YOUTHS
of Brunei who recently attended the National Symposium of 2012 expressed their
desire to attend the symposium again, as they found it to be a good platform
for discussion and debate on issues that pertain to the development of Brunei
Darussalam.
"When we (the youth) are together, we
work as a team on how to develop our beloved country, and what can we do to
progress," said Lenna Norsusilanita Bahari, a final year student from
Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), and a member of the Brunei Youth Council.
"From the discussions that I have had
(throughout the symposium), I have found that our youths are very creative and
gave a lot of great ideas."
Most importantly, according to Leena, whilst
ideas and discussions were being passed back and forth amongst the youth, she
admitted that she did wonder whether their "voices" were being heard.
"Yes, we are here (at the symposium) and
doing something positive, but we want to know the action that will be taken
after this, because everyone came here with one aim, and that is to voice our
opinions," she said.
"We want to develop our nation, and we
want people to realise that we (the youths of Brunei) can replace the older
generation when they retire. We want to show that they can shift the
responsibility to us, that they need us."
When asked what kind of changes she would like
to see in Brunei in terms of youth development, she said that the most
important change she would like to see is youths help educate other youths in
becoming model citizens.
"If we look around, there are many youth
dropouts (in Brunei). We need to help them, as they do not like receiving
advice from the older generation for fear of being misunderstood, so they need
people like us, the youths," she said.
"We can be the ones to save our own
youths... we just have to. It doesn't mean that just because they drop out of
school they are not able to become model citizens."
Another factor that she brought up was to open
up an arts and culture school in Brunei, after hearing numerous complaints from
traditional youth dancers and musicians having had to perform without pay for
their services.
"It's like their art form is not being
appreciated," she said.
She said that having a proper school of arts
would give those who are talented in cultural arts proper certification, and,
through this, the accreditation of the local arts and culture industry would
develop tremendously.
Mohd Mua'z Yusoff, 18, an upper six student
from Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College (Maktab Duli) said that the
symposium "pushed him out of his comfort zone".
"Before this, I never really thought
about what was going on in the world," he admitted.
"But by being here today, I realise that
I do care about the youth in Brunei, and I want to make a change."
The changes, he said, would be along the lines
of showing Islam in a more positive light globally.
"When His Majesty the Sultan and Yang
Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam announced us as a Negara Zikir, this was a
chance to show the world that Bruneians aren't just about being Malay and
showing respect to the Monarchy, but that we are also actually living by the
Malay Islamic Monarchy philosophy of life," he said.
Hanawati Abdul Rahman, 18, an upper six
student from Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College (Maktab Sains) said
that she wants to join the traditional dance after the symposium.
She said she learnt so much about culture, and
how youth appreciation in their very own culture is lacking nowadays due to
possible advancements in technology.
"I would like to see more youths be more
involved in cultural activities, because if we don't do anything about it now,
our culture would be extinct," she said.
"Development of traditional games such as
congkak by creating smart phone or tablet applications for them would probably
help in keeping our tradition alive."
HANA ROSLAN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
The Brunei Times
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