BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Natural Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) yesterday marked the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management (ADMM) at the Times Square Shopping Centre in Berakas through an arts competition.

Gracing the event were His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel and Her Royal Highness Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah.

ADMM is celebrated on the second Wednesday of October, which also coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for Disaster Reduction. This year’s theme shone the light on disaster resilience for the ASEAN communities to increase awareness on disaster risks reduction.

The ceremony began with the recital of Surah Al-Fatihah and a Doa Selamat read by the Deputy State Mufti, Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Setia Raja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Hj Awang Suhaili Hj Mohiddin.

This was followed by the welcoming remarks from the Director of NDMC as the chairperson of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), Colonel (Rtd) Pengiran Dato Paduka Hj Rosli Pg Hj Chuchu.

The names of the four winners for the “Search for ASEAN Champions in Community Resilience Contest” were announced.

Paul Chiew Yun Choi won for Brunei and received US$1,000, a certificate and a trophy. Other winners were: Muhammad Jawad of Indonesia, Erwin dela Rama of the Philippines and Boonpeng In-Kaew of Thailand. They were also given the same prizes in their countries.

All the winners were recognised for their role in disaster-mitigation.

Winners of the colouring, pos-ter-making and letter-writing contests were also awarded prizes during the event. They each received a cash prize of B$300, certificates and letters from the ASEAN Secretariat.

Presenting the awards to recipients was HRH Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel. HRH Prince ‘Abdul Wakee and HRH Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah also received a pesambah from Minister of Home Affairs Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Awg Badaruddin Penga-rah Dato Paduka Hj Othman.

Afterwards, HRH Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel was asked to cut the ribbon to launch the gallery showcasing works and contributions of the contestants, including posters and letters by the winners.

Also on display were a collection of objects and written materials from the NDMC, the Fire and Rescue Department, the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and the Humanitarian Emergency Aid response Team (HEART).

The ceremony concluded with visits by the Royal Highnesses to booths at the Times Square Shopping Centre, showcasing information on some of the natural disasters that occurred in Brunei and a photo session with the award recipients.

This year marked the first time the ASEAN Disaster Management Day has been celebrated outside Thailand.

The Brunei Times