BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, TUESDAY, 08/09/2020 - Brunei Students’ Union (BSU) has collaborated with Brunei Religious Officers Students Association (BruROSA) to hold its annual Outreach Tour with the theme “Paving Your Path : Journeys Through Perseverance”. The programme has been successfully conducted in 3 institutions consisting of Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali (SMSA), Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (MSPSBS) and Pusat Tingkatan Enam Sengkurong (PTES) on 31st August, 7th and 8th September 2020, respectively.

The Outreach Tour is an annual event organised by BSU and BruROSA, which aims to motivate the students to cogitate and pursue their future career pathways. This is done by inviting various individuals, each with different academic backgrounds and career pathways as guest speakers. The programme also provides a safe platform where the students may voice out their future concerns or current hardships. 

The Outreach Tour sets off its course on 31st August, with a participation of 123 students at SMSA. The tour started with a series of ice breaking games and inspirational speeches by 4 speakers. The 4 speakers include Cindy Sim from BSU, Abd Rahman from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), Chai Roslin from InTurn Co. and Hazwan from Gentleman Stitch. Both Cindy Sim and Abd Rahman shared their experiences as A levels students and their enrolments in university. On the other hand, Chai Roslin and Hazwan have presented their struggles of being an entrepreneur, and the honest truth of starting up a business.

The next tour was held in MSPSBS on 7th September. It started with opening remarks from Umar, President of BSU and  Zakwan, President of BruROSA, followed by an ‘Amazing Race’ event with a total participation of 154 students. Afterwards, a forum titled ‘Journeys Through Perseverance’ began, involving 6 speakers: Dina Roslan and Darren Pui from BSU, Shahzaad Aslam and Mariam Yunos from Persatuan Mahasiswa/Mahasiswi Universiti Brunei Darussalam (PMUBD), Waznah Ghazali from WeCare, and Shahirah Bakar from both Kelab Komuniti Belia Transformasi (KKBT) and Belia Dai'e. Representatives from BSU and PMUBD shared their struggles of being a student and how they persevered through it, while Waznah and Shahirah talked about their experiences in volunteering. Shahirah also touched upon her experience with depression as a student, and how she struggled to overcome it.

On the 8th September, the Outreach Tour reached its finale with a participation of 91 students from PTES. The highlight of the tour is the inspirational talks from Vanessa Ang from BSU and Afiq Izzuddin from PMUBD. With the title ‘I am more capable than what I give myself credit for’, Vanessa gave a speech about academic motivations. Meanwhile, Afiq gave his speech titled ‘Life is one amazing journey!’ which explored the issue of mental health awareness, and how he overcame his mental struggles. As previously done in the other 2 sixth form institutions, the tour in PTES concluded with a sharing session for the students to convey their problems and receive proper guidance for them.

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, MONDAY, 24/08/2020 - Recently, the Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) has conducted its annual summer break project, Unsung Heroes with the theme, ‘The Life of Giving’. The event was held on the 23rd and 24th of August 2020 at the parking area of Jame ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque.

First started in 2016, Unsung Heroes is a charity drive event organised annually by BruROSA where donations in the form of lunch packs are distributed specifically to construction workers. As its theme suggests, the aim of this project is to give back to the construction workers who are also contributing to the development of Brunei Darussalam, yet they receive little to no recognition from the public. Hence, they are the ‘unsung heroes’. The project also hopes to raise public awareness against discrimination on migrant workers, while at the same time instill the youth with philanthropic values.

The first day of the event commences at 9am. 12 BruROSA members assembled at the parking area of Jame ‘Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, ready to receive donations from the public until 3pm. The event resumed on the next day, with the presence of 12 BruROSA members and 21 volunteers, starting as early as 7am to receive more donations. The donations received consisted of a variety of items including lunch packs, dry food, canned food, bottled drinks, snacks, cooking oil and rice. By 11am, the distribution of donations began. Both BruROSA members and volunteers allocated themselves into 8 teams, assigned to deliver to 10 different construction sites. Some of the construction sites include sites at Regent Square, Kampong Kapok Mosque and Jalan Bedil. In total, 206 construction workers were given lunch packs.

The Brunei Religious Officer Students Association, or more distinctively, known as BruROSA is an association 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. Currently, the association has 16 Executive Committees and 32 Religious Officers from all Bruneian societies in the UK. and EIRE. Other than Unsung Heroes, BruROSA also organises various annual events such as Kem Ibadah, Khatam Al-Quran, Photography and Writing Competitions. The association hopes to keep organising more meaningful events available for all to join in the near future. 


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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, TUESDAY, 19/08/2019 -  The Brunei Religious Officers Student Association (BruROSA) had recently held the annual Kem Ibadah, for three consecutive days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 15th until 17th of November 2019 for Bruneian students studying in the United Kingdom and Ireland at Brunei Hall, London with its theme, ‘The Reconnection: Restoring Your Iman Network’.

Kem Ibadah is an annual religious camp held in the United Kingdom organised by BruROSA for Bruneian students in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The main objective of this camp is to motivate the students to strive for success not just in their academic studies but also in the understanding of the religion.

A total of 74 students including the BruROSA members were gathered at Brunei Hall, London. The opening ceremony was held on 16th of November, where Her Excellency, Pengiran Hajah Rooslina Weti binti Pengiran Haji Kamaludin, the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland attended as the guest of honour. 

The chairpersons for this year’s Kem Ibadah is Mohammad Harith Syafiq Bin Mohammad Halim from University of Nottingham and ‘Afifah Binti Haji Mat Dani from University of Bath. Muhammad Aqil Bin Awang from Cardiff University and Nur Arina Binti Haji Hamidun from Cardiff Metropolitan University are the camp commandants for the male participants and the female participants respectively.

The event began with the recitation of surah An Nisa verses 36-38 by Ahmad Zakwan Bin Haji Mohd Salleh from Imperial College London followed by the translation by Abdul Halim Bin Anuar from Loughborough University.

The highlight of the day was the amazing race which took place at Hyde Park where groups of participants compete in various games. The rest of the day was filled with meaningful indoor activities including ice breaking sessions and quiz on Islamic Events.

On 17th November 2019, participants gathered at the prayer hall for their Subuh prayer and later on had a small forum and a feedback session between the organisers and the participants. The chairpersons and camp commandants gave their farewell speeches and held a small gift exchange between all participants. 

Nur Shahirah Binti Haji Bakar from University of Edinburgh representing the female participants mentioned “I have learned about how ukhuwah can be very rewarding to ourselves if it is Lillahi Taala. Friends can be the ones who can help bring ourselves to Jannah. It is our responsibility to take care of each other and remind each other of Allah.” in her speech at the closing ceremony.

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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.

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 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.