Sabda By His Royal Highness Prince Haji 'Abdul 'Azim ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah On The Occasion Of The  Official Opening Ceremony Of The Neuroscience, Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre (NSRC) Jerudong Park Medical Centre on Monday, 19th July 2010

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
And Good Morning

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to join you all this morning in officiating the opening of The Neuroscience, Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre (NSRC), Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC).

With the establishment of this centre, Brunei Darussalam has succeeded in reaching yet another significant milestone in medical achievement.

It is well-established fact that stroke is a major cause of death and the most common cause for disability worldwide and Brunei Darussalam is certainly no exception to this.

With our ever-increasing population and increases in the average life expectancy of an individual, we will almost certainly see an increase in this trend of stroke related illness and disabilities.

It is the vision of my father, His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, that his subjects be provided with medical and health services of a world class standard, and this centre represents an integral part of realising His Majesty’s vision.

It is therefore both timely and appropriate to have in Brunei, our own specialised stroke and rehabilitation centre and this has been made possible by JPMC with the help of the experts from Krankenhaus Nordwest Hospital in Germany.

I would like to thank the team from Germany for bringing their technologies to Brunei, and for sharing with us, their extensive medical expertise in order to successfully establish the infrastructure required to construct and operate the centre.

Through this form of close cooperation, it is hoped that our local medical professionals will be able to benefit from the transfer of knowledge and skills, and that this will open up a new horizon of opportunities to raise the image and quality of public sector health services in our nation.

I also hope that this collaborative effort will help to raise the awareness of the public on the causes, symptoms and signs of stroke, with a view to promoting greater personal responsibility for their own health.

In this manner, we can all endeavour to enjoy greater longevity and to take pride in the care given by His Majesty’s Government.

I believe that this initiative will not only help to save many lives in Brunei, but will also help to spare many families from the sorrow and difficulty of caring full time for loved ones who have been disabled by stroke related disease.

I further believe this may also represent the beginning of many other world class projects from JPMC to better serve the people of Brunei and it is a pleasure to see JPMC moving in that direction.

With the kalimah Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, I now declare the ‘Neuroscience, Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre’ officially opened.

Wabillahit Taufiq Walhidayah Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.