Call for RTB to review religious programmes

JERUDONG Arabic School emerged as the winner of this year's Islamic History Storytelling competition which was organised by Islamic Da'wah Centre.

The champion receives a cash prize of $2,000 and a trophy sponsored by the two organisers during the prize presentation ceremony yesterday.

On hand to present the prizes was Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Othman.

In his speech, the deputy minister lauded RTB's effort for providing slots for religious programmes in the broadcasting service such as that of Ihya Ramadhan TV programme.

"That should be the underlying principle of our broadcasting service and it was successfully performed through the collaboration of RTB and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In fact RTB itself took the initiative to ensure the foundation is performed accordingly. For example the establishment of Da'wah TV Unit and the radio channel,Nur Islam," he said.

He suggested that existing religious programmes should be reviewed based on feed backs from the public."There are some routine religious TV programmes that probably need to be changed and replaced," he said.

The deputy minister also pointed out that there are programmes which in his opinion are inaccurate according to its perspectives, such as the programme called Warta Islam.

According to him, in the Bruneian context, it is not appropriate to televise religious activities and categorised them under "news" or Warta Islam adding that Islam and its followers are not minority in the country.

Some 29 religious schools participated in the competition focus on the history of the lives of the prophets lives which could serve as a guidance in an individual's daily lives.

The storytelling contest was made as a television programme by RTB called Ihya Ramadhan produced by its Da'wah TV Unit with collaboration from the Islamic Da'wah Centre. The 30 episodes was aired during the month of Ramadhan this year to replace the Menjelang Sungkai programme.

In her welcoming remarks, Hjh Masnah Hj Omar, the chairperson of the event said that this year the Islamic Da'wah Centre focused on Primary Three until Primary Six pupils of religious schools in line with the Hari Hari Kebesaran Islam 1429 Hijriah theme: "Tunas Bangsa Berakhlak al-Quran". "The competition aimed to enhance Islamic religious knowledge among the pupils and the public and to improve self-confidence in public speaking as well as promoting reading culture on Islamic histories among the pupils," she said.

The Pengiran Anak Puteri Norain Religious School, Tutong and Kiarong Religious School respectively were the first-and second-runner ups, respectively.

Mohammad Rif'at Atiyah Hj Anwari from Pengiran Anak Puteri Norain, Tutong was chosen as the "best storyteller". Yesterday's event also included a video presentation of participating schools performing their storytelling and live on-stage storytelling by the winners.