BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI’S youth should familiarise themselves with the history and heritage of the Sultanate as it will allow them to know the past of their country and their own history, said a Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) student yesterday.

About 10 students from UBD’s Faculty of Social Arts and Sciences concluded their three-day briefing on conserving Brunei’s artifacts and Royal tombstones at the History Centre yesterday.

The students also visited several sites such as the Makmal museum and the Sultan Bolkiah tombstone, among others.

Siti Raudhah Hj Abidin, a Year Three student at UBD’s Faculty of Social Arts and Sciences said, “We learnt how to clean marks off the tombstone which were previously vandalised by people, by using distilled water. Although it takes a long time, the distilled water will not harm the object.”

The 24-year-old told The Brunei Times their experiences over the past three days were very insightful because they learnt how to conserve, preserve and improve the condition of historical artifacts and items.

“All these efforts conducted by the History Centre in preserving our history are for our next generation, so they will know where they came from and the history behind (the artifacts),” she said.

Siti Raudhah went on to say that educational institutions can help promote the learning and conserving of Brunei’s history.

“I am not a history student, but I do love history and I really want to learn more about our country. So it is important to give the youth a chance to do the same. I think all schools should initiate this campaign to create awareness,” she said.

The UBD student suggested for the History Centre to formulate programmes for schools that will allow them to visit the centre and historical sites in Brunei to learn more about the country’s past.

Hjh Norlita Hj Ahmad, Acting History Curator at the History Centre, said the programme – organised for the first time – was to promote the preservation and conservation of historical artifacts among the youth. She added the History Centre is now looking to make the programme into a course for the youth to participate in.

The Brunei Times