BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Ministry of Defence (MinDef) and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) have distributed a total of 35,020 boxes of dates so far this year.

Bolkiah Garrison Commander Major Fadzly Hj Mohd Yaakub said this during the distribution of 7309 boxes of dates to senior officers, officers and MinDef staff at the Bolkiah Garrison yesterday.

The dates are a personal gift from His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, for both local and non-local Muslim residents in the country.

Distributing the dates at the Bolkiah Garrison Surau was RBAF Commander Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih Abdullah.

The “Safawi” dates – characterised by a chewy and sweet texture – are imported from Saudi Arabia.

This year saw a total of 154 metric tonnes of the “Safawi” dates imported to the Sultanate.

This translates to 513,333 boxes that will be distributed to Muslims nationwide.

Similar ceremonies also took place yesterday at all military garrisons and camps across the nation.

The Brunei Times