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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Patriotism was clearly displayed during the 29th National Day celebration yesterday at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien as thousands of citizens and residents of Brunei Darussalam came down and joined in the festivity, Borneo Bulletin reported.

Members of the public came as early as before 5am to Bandar Seri Begawan, to ensure that they got to the event on time as roads were closed by 6.30am.

With the spirit of patriotism high within them, they also have personal aims or tasks in conjunction with the 29th National Day celebration.

For one photographer and blogger, Reeda Malik, he has never missed a National Day celebration, as he indulges in the patriotic atmosphere the moment he arrives in the capital.

“From early morning to the end of the march-pass, everytime I participate in the National Day celebration, the thing I look forward to is the feeling that I get ever since the first time I came which is the goosebumps you feel when you see all these patriotic Bruneians willing to come here and do the march-pass in honour of the National Day. You kind of feel like you love your country more, it’s just great to see Bruneians. Aside from that; is to capture the event in a photographic point of view, capture the moments as each one is a different set of moments. Although it’s sort of the same format and parade, but the people are different and the colours are different,” he added.

Having his blog, according to Reeda, allows him to use it as a platform to encourage more people to participate or watch the event live, as it is different than watching the event on television.

Renowned local blogger, Rano Iskandar was also seen at the event, despite not being able to acquire a Media Pass on time, he still roamed the outskirts of the Taman in search of photo opportunities to post in his blog.

“Being out here lets me see behind the scenes of the event, as sometimes people don’t know what’s happening besides the programme scheduled for the main location, which is the march-pass and performances at the Taman. People think marching is just marching, but there is more to it – preparation, logistics, and the effort it takes to come here very early in the morning just to get good parking space. Parking is still an issue though, but it is good to see that despite all the obstacles and challenges, people are still here. It’s more livelier this year, as last year’s events had seen Brunei progress much such as achievements by Brunei like the HBT trophy, and this year Brunei is chairing the ASEAN Summit,” said Rano.

Natalie Sisson, from suitcaseentrepreneur.com has travelled from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei the day before the National Day, and is always on the move. Having seen many events and celebrations in other countries, Natalie finds the National Day celebration exciting, to add to the many activities that she has planned to carry out while in the country.

“This is my first time in Brunei, I arrived just yesterday. The event was pretty impressive, I have not seen anything like this before. Very impressive how many people love your sultan, and also the fact that he holds many important positions in the government,” she said.

A group of UBD students was also seen walking around with digital SLRs in their hands, as their lecturer, David Cheok has set them a task to capture the moments at the National Day celebration within the theme of ‘Emotions in Motion’.

“As with others who are here today, we came early and grouped up with our lecturer and after a quick briefing, we set out to apply all the knowledge on photography that we have learnt so far. After the event, we are to edit the photos and share them to get comments and critiques that can help build our photography skills,” said Syaz, one of the students representing the group at that time.

Category: Sarawak