23.5 million building in Batu Apoi to be completed by 2014

Bandar Seri Begawan - A $23.5 million permanent camp-site for the National Service Programme or Program Khidmat Bakti Negara (PKBN) is on the horizon.

The building, which is scheduled to be completed by 2014, will be located in Batu Apoi, Mukim Puni, Temburong, said the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Maya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah, during a dialogue, the first-of-its-kind ever to be held, with the local news media representatives yesterday.

The permanent PKBN site will have a capacity of around 700 participants which will enable the National Service Programme to be carried out three times in a year. Currently, more than 100 plus participants take part in the programme at one time.

The Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam hopes that the programme will become a birthplace for a new generation of leaders who will serve as valuable assets to the country as well as become role models and inspire more youths to take part in the PKBN training.

Pehin Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair said the programme had a huge impact on the participants.

He told the media how a father of a participant came and thanked the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for providing the programme to his daughter, who had a very remarkable transformation in self-esteem, discipline and self-identity.

He said the programme actually came about from an idea of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, who consented to it through the Prime Minister's Office, which then mandated it to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports to supervise the programme.

Program Khidmat Bakti Negara (PKBN), launched on December 5 last year, has yielded positive results. PKBN is a specially-designed national youth development programme that focuses on character building, including endurance and mental strength, physical and spiritual aspects according to the principles of culture, nationalism and religion. ,

Trainers comprise personnel from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), Fire and Rescue Department, and Outward Bound Brunei Darussalam Centre, among others.

The first PKBN pilot project with 80 participants aged 16-20 years old commenced on December 5, 2011 until February 27, 2012. During the dialogue, Pehin Dato Awg Hj Hazair also thanked local news media for their colourful coverage of events held or co-organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin