THE festive times are here. The arrival of annual bonus coinciding with long weekend has given the Bruneians more than one reason to enjoy and have a party. If all the roads led to ATMs on Wednesday, yesterday Bruneians headed towards beaches and parks. From early morning, roads leading to Serasa beach in Muara were chock-a-block.
Hjh Aminah Ahmad was among those at the beach yesterday along with her other 30 family members. The 66-year-old told The Brunei Times that gathering such as this is quite common for her family in addition of having weekly dinner with all her relatives.
"As most of my children and grandchildren are working we use public holidays for a get-together," she said. Surely enough her group was the most boisterous of all others as laughter filled the air with Sukan Ria organised by them.
The Rancangan Perpindahan Negara Kampung Mentiri resident said Serasa beach was a favourite spot for her family annual activity as they can have barbecues, fishing, swimming and fun games from morning till late afternoon.
Hjh Itam Hj Metali admitted that the picnic was an inexpensive way for them to spend time together. She added that they prefer to go to Serasa beach due to the availability of large parking space and good scenery. "With our large family it's practical for us to take a breather in our own country rather than spending a large amount of money just to relax overseas," said the 66-year-old. Hjh Itam was accompanied by her 60 other family members which include her great grandchildren.
The Brunei Times also stumbled on Dk Norhayatimah Pg Hj Hamid group, who said the outings were a form of therapy for majority of the professionals in the family. "Being employed with the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) means that we have a busy schedule that is why public holidays are golden opportunities for us to relax and spend time together."
She said that the only problem at the beach was rubbish which was seen lying around and the lack of basic amenities.
"Though the beach has a big parking space but both the public toilet and playground are located too far away," complains Dk Norhayatimah. She added: "For instance we have to clean up before we could settle in and the sight of rubbish in the waterways is an eyesore."
This sentiment was shared by an employee from the Language and Literature Bureau, Rahimi Hj Abd Hamid. "Though it has its own appeal its unkept state and lack of amenities might deter both local tourists and foreigners to visit Serasa beach," he said.
Therefore to reach its full potential as a tourist attraction the authorities have to step in before the problem gets worse.
A food vendor at Serasa beach who wishes to be referred as Ak Bujang listed out a number of suggestions for the authorities to work on. "There should be more tables and chairs for picnickers, a place allocated especially for food vendors and someone to look after the beach cleanliness," he suggested.
"Though large number of people do prefer to go to Serasa beach, especially during weekends lack of facilities are dissuading it from attracting more visitors," he said.
All in all, Serasa beach having its own appeal has the potential to attract more tourists. It is therefore up to the authorities to make the necessary actions. This will in turn affect the Kenali Negara Kitani (Get to know your country) campaign promoted by the Brunei Tourism Development as part of the government efforts to promote domestic tourism in the country.
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