Compiled by Azlan
Othman, Lyna Mohammed & Hatiah
|
His Majesty at the Asean Ministers Responsible for
Information (AMRI) conference last October.
|
|
US President George W Bush poses with His Majesty Sultan
and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam as
photographers were allowed in briefly during their
private meeting December 16, 2002 in the Oval Office of
the White House. The meeting was held for talks on
trade, possible war against Iraq and Asia's role in the
global war on terrorism. AFP
|
|
Professor Mahmud Saedon passed away last June.
|
|
Dato Paduka Haji Hazair, Permanent Secretary at the
Prime Minister's Office, during the opening meeting of
AMRI.
|
June
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam arrived for a three-day visit in
Berlin, greeted by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The two
leaders discussed the fight against international terrorism,
bilateral relations as well as inter-regional cooperation
between the European Union and Asia.
Professor Dato Mahmud Saedon ,
58, passed away. The late Professor Saedon was admitted to the
emergency room after suffering a stroke. His remains were laid
to rest at the Kampung Kiarong Muslim cemetery.
Tough measures have been taken
to counter drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs,
inappropriate mobile usage as well as illegal races. These steps
were taken in order to curb the accident rate in Brunei. These
were entailed in the new Brunei Road Traffic Act (Amendment)
order 2002, under his Majesty's consent.
July
A signing ceremony took place to
mark the formalisation of RTB-CNN joint production and broadcast
of Brunei Darussalam promo between the Ministry of Industry and
Primary Resources, Royal Brunei Airlines, RTB and CNN at Studio
'A', RTB. Following this, the Sultan's birthday celebrations for
the first time ever would be telecast every hour on the
worldwide CNN network.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam turned 56, nation-wide mass
prayers were held to seek the blessing of Allah the Almighty in
conjunction with his Majesty's Birthday. His Titah was the
highlight of this event in where the Sultan stresses Brunei's
strong stand against terrorism.
Security talks dominated the
Asean talks. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations would
not compromise on any terrorist threats or other activities that
would jeopardise the regional security. During the 35th Asean
ministerial meeting in Brunei, the much-needed economic reforms
in Asean was also not sidelined.
Following this, His Majesty the
Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam also didn't fail
to deliver his keynote address in order to set the tone for
Asean to deliberate its future course in light of the rapid
changes in the economic, political and security climate of the
world.
August
The nation as host to the 35th
Asean Ministrial Meeting has brought the three-day meeting to a
close, not just with flying colours but more with a historic
achievement in forging a stronger relationship with the United
States, the world superpower.
The Sultanate is to become the
first virtual e-financial marketplace in Asia. His Majesty the
Sultan in his birthday Titah has highlighted his hope to see
Brunei play an important role in the global financial market and
the setting up of IBX to be one of the vehicles to realise this
goal.
His Majesty the Sultan and
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam received an honorary degree in
political science from the chairperson of the University council
of Chulalongkorn University during his three-day visit to
Thailand. The visit was aimed at deepening political and
economic ties between the two monarchies.
September
A historic moment for law
fraternity when thirty local lawyers completed courses in
Syariah legislation, a step to bringing the Country's current
civil legal system with that of Islamic laws. This will lead to
the momentous event of bringing the country under a single
unified legislation in the future.
Sultan upholds research and
development at the UBD convocation. His Majesty urged the
university to undertake Research and Development activities, in
order to make it a centre for excellence. His Majesty, in his
Titah at the 14th convocation ceremony of the UBD also
underscored the production of more graduates as it will give
rise to more knowledgeable people and experts in various fields.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark
to join leaders from Asia and Europe for the fourth Asia Europe
meeting (Asem 4). During the meeting, His Majesty told leaders
from Asia and Europe that his country will open the doors of its
research centres for some of the young Asem scientists from Asem
countries as a way to promote closer ties among Asem.
Record number of people became
Bruneian citizens when 401 new Bruneians received their
citizenship. The 14th presentation ceremony was held at the
Islamic Dakwah Centre where all the new citizens pledged their
allegiance to His Majesty's government.
October
Information is the key to Asean's
survival, this importance was underlined by His Majesty the
Sultan during the opening ceremony of the seventh conference on
Asean Ministers Responsible for Information (Amri). His Majesty
also said that it is through them (Ministers of Information)
that the people can learn to work together as friends,
neighbours and colleagues, no matter what their background,
culture or religion and become true citizens of Asean.
His Majesty the Sultan arrived
in Mexico to attend the 10th Apec economic leaders meeting. The
theme of the meeting was "Expanding the benefits of
cooperation for economic growth and development- implementing
the vision."
BruNet e-mails came to a
grinding halt. Jabatan Telekom Brunei announced to the public
with great regret that the BruNet E-mail services was facing
problems. Virus attacks, as claimed by BruNet may have led to
hardware problems resulting in the breakdown of the e-mail
sevices.
November
Brunei-Tonga deal takes off. Royal
Brunei Airline (RBA) has agreed for its Boeing 747 to be used by
the Royal Tongan Airlines (RTA) for services between Auckland
and Tonga.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam attended the eighth Asean Summit
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In the meeting, His Majesty urged
leaders from the region to work closely and to implement counter
terrorism measures. His Majesty also signed a tourism agreement
that wil allow easier travel and will open up the aviation
industry in the region.
December
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam called on Muslims to be ever
grateful and continue to help those who are in need of
assistance, in his Hari Raya Titah. His Majesty added that we
should be thankful for being able to celebrate Hari Raya in
comfort and in peace as many Muslims around the world are not as
fortunate. The Sultan continue to say that such fate faced by
some Muslims require sympathy and contribution.
A record number of visitors was
documented during the Hari Raya open house at the Istana Nurul
Iman. His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei
Darussalam and members of the royal family received at least one
hundred thousand well wishers.
His Majesty the Sultan received
a warm White House welcome in the United States by the US
President, George Bush. Bilateral discussions were held at the
oval office of the White House. In conjunction with His
Majesty's visit, Brunei Darussalam and the United States signed
a bilateral trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA).
|
