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The Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) had recently held a summer break project, Unsung Heroes, on two consecutive days, Sunday and Monday, 4th and 5th of August 2019 at the parking area of Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque with its theme, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’. Unsung Heroes is an annual charity drive organised by BruROSA which focuses on the construction workers around the city. This charity drive is all about giving back to these hard working heroes around the city, and would hopefully raise public awareness of the less fortunate and also to promote safe migration in the country. A total of 15 members of BruROSA were gathered at Masjid Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah parking area on Sunday morning, 4th August 2019, where food and drinks are received from different sources. The event continued on the following day, starting at as early as 6 in the morning, this time with 21 volunteers. They started by receiving food donations and then distributing them afterwards. At 11.30am, the volunteers allocated themselves into 4 groups, going to 10 different construction sites, where lunch packs were given to about 345 workers in total. Some of the construction sites were at Jalan Kampong Salambigar, Sekolah Menengah Rimba and Dewan Kuliah Universiti Brunei Darussalam. BruROSA is an organisation that liaises between the Bruneian students in United Kingdom and Ireland in terms of religious affairs, and Unsung Heroes is one of its annual events, among many others such as Kem Ibadah, Umrah Tour, Photography and Writing Competitions, which will be held in the United Kingdom throughout the 2019/2020 academic year. We hope that we can continuously hold such worthwhile events in the next following years.
 Group photo with some of the workers at the construction site near Jalan Kg Salambigar
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In conjunction with Brunei’s 35th National Day Celebration, Brunei-Birmingham Students Society (Brumingham) hosted this year’s annual Majlis Khatam Al-Quran for Midlands Region on the 23rd March 2019. The event took place in Multifaith Chaplaincy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston. Bruneian societies within the Midlands region attended the event comprised of students from Keele, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, Warwick and Coventry. Yang Mulia Awangku Muhammad Hisyam Al-Yura Bin Pg Zainal Abidin, President of Brunei Students’ Union (BSU) and Yang Mulia Muhammad Abdul Hakim Bin Haji Mohammad Shukrin as the General Secretary of Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) and Regional Executive of West Midlands were present as the Guest of Honours. The President of Brumingham, Yang Mulia Noorhazimah Azma binti Abdul Azis, along with other members of the BSU committees greeted the Guest of Honours upon their arrival. The event started off with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah led by Yang Mulia Muhammad Abdul Hakim. The President of Brumingham then gave an opening speech to welcome everyone and followed by a speech delivery by the Guest of Honour, Yang Mulia Awangku Muhammad Hisyam Al-Yura. Both emphasised the importance of making the recitation of Holy Quran as a daily habit as it will help to strengthen our iman and guide us to the right path. Recitation of the Qur’an by everyone started not long after the speech was given. This was followed by Takhtim & Dhikir led by Brunei Leicester Students Society (BruLeics). The Vice President of BruLeics society, Fadhullah Imran, then recited the concluding prayer. The event was followed by the certificates presentation by the Guest of Honour to each Religious Officer representing each society. As part of everyone’s gratitude, Azma Azis presented a token of appreciation to the Guest of Honour. Everyone proceeded with a group photo and a short meal afterwards. The event ended with a Zuhur prayer together. Overall, the event went well and everyone had a great time. It was definitely a great experience for Brumingham to have an opportunity to host the annual regional Majlis Khatam Al-Quran this year.  The Bruneian Students’ Society in the Republic of Ireland (BruEire) hosted a Khatam Al-Qur’an ceremony in conjunction with Brunei Darussalam’s 35th National Day celebration on 10th March 2019. Also involved were the Bruneian Students’ societies in Belfast, Northern Ireland and Scotland: Brunei-Northern Ireland Society (BruNI), Brunei-Glasgow Society (BruGlas), Brunei-Edinburgh Society (EdinBru), Brunei-Aberdeen (BruDonians). The event was held at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The Guest of Honours for the day were Cikgu Pg Ali Shafie bin Pg Haji Abas (Director of Studies of Brunei Students' Unit) and Ustaz Isham Ismail (Religious Officer of Brunei Students' Unit). The event began with the recital of the Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Pembukaan by BruNI’s Religious Officer, Md Shuib bin Haji Sahralidin. The event was then followed by speeches by BruEire’s President, Fatin Amirah binti Muhamad Sophian as our Ireland representative and by a member of Brunei Religious Officer Students Association (BruROSA), Dayang Siti Nurshaffena binti Awang Affendy as our Scotland representative. This was then followed by a speech by one of our guests of honours from the Brunei Students' Unit, Cikgu Pg Ali Shafie bin Pg Haji Abas. The mass recitals of the Surah-Surah Lazim, Takhtim and Dikir Marhaban then followed along with the granting of certificates of participation by Cikgu Pg Ali Shafie bin Pg Haji Abas to all participants at the event. This then was followed by the granting of souvenirs to the Guest of Honours by the Regional Executive of Ireland, Ahmad Raasyid Lutfi Bin Haji Abdullah Soefri. The recital of Doa Khatam and Doa Penutup were led by BruEire’s Religious Officer, Muhd Haziq Asyraf bin Awang Haji Matyassin. A dialogue session between the students and guests of honours followed by a photoshoot session were then held before refreshments were served. The Brunei Leeds (BruLeeds) society has hosted this year’s annual Majlis Khatam Al-Quran for Northern Region in conjunction with Brunei’s 35th National Day, which was held on 9th March 2019, at Woodsley Community Centre. 25 students from the Brunei Leeds Society (BruLeeds), Brunei York Society (BruYork), Brunei Sheffield Society (BruSheff), Brunei Manchester Society (BruManch) and Brunei Lancaster Society (BruLancs) came to participate in the event. The event started at 10am, with the arrival of Cikgu Rahimah Haji Mohiddin and Cikgu Saidin Hidayat bin Abdullah Lasit as the Guests of Honour. The event started with the recital of Surah Al-Fatihah, led by Abdul Azim bin Haji Abdul Kassim. This was followed by the recital of Surah-Surah Lazim, Takhtim and Dikir Marhaban. The recital of Doa Khatam Al-Quran was led by Ak Liyaqat Zhahierul Haq bin Pg Haji Zulkarnain from BruLeeds Society, also as the representative from Brunei Religious Officers Students Association (BruROSA). The session ended with a certificate-giving ceremony, followed by a group photo session. After the event, the participants were given the opportunity to have a muzakarah with Cikgu Rahimah Haji Mohiddin and Cikgu Saidin Hidayat bin Abdullah Lasit.
The Bruneian Southampton (BruSton) society was honoured to host the Majlis Khatam Al-Quran for the Southern region, in conjunction with Brunei Darussalam's 35th National Day. The event was held on the 3rd of March, 2019 at the University of Southampton. 35 students from the Bruneian Southampton Society (BruSton), Brunei Bath Society (BruBath), Brunei Bristol Society (BruStol), Brunei Cardiff Society (BruSCA), Brunei Exeter Society (BruEx), Brunei Kent Society (BruKent), Brunei Reading Society (BruKnights) and Brunei South East Anglia Society (BruSEA) came to participate in the event. The event started at 11 am, with the recital of Surah al-Fatihah, led by the Director of Studies of the Brunei Students Unit, Cikgu Pengiran Ali Shafie bin Pengiran Haji Abas, as the Guest of Honour. This was followed by the recital of Surah-Surah Lazim, Takhtim and Dikir Marhaban. The recital of Doa Khatam al-Quran was led by Muhammad Zaeem bin Haji Abdul Majid from the University of Southampton. Also present were the Religious Officer of Brunei Students Unit, Ustaz Isham Ismail, the President of Brunei Students Union, Awangku Mohammad Hisyam Al-Yura bin Pengiran Haji Zainal Abidin, and the President of Bruneian Religious Officers Students Association (BruROSA), Muhammad Aqil bin Awang. After the event, the attending students were given the opportunity to have a muzakarah with Cikgu Pengiran Ali bin Pengiran Haji Abas and Ustaz Isham Ismail.  From left to right: Muna Maisarah Malik (Female Religious Officer of BruSton Society), Dayang Siti Maisarah Zaliqah binti Haji Awang Ramli (Vice President of BruROSA), Fatin Atiyah Suharafadzil (President of BruSton Society), Ustaz Isham Ismail (Religious Officer of Brunei Students’ Unit), Cikgu Pengiran Ali Shafie bin Pengiran Abas (Director of Studies of Brunei Students’ Unit), Awangku Mohammad Hisyam Al-Yura bin Pengiran Haji Zainal Abidin (President of BSU), Muhammad Aqil bin Awang (President of BruROSA), Za’im Afham (Male Religious Officer of BruSton Society) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 25/11/2018 – Last weekend, from the 23rd to 25th November, the Brunei Religious Officer Students Association (BruROSA) successfully held a 3 days 2 nights religious camp called “Kem Ibadah 11” with its theme being “Journey to Qalbun Saleem” in Brunei Hall, London, United Kingdom where 64 students participated in this event. BruROSA would like to express our gratitude to Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd, Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd, DST, and AR-RIJ Enterprise for their massive kindness in sponsoring the event. Qalbun Saleem which translates to “A Sound Heart” is the main theme as well as the ultimate goal for this year’s rendition of Kem Ibadah. Qalbun Saleem is a heart that is pure and unaffected by the moral ills that afflict others in which the heart is free from bad characteristics such as arrogance, riya’ and prejudice. The opening ceremony on Friday, 24th November was graced by the presence of Her Excellency, Pengiran Hajah Rooslina Weti binti Pengiran Haji Kamaludin, the Acting High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland as the Guest of Honour. Also in attendance were officers from Brunei Students’ Unit (UPP) and The Brunei Students’ Union council. The ceremony started with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by Surah Asy-Syuara, verse 84-111 by Mohammad Harith Syafiq bin Mohammad Halim from University of Nottingham with its translation read by Muhammad Amirul Husni bin Haji Haji from University of Manchester. The Chairman, Muhammad Aqil bin Awang, in his speech, reminded the participants the importance of having a sound heart in spite of having stressful university lives. In addition, Her Excellency, in her speech, advised the students to acquire an equal balance of knowledge and skills for both the dunya as well as the akhirah in terms of intellectual, spiritual, moral, and behavior. On Sunday, 25th November, the Director of Studies of UPP, Cikgu Pengiran Ali Shafie bin Pengiran Haji Abas, attended the Closing Ceremony as the Guest of Honour along with the Religious Officer of UPP, Ustaz Isham Ismail, as the Advisor of the event. “This event is not specifically for a devoted or pious Muslim but rather, for those who want to seek for knowledge in general,” said Awangku Muhammad Aqil bin Pengiran Jaya, the Male Camp Commandant in his speech for the Closing Ceremony. This is in line with what Cikgu Pengiran Ali Shafie said on his speech - he encouraged the attendees to gain as much knowledge as possible. The event was blessed with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by Surah At-Taghabun verse 10-13 by Abdul Halim bin Anuar from Loughborough University with its translation read by Abdul Qawie Iman Abidin from University of Leicester. The event continued with the announcement of group winners for the activities as well as singing the main theme song together. The winners for the activities are Team Selurut for male participants and Team Seri Muka for female participants where each Team consists of 6 participants. Through various means such as indoor activities like ice-breaking activities, Jawi Aerobics, Blindfolded Game and Bell Challenge Quiz and outdoor activities at Hyde Park where there were 4 activities checkpoints, tadabbur (the act of pondering and reflecting upon the Holy Quran) sessions, talks and forum, this programme aims to highlight upon ways to achieve this state of the heart and ways on how to find peace and calamity. The forum panelists also discussed about issues relating to mental health. There was also Malam Sketsa where participants in groups were required to perform a short act relating to the any one of five virtues of Qalbun Saleem - remembrance, patience, devotion, humility, and honesty. What makes the 11th Kem Ibadah more special than the previous ones is when all participants and organising commitees are surprised as they received individual letters specially written by their parents for them. “Coming here, for all the activities and talks, the 8 hours journey from Glasgow is all worth it. The games, forum, and talks, they are all insightful. For me, the talk is custom-made to our age group so it is easily relatable. The talks really touch my heart. Being with other Bruneians, this camp is also a way to reduce my homesickness,” as shared by one of the female participants, Ida Wendy Nurfarzana Batrisyia binti Haji Kamarul Zaman. The chairpersons for this year’s Kem Ibadah are Muhammad Aqil bin Awang from Cardiff University and Dayang Siti Maisarah Zaliqah binti Haji Awang Ramli from University of Exeter. The camp commandants who are incharge of the camp are Awangku Muhammad Aqil bin Pengiran Jaya from Imperial College London for male participants and Syifa Syaheerah binti Abu Hanifah from University of York for the female participants. The Brunei Religious Officer Student Association (BruROSA) held its first Annual General Meeting for the academic year 2018/2019 last Sunday, on the 4th of November 2018, at Bilik Insyirah, Brunei Hall, London. The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of Ustaz Isham Islam, UPP Religious Officer as the Guest of Honour. About 20 students who were also in attendance were mainly the religious officers from different Bruneian societies in the U.K. The event was blessed by the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah by the President of BruROSA, Muhammad Aqil bin Awang followed by a short recitation of Surah Ali Imran Verse 103 by Ak Mohd Amirrul Syafiq Bin Pg Kasmirhan, a member of BruROSA Media Team. The event started with a welcoming remarks as well as a short presentation of BruROSA by the President. The Heads of Departments, Ak Muhd Fauzi Syahmi bin Pg Hj Salim, Mohd Azharuddin bin Hj Yakub, and Kamalia@Norjannah binti Kamalrulzaman for Media, Writing, and Entrepreneur Teams respectively had the opportunity to introduce their responsibilities to the Association. The rest of the presentation was led by both the President and Vice President, Dyg Siti Maisarah Zaliqah binti Hj Awg Ramli. Question and answer session that follows immediately after the presentation allows the attendees to bring up questions as well as suggestions on how to improve BruROSA. This includes a discussion on which Society should be hosting the Regional Khatam Al-Quran in correspondence with next year’s Brunei National Day, suggestions for possible Religious Officers trainings which include program Ta’ziz Ilmi in Brunei during summer break before the new academic year starts, and ideas on how societies can conduct Maulud Nabi as it is the next event coming up. As the last agenda of the meeting, Ustaz Isham made a short tazkirah on the issue of spreading viral content whereby Ustaz shared his thoughts and stories from the generation of Prophet Muhammad SAW and how He (Peace Be Upon Him) handled sensitive situations. The event concluded by a closing remarks by the President and recitation of Surah Al-Asr followed by a group photo session.
 The Brunei Religious Officer Student Association (BruROSA) conducted its annual charity drive initiative called Unsung Heroes last weekend on the 8th September 2018 as part of its summer project where this year marks its third consecutive rendition. Unsung Heroes aims to show appreciation towards construction workers who have contributed to building our nation. In total, over 200 lunch packs were distributed to various constructions sites around Bandar Seri Begawan with the help of 36 volunteers. The food and drinks were funded from the donations of the public where the company Sehat also donated 96 bottles of water. BruROSA is an association comprising of religious officers from across the UK and Eire that deals with the religious welfare of all Bruneian students studying in the UK and Eire. It was established on the 1st February 2015. Other than Unsung Heroes, BruROSA also organises other events such as Kem Ibadah and Umrah Tour which will be held in winter and easter seasons respectively. |
