIPAS Hospital on Friday, with the last baby girl born to Sumayyah binti Abdul Aziz and Muhammad bin Abduh at 5.21pm.
Meanwhile, Suri Seri Begawan (SSB) Hospital in Belait District recorded two births on the day.
A ceremony was held yesterday at the hospital, with Hajah Siti Raudah Hazimah binti Haji Abdul Wahab, wife of Permanent Secretary (Safety and Welfare) at the Ministry of Home Affairs, handing gifts to the parents.
Also present were Head of Manpower and Administration Department at Perbadanan TAIB Sharifah Ratna binti Haji Syed Abdul, and Nor’aziah binti Jalani, wife of the Acting Belait District Officer, who were welcomed by Acting Chief Executive Officer of SSB Hospital Mohamad Alikhan bin Haji Mohd Yakop.
The first birth was a baby boy, at 6.48am by Nurul Farhana binti Haji Mahidi and Haji Mohd Sahli Hazlan bin Haji Sidof.
A second boy was born at 12.16pm to Dayangku Syazwani Nur Afida binti Pengiran Mahmud and Amirul bin Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Ahmad.
The ceremony started with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah led by Head Religious Teacher of SSB Hospital Mohd Ali Omar bin Haji Mohd Yusof, followed by the handing over of gifts contributed by the National Committee for His Majesty’s 76th Birthday Celebration.
Perbadanan TAIB representative Sharifah Ratna also presented gifts to the parents.
In both ceremonies, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) contributed One Kampong One Product (1K1P) products.
Dayangku Syazwani Nur Afida recalled how she went into labour in the early morning of Friday.
She also expressed hope that her son will grow up healthy and achieve great things in life.
Meanwhile, Nurul Farhana and Haji Mohd Sahli Hazlan shared how their sixth child was due on July 10 but was delivered on July 15, and said they were grateful their baby was born safely while sharing His Majesty’s birthday.
