BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

NO gold or silver medals were awarded at the Islamic Education Innovation and Multimedia Competition yesterday.

Seven teams from religious colleges in Brunei and Malaysia participated in the competition, which was organised by the Seri Begawan Religious Teachers University College (KUPU SB) for the first time.

Islamic Studies Department Assistant Director Hj Rusli Hj Md Salleh announced that two teams won bronze awards while others had consolation prizes.

SmartFaraid Team from KUPU SB scored the highest mark of 80 per cent during the competition, while SITC Team from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) obtained 75 per cent.

The bronze award winners received $6,000, a crystal plaque and certificate of participation, said Hj Rusli.

He said participants did not produce extensive details of the prescribed curriculum on their website.

“There are still weaknesses that need to be addressed, in terms of technical details,” said Hj Rusli.

Multimedia Centre and Technology Director of KUPU SB Dr Adam Hj Jait said participants would be awarded with gold if they score 91 per cent and above.

“The contents produced by the participants are not comprehensive enough for the competition. For example, on the topic of fiqh munakahat (rulings on Islamic marriage), only basic information on marriages were presented on the website, there is inadequate information on witnesses during marriage or divorce,” he said.

Dr Adam advised future participants to meet the criteria of the competition such as complete details of the curriculum or module topics, clear information and easy accessibility on the website.

“Not only the content should be comprehensive, but we want the website to be easily accessed by the public such as adequate use of font sizes, animation that does not use too much bandwidth and use of attractive visual graphics,” he said.

SmartFaraid team leader Hj Ismail Hj Jamil said the content on their website included topics on faraid (Islamic system of distributing assets of a deceased Muslim) which is accessible to members of the public by visiting www.ain.kupu-sb.edu.bn.

“We use the concept of learning management system whereby it is beneficial for religious primary school pupils as all the topics can be easily accessed via computers, mobile phones and tablest,” he said.

He added that the content is useful for those who want details of faraid.

In his speech, Minister of Religious Affairs (MoRA) Yang Berhormat Pg Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohammad Pg Hj Abdul Rahman said students should be careful when using the Internet as a source of study as some of the information on the web may be incorrect and go against Islam.

The minister said new innovations, which are approved by MoRA would provide beneficial sources of information, especially in promoting awareness and addressing social issues.

YB Pg Dato Dr Hj Mohammad urged members of KUPU SB to collaborate with the State Mufti Department, Islamic Studies Department, Islamic Da’wah Centre and higher education institutions to expand and improve Islamic education.

“This is one of the government’s efforts to push aside misconceptions about Islam and controversial information which are not in line with our Islamic way of life under Mazhab Ahli Sunnah Wal Jama’ah (school of thought) in this country,” said the minister.

The Brunei Times