MUIZxSALLEH

New York Part: Final part

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 07:26:00 +0000

Once again, we woke up early. I wondered at times how long til I can cope with the jetlagged. It felt easier during the university days. Anyway, day 3 we opted to continue on our honeymoon sightseeing in Manhattan. Our agenda of the day - the Empire State Building. But not before we took a stroll at Times Square and Broadway, the theatre world epicentre. Frankly, I do not quite fancy Times Square mainly due to how packed and busy the place is the whole time, rather an ironic thing to say about New York City, a place 8.5 million people in population, and 40 million more as tourists.

Our first stop is the Flatiron building. Situated by 23rd Street, Fifth Avenue and Broadway, facing Madison Square Park and pointing directly at the Empire State Building, stands one of New York’s most iconic skyscrapers. Its peculiar form and postcard-perfect structure has inspired countless artists, photographers, filmmakers and travellers like us who, camera on hand, hope to catch its geometrical magnificence from every possible angle. Afterwards, we made our way to the Empire State Building, took the elevator up and bought our tickets. The Empire State Building is perhaps the main skyscrapers to be most associated with the City. At one point it was the tallest building in the world. On top, above the clouds, we were presented with the most stunning 360 degrees views of the City. Beautiful views of Central Park, the 30 Rock, the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island and Macy's make for a memorable photo op. If you are ever visiting New York, it is not something you would want to miss!

From here we made our way to the Museum of Natural History. We went and viewed a number of exhibits being displayed there and came across a special exhibition on Alexander Hamilton, one of the nation's founding fathers. Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), was a brilliant politician-lawyer who served as an indispensable aide to George Washington during and after the American Revolution. Among his many achievements, Hamilton is credited with creating the financial system of the United States, and was the first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. I used to read a lot about Hamilton when I did my SATs (as part of my plan to go to as US college, which didn’t materialise). Hamilton is a hit at this point of time due to the award winning broadway show written, directed and acted by Lin-Manuel Miranda (didn't get to watch it, tickets were sold out months earlier especially when Lin-Manuel Miranda was leaving the play). The museum, like any other places of interests in New York, is humongous, and is afforded with a wealth of different forms of historical and cultural artifacts from around the world.

Out of the places we visited though, the best for us (ok maybe me), was the visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Coincidentally, an exhibition called Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, was open for the public, an exhibition which explores the beauty and artistry of fashion. Manus x Machina, meaning “hand and machine,” is an ode to the making of fashion, one that aims to “demystify some of the processes” behind it. With more than 170 ensembles dating from the early 20th century to the present, designers from various labels, old and new were on display, Prada, Kei Kawakubo (read Comme des Garcons), Gucci, and many more. But the one that caught our attention was the Karl Lagerfeld's haute couture wedding ensemble for the House of Chanel (autumn/winter 2014–15). What amazed me was not purely the size of the dress (20 feet length wise), but the amount of details placed into the ensamble. As cliche as this may sound, but you really have to be there to believe it.

The last bit part of the day for us was taking a slow and relax stroll around the city, and where else to do that other then at the Central Park. Whenever I think about Central Park, the first thing that pops into my head is Gossip Girl (for some reason). The Park is huge, packed and filled with all sorts of activities! As a visitor, we can’t help to compare our home country/city with the place we are visiting. In this case, one of the things that I was thinking about when being here was the fact the Brunei lacks a park within a the city as part of a place of interest if not a family place to go to. If you think about the big cities, like Tokyo, London, and even Singapore, theres always a city park, where its free, functional, clean and well maintained. Whether people intend to go there for a jog, for family time during the weekend, or picnic with the family, and city park provides the relief of nature and rural life from the hustle and bustle of the city. Also, it seems ironic to me sometimes that we proud ourselves with how much we are preserving and conserving the nature in our country, yet we lack one of the basic feature of urban nature conservation, i.e. Parks. After spending hours at Central Park, and a few (hundred) snaps and as the sun sets, off we went to our apartment.

Manhattan is a beautiful place, and very very memorable. What amazes me is the fact that it has a city within the city: theres always things going on on different parts of the city. A few days visit will not be enough; there’s too much to see and experience. Suffice to say, it will not be our last visit.

New York, New York Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:34:00 +0000

Arriving at JFK, knackered, jetlagged and half drugged (from the sleeping pills), we brisk-walked our way to Customs, only to find out that there is a very very long queue developing. I was optimistic though as I thought that eventhough the queue was long, I was certain that it'll be quick. How wrong was I, what I initially thought was a half hour max wait, suddenly became one hour, by then, my optimism drained and I became annoyed and angry. More annoyed when I realised that there were hundreds of people queuing but only a few customs counters were opened.

Literally a couple of hours later, our turn finally came. There was a small situation during this customs check up that I prefer not to share but basically we had spent another hour being put in a room where should I say 'additional check ups' were required'. Inside the room, I saw a number of people of various ethnicities; of Arab descent, Chinese, and Eastern European. It was then that I realised that our long wait to get us out of the airport was not ending there, evidently we had to wait more for another interview until we're approved entry. What was already two hours queuing, was now becoming ever-ending. After an hour of waiting for our turn (again), we were finally called up, with misspronunciation of my name no less. Less than five minutes of interview, we were approved and the whole waiting ordeal was over. Yup, one hour wait just for a five minutes interview.

As soon as we're out, we hopped on a yellow cab and left for the City. By this time it was 1500PM. As soon as we arrived, checked in our room, put our things down, and immediately crashed to our beds. 30+ hours of flight, and three hours of waiting at the airport: that's pretty much more than a day spent being on air. Oh, for the first night we stayed at The Paul Hotel, a very hipstery hotel that perhaps pays homage to Paul McCartney, seeing the may Beatles and McCartney's references in and around the vicinity.

Around 3AM we woke up, trying to get a sense of time. We realised we just slept for 12 hours, not knowing what to do, we killed time watching reruns of Friends and other 90's series for the next three hours. By 6 we got ourselves ready and started out to spend our first actual day in the city. We walked for a few hundreds yard for the first thing in our agenda - Coffee. Not just plain ol' coffee, but coffee at Stumptown Coffee Roasters just next to the Ace Hotel.

We then made our way to the Washington Square Park near Greenwich Village and took some photos of the park. From there on we ventured around the Village and explore the many interesting place there. Greenwich Village or the West Village is known to be the City’s bohemian enclave, where historically artists, writers, eccentrics and students thrive in the cultural neighbourhood. So much of authentic American culture is born on these streets. We practically walked from one end of the village to other, walking along Bleecker Street, the the renowned shopping street in New York.

Along the way we came across a very familiar sight and perhaps one of the famous apartments in the City - The Friends Apartment. The Friends Apartment is located at 90 Bedford Street, at the corner of Bedford and Grove. Trivia: Supposedly the apartment is above the fictional Central Perk cafe, and every once in a while they have a bumper shot before scenes at Central Perk that shows a red Village Cigars sign. This sign is actually located at the corner of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue, and not at Bedford and Grove. A few photo ops later, we made our way to the Chelsea Market.

Set in a historic factory, Manhattan's Chelsea Market is now home to some of the city's finest epicurean shops and restaurants. Chelsea Market reminded me of Covent Garden in London; it just looks and feels the same. The place was absolutely packed! Apart from clothings and accessories, the market is known mostly for their wide array of food choices and delis. Too bad we could not try any of the foods. But nonetheless, it was interesting to see and experience the different types of food and delicacies the place had to offer - Italian, American, Japanese, Seafood - you name it!

After lunch we made our way back to the hotel and checked out, and carried our luggages to our Airbnb, located at the Upper East Side. Safe to say we actually struggled during the first day in the City due to jetlagged. We didnt do much the rest of the day, I did a bit of laundry and whilst Sarah cooked an early dinner. Late in the afternoon, we could not bear it anymore and decided to call it a day. It didn't take long for us to crash.

New York, New York Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 00:53:00 +0000

As some of you know (or just found out), I recently got married. As common as it gets, I often was asked where I'll be heading off for our honeymoon. After months of preparation and planning, me and my wife opted for the US for our honeymoon, specifically New York City and DC for two weeks. Initially we planned on adding another US city, or Toronto as one of the places we were going to while there, but due to certain circumstances we decided to stay in those two cities (will get to that circumstances part later). This blog post though, will specifically be on my trip to New York City. There’s too much details to be shared and honestly, things can be too difficult to articulate and recollect. Lol.

Looking all pumped up and spirited at BWN

First Leg: BWN-KUL-DOH

It was my third time going to New York, and the first for my wife. Planning wise, I purchased the tickets early in the year for an affordable price (B$1250 per pax was a steal!) and were flying using Qatar Airways via Kuala Lumpur. We also opted for Airbnb and Booking.com for accommodations. Fast forward after the wedding, we left Brunei for KL on the 16th on a morning flight, and had a few hours there. Although we had plenty of time to spare we opted to check-in at the Sama Sama Express hotel to rest and kill time. Past layover experience taught us how tiring it is carrying backpacks all day, not to mention throughout our journey to New York, which was around 23 hours altogether. We killed time in KLIA roaming around the airport and visited numerous shops there. How I wished the airport had the luxuries and entertainment availabilities provided in Changi. Didn't take us long to return to the hotel and spent the remaining hours watching TV. So far it felt like being in Brunei all over again! By then it was 6pm and we were ready to check out. By 8pm, we boarded our flight and bon voyage!

Ready for Doha

The flight from KL to Qatar takes about 7 hours. All in all, the journey wasn't that bad thanks to the old sleeping pill. A tablet of sleeping pill, and I was off! Reaching Hamad International Airport, me and my wife were half drowsy (from the sleeping pills) and half sleepy (also from the sleeping pills). We were to spend our layover here for three hours (as per planned). The airport was quite new, to the point that they recently fitted those transfer trains, and they're so new its not for use yet. You can see the plastic covers on the seats. The choices of food, shopping and entertainment were night and day compared to that in KLIA (though still not at par with Changi). All was, it appeared, well, until..

While in Doha

Holding on

Hangry

I guess mentally we were prepared for this grueling hours of travelling. We knew that the journey would not be smooth-sailing as the itinerary indicated. To me, and all of you should keep this in mind too, that the itinerary is just a piece of paper detailing how a perfect flight would look like, not wanting us to know that in each leg of layovers you are about to embark on has every potentiality of this thing called 'delays', which resulted from a plethora of reasons.

Pretty much what happened to us in that second leg of the journey. All was well really in the beginning. We even got to our seats and was preparing for our flight to depart, until we were held for an hour in the plane "due to some technical issues that we need to fix as soon as possible" (as explained rather unassuringly by the flight captain). An hour plus had gone, the plane was still not moving, it just won't budge. We were evidently anxious, and from anxious we became desperate and eventually succumbed ourselves with annoyance and anger, raging deep inside of our still half drowsy and half sleepy souls. Finally, another announcement came on the PA system:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the technical problems announced earlier, we will not be departing for JFK using this plane, as a result, we will be boarding on a replacement plane. We apologise for this inconvenience, and request your cooperation to disembark this flight.."

Waiting time to board the "replacement plane": Two hours.
Not to forget the one hour we spent in the original plane itself, total layover time spent in Doha stretched from three hours to now six hours. To add salt to injury was the fact that we had to go through another round of security checks, which involved taking your laptop out, your belts and shoes off. And of course the queuing. Oh the queuing!
Fast forward to the next two hours, when everything was ready, we boarded our flight (rather crankily) and off we went on our second leg to JFK.

Second Leg: DOH-JFK

I've never boarded the new A350 before. Upon boarding the plane, my oh my, the plane was so beautiful. I was surprised with the amount of spaces provided. The legroom was just so spacious. I felt that they created the plane all for the Asian's benefits (LOL), because I literally can stretch my legs. Thats not sweetest part about the Qatar Air's A350 though, the best part about it is that the flight is fitted with Wi-fi availability (free for the first 15 minutes), so you can actually surf the net or chat on Whatsapp during flight. This journey would take us 12 hours so another sleeping tablet downed for this one!

Inside the A350

Upon arrival at JFK, the signages and vibes became all too familiar, as if nothing much had changed since my last visit some 5-6 odd years ago. What was different however, was when we reached the immigration, which was slowly developing an anaconda line, if such reference exists, because the amount of people queuing there was just ludicrous. To make matters worse, there was only a couple of immigration officers to entertain each arriving passengers. It didn't take long for the queue to extend to the farthest end of the hall, and I'm assuming there are more coming. After a very very long time (read: two freaking hours!!) queuing (and standing no less), it was our turn and it was not one for the honeymoon memories!

To be continued...

All we ever deserve, is a Styrofoam cup

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 15:12:00 +0000

My brother sent this video to the family whatsapp group this afternoon. As I watched it, I truly felt that the message delivered was one that is valuable, and worthy a blogpost. Before diving further, let's have a watch, shall we. Its a 15 minutes video, so bear with me.

Incredible isn't it?

What I like about the speech is that its quite a short one but the effect it has on the audience (including viewers like me) is powerful. His speech put things into perspective, particularly the last story he shared. Often times, now that I'm an employed executive of two years with (actual) working experience, I have the pleasure of meeting amazing people as well (the ire of meeting) not so amazing people. You'll be amazed with the wealth of young, energetic and smart people we have in Brunei.

But the sad fact is, in some cases, these amazing young and smart people are wasted, be it due to the underutilization of their capabilities, or due to the culture we have of "who tasted the salt first". In case you didn't get the last point, its a reference of a Malay saying of "yang dahulu makan garam", which basically means, our elders were more through the variety of life experiences, so they are more knowledgeable in brightly-colored and patterns of life.

But the question is, are they necessarily experienced and knowledgeable in the brighty-colored and patterns of life?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting down the contributions that the elders are offering and have offered to society and nation as a whole, but it pains me that being a young person in Brunei, we are not necessarily offered the opportunity to prove things, nor the trust to work on something without being micro-managed. I've seen some of my friends abroad whom I went to college with are now doing amazing things in their current course of life and career paths that you cant help but being green with jealousy!

I remember a story that my colleague told me recently, when he was about to depart Brunei to fly to Singapore for work, where he bumped into an old friend from school. He knows the guy has an excellent mind because he before working in Brunei at some ministry, he used to work in a major corporation abroad. The old friend he said was holding a suit-bag carry on (not just holding it but proper holding it like an OCD person fearing that the suit will wrinkle). In the middle of their discussion, the old friend had to excuse himself because he had to go and see his boss to check things out. My colleague noticed that his boss is an important VVIP person, surrounded by an entourage of 3 people at that time, including his old friend. As my colleague observed, he felt that the scene was almost laughable. This was how it went:

There were three people, the old friend, who was holding the suit-bag carry on, as it turned out, was holding his boss's suit-bag; another person was carrying a couple of luggages, presumably his boss's, while another was constantly speaking on the phone and in between relaying and delivering messages to and fro his boss.

He said that the scene was all too sad, because he knew the guy and he is a brilliant guy, very very smart, (just to reiterate his point) used to work in a major corporation, all but diminished to a boss's suit-bag carrier. Something is not right there!

Note that I am generalizing things here, and maybe slightly exaggerating. But the fact of the matter is, these things occur and it's something that I don't and will not experience in my lifetime. If that's not the case, does that mean we are actually incompetent or incapable youths? I beg to differ. My answer to that, without sounding defensive, is that I don't think we are, although we acknowledge that our learning curve is high when we first enter the workforce, but our knowledge retention, being young and motivated, does make us fast learners. What we need during that learning process is guidance and empowerment not instructions nor orders. I am an optimist and I know we are more than capable. I know I'm new to this course of life, but I hope that if I do reach a certain period where my leadership is required, and I have a bunch of young guys and girls who need my guidance, I'll put it my mantra that "All we ever deserve, is a Styrofoam cup".

Kau Ini Bagaimana Atau Aku Harus Bagaimana

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:14:00 +0000

Puisi, is Malay form of art, translated as simply poetry. It is the art of writing in which language is described in various aesthetics and semantics. I've been exposing myself to a bit of puisi of late, understanding the contexts and meanings behind the words being written or said. Attached in this blogpost is probably one of my favourites. "Kau Ini Bagaimana Atau Aku Harus Bagaimana" is a puisi written by Gus Mus in 1987, used as a critique to the corrupt and injustices of the people in power, masking themselves as the democratic institution. Gus Mus, uses the pronoun " I " to represent those of the people in the poem. Its beautifully written, with many not so subtle messages behind them. Do enjoy this reading of the puisi, as I do.

Ramadan Kareem

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 17:40:00 +0000

Salam Ramadan Kareem to all muslims readers, wherever you are, and if you are still reading this blog. Its another year to reflect and refocus all the energies and abilities to the Almighty.

I've been evidently busy this past few months, and again, I've neglected to commit my time to this blog. I ended 2015 with a short trip to Jakarta and began 2016 with another trip to Saigon in February. And had been here and there ever since. I was in Singapore sometime in March and April, and recently, I just came back from Kuala Lumpur for a short vacation, just prior to the ABDB anniversary. During those times I was traveling, I had met with a number of interesting people and had gone to many more interesting places. Jakarta for me was an interesting one.

In Jakarta, I came to see first hand the realities of the two worlds: one where people are living comfortably within the comforts of their large houses (or mansions), but on the flip side, the poor are living in almost hut-like slums; the two seemingly polar opposites neighboring one another.

Cruising along the highway from Bung Soekarno Airport into the Greater Jakarta city centre, dozens if not hundreds of tiny houses and makeshift wooden huts huddled along the roads and within the city centre are a common sight. Most of them are separated only by plywood sheets; with pitted rusting zinc and in some cases tarpaulins act as roofs. They are set against a background of the gleaming glass of luxurious apartment and mall buildings.On one side, people are struggling to make ends meet doing almost anything from scavenging to "joki" (jockeying for hire. Jakarta is peak hour road rule that required every car to be carrying at least three passengers). On the opposite, people are easily spending millions just to buy foreign branded bags.

Despite all this, I feel that Jakarta is an interesting place, amazed at hour industrious the people are. One thing that still lingers in my head is their entrepreneurial spirit and the growth of the Indonesia creative scene, particularly the Made in Indonesia fashion scene. If you've been to Jakarta before, you've might have heard of "The Goods Dept", a quasi-Urban Outfitters-esque store, which the majority of items on display are locally produced.

And this same entrepreneurial spirit is evident almost everywhere you go. Go-jek is perhaps the most unique of it all. Anyone who’s been to Jakarta knows how bad the traffic congestion can be. It’s a huge pain for the city, and the problem will not be resolved anytime soon. So for those who need to navigate the traffic quickly, the best solution now is to ride these 'Go-jeks' or motorcycle taxis. Or more correctly: Uber for motorcycles in Indonesia. Gojek derived from the original means motorcycle taxi common in Indonesia called "Ojek".

The thing about Gojek-riding is, its such a low-tech process. Just by downloading the app either on IOS or Android, you can pretty much book a service at your pick up point. Whats sweeter is the fare is as cheap as $1 a ride, not that I've tried the service.

I would've prolonged my stay in Jakarta if I could, so to explore more, but three days is too short for a stay I guess. Nonetheless, I would come again, mainly for "The Goods Dept", as like I said, its one of my highlights in Jakarta.

What have you done?

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 09:52:00 +0000

I'm 27 this year, and a lingering question comes back to me from time to time?

What have you done so far? Let me rephrase that, a more apt question would be what have you achieved so far?

No, I'm not talking about surviving Uni or achieving attractive grades. Or learning that you're now capable of cooking a meal that actually tastes good. Not that kind of achievement. More like accomplishing things that you started or created from scratch, and developing it into something that is impacting you're life and others too. Art, music, business start-ups, initiatives like NGOs and Associations, and the like. (Note: this is obviously subjective view from my part)

It gets to me sometimes now that I'm working and seeing friends, working or not accomplished things that in the past you don't see them being capable of. This is not put them in a negative light or saying that I looked down on them before, but more like, how surprised you are by them and how they took you off guard with how much successes they've achieved in life. Mind you, some of the friends that I'm talking about here I have grown up with and know the kinds of deeds and misdeeds they've done, and how much of a fool they were when we were young idiots growing up.

Its even more fascinating in the phase of my working life to meet new people both locally and from various parts of the world that are successful even more. Most of them are the same age as me, if not younger. And they're doing a million of things already, and in most cases, all at once, juggling their own respective working lives and doing what they're passionate about in their spare time. Looking at that, I constantly ask myself, "what about you?"

I envy these folks, but I don't want to emulate them, as in I don't want to do what they're doing because some of the things that they're doing are not necessarily the things I am not passionate about. But I do want to emulate their hard work and dedication that they show and deliver in realizing those passions. So, I am gradually searching and striving ideas derived from my passions. I have a lot of things in mind, but obviously it'll need some firming up from every different angles. I remember in one of the job interviews that I sat down a year or so back from one of the country's established firms. After a string of 'common things they ask' kind of questions, one of the interviewers asked me, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" My answer to that was, "I want to open a business, I don't know what that business will be, but I want to start something". Thats my passion. I want to start something one day, it may or may not be in five years, but like I said, I'm searching and striving for it. And will continue to do so. I'm blessed however to have met and see business people on a daily basis, and will learn from them as much as I can. Some are very open and very helpful in assisting me and sharing their stories of how they came about in setting up their business, which I'm very grateful about. True as what they say, "Always surround yourself with brilliant people".

I actually have done a lot of business-y talks with my fiancé about these things from time to time, and I'm pretty sure she's quite tired hearing about it. I remember in one of my many travels while living in the UK, I would look at business ideas and concepts in various cities that I visited and be amazed by them. I'd tell myself: "Wow, why can't we have this in Brunei?" Some of you will get that as well right? Realistically some of the things that we see abroad would most likely not fly that well in Brunei, and some that may work, would usually require a large chunk of capital to sustain, which we don't necessarily possess.

So I'm still searching and striving. With a little bit of hope and learning, I'll probably find one sooner or later. For you out there, ask yourself, "what have you achieved so far?". Lets be optimistic and do the search together; we will achieve something one day:)

Reflecting Back

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 06:17:00 +0000

Its been a while since I last touched this page and articulate my thoughts in the form of words and expressions. This somewhat likens me to this episode of Friends when Monica was making fun of Rachel for not ever being able to commit to her new year resolutions, such as keeping a dairy. It been hard nowadays and not necessarily as exciting as it used to be. Admittedly, I've lost the urge sometimes to sit in front of my laptop and ponder about ideas, thoughts and things that I gathered throughout the day or week (even month). Anyway, yes, its been a while...

Put simply, I've been busy, literally. However, a lot of interesting things have happened since then, so I figured it was time to rediscover the keyboard and garner enough spirit to blog again. That said, I do wish to post new entries here on a more regular basis and share some of the stuff that I’ve been up to. I mean, admittedly some of my own posts have been helpful to myself when I least expected it. Throughout the last year since I last posted I've been unemployed, applied work, rejected, traveling, applied uni for PhD, accepted, but later rejected, employed, traveling, busy with work, more traveling, got engaged, traveling and here I am. Pity though that I haven't been able to find the time to blog about it here, particularly the travels that I did, as I often used to document highlights of my travels here in the blog.

Speaking of work, last week, on the first of July marked my one year being a working person. For that 6-7 months of unemployment life last year where I was complaining and waking up with wrath (well maybe with a slight annoyance rather) for not getting that call and start earning my own money, last July I finally got one, albeit working in a niche totally different to what I had aspired previously during my school and Uni days. Since I've been working now, and having my life revolved around work (not a good thing to have, I admit), I’ve gained a much greater appreciation of life previously, particularly those great four years being abroad and being a student there. I'm still experiencing the post university melancholy, even though my post university was somewhat more that a year ago. You see, the difference being an employed person and an unemployed person at least to me, is that the unemployed tends to take the little pleasures in life for granted, whereas to the employed, little pleasures are hard to get and when you actually get them, you savour every moment. Little pleasures that I mean here are like lazying around reading books, or cooking, or spending quality time at home or go sightseeing, or maybe finding time for blogging. As I am writing this blog, I am actually on a long weekend break from one of the public holidays in Ramadan. As sad as it sounds, long breaks are something I really really look forward to in certain months, as I can commit it to little pleasures like what I mentioned above.

Going back to University life, right around this time three years ago, I was in the midst of preparing my things, packing and sorting out the boxes, for going back home to Brunei after 3 years of doing my degree there. How recent that felt, and funny when I was mentally calculating it to realise that was three years ago! Reminiscing the first time I arrived in Bristol, jet lagged and alone, seeing unfamiliar sights in an unfamiliar city, exploring every small streets and wasting time in small cafes and shops, particular when you home is situated in a place with 'Village' in its name. You can really see the character and originality of everyday lives in that place. Fast forward to the final year, in a cafe along Park Street, speaking with the barista and telling him that that day would be my last day in Bristol, both of us concurred Bristol is such a nice place to be in and that we'll miss this city when we leave and said our goodbyes; I guess that was my July then. That afternoon I headed to London. Would love to visit the UK, (Bristol specifically) again one day. For those coming back home soon, cherish your time abroad, wherever you are and don't worry so much about not being able to find work. Because once you do find work, you'll realise how little things suddenly worth a luxury and how fun it was being unemployed actually was.

Lastly before signing out, admittedly, it feels good to finally blog about something and utilising this space that I've neglected for a very long time. I guess I've just been feeling a little uninspired. I haven't had the spare energy to blog, nor have I wanted to put together a quick and unimaginative post just for the sake of publishing a new post. That being said however, blogging still remains to be one of my passions and after having already lost some extremely big things such as the luxury of time, it'd be a real shame to see another thing that I love be stripped away. Kind of feels like I've got all the ideas but not the spoons. I'm still a little unsure on how to ease myself back into blogging on this site, but will definitely try being consistent with it. Looking forward for the many many things happening in the current and future phases of my life!

End of my student life

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:04:00 +0000

Its been a really really long while since I last updated this blog, and the feeling of guilt as always exists in me. It can be very tough to find materials to blog about nowadays, more so after the realisation that I am no longer a student of any particular place of thought. You see, I spent 4 or so years of my life abroad, being an undergraduate in the University of Bristol, graduating in '12. I pursued further for a master degree afterwards at the same University and finished in September last year, returned home that November and (didn't attend) graduated February this year. Like others, I was placed on this phase of post-degree life called 'unemployment' or as we popularly term it in Malay, 'Menganggur'.

Frankly, that period was one of best times that I had. I mean who wouldn't have wished for anything like that where your schedule involved waking up and staying up late, do nothing and eat. Yet, like others, the bad days involved a continuous cycle of disappointments in the form of regret employment letters and seeing others getting the job that you wished you had gotten. The wait, oh dear life, at times were unbearable! But good things arrived eventually. So here I am, no longer unemployed, since July.

That said, going back to the earlier discussions, materials are just difficult to gather. You see, when I started this blog in '07, it began sort of like a place where I wrote things about my everyday life as a Maktab Duli student, hanging out with friends and doing things college students usually do. Fast forward to '09, I was fortunate enough to be getting the scholarship to do my studies abroad, so my writings were based on my experiences there and sometimes from the things I learnt in Uni and other things like travelling. Being a student abroad, experiences are more exciting, more different, more so when you were sent there to do politics and in Europe.

Politics to me is something very new and difficult to understand sometimes, at least to us Bruneians. But at the same time very exciting and 'real' to me. Its 'real' because it deals with what is going on in front of us and on the outset. But real as it is depends on how people see it in the first place. Every one has their own opinions and meanings to things. I have mine and you have yours. That is where my writings shifted to become sometimes 'political', though not in the mischievous or cynical ways we often hear about all thing politics.

And presently, here I am. No longer a student, nor someone who identified himself to others as 'Hi, I'm Abdul Muiz, I'm a politics major'. Its difficult I guess to write materials nowadays since for last seven years things I wrote on this blog were mostly about stuffs that revolved around college and University and things that went on from there. So apologies for the lack of updates and the lack of materials. Perhaps I could say that the blog is on a transitional period and in the process of changing content. (Surely I can't blog about work here (though i wished I could LOL))

Until then, see you in the next 3-6 months or so. LOL

The overwhelming response.

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 21:47:00 +0000

I began this blog somewhere in 2007, just fresh off the time when I started MD and right about the time when I started driving. I wanted to use this space to journal the things that went on around me, my travels, moments and pretty much the recent going ons that I experienced and faced. It didn't dawn to me that anyone would come by and visit this blog and have a peek. I was proven wrong the past few days when I learnt, accidentally upon logging in to my Facebook that a recent article I wrote shared and appeared in a friends' facebook pages, with my face clearly showing in their wall feeds, again and again. My blogpost views visibly indicated that I had over 10,000 visits that particular day alone one that article. Evidently, I was overwhelmed.

Its not common that our voices are heard, and in today's spheres of world wide web, we often find comfort expressing our voices and views anonymously. A blog, in particular mine, since its existence 7 years ago, have the unfortunate raison d'être with disclosure over concealment, and uploaded photos of me, family and friends didn't add to the concealment. But I prefer it that way.

Anyway, regarding the article itself, I am all but thankful to the positive responses and words of encouragement from family members, friends and relative unknowns over the views that I side on in that writing. I strongly believe in the cause and feel that it is always better that a positive outlook over the negatives. In the article, I spoke mainly and specifically on the uncalled reactions and dividing languages that some of us majority populace opted to take, but at the same time using His Majesty, the government and religion as a justification to their behaviours, ones that I don't believe in.

While I tried to be clear with that point, I have to admit that some couldn't or perhaps took my writing totally away from the context that I was attempting to achieve. Some thought that I was against the government, others meanwhile went to the extreme accusing or insinuating that I was against the Law from the Holy Book of Quran. Though I don't have to recuse myself, my only advice is simple: read, understand and read again. My aim of that writing is simple, that from a political and socio-economic standpoint (since I am after all a learner of the field of thought), it is never a conducive environment when one engages in disunity and insensitivity when expressing their point across. And this goes to both sides of the camp. Debates are always ongoing, whichever and whatever the topic is about, but it must be done in a healthy way. When all fails, its never a bad idea to agree to disagree. Is it not?

Coincidentally in the spirit of disclosure, the recent episode and reactions over the recent introduction of the Sharia law in our beloved country have evidently expose a thing or two about our young nation, that there are some issues in hand that we can work out and find solutions to. One that to me is closer to heart is our current development goals, the Wawasan Brunei 2035. I am part of the Wawasan generation and in god's will, it is us, including myself that will come realise it and observe the changes first hand. There are so many other issues that us Bruneians should focus on and side-tracking on petty matters like racial insensitivities and racism (even if its in social media) will only digress the important things that we think of. We can always do a better job for Brunei, be it little things and somewhat in conspicuous ways.

SPEECH BY MR LEE KUAN YEW, MINISTER MENTOR, AT THE SULTAN SIR HAJI OMAR ALI SAIFUDDIEN MEMORIAL LECTURE, 25 FEBRUARY 2009, AT BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 12:56:00 +0000

"THE LEGACY OF SULTAN HAJI OMAR ALI SAIFUDDIEN"

by Lee Kuan Yew,

Singapore Mentor Minister

I am honoured that, with the consent of His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation has invited me to deliver the first of the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Memorial Lectures. It is fitting and proper that the Seri Begawan should be commemorated. At a turning point in its history, the Brunei Sultanate would have ceased to exist as an independent state without him. In August 1963, Indonesia was opposing the proposed Federation of Malaysia and confronting Malaya and Singapore. Only eight months earlier, on 8 December 1962, Brunei had faced a revolt by Sheikh Azahari of the Partai Rakyat Brunei (PRB) and British forces from Singapore put down the rebellion. It was a time of great peril when the Sultan decided not to join the proposed Federation. Singapore went ahead and joined the Federation. Sultan Omar Ali was under great pressure from the British who had hinted that they would be leaving the region soon. But he stood firm. He put his position as Sultan and the fate of his people on the line. His judgment was that the British would be responsible enough to give him some time to get his country in better shape before British forces left.

Let me briefly recount his personal history. Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien the Third was born on 23 September 1914 in Kampong Sultan Lama, a ward in Kampong Ayer. He was the second surviving son of Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam the Second, the 26th Sultan of Brunei and the Rajah Isteri Fatimah, seventh in a family of ten. He received an informal traditional Islamic education based on the study of the Quran. He was taught good manners, respect for elders and Islamic prayers. He was interested in traditional Malay literature and was familiar with the text of the Hikayat and Syair. He had a bent for Malay poetry and wrote four works of poetry. That earned him the accolade “Penyair Diraja” or “Royal Poet”.

In 1932, at the age of 18, he left with two of his cousins to enrol at the Malay College in Kuala Kangsar, Malaya. He studied there for four years and returned with a Standard 4 examination certificate. He then entered the State Administrative Service with the encouragement of the British Resident, later Governor of North Borneo, R E Turnbull. He was stationed in Kuala Belait for a year, lived and worked in the jungle in Ulu Belait. After a year, he joined the Legal Department as a cadet officer, and learned aspects of civil and criminal law, understudying H Hughes-Hallet, the Assistant British Resident.

In 1938, he left the legal department and devoted his time to study religion under well-known religious teachers. In 1941, he joined the Resident’s Office. On 6 September 1941, he married Pengiran Anak Damit, the daughter of the Pengiran Bendahara. Brunei was occupied by the Japanese military in early 1942. He was nominated to the State Council from 29 June 1942 and worked at the Governor's office at the request of the Japanese military administration.

His brother, the Sultan, Ahmad Tajuddin, died on 4 June 1950, and Omar Ali was proclaimed Sultan on 6 June 1950. He was crowned on 31 May 1951 as Brunei’s 28th Sultan at the age of 35. He was made a Knight by the British monarch.

I first met him in September 1960 when he had invited the Yang Di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore, Yusof bin Ishak, me as the new Prime Minister and our wives to Bandar Brunei for his 46th birthday celebrations. He had gathered some Malay literary figures from the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka in Kuala Lumpur, including Syed Nazir, the then-President of the Dewan. He spent time the next few days discussing Malay literary works.

The late Sultan was a modest man. He was soft-spoken, with a frequent smile when speaking to his friends. He lived a simple and frugal life. For his birthday, he had built an annexe to the old Istana. It was not air-conditioned. He did not like air-conditioning. The room that my wife and I stayed in within this newly-built annexe was very hot, like an oven even at night. The sun would shine on the building in the afternoon and there was not enough ventilation. So I quietly moved out to stay at the rest-house in a room with a window-model air-conditioner. It was during this visit to Brunei that we struck up a friendship that was to grow and endure the rest of his life.

On 27 May 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Malayan Prime Minister, at an address to the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore, mooted the formation of Malaysia, to include Brunei, Sarawak, North Borneo (subsequently to be named Sabah), Singapore and Malaya. On 5 December 1961, Sultan Sir Omar Ali described the Malaysia proposal as very attractive. In January 1962, he appointed a Brunei-Malaysia Commission to report on the opinion of the people. On 18 July 1962, the Sultan stated that he accepted the Malaysia proposal in principle, but that it did not necessarily mean it was final. If agreement could not be reached on important conditions affecting benefits to the people and the state, Brunei would not participate in the Malaysia plan.

In August 1962, the Partai Rakyat Brunei (PRB) won a landslide victory in four District Councils which in turn would choose 16 members for the Legislative Council (LegCo). The PRB won 54 seats and had all the 16 members required for the LegCo. But they could not form the government. The 17 government nominees outnumbered the PRB in the 33-member Council. Sheikh Azahari, Leader of the PRB, rejected the proposal that Brunei join the proposed Malaysian Federation. Azahari put forward three motions at the Legco meeting, for 5 December 1962: first, to reject the proposal of a Malaysian Federation; second, to request the restoration of Brunei’s sovereignty over Sarawak and North Borneo and the installation of the Sultan as constitutional monarch of the North Borneo Federation; and, third, a request to the British to grant independence to Brunei not later than 1963.

The Speaker of the LegCo disallowed the motions because the issues fell within the purview of the British government under the 1959 British-Brunei Agreement. Sheikh Azahari, the PRB leader, decided to resort to a military solution and staged a rebellion led by its military wing, Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara (TNKU). The revolt began on 8 December. It was put down in short order by British forces flown in from Singapore. On 20 December, Sultan Omar Ali declared a State of Emergency, suspended the Constitution, dissolved the LegCo, and appointed a 14-member Emergency Council comprising four ex-officio members, including the British High Commissioner, Sir Denis White, and 10 members nominated by the Sultan.

Negotiations on Malaysia were resumed in earnest following the end of the rebellion. The Sultan did not accept the terms that Malaya offered him. When the Malaysia Agreement was signed on 9 July 1963 in London, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak signed on. Brunei did not. I had been in frequent touch with the Sultan in London, then staying at Grosvenor House. He was very firm in his decision not to join. As a result, after Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, recalled hundreds of Malaysian teachers and government officers seconded to serve the Brunei administration. Their departure caused a temporary dislocation in Brunei.

Several accounts were given to explain the reasons for Brunei’s decision not to join the Malaysian Federation. One account cited disagreement over oil revenues as the primary cause. Kuala Lumpur wanted Brunei to hand over control of its oil to the Federal government after 10 years. Kuala Lumpur also wanted to immediately tax any new oil and mineral finds discovered after Brunei joined Malaysia and to make the Sultan’s contribution of $40 million to federal revenues compulsory rather than voluntary. The Sultan was said to have found these terms unacceptable.

Another account from Kuala Lumpur alluded to the Sultan’s unhappiness over the issue of royal precedence. However, I believe Sir Omar was neither willing to compromise Brunei's control over its oil revenues nor ready to have his privileges as the Ruler of Brunei curtailed. More to the point, the vibes that Sultan Omar Ali felt during the negotiations were that he would become subordinate to Kuala Lumpur’s leaders and he would rank behind Malaysia’s nine Sultans in seniority, besides giving up a chunk of this oil wealth to KL. When we met soon after Singapore was asked to leave Malaysia in August 1965, he nodded with satisfaction that his decision not to join was wiser than Singapore’s acceptance of Malaysia.

Just over two months after Malaysia was formed, on 1 December 1963, the British Colonial Office cut its long-term connection with Brunei. The British High Commissioner in Brunei, no longer called the British Resident, henceforth would deal with the Secretary of State for Commonwealth.

When the Labour Government took office in October 1964, it became clear that sooner or later they would withdraw their forces from east of Suez. This would jeopardise Brunei’s secure position as a protectorate. British advisers pressed the Sultan to hasten the implementation of constitutional reforms so that there could be a democratic government in place. In March 1965, a second general election was held for District and Legislative Councillors. 36 candidates contested for 10 LegCo seats in the 21-member LegCo that would comprise six ex-officio members and five members nominated by the Sultan. 88 candidates fought for seats in four District Councils. A large number of candidates contesting under political parties were defeated by independents because the political parties were weak.

On 4 October 1967, Sultan Omar Ali, then aged only 53, abdicated in favour of his 21-year-old eldest son, Hassanal Bolkiah, born on 15 July 1946. It was a strategic move he made to buy time before a British withdrawal. I was invited to the coronation of his son in 1968. Protracted negotiations with the British on Brunei’s future continued following the abdication. The Sultan, now the Seri Begawan, dragged out the discussions. He wanted his son to get familiar with the administration. Moreover, his son was only 21 years old. He deflected pressure to adopt the British adversarial Parliamentary system.

He argued with the British that he needed a few years for the young Sultan to learn the ropes and strengthen the domestic situation ahead of any constitutional changes. He bought time from 1963 to 1983, over 20 years, when the British finally withdrew, and Brunei became an independent state. Without the skilful and determined stand taken by Sultan Omar Ali in the full knowledge that he was risking the future of his Sultanate if the British were to leave precipitately, he saved his dynasty, delayed majority rule before Brunei was ready, and he secured Brunei’s continued defence by an agreement to pay for one British Gurkha battalion that would stay in Brunei under British control. A discreet British presence remained.

The Seri Begawan had preserved Brunei’s oil wealth. He left the bulk of his country’s reserves with the Crown Agents to manage. He was fortunate that Britain acted with responsibility. Most of all, the Seri Begawan played his hand with considerable skill. He pleaded for time to educate enough local Bruneians who could manage the administration of the country.

Way back in the 1960s, he and I had become close friends. He trusted me because I never took advantage of his friendship to ask for favours. On one occasion, he asked his sons to sit in when I met him and he told them that I was a friend who could be relied upon. He wanted the friendship between us to continue with his sons. It has. The close ties continue between the Sultan and his brothers with the present PM and other leaders of Singapore. Less than three years after independence, on 7 September 1986, he passed away. He was deeply mourned by the people of Brunei. They knew that he had saved their independence and are able to live as they wish, keeping their oil wealth. It was Sir Omar’s statecraft. He built the infrastructure of state. By the 1980s, he had given the sultanate’s 200,000 people a high per capita income of US$20,000, among the world’s most privileged. He strengthened Brunei’s Islamic institutions.

Sultan Omar Ali took calculated risks with courage. He had a keen sense of what was politically possible. During the 17 years from 1950 to 1967, he brought economic, social and political developments to Brunei. With two Five-Year Development Plans, he provided for an education system throughout the state. He built schools to teach English, gave scholarships to promising young students to study in overseas institutions. He provided school children with at least one free meal a day. Religious schools were given high priority. Hospitals, clinics were set up and dental services to schools were provided. He eradicated dysentery and malaria. He provided electricity for the whole state. He developed the roads and telecommunication systems. He reclaimed swamp lands and resettled people.

He set up the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment in 1961, which evolved into the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The Currency Board was established in 1967. Sultan Omar Ali had ensured the survival of an independent Malay Muslim monarchy at the end of the 20th century. He had built a strong foundation before passing the mantle to his eldest son. His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has guided Brunei since independence in 1984, a 25-year period, during which Brunei has progressed in material and social terms. The old Sultan would have been happy to know that an independent Sultanate in Brunei has progressed in the quarter century after independence. His son, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has preserved his heritage. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has continued to expand the numbers of abler Bruneians who are educated abroad, and created a thicker layer of the higher educated and well-informed elite.

It was good for Brunei that at the time it became independent, the leader of ASEAN was President Soeharto of Indonesia. He knew that I was a good friend of the Seri Begawan. So he asked me to invite Brunei to join ASEAN. Brunei did join and became a member of the family of ASEAN states. This consolidated Brunei’s sovereign status, especially when it was recognised by its neighbours. Joining ASEAN also reduced the dangers of conflict between Brunei and its neighbours.

The close friendship and mutual trust that the father established with me have continued in the leaders of the next generation. This is a special relationship. We are the two smallest countries in ASEAN. One natural area of cooperation is defence, where our two countries have a longstanding, deep and extensive relationship that goes back to 1976. There are extensive interactions between the two Defence Ministries and the Armed Forces at all levels, from the Ministers to the younger officers.

All Singapore Prime Ministers and Ministers have scrupulously followed my policy of never taking advantage of our close friendships with the Brunei Royal Family, their Ministers and officials.

The two Armed Forces train together in Singapore and Brunei on a regular basis. They conduct seven joint exercises annually. The Singapore Armed Forces is particularly grateful for the opportunity to conduct some of its training in Brunei, given Singapore’s land constraints.

RBAF officers and soldiers attend a wide range of military courses in Singapore, together with their Singaporean counterparts. These range from technical courses to Officer Cadet School and the Command and Staff Course. Likewise, SAF officers attend courses in Brunei, such as the Executive Development Programme and the RBAF Junior Staff Course. A recent addition is the Scholars Exchange Programme for scholars from the defence establishments of both countries before they depart for their studies. These exchanges have enabled the officers to enhance their military knowledge. More importantly, they get to know one another at a personal level. Such interactions provide the foundation for ensuring that the relationship between our two armed forces remains strong in the coming years.

Another important area of collaboration is the Currency Interchangeability Agreement. In December 1964, a year after Malaysia was formed, the Malaysian government decided to terminate the Board of Commissioners of Currency and to issue a new currency for Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories, including Brunei. The Malaya-British Borneo Currency Agreement was terminated two years later. The Malaysian government in Kuala Lumpur declined Brunei’s request that it be given a seat on the policy-making body. Also, Malaysia opposed Brunei’s request that the portrait of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia should not appear on the new notes. Hence, Brunei enacted legislation in January 1967 to form its own Currency Board. Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore adopted a Currency Interchangeability Agreement, which allowed our currencies to be accepted inter-changeably in the three countries. Although Malaysia withdrew from the Agreement in May 1973, Brunei and Singapore have maintained the arrangement till today. In June 2007, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong celebrated the 40th anniversary of this Agreement and jointly launched two $20 polymer commemorative notes in Bandar Seri Begawan to commemorate the event. This Agreement reflects our long-standing friendship and mutual trust, and has deepened economic ties between Brunei and Singapore.

Singapore’s leaders have continued the close ties with Brunei after my long association with the Seri Begawan and his sons. This association has endured and flourished because it is based on mutual respect and trust, and utmost good faith. Future generations of leaders and officials should build upon and enrich this special relationship.

The history of Brunei has been a most unlikely story of a Sultanate that has survived into the 21st century as an independent oil-rich state in a turbulent part of the world. Singapore and Brunei share fundamental similarities. I remember during one of the Seri Begawan's visits to Singapore after our independence, he had smiled broadly and, with his eyes twinkling and his moustache twitching, said "You are now like Brunei. It is better for you." As small states surrounded by bigger neighbours in an increasingly uncertain and complex world, we share similar aspirations and concerns. We can complement on our respective strengths to enhance our development and growth. Both bilaterally and multilaterally with our other partners in ASEAN, we can help ASEAN become an integrated, stable and thriving regional association at peace with one another and with our larger neighbours, including China and India.

A few realities of our (supposed) Multiracial Brunei.

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 15:32:00 +0000

When is it ok to be racially insensitive? Well, frankly, Never! Just because being the majority race in the country does not give anyone the rights to say or suggest to other races that they are better off leaving the country if they do not like the laws. Sure, that option will always be the easy 'way out', and frankly if non-Malays are afforded that option, they can always go for it. But you have to bear in mind, that since they are born and bred Brunei, home is always where the heart is. Using languages that give them the impression that they are oppressed is never an answer, never an option.

The social media today has been storming with a lot of noise regarding the government's recently incepted Syariah Penal Code, specifically on the law against 'indecent and revealing clothes'. I won't touch on religion, though undoubtedly the issue of religion is intertwined with the subject. I'll leave the discussion and interpretations of that to the relevant authorities. Most of the public, including myself are at peace with that. But what disappoints me the most is that way in which people, particularly the anonymous commenters in the social media are approaching the subject matter. Instead of having an open mind and bringing in fruitful discourse, further from that, some people opted on the belief that minorities are best left at their own devices, moving away from our supposed 'Abode of Peace'. To me, having friends of different races, their language is downright xenophobic. Perhaps I have my own agenda, i.e. my close relations with my Chinese friends, my Indian friends and my non-Muslim friends. But openly suggesting/leaving the impression that the minorities are redundant to the prosperity of the nation, I guess its right about time we have a change of view.

One commenter (picture above) I came across suggested that being a homogenous society isn't necessarily a bad idea, he/she suggested that Japan did it, and look how they have fared. I am not sure if he/she was sarcastic, but I found that an interesting statement, not because its not necessarily true, but on how that its not necessarily accurate. Without going into specifics, Japan after the WWII during their post-war reconstruction was governed by a de facto American-led Allied forces, which pumped in financial assistance into the state's economy. Unless there was a financial miracle occurring, how would you think Japan would have become today without the Allied intervention? Not to mention the Cold War events that happened literally in their backyard. To this day, Japan does not have an effective military force, and still relies on the US for defence. Also, you have to bear in mind that present day Japan is a democratic state, one that is (in theory) open to the Western centric ideals, and one that is very different with ours. Meanwhile, other commenters that I read went on to bring Hitler into the discussion. Oh my, not Hitler! Please let's not talk about it!

But putting the issue beyond Japan and Hitler, we have to dive in a look at the bigger picture. Observing present day Brunei, there are a few realities that us Bruneians must not forget. The first reality is the contribution that other races are bringing to our beloved Sultanate. Syariah law or no Syariah law, they have a role to play in the country, regardless of their races. And I'm not talking about the Hua Hos', Pehin Lims, nor the Goh's, but the whole aspects of political and socio-economy in general. Putting in languages that divide the nation should/must/strictly not be placed in the discussions in the first place. As a Malay myself, I have to admit that Malay as a race cannot prosper on its own. It needs to come together with other races with a shared ideal, that is to develop the nation together. The same goes vice versa. Currently the shared ideal that we have is the Wawasan Brunei 2035 (2035 Vision) and in the vision itself clearly states the we must work together and be 'united in our traditional tolerance and social harmony'. Speaking in terms of your race for your own-self will never lead to the desired aspiration and only reveal how far we are in realising the Vision.

The second reality is the fact that we (used) to proud ourselves as a multiracial society, be it in a micro scale. Without repeating myself, Chinese, Indians, Non-Muslims, etc, altogether they are born and bred Brunei, and the reality is Brunei is theirs as much as they are mine and yours. Saying things like, 'if you don't like the law in Brunei, you can move somewhere else' is never a solution, and bluntly breeds racism. As a rakyat, of non-Malay and non-Muslim background, they have a right to voice out their concerns and frankly, in my opinion, the relevant authorities must and should have done a better job in approaching the contents and implementation process of the law to them and vice versa as the issue is in the interests of all. Simply quoting surahs from the Quran and hadith are not enough to clear the air (non-Muslims rarely read the Quran and Hadiths). And if you look at the news reports, how often do you see a Chinese in the audience present during talks held by these authorities? Rare. It is due to the ineffective outreach or the lack thereof that people are prone to speculations and misinformation.

Last and certainly not the least, since these people are big on Brunei laws, lets give them a reminder that, according to Pg. Kasmirhan, it is enshrined and written under the Brunei law, that:

Internet Code of Practice

12. The Internet Code of Practice Notification is a subsidiary legislation the Broadcasting Act (Chapter 180). The Internet Code of Practice is introduced to ensure that content on the Internet provided in Brunei Darussalam is not against the public interest or national harmony or which offends against good taste and decency. The Broadcasting Authority in Brunei Darussalam is concerned that content provided on the Internet from Brunei Darussalam comply with a set of basic content requirements that are in line with Brunei Darussalam's religious values, social and societal mores and that the content do not offend the Islamic religion, society and do not incite social disharmony and instability in Brunei Darussalam.

Home

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 07:12:00 +0000

In case you haven't figured it out, I home already. Since a couple of months or so. A bit long over due, don't you say?

So here I am, a fresh Masters graduate (well soon to be), unemployed and brimming with confidence. Where do I go next, you ask? Wallahuallam. My heart is so attuned to the rigours, challenges and excitements of a Ph.D academic, but my mind is so concerned about jobs. So uncertain on the next move, I'd take whichever chances that arrive sooner on my doorstep.

At the moment though, I'm in the midst of writing up a research proposal to submit for my Ph.D application, but still undecided on where to do it. Initially I wanted somewhere closer to home like in Singapore, however, due to the difficulty in undertaking the tests for entrance, I decided that I might just do it in the UK again. At the same time I have applied to various part-time job opportunities just for experience sake. People would always confide to me on how I should try and apply for permanent jobs in the Ministry, a universal opinion here that you can almost call it a cliche. The trouble with that though, no matter how many applications I sent out, at the end of the day its not up to me to decide which jobs I get to pick, its up to the potential employers. So far though, there has been nothing. Also, why would I rush on finding a job as soon as possible? I just completed a mind numbing Masters course literally a few months ago, obviously I need some down time to relax and enjoy life for a bit before I commit to a job, a job bear in mind, that I will be in the next decade or so, or even until I retire. So a few months rest and doing nothing are not really a bad thing come to think of it.

Anyway, its great to be back! And undoubtedly loads been and will be happening. I've been reflecting a lot on my time in the UK and especially Bristol. The parks, hills, leaves in Autumn and of course University. It feels so quick that I am now (unofficially) a Masters graduate. Though that may not seem uncommon here in Brunei, but thinking back on the first day you left home to study abroad, and getting here, you sit there thinking, 'Boy, that was four years ago!'. Time does fly by so fast! At the same time, 2013 has been quite a year for me in terms of ups and downs in life. I had lost the most beloved grandmother in October, a shy 3 weeks before I was due to come home. Not having the opportunity see her face and to say my last goodbyes are obviously the things I think about from time to time. It was a tough time for me and everyone, but it has slowly eased on me.

For now, I'm optimistic on the future and absorbing the much needed relaxation time under the sun:)

My Summer Vacation: Copenhagen

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 17:55:00 +0000

A very brief anecdote of my very brief stay in Copenhagen, Denmark last August:

A couple weeks ago I embarked on my first and only summer vacation this year and the destination: Copenhagen, Denmark. To be frank, Copenhagen cropped up as a random choice at the time I was looking at choices of cities to visit. If I was to pick one for a summer vacation, Italy would be a better choice, but due to the peak summer travel season in Europe, prices hiked relatively higher than it was during the Easter break. Anyway, I pretty much got a good offer for Copenhagen from Easyjet Holidays which package included airfares, hotel and taxes. Upon closer research, the city itself is 15 minutes train ride away from the Airport, so time-wise, it was the reasonable choice.

So the trip began on the 15th of August to the 18th, just a week after the Eid celebrations. Whilst the family back home were busy visiting houses to houses, my Hari Raya was busy opting for places of interest in a city Monocle dubbed at their most liveable city.

World-conquering urban quality of life requires the trickiest of balancing acts between progress and preservation, stimulation and security, global and local. Perfection is unobtainable but Copenhagen is striking one of the best deals right now. -Monocle

While the statement reflects a bold description for a nation that initially started of as a fishing village, but the moment you set your foot in, you'll understand why. The city covers the area of only 77.20 sq. km, slightly smaller than Bandar Seri Begawan, possesses an extensive but efficient transportation infrastructure. As mentioned earlier, the airport is located just 15 minutes train ride away to the city and is in fact situated in Kastrup on the island of Amager. Railway and metro line as well as buses are available for use to get to the city. Most importantly, all the main city transport take relatively little time to get into the city from the airport. Its quite difficult for you to get lost or not having know your way, but if that moment does happen, help is duly available. Just ask fellow passengers or airport workers whom are available near the ticketing desk. The Danes learn English from the age of eight and so are generally extremely fluent, another fine example in which Denmark are excelling as a developed nation.

DAY 1

Stepping out from the Copenhagen Central Station, you'll be surprised to see more bicycles and less cars parking and roaming around the street. This is a common sight in Denmark if not the Scandinavia, as a means of putting their point across on the importance of environmental consciousness and easing of the traffic issues in a modern society. Architect Jan Gehl contributed much to this from the urban city planning philosophy of 'pedestrianising' the streets, moving Copenhagen away from the commonalities and archetypal features of urban cities of crowding out the spaces and vicious that are pandemic of most major cities around the world. Easing that, he believes in 'reclaiming' the streets back for the people, which aims at putting more people in the streets than cars. Similarly, apart from the aesthetic nature of his philosophy, without doubt Gehl's vision also possesses economic benefits for the city; for every kilometre a cyclist cycles his bike, the city gain a quarter of a US dollar, compare to when a driver travels the same distance by car, to which the city spends 16 cents more for.

Opposite the Copenhagen Central Station, a tall feature standing prominent behind a large fence. As it turned out, there stood one of the oldest theme parks in the world, the Tivoli Gardens. Opened in 1843, the theme park serves not just an amusement park with various rides in it, but also as an important venue for various performing arts and as an active part of the cultural scene in Copenhagen. Euroinvestor revealed that last year alone the park received about 4 million visitors, making it the biggest attraction in Copenhagen. New to the city, and knowing that our hotel was situated just a kilometre away from the station, I opted for a walk and it was then that you truly absorb the air and life of the city.

Checking in at the Absalon Hotel, a name derived from one of Denmark's important historical figure, both an archbishop and statesman whose main legacy towards towards Denmark was attributed to the country's massive territorial expansion into the Baltic in the 12th Century. All in all, Absalon hotel in my opinion is a little bit past its prime state that was probably early 90s, but the room was clean and good enough. Decent price for a hotel-room in Copenhagen and highly recomended for short stays and travellers on budget and since I took a holiday package from Easyjet that included accommodations, it was to me worth the money. One advantage the hotel has is that its situated smack in the heart of the city, where all sights and hubs are literally just round the corner.

Half an hour later I began my tour around the city, familiarising with nearby streets and main attractions around. First impression: small but not compact, with many interesting historical renaissance buildings and architecture. Most prominent of it all was the heart of the City, the City Hall, a brown bricked building with green rooftops and spots of gold in the centre-top of the building. A clock tower stood tall, perhaps the amongst the tallest structures in Copenhagen city centre. Ahead and across the street, was Strøget, one of Europe's longest pedestrian shopping street, perhaps one of the most crowded places you'll end up being in Copenhagen. The street stretches down at about 3.2 KM with more hundreds of shops that sell everything from clothing's, food and drinks, specialty shops and even Legos. I managed to spend my time at Lego, since after all, the brand was established in Denmark some 60 years or so ago. By the time I return back to my hotel, it was already late, where I had a late dinner and readied myself for the next day's events.

DAY 2

I woke up extra early on Day 2, as the breakfast time at the hotel ends at 10, which was quite early for my liking. Anyway, what to see in Copenhagen? Well, you'd be surprised to learnt the number of attractions around the City. Importantly, if you're travelling on a budget like I was then, a good tip would be to visit on Sundays where museums are opened for free. If not, then there are other free attractions in other parts of the City. Myself, I started with the National Museum, located at Vestergade. The museum houses a very large ethnographical collection, a collection of classical and near eastern antiquities, a coin and medal collection, and a toy museum. I was however most impressed with the Viking Exhibition, an exhibition where they documented places and dates as well as rituals that the Vikings carried out and believed to have settled in and around Northern Europe and North America.

From Vestergade, I made my way across a bridge to the Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court, all situated on a islet at the heart of Copenhagen, the only building in the world that houses all three of a country's branches of government (i.e. the executive power, the legislative power, and the judicial power). Unfortunately for me though, much of the areas were heavily cordoned with construction walls probably due to renovation works. So I didn't really see much in there. A quick walk outside the gates of the Palace, is the Børsen, apparently the world's first stock exchange building. Whats unique about the building is the fact that it has a pillar, which was resembled a Dragon Spire shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together, reaching a height of 56 metres. From here, I made my way to the city quarter nearby, Christianhavn, Copenhagen nautical part. From there, I made a brief walk to Church of Our Saviour, a baroque church , most famous for its corkscrew spire, more larger and higher than that at the Exchange. I learnt that the Church also provided a tour high up to the spire, where visitors are offered extensive views over central Copenhagen. Inside the Church music from the carillon, which is apparently the largest in northern Europe.

My final stop before heading back to the hotel was Tivoli Gardens, which reminded me a bit of Jerudong Park during its heyday. Its a rarity though for Tivoli, an amusement part, to sit in the middle of a city centre. Inside, the gardens offered a vast array of entertainment options, such as the pantomime show, breath-taking views of gardens and lakes, rides, live show as well as large options of food choices of various international cuisines. One building that caught my eyes was the Moorish Palace, a hotel and restaurant that resembled the Taj Mahal. A day in Tivoli, admittedly wasn't enough, even if you're they only for sightseeing, as I was then.

After a long day of touring, I headed back to the hotel and called it a day.

DAY 3

Its my final day in this awesome city. The flight was due in the late afternoon, but I decided that I spent the remaining hours visiting more places. Also, the benefit of vacationing in a small sized city, like Copenhagen or Singapore is the airport is just nearby. Since it only takes about 15 minutes to reach the Airport from the city, there was no rush at all. And there are plenty of options to get there like trains or the metro, so the thought of getting stuck in a jam was highly unlikely, at least that was the case for me.

Anyway, I began my day departing for the Little Mermaid statue, situated at Langelinie promenade. However, upon arrival I noticed a stack of buses with tens of tourists heading to the direction of the statue, and sadly I ended up cancelling the famous statue. The relevance of the Little Mermaid with Denmark is all due to Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish author of the fairytale story. Apart from the Little Mermaid, he had written hundreds of tales, books and poems along, which had been translated into various languages and depicted in moving pictures, and his works have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness.

Good thing for me though, nearby the promenade, there are a few other attractions worth visiting, that take advantage of the breathtaking views of the promenade in the backdrop. From there I made quite a long walk to Frederik's Church, situated in Frederiksstaden. You can't really miss the Church, as its large green dome, one of the largest in Europe, can be seen from a far. West of the Church is Amalienborg Palace, where I headed to afterwards, the winter home of the Danish royal family, consists of four identical classicizing palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard, and in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V. One glance on the square will immediately reminds you of Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. The palace was mesmerising, pity though that I wasn't able to visit the interior, since that option was not available, as the Palace is still in use.

Moving on from there, I headed to the famous Nyhavn, the scene in which most of what you see of Copenhagen in pictures or movies were based from. Literally translated as 'New Harbour', Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen. The harbour is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants and serves as a "heritage harbour". By this time it was almost noon, after a few photo shots, I headed for Baresso, Denmark's answer to Starbucks.

After a quick break, I made my way along Gothersgade towards the Davids Collection, a museum of fine and applied art in Copenhagen, Denmark, built around the private collections of lawyer, businessman and art collector C. L. David. Interestingly, this free museum is situated in a very conspicuous location, and you won't believe that a normal-looking building houses an array of various art collection ranging from Islamic and Victorian age Denmark. After an hour visit, I made my way to Kongens Have, the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, which was situated nearby. Basking the beautiful sceneries and air in the gardens, it suddenly dawned on me that it was my last day (last few hours, in fact) in this awesome city. Took a few shot as usual of the surroundings, something that I actually rarely do when I go on holiday. Due to time constraints, I didn't manage to take a tour to the Castle itself.

From the Gardens, I headed off to the hipster district of Copenhagen, University. Well, from the name itself you won't have difficulty knowing what is situated there, but the student-friendly district has a number of vintage and second hand shops, both high-street and high end, which I found worth looking at. Though I don't for a second admit I am a hipster of any kind, but I was in love with some of the items sold in a few of the shops as well as the decors and interiors of the shops itself. I was particularly impressed with one, Studio Travel, which offered a minimalistic concept for the store front. The shop offers clothes for men and women with a selection that will make you unique, and allows you to 'travel back' in time and bring back the style that was made for you, hence the name Studio Travel. From University, I was reunited with Strøget, where I began my walk to the train station for the Airport.

It was an awesome time well-spent for me in Copenhagen. Will really look back at how 'different' Copenhagen is. An interesting blend of the old and the new can be seen in every part of the city. Tour a building that, on the outside looks traditional and old, but in the inside, is as modern as any space you will find anywhere. The city really made a mark with me, it is small and very compact, and has more bikes then cars, which coming from a person that comes from Brunei, where cars are literally everywhere, a place where I appreciate being in. When the weather is nice, strolling through the streets of the inner city, and finding yourself at a cafe or restaurant somewhere near the water is a pleasure. Hard to find a table sometimes, because every one else is doing the same thing. The people was awesome too, never did I not feel in any way less welcome than in any other European country I have visited in the past few years.

Tapping in on China's second-tier cities

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 22:32:00 +0000

I came across an article not long ago in Monocle about how Finnair recently became the first European airline to offer direct services to Chongqing, China. First thought that came into my mind was 'Where in the world is Chongqing'? But reading forward, it makes a lot sense and in my mind Finnair made a smart move.

China is a country that always amazes me. Being a politics and economics student, it is nearly impossible to leave out China out of the current political economy discussions. Learning the development of a country that recently opened up and establishing itself as Asia's largest economy and only the second globally, next to the United States, China is undoubtedly an important international hub and market for the international trade. With its rapid economic growth, more and more of its population are enjoying high standard of living and growing middle classes. While the major economic cities were previously situated within the country's coastlines, the conducive economic environment and potentials it afforded to investors have moved the focus towards the hinterland and more cities, or aptly dubbed 'Second-tier' economic cities are seen spawning. Cities like Chongqing are enjoying the boom and are rapidly developing forward.

Going back to Finnair, it does not take long as to why the airline decided Chongqing as THE next one. However, tapping into these Second-tier cities are not without its risks. Knowing that second tier cities are still developing itself, there is always a potential that there will be low-profitability for the airlines. Furthermore, with the current economic environment, as with the airlines industry, things are not always predictable. But with every problem, there is always those windows of opportunities, and Finnair recognises this.

"We know the western part is currently growing very fast and the economic potential in the region is great," said Pekka Vauramo, CEO of Finnair. And indeed Chongqing, as the case with other second-tier cities in China, are growing fast. While the rise of these fast growing second-tier cities may be the main motivation for airlines such as Finnair to tap into the market, we have to always remember that China is a country with a population of almost 1.5 billion people. Chongqing alone contribute to about 33 million of that number and being the first European airline in Chongqing inevitably makes it a gateway airline to Europe for that population. Another advantage second-tier cities like Chongqing offer to airlines is the cheaper cost of operation compare to major cities. This is mainly due to the provincial governments efforts to attract more foreign investors into the second-tier cities, each provincial governments pledged towards lesser costs of operation and at the same time are offering more tax credits, ensuring a win-win situation for foreign firms.

Evidently someone at Finnair was thinking outside the box. Adapting this move into the 'local' Bruneian context, our one and only airline, as a matter of opinion and suggestion should perhaps need a step back and rethink our next move in their efforts to garner that desirable growth it desperately needed. Reiterating my acknowledgment of China's importance in today's global economy, when the major international airlines are fiercely competing in main cities of Beijing and Shanghai, why not RB, as a supposedly ambitious and somewhat revitalised airline use Finnair's thinking process to tap into the minor but most definitely productive and marketable second-tier cities. While I'm not merely suggesting to tap into China's second-tier cities alone, perhaps we can look at other important and possibly profitable markets that suits RB. Finnair's case study is indeed an interesting one to read.

Youth Empowerment, Because We Need It

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 00:56:00 +0000

During a particular Thursday a couple months back, I attended my weekly class seminar for Environmental Politics. I'm not much of an environmental person, and I'm not ashamed of acknowledging that fact, in spite of the everyday murmurs of global warming and the like. It's not that I'm not disbeliever of global warming, I mean, I do contribute my part on numerous environmental friendly initiative such as recycling and reducing the use of plastic bags and so on. But put it simply, the scientific arguments surrounding the gradual increase in the mother earth's temperatures just don't appeal too much with me, more so during the whole climategate debacle resulted from the spread of emails from University of East Anglia sort of dispelling the climate change data, further gave me much conviction that I should worry too much. Anyway, I guess I was digressing from the gist of my blog post.

During that class, our lecturer was basically asking for feedbacks and opinions from us regarding any initiatives being done by our respective polities and councils wherever we came from. One by one, she enquired to us about what lawmakers have done in their efforts to mitigate or at least respond to the problems regarding the environment. Firstly she asked us whether we participated within the voting or whatever political mechanisms to bring forward the environmental issues into the agenda. Slowly but surely, each of my classmates shared their input, until of course, it was my turn. Frankly I just shared information that I know of, with regards to Brunei Darussalam's efforts in highlighting awareness on environmental issues. Yet, when she enquired to me how those things were brought into the political limelight, I froze for a while, not knowing exactly how to respond to that. A little bit ashamed, I explained to her the complexities surrounding the system in Brunei and admitted to her that normally things aren't bottom up as they are in the UK and much of the politically conscious nations in the West and the North. The fact that Brunei is an oil and gas exporter and those commodities are the main blood and bone of the country's economy further complicate things. I am certain that most of us Bruneians are less knowledgeable in the whole environmental department than my colleagues here in the UK (case in point, the lack of initiatives to reduce traffic jams and car usage. Even if there are initiatives on reducing the traffic problems, it is much less to do with being environmentally conscious, but more with being efficient on the road). I further explained that certain decisions in the country are determined by the political masters and the respective authorities who are assigned to their respective issues and the environment falls in that ambit. I acknowledged though that they've done a particularly good job in that respect, yet the deep thought about how the process or how these respective departments have decided on which issues are important or why they are important in the first place leaves me, and I'm sure much of my fellow Bruneians in the dark.

Having said that, brings me to my writing this blog post: Since much of the 'important' bits about our countries are handled mostly by the people 'up there', where does it put us, us as in youths? Every year we celebrate the National Youth Day, (and I remember the date of celebration as it falls every year on my birthday) and the message resonating yearly sounds basically the same, with some changes made on the wordings. It usually calls out the youths to contribute more for the country. As much as I crave for youth empowerment, I am however stuck. I am stuck because I don't know where I can actually make an impact for the good of the nation. Sure, there are those common avenues in which youths usually shine their way and make the country proud: sports, yet you have to bear in mind, often I hear that problems existing within a number of the major sports in the country. Take football for instance, common issues are that our national and youth football teams are often faced with issues with regards to the way the people 'up there' manage the national team. Case in point: the national team pulling out from the AFC challenge cup on the last minute which caused an uproar in the local social media as well as outside. And this was a year or so after the country was banned for two years from international football due to mismanagement (for lack of a better term) of the national football association. And bear in mind, football in the nation's number one sport, and this happened to the country's main sport, how can you explain other 'second-choice' sports in the country such as, say badminton and basketball. Best leave that to your imagination.

Perhaps there's another avenue, if not the only achievable avenue in which us youths can empower ourselves to strive for the best, and for the best I really mean to realise the nation's main goals of 2035; the education. I personally am proud of our education system, though some aspects of it I didn't actually enjoy based on past personal experience. You have to admit it, living in a country like ours, we should be glad the extent in which the government has been quite generous to their citizens and students in terms of providing the opportunities to further our studies be it abroad or at local institutions. I am currently one of the many students benefitting in the system. In fact a number of my foreign friends find it interesting that everywhere they go, whenever they meet Bruneian students from their previous universities or somewhere they'd be surprised that most of them are government granted scholarship students. However, when speaking with a number of friends whom are fellow government scholars about their next move after graduating university or college, a lot of them would say they'd work in the government and find a decent 9 to 5 jobs. While the attitude is prevalent everywhere and shamely I've to say, is quite common among us. None of them are actually out there to do something different to contribute to the nation more than simply getting a decent 9 to 5 job in the government. I'm fortunate however, to have met some potential visionaries in my time here in the UK. Some of them are very outward oriented in their thinking. They are looking at improvements towards our nations. Some (I won't name names) that I've spoken to are interested in looking to heed the call of the government to diversify Brunei, in terms of the energy field by introducing an alternative to our over-reliance on oil and gas. Others are interested in tapping in the still new but widely spread out social media industries. In fact some individuals that I know have successfully started their own social media companies (I've worked in one actually). The rest, are very hopeful that they are going to make it in their respective future businesses they are setting up once they have graduated and possess enough capital to start one. Of course, these individuals are still university students and still a long way from graduating, but still hearing something different from individuals younger than I am brings much optimism on our country's future (not that I'm saying there's a bleak future ahead).

I wish to always involve myself more into these kind of discussions. From time to time, it always energises me when it come to discussions regarding youth empowerment. We really need youths to act more, in spite of the apparent lack of means for us youths to contribute more formally. I came across the other day about a forum/conference inviting youths to discuss things with regards to the theme on youth and the 2035 vision some time early this month. Unfortunately, since I'm abroad and not returning to Brunei for the summer holidays this year, I was unable to attend. It would have been interesting to get involved in the kind of discussion. Unfortunately, the proposed venue of the event wasn't really suitable in my opinion (how can you organise a forum at a mamak restaurant?) We have many glamorous buildings in Brunei, I'm sure there are more well functional meeting rooms that the organisers could've gone for if they've asked (assuming that they haven't/didn't asked of course). However, I've much respect and appreciation from them for holding such brain-enriching initiatives. I've yet to follow up on the outcome of the conference, but upon reading the Facebook status updates from one of the organisers, it went well, and it should be. If anyone is wondering how and when they can contribute to our beloved Brunei, my opinion is, it should be now. We are afterall the faces of tomorrow's leaders (this does not simply mean our faces literally stamped on the ministerial and members of cabinet posters). It doesn't necessarily require certain top-down initiatives to push us to empower ourselves and contribute to our nation's future, although an acknowledgement and a helping hand from them would much be appreciated. First step to youth empowerment I feel is a change of mindset from being second best to second to none and education is central to this. We are afforded the opportunities to do this from time to time and its up to us to make a difference. Our hopes and dreams must not be on getting that decent 9 to 5 jobs after graduation, but doing good at what we do and make a career out of it and working at nothing more but making a difference for the betterment of others and our country.

'Praise youth and it will prosper'.

-Irish Proverb

GIZMODO - The Wildly Functional Studio of Video Wizard Casey Neistat, Parts 1, 2 and 3

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 13:36:00 +0000

Somewhere Only We Know

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 13:45:00 +0000

And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go?

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know

My Afternoon :)

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 22:31:00 +0000

It was a lazy weekend afternoon, so why not?

#BTT

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 21:41:00 +0000

Really we have this too? hashtaglame!

My afternoon spent with

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 17:30:00 +0000

June Objectives

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:46:00 +0000

Glad to say I've met most of my June objectives! And getting more than half way to my July's Objectives:D

(Covered up parts are personal errands LOL)

Productive times ahead!

Anthony Bourdain's Congo

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:35:00 +0000

For the minuscule number of my blog followers, you may or may not know the number of times I've written in my blog posts my adoration of a particular Anthony Bourdain, of shows and series in TV which I have grown to enjoy ever since my parents opted to install Astro on our home telly, switch to the discovery travel channel and on was No Reservations, the much loved and irked travel series he's mostly accredited to. For those unfamiliar with this gentleman, google and look him up in Wikipedia! To sum it up, he's a writer, tv personality in travel shows and quasi-correspondent and a real-life chef, though I think he's professionally retired being a chef. He had a few shows under his belt, No Reservation was the famous one. I find it interesting though that during an interview with CNN regarding his life and background, he admitted that he never knew he'd end up today exploring the world particularly in his 40s, and leaving at the height of his career as an executive chef in the much spoken of French Bistro at Bresserie Les Halles. From a chef to an author and eventually a tv personality of non-cooking shows, I find that, for lack of a better term, particularly unconventional.

You see, No Reservations offers the viewers an insight into the, shall we say, less publicised parts of the town in the places where he visited, aided with Bourdain's knowledge of food, the show educates the viewers with a splash and bits of real fine food and cuisine that are often handicapped and well blanketed by overrated, Michelin-starred restaurants in books and magazines. Also, what's the point of a travel show if you're there to reiterate the conventional 'have to visit' places? Sure enough, Bourdain to the rescue! He would go to places where the rich and famous would visit, or to touristy areas, at the same time, he'd invite the viewers to look at the realities behind those glitz and blitz and those wonderful monuments in town squares, and have a sit down with shanty dwellers and ethnic tribes. Most of the time, he'd be in the 'in your face' kind of attitude, and 'oh, f**k, might as well' mode when trying out new cuisines and the less preferred dishes (highly acclaimed was the episode in Vietnam where he had a snake heart, still beating, mixed with a shot of alcohol).

Now the show has ended and Mr. Bourdain has moved to another network on to a new show, where he goes to various new places, be it in America's own backyard to hostile and 'highly ungoverned' countries and cities (insert Libya and Congo), his new series clearly tries to redefined travel shows on a different tone, perhaps more political and less touristy; and so the show was named 'Parts Unknown' for obviously reasons. While his in your face character has toned down a bit and topics discussed are somewhat political less so cuisine-ish, albeit the constant droppings of F-bombs are still there, this one I admit, I truly enjoy (mainly being that I'm a politics and history student). The episode that really sticks with me was when he visited Congo, the season's finale. I find it interesting but rather difficult to comprehend the harsh reality of the Congolese people post civil war. Being the size of almost the whole of Western Europe, Congo was supposed to be a rich nation, as it has pretty much everything in terms of resources. Gold, Oil, those things you need to manufacture semi-conductors and mobile phones; they have them too. Yet, history had not been kind to them.

During colonialism, the country was literally 'taken' in by King Leopold of Belgium, who declared Congo as his. And just like that most the goodness, peace and harmony that the Congolese enjoyed began to gradually slipped away. Like many colonised nations in Africa, the end of colonial rule meant self-rule, yet the process was too rapid, that colonial powers just wiped their hands off their African colonies, without really providing the right mechanisms and ensuring stability in the process. It's like after they stripped of the wealth of these colonies, they simply left them at their own devices. So same like Congo, being a country with a large land mass and population with hundreds of conflicting ethnic tribes (whom mind you were displeased with one another again as a result of the preferential treatment one tribe got over the other during the colonial rule), coups and civil wars were just a matter of time. Simply put, the Belgians installed an uneducated governing group of people will little administrative experience at the helms of power and expect things will go down smoothly. And its proven less so, Patrice Lumumba became the Prime Minister, a figure much 'disfavoured' in the Western hemisphere due to this Soviet inclinations. He controversially increased the pay of all government officers except boldly the Office of the President and the military, those who were opposed of the Soviets encroachment. But not long after, the CIA in a typical fashion, sponsored a coup and installed Joseph Mobutu as the new Prime Minister. And just like that, a dictator was born. With a twist of irony, Joseph Mobutu 'a man of spectacular rapaciousness, brutality and megalomania', Bourdain later narrates, 'At one point, having looted the country of billions—and having allowed what infrastructure remained to largely rot into the forest, Mobutu’s army complained of not being paid. The President-for Life’s response was to point out that they had guns, and to suggest that they take what they needed from the already desperate population. This is an attitude that prevails today'. While Mubutu had been deposed out and long gone, gaining stability is still a far fetched reality. What's bizarre to me is that the latest figure released indicated that just in the eastern part of the Congo alone there are tens if not hundreds of rebel groups, all with their own territorial, ethnic, resource wealth interests and proxy agenda from neighbouring states. A good illustration below, taken from Parts Unknown:

And mind you, this is just an illustration of those groups and organisations that are already been identified. There are more that haven't come up with a cool name and acronym to be placed in the newspapers and evening news shows. Even worse, the map above is largely outdated. And boy, god knows what lies on the other side of that map. Bourdain again sums it up best: 'The Congo is a place where everything is fine—until it isn’t'.

The first season of Parts Unknown has just ended, and currently shootings for the second season is ongoing, and the airing date for that season will be in mid September. Following Bourdain on Twitter, he's currently in Copenhagen. Since I'll be there sometime around August, it would have helped if it aired sooner, but oh well!

I enjoy writing and travelling, much of which was influenced by Mr. Bourdain's comical and much appreciated narrations and anecdotal references on the weird places and things of the places he visited. But then again, who wouldn't be? Travelling is a joy, and its an educational process more than an activity of leisure. I mean, sure you get to relax and doze off in a hammock down the beach, but I can do that in Brunei any day, maybe in between lunch breaks during work. You gotta love travelling, I'm telling you, you just have to!

I want to always be an organ-grinder...

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 18:29:00 +0000

Bought some vintage books to read for the summer:)

noreply@blogger.com (MuizoSalleh) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 18:26:00 +0000