The Brunei Religious Officer Student Association  (BruROSA) held its first Annual General Meeting for the academic year 2018/2019 last Sunday, on the 4th of November 2018, at Bilik Insyirah, Brunei Hall, London.

The opening ceremony was graced by the presence of Ustaz Isham Islam, UPP Religious Officer as the Guest of Honour. About 20 students who were also in attendance were mainly the religious officers from different Bruneian societies in the U.K.

The event was blessed by the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah by the President of BruROSA, Muhammad Aqil bin Awang followed by a short recitation of Surah Ali Imran Verse 103 by Ak Mohd Amirrul Syafiq Bin Pg Kasmirhan, a member of BruROSA Media Team.

The event started with a welcoming remarks as well as a short presentation of BruROSA by the President. The Heads of Departments, Ak Muhd Fauzi Syahmi bin Pg Hj Salim, Mohd Azharuddin bin Hj Yakub, and Kamalia@Norjannah binti Kamalrulzaman for Media, Writing, and Entrepreneur Teams respectively had the opportunity to introduce their responsibilities to the Association. The rest of the presentation was led by both the President and Vice President, Dyg Siti Maisarah Zaliqah binti Hj Awg Ramli.

Question and answer session that follows immediately after the presentation allows the attendees to bring up questions as well as suggestions on how to improve BruROSA. This includes a discussion on which Society should be hosting the Regional Khatam Al-Quran in correspondence with next year’s Brunei National Day, suggestions for possible Religious Officers trainings which include program Ta’ziz Ilmi in Brunei during summer break before the new academic year starts, and ideas on how societies can conduct Maulud Nabi as it is the next event coming up.
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As the last agenda of the meeting, Ustaz Isham made a short tazkirah on the issue of spreading viral content whereby Ustaz shared his thoughts and stories from the generation of Prophet Muhammad SAW and how He (Peace Be Upon Him) handled sensitive situations. The event concluded by a closing remarks by the President and recitation of Surah Al-Asr followed by a group photo session.

Recently, the Brunei Student Unit (UPP) organised a briefing for new students coming to the United Kingdom and Eire; from A-Levels, Undergraduate and Postgraduate at Bilik Insyirah, Brunei Hall. The briefing is conducted to introduce the roles and responsibilities of Brunei Students Unit (UPP) and all of six officers; the Director of Studies, Academic Coordinator, Welfare Officer, Finance Attache, Brunei Hall Warden and the Religious Officer. Not only that, the briefing also touched on the roles and responsibilities of The Brunei Students Union to all Brunei students in the UK and Eire.

The briefing is conducted for all Bruneian students that will be studying in the United Kingdom and Eire either they are under the Brunei Government Scholarship, Skim Bantuan Pinjaman Pendidikan (Student Loan) and Self-Funded. If you would like to attend the briefing, please email the Brunei Students Unit (UPP) at academic@upp.org.uk or call +44 207 402 0045 ext 274.

30th August 2018, Kuala Belait – More than 150 sixth form students of Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali, Kuala Belait joined the final outreach program hosted and organized by the Brunei Students’ Union in the UK and Eire (BSU) and Brunei Religious Officers Students’ Association (BruROSA). The program took place in the afternoon, with a video produced by the BSU as an introduction and official start to the program.

27th August 2018, Berakas – The Brunei Students’ Union in the UK and Eire (BSU) organized a forum and dialogue session between the high council of BSU and Brunei society leaders in the UK and Eire at the International Convention Centre, Berakas (ICC). Also attending the event was Cikgu Irmawati binti Haji Ahmad, former Director of Studies, Unit Penuntut-Penuntut Brunei. The aim of the forum is to increase communication and coordination between Bruneian students in the UK and Eire, through their representatives.
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BSU’s president, Ak Muhammad Hisyam Al-Yura bin Pg Haji Zainal Abidin started the forum by introducing the high council to the society leaders and audience present. Among the matters discussed during the forum were event sponsorship procedures, media promotions and regional coordination. Society leaders were also updated on the changes regarding societies standards and awards, which adopted a new system. In addition, mental health issues were also discussed during the forum, stressing the importance of students’ mental health, and providing help for students who needs it. The forum ended with a question and answer session, to provide more clarity regarding the things discussed.

The forum allowed more transparency between the BSU’s high council and students through their society leaders. Following the forum, BSU’s 8th Presidential Conference with the theme “Frame of Mind: The 21st Century Youth” was held in the afternoon at the same venue, with invited speakers from governmental and non-governmental bodies to openly discuss matters about but not limited to, unemployment and entrepreneurship. 

23rd August 2018, Tutong – The fourth stop for the Outreach Program 2018 “Encompassing Your Future: Ignite the Fire Within” hosted by the Brunei Students’ Union in the UK and Eire (BSU) and Brunei Religious Officers Students’ Association (BruROSA) was Pusat Tingkatan Enam Tutong on Thursday, 23rd August 2018. The core of the program remained the same, which was to promote a good mental and physical health while developing the capacity to realise their own potential and choosing their own future path, for sixth form students who will be sitting for their ‘A’ Levels. More than 100 students in their upper sixth joined the session which took place in the afternoon, at the Multipurpose Hall.

The program started off with a recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah by Halim Anuar, the writer for BruROSA. This was followed by an opening remark from BSU’s President, Ak Muhammad Hisyam Al-Yura Pg Hj Zainal Abidin. The program officially began with an inspiring speech from Pusat Tingkatan Enam Tutong’s own alumnus, Teo Zhi Perng who is a recipient of the Sultan’s Scholar currently studying Material Science at Imperial College London. After his speech, the principal of Pusat TIngkatan Enam Tutong, Cikgu Hajah Murni binti Abdullah awarded the speakers with certificates as a token of appreciation. The other motivational speakers who took the stage were Shaimaa Rahman, BSU’s Vice President of Administration and Finance and Abdul Hakim Shukrin, the General Secretary of BruROSA. The students also took part in an icebreaking session and several mini activities led by Ajrul Mail, the Information Secretary of BSU. The day ended with a sharing session, which helped the students to know each other more and learn from each other’s situation as well as take any lessons they could get from the experiences of facilitators.
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The program in Pusat Tingkatan Enam Tutong officially ended with a recitation of Surah Al-Asr, followed by a photo session among the students with BSU and BruROSA members, as well as their facilitators. After that, the Outreach Tour in Pusat Tingkatan Enam Tutong officially  closed.

21st August 2018, Bandar Seri Begawan – The third venue for the Outreach Program 2018 “Encompassing Your Future: Ignite the Fire Within” hosted by the Brunei Students’ Union in the UK and Eire (BSU) and Brunei Religious Officers Students’ Association (BruROSA) was Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan. The program lasted for 2 days at the school from 20th of August until 21st August 2018 and took place in the afternoon. The essence of the program remained the same, which was to promote a good mental and physical health while developing the capacity to realise their own potential and choosing their own future path, for sixth form students who will be sitting for their ‘A’ Levels. The students who joined were made up of more than 50 students, both in the upper and lower sixth.

The first day of the program at the school started with a recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by a welcoming remark from BSU’s President, Ak Muhammad Hisyam Al-Yura Pg Hj Zainal Abidin. This was followed by an icebreaking session as warm up activity. The core of the first day at Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan were the inspirational speeches delivered to the students and the sharing session between the students and their facilitators. The people who delivered a speech on the first day were Shuib Sahraldin, Ajrul Mail, BSU’s Information Secretary and Siti Maisarah Zaliqah binti Awang Haji Ramli, the Vice President of BruROSA, who was also an alumnus of the school. The speeches acted as an encouragement for the students to find their own passion for their prospects and paths in the future. The first day ended with the sharing session, which helped the students to know each other more and learn from each other’s situation as well as take any lessons they could get from the experiences of facilitators. The sharing session was also a way for the students and facilitators to bond, which helped them for the ‘Amazing Race’ that took place the next day.

On Sunday 19th of August 2018, Bruneian society of Loughborough University, LufBru hosted their 12th LufBru Summer Games Futsal Competition. The opening ceremony began with the arrival of the Guest of Honour, Yang Mulia, Puan Nadia Lee Siew Hoon binti Abdullah, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the Ministry of Education, and the singing of the National Anthem along with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah. Following this, the president of the LufBru society, Awangku Aiman Zufari bin Pengiran Zaini, gave a speech to show his gratitude towards the Guest of Ho nor, players, volunteers and all the generous sponsors who supported and helped make the event a reality. In his speech he also highlighted how the Lufbru Summer Games was a good means of giving student studying in the United Kingdom a healthy way of spending a part of their long summer holidays and to fuel them with a competitive drive.