Brunei Takes On Borneo’s Best
By James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam will be represented by 211 athletes and officials for the upcoming l Borneo Games which is scheduled from Dec 18-22 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Brunei will be competing against top athletes from Sarawak, Labuan and host Sabah for the right to become champions of Borneo.

The Borneo Games were once regarded as prestigious sporting championships during the 1960s. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports,'Pehin Major General (R) Dato Awang Haji Mohammad bin Haji Daud, as the guest-of-honour, handed over the national flag to Awang Haji Haris bin Othman, the chefde-mission of the Brunei contingent in a ceremony at the ministry yesterday.

Prior to the flag handing-over ceremony, the minister in his welcoming address said that with the theme `The Spirit of Borneo', the 1st Borneo Games are based on the concept of friendship and through sports the participating countries will work together to strengthen goodwill -for building a united, safe and peaceful Borneo island.

He hoped that athletes representing Brunei Darussalam could make good use of this opportunity to display their best performance.

Pehin Dato Awang Haji Mohammad also advised team managers and coaches to analyse the achievements by the local athletes in the 1st Borneo Games as a step towards providing strategic training programmes which will raise the standard and quality of sporting performances in the future.

Brunei Darussalam will be competing in 10 sporting events namely athletics, badminton, tennis, football, hockey, tenpin bowling, rugby, sepak takraw, boxing and top spinning (Gasing).

The opening ceremony for the games will be on Dec 18 at Likas Sports Complex whereby the Sabah Chief Minister Datuk MusaAman is expected to declare open while the closing ceremony will be officiated by the Sabah Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun.

According to chef-de-mission Haji Haris, Brunei have a good chance of winning a number of medals as some of the athletes have represented Brunei in the just concluded SEA Games in Manila.

Also present at the flag handing-over ceremony were Haji Jemat bin Haji Ampal, the Permanent Secretary of Culture, Youth and Sports, Awang Japar bin Bangkol, the Director of Youth and Sports and other senior government officials from the ministry.  -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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