Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei has presented a mosque to the earthquake- and tsunami-hit Aceh in Indonesia. It was part of an initiative by the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and its participation to rebuild Aceh Darussalam after it was hit by earthquake and tsunami back in 2004.

The mosque construction project was an initiative of Yayasan at the Teupin Rambot District in Kabupaten Aceh Jaya. The mosque named `Baiturrahim Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah' was constructed on Sept 4, 2007 and used on Sept 25 last year.

With regards to this, a delegation from Yayasan led by Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin, a Board of Director of the Foundation, recently made a visit to the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to take a closer look at the life of residents after they received contributions from the Bruneian public.

Last Friday, the mosque (its name consented by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam), was officially handed over by Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin to Teungku Zamzani Arani, the Deputy District Officer of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

The mosque could accommodate 500 worshippers and costs $150,000 or 1,047,300,000 Indonesian rupiah partly collected from public contributions through the Yayasan and National Fund for Tsunami Victims.

Present at the ceremony was Dato Paduka Hj Ali Hashim, the Managing Director of Yayasan, senior officers of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Yayasan officials, officers from the Brunei Embassy to Indonesia, as well as community members from Teupin Rambot, Kabupaten Aceh Jaya.

Meanwhile, another project site handled by Yayasan in 2007 was at the Desa Mamplam, Kecamatan Leupung, Kabupaten Aceh Besar, including the constructions of housing, religious hall, school and a health centre. All the buildings have been occupied and utilised by the Desa Mamplam community.

The Yayasan delegation also made a goodwill visit to Muhd Nazar, governor-representative of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to inform the Aceh governor on the developments and initiatives of Yayasan in rebuilding Aceh as well as to foster closer ties between the two parties. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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