Known as an important rice bowl of Thailand, Chai Nat province in the central region will organize a Straw Bird Festival to promote local tourism and preserve local culture.

The 10-day event will take place from 3-12 February 2012 at the stadium in front of the Chai Nat Town Hall. One of the highlights will be spectacular processions of gigantic birds fashioned out of rice straw.

Other activities include a Thai Red Cross fair, a bazaar of local products under the “One Tambon, One Product” (OTOP) program, a contest of straw birds, a food fair, and cultural shows.

During the festival, visitors will be invited to visit Chai Nat Bird Park, a major tourist attraction in this province, and other places of interest, such as the Chao Phraya Dam, which is Thailand’s first irrigation dam. In February each year, thousands of birds are seen flying over the Chao Phraya Dam, a view that attracts many birdwatchers.

Located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, Chai Nat is an ancient city founded in the 12th century. The majority of the population is engaged in rice-farming, so there is plenty of straw to make artificial birds from. The province is rich in water resources and is also famous for a special variety of pomelo, khao taeng kwa.

In 1985 when the Bird Park was under construction as a tourist attraction, farmers in Chai Nat built a huge dummy out of straw in the form of a field rat, as part of activities to join the government’s anti-field rat campaign. The Chai Nat governor at that time came up with the idea of building huge straw birds to publicize Chai Nat Bird Park.

The first straw bird was created jointly by Chai Nat Technical College and the Office of Chai Nat Primary Education. It attracted a large number of people and the innovation was widely recognized. For this reason, the provincial authorities decided to organize the Straw Bird Festival on an annual basis.

The first Straw Bird Festival was held in February 1986, with 130 straw birds on display, and it drew a big gathering of both Thais and foreign visitors. The Tourism Authority of Thailand later invited a straw bird procession to participate in a ceremony to open the Visit Thailand Year 1987 at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Since then, the Straw Bird Festival has become a major festival in Chai Nat. It has not only brought glory to the province, but has also brought in many visitors.

As for Chai Nat Bird Park, it was established in 1983 and has become the largest aviary in Thailand and Asia. Covering an area of 26 rai, or about 10 acres, the bird park is the home for 200 species of birds amidst natural beauty. Inside the Bird Park, there are snake and rabbit farms, gardens, a swimming pool, a man-made waterfall and many figures mainly in the form of animals, especially birds.

This year’s Chai Nat Straw Bird Festival is the 27th of its kind. There will be 12 processions of straw birds, and “hi-tech” straw birds will be displayed throughout the festival.

By Rokiah Mahmud

To celebrate the upcoming 28th National Day of Brunei Darussalam, the Department of Information under the Prime Minister's Office yesterday held the National Flag Waving Campaign for Tutong District with the Mukim Rambai Consultative Council.

The campaign was held at Balai Purun, Tasek Merimbun Heritage Park in Tutong.

The guest of honour was the Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, Awang Haji Yahya bin Haji Idris.

The campaign aimed to instil patriotic spirit and raise public awareness on the importance of hoisting the national flag with pride, while at the same time promoting a sense of responsibility among the public in appreciating the national flag.

Through the campaign, it is hoped that members of the public can learn about the functions and roles of the national flag, as it stands as a symbol of self-esteem and patriotism. Aside from that, the national flag also symbolises the national dignity, sovereignty and pride that shall be loved, preserved and respected.

The ceremony began with a speech by Dr Muhammad Hadi bin Muhammad Melayong, Director of Information as the co-chairman of the campaign.

Later, the guest of honour also spoke whereby he pointed out that the national flag is not a piece of cloth to be flown carelessly.

"We shall respect the flag and keep it clean, do not let the national flag be torn, ignored and neglected," he added.

The permanent secretary also reminded the Penghulus and village heads in respective mukims and villages to keep reminding the villagers to hoist the flag with full respect and according to the determined time.

After the speech, a declamation of poems was presented by Haji Moksin bin Haji Kadir and a special talk by Pengiran Dr Hidop bin Pengiran Haji Samsuddin, Assistant Chief of Adat Istiadat Negara. It was followed by a short video presentation on 'Kibarkan Dengan Megah Bendera Negara'.

The guest of honour then handed out flags to selected mukim and village representatives.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin - February 3, 2012

By James Kon

In order to raise awareness and instil a sense of responsibility among the people in hoisting the Brunei national flag on important occasions, especially on Brunei National Day celebrations and His Majesty's birthday celebrations, the Information Department under the Prime Minister's Office through the Nationhood and Community Division launched the National Flag Waving 2012 Campaign yesterday.

The guest of honour was Datin Paduka Hajah Adina binti Othman, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Dr Muhammad Hadi bin Muhammad Melayong, the Director of Information Department in his speech said, "National flag waving campaign is in its third year for the Brunei-Muara District. This year's campaign is successfully organised, with the cooperation between Information Department and Mukim Serasa Consultative Council as well as the Brunei-Muara District Office.

"The Information Department would continue its campaign of national flag waving in all the four districts, starting from today until the upcoming gigantic national flag hoisting ceremony next week in Bandar Seri Begawan."

The Director of Information Department also revealed, "The main aim of the campaign is to remind and inform the citizens and residents of the country to hoist the national flag in line with the regulations on days that have been announced."

He added, "Hoisting the national flag is a responsibility and is compulsory for all citizens and residents of Brunei Darussalam every year, at the time when Brunei celebrates its National Day on February 23."

In addition to showcasing loyalty towards His Majesty, the country and religion, he said, "The waving of national flag is also a symbol of gratitude to Allah the Almighty for giving us peace and prosperity that we enjoy after achieving independence."

Other aims of the campaign include explaining and providing better understanding on the functions and roles of national flag as the symbol of integrity, catalyst for nationalism, and pride of the nation. It also increases the respect and love of the people towards the national flag that represents the symbol of sovereignty and loyalty to the Sultan and the nation.

During the launching at Kapok Primary School, a special talk on Brunei national flag was delivered by YAM Pengiran Seri Wijaya Pengiran Hj Ahmad bin Pengiran Mohd Yusof, Senior Chief Assistant, the Department of Adat Istiadat Negara.

Meanwhile, one hundred residents from Mukim Serasa received the national flag before the conclusion of the ceremony.



The campaign will continue in other three districts - Tutong District on February 2, Temburong District on February 7, and Belait District on February 9.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin - February 1, 2012

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Friday, January 20, 2012 - Page A06

MORE than 100 undergraduates from both overseas and local universities yesterday completed a three-day civic course programme which began on January 17.

Upon the completion of the programme, which was organised by the Information Department under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE), the students received certificates of participation given by Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Officer (PMO) Dato Paduka Hj Ali Hj Apong. Also present were Permanent Secretary at the PMO Pg Hj Abd Haris Pg Hj Shahbudin; Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) at the MoE Dr Hj Junaidi Hj Abdul Rahman; Director of the Information Department Dr Muhammad Hadi Muhammad Melayong; and Assistant Director of the Scholarship Section at the MoE Hj Abd Azis Hj Nayan.

Hj Abd Azis, the co-chair of the event, said the organising committee made changes from the aspect of the course participants by involving 50 undergraduates students from local higher learning institutions and 62 others were from overseas universities in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Jordan.

Courtesy of Sally Piri, The Brunei Times

Nurhamiza Hj Roslan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Thursday, January 19, 2012 - Page A06

UNDERGRADUATES attending the second day of the civic course organised by the Information Department were briefed on the 21st Century National Education System (SPN21) yesterday.

The 120 undergraduates took part in the course is designed to give the undergraduates the opportunity to discuss and understand the current needs of national development in various fields.

In his presentation, Mohd Khairul Hj Matusin, Acting Senior Officer at the Curriculum Development Department, Ministry of Educationexplained what SPN21 was, its aims and goals, why there was a need for change in the education system and what the main changes were.

He provided a comparison between the SPN21 system and curriculum before the new system was introduced.

He said before SPN21, in terms of pedagogy, the teaching method and technique used was based on "chalk and talk" and it was teacher-centred where the teacher plays the role as disseminator of information. The way of learning before SPN21 is more passive.

With the SPN21 curriculum, methods and techniques used in teaching are more diverse and based on the learning approach of "Fun, Play and learn more", he said.

"SPN21 is student-centred and the teacher plays the role of facilitator and counsellor and the way of learning for students is more active."

He pointed out that with SPN21, there would be integration across the curriculum and integration of values with value-added skills. There would be maximum focus on various learning styles and emphasis on application of knowledge, understanding and generic skill along with wider use of ICT across the curriculum.

According to Mohd Khairul, under the new education system, assessment is "both formative and summative and the assessment performed looks into assessment for learning; assessment of learning and assessment as learning. It measures competencies and progress".

"It is formative as it generates input to inform and guide teaching and is developmental as it is diagnostic and directs instructional attention," he added.

He also said that the system before SPN21 uses summative assessment that sums up what has been happening. It is also judgmental and forces learners to study and places heavy emphasis on marks obtained during tests and examination.

Apart from a briefing on SPN21, undergraduates were also briefed on the use of Terasul (the combination of names or arrangement of words that are mentioned before mentioning the title of a person which is followed by the actual name of the person) and use of personal pronouns in Bahasa Dalam (court language).

The briefing on the use of Terasul and use of personal pronouns in court language was delivered by Ak Mohd Noor Hamaddi Pg Ahmad, an officer from the Adat Istiadat Department, Prime Minister's Office.

The morning session also saw the participants being briefed on the role of the Islamic Da'wah Centre in spreading Islamic Syiar (teachings).

The briefing was conducted by Hjh Fatimah Hj Ahmad, Head of the Da'wah Dissemination Section and Ustaz Hj Abd Aziz Hj Abd Kahar, Head of Islamic and Mualaf Guidance Conservation Section at the Islamic Da'wah Centre.

Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Rabiatul Kamit
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Page A11



BRUNEIAN students abroad were reminded to return home and serve the nation upon graduating "as our country is still weak" by the Minister of Religious Affairs Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Pg Hj Abd Rahman yesterday in his speech during the opening ceremony of this year's civic course for undergraduates at the Information Department.

The minister, who was also the guest of honour at the ceremony, went on to explain that Brunei is in need of its young generation "who are dedicated to developing the country, instead of fleeing our beloved nation once they have attained success."

"And without doubt, these students will one day lead the country's administration as officers, since the current personnel who have long been in service will eventually step down to retire from their positions of leadership."

He further urged the undergraduates to instil a higher level of determination in achieving success and excellence within their respective fields of studies, coupled with a greater spirit of patriotism that is "ardent in their hearts".

"That is why I want to fuel the energy of these students, so that they may appreciate learning beyond passing their undergraduate levels. If they possess the ability and desire to do so, they should continue onto postgraduate studies."

A total of 120 Bruneian undergraduates from higher learning institutions in Australia and New Zealand attended the first day of the civic course organised by the Information Department under the Prime Minister's Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

According to Dr Muhd Hadi Muhd Melayong, Director of the Information Department, the civic course is also open to undergraduates from local higher learning institutions for the first time since the civic course was introduced in 1976.

Dr Muhd Hadi hopes that the three-day civic course will provide valuable exposure and experience that will be of use not only when the undergraduates have established careers, whether with the government or private sector, but also as guidance and reference materials.

The objective of the civic course is to foster understanding and deliver the latest information about national and governmental affairs, as well as nurturing and planting patriotism based on the Malay Islamic Monarchy philosophy, it was stated in a press release.

It is also intended to provide a platform for the undergraduates to discuss and comprehend the current needs of the country towards the development of the nation. The civic course will also include visits to the Legislative Council Building as well as the i-Centre.

Conducted at the Information Department at the Berakas Old Airport, the civic course for this year is themed "Achieving the Brunei Vision 2035" and will be held until January 19, 2012.

Courtesy of The Brunei Times