Concern At Rise In Social Ills
By Anna Abu Bakar

Bandar Seri Begawan - Parents must play a bigger role in bringing up their children in order for them to become part of Brunei's future development.

This was emphasised by the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin, in his premier working paper which also served as his opening speech of the seminar on Understanding Islam Tunas Bangsa Berakhlak al-Quran.

The minister was deeply saddened by the sharp increase in social ills such as drug abuse, incest, and divorce at a young age in the society. The statistics seemed to portray a scary reality of the Bruneian youths in today's society.

However, he was also quite optimistic in the sense that the Bruneian society should not constantly look at the dark side of humanity and instead they should look for a way to reduce such social ills and improve the situation by turning for reference to al-Quran.

In the context of the National Day theme of Tunas Bangsa, he also highlighted the achievements of youths, who have excelled in academics by, obtaining good grades and are involved in religious activities, community work and sports, thus maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

"It is this kind of generation that will take the country up and forward and we must keep an eye on their potential to nurture and guide on the right path," he added.

Education and the environment play an important part for a student to become a better and responsible individual, he said, adding like the theme of this year's National Day Tunas Bangsa children or the younger generation need proper education in order to become a better person, much like a seedling that needs enough care, water and sunlight in order to blossom into a flower. The seminar aims to play a bigger part in facilitating the Bruneian youths to become better individuals.

The seminar was organised by the Islamic Da'wah Centre with quite a number of objectives.

Firstly, it aims to help the participants, who were predominantly made up of Secondary Four and Five students from various secondary schools in the Brunei-Muara district, to prepare themselves as better Muslims who are capable of facing any challenge and become an asset to the country's development march.

Secondly, it hopes to increase the spirituality among the participants towards practising the correct Islamic ways and teachings (specially from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Thirdly, the seminar aims to create a realisation and awareness among the participants about deviant ways of aqidah.

Lastly, it aims to educate the participants both spiritually and physically to become an individual with Islamic outlook.

The Understanding Islam seminar is one of the many activities that is carried out by the Islamic Da'wah Centre in order to contribute towards helping to educate the youths to become educated in the Islamic ways so not to be easily swayed by Western influences as well as deviant activities that is considered to be rampant in the society today.

The event took place at the Conference Hall of the Islamic Da'wah Centre and as many as 300 students participated in the seminar, along with several senior officers from various departments and Ministries. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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