Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bahrain face Yemen, Thailand vs Singapore


BAHRAIN need to pick themselves up after their crushing disappointment at missing out on the World Cup, as Thailand look to rub salt into Singapore's wounds in Asian Cup qualifying on Wednesday.

Milan Macala's side were devastated after their 1-0 loss to New Zealand in the Asia-Oceania World Cup play-off on Saturday which deprived them of a place at the showpiece tournament. It was the second time they have fallen at the final hurdle, having lost to Trinidad and Tobago in the play-offs four years ago, and the 66-year-old Czech's job is on the line.

According to the Gulf News, a panel has been set up to investigate why they failed again, with the findings to be submitted to Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who will then decide what action to take. Macala has refused to comment since the game but knows nothing less than victory against Yemen on Wednesday will be tolerated.

Bahrain though are well-placed to make the 2011 Asian Cup finals in Qatar, with maximum points from two games. They jointly top Group A with Asian powerhouse Japan, who have played a game more and need to beat Hong Kong to keep up their challenge.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has decided to take all five of his Europe-based players from Port Elizabeth to the Chinese territory after an uninspiring 0-0 away draw against South Africa on Saturday. This includes Shunsuke Nakamura, who has been struggling to establish himself in Espanyol's midfield.

"I care about the Japanese national team. I don't want to be made an exception. I must do what everybody else does," the 31-year-old told Japanese media.

Bryan Robson's Thailand, meanwhile, are on a high after beating Singapore 3-1 on Saturday and victory in the return leg in Bangkok will see them leapfrog Iran to top Group E. But the former England captain will be without goalkeeper Sinthaweechai Hathairattanakool and playmaker Natthaphong Samana, who are both suspended. There are also concerns that midfielder Surat Sukha may not be fit.

Robson told Thai media that although pleased with the win, he was not happy with their concentration levels which allowed Singapore to get a late goal. "The players have learned a lesson and must concentrate the full 90 minutes."

In the other group game, bottom-of-the-table Jordan play Iran on Sunday.

Elsewhere, China host Lebanon, having beaten them 2-0 in Beirut at the weekend to leave them second in Group D with six points.

Brunei eye top four finish in Bangkok


LIEW CHUAN FUE thinks that Brunei can reach the semi-finals of the Asean Schools Under-18 football competition.

The coach of the team, who will compete in the Nov 30 tournament in Bangkok, yesterday said that his target was a top four finish.

"It would be a great achievement if we reach the semi-finals," said Liew when asked about his target.

"We reached the semi-finals in 2003 when the competition was held in China, so it is a realistic goal," he added.

The skipper of the national team that won the Malaysia Cup in 1999, Liew is certainly the right man to carry the Sultanate to the last four and has held the position of national junior team coach for the past few years.

But despite his experience, the Temburong native knows he has his work cut out for him.

"It will definitely be hard (to reach the semis) though because we will be up against strong teams such as China, South Korea, Thailand and defending champions Indonesia," he said.

"Compared to last year, it is all new faces in this year's squad," added the veteran footballer.

Employed by the Department of Co-Curriculum Education, Liew said that the team were made up of pupils from schools from across the country.

Except for Temburong, every district is represented.

Training at the Department of Co-Curriculum Education field in Gadong, Liew said that the team started preparing after May's Youth Sports Festival.

Champions of the football competition at the event, the National Schools Sports Council (MSSBD) have various players in the squad.

At least six of the players going to Bangkok also feature for DSTGroup Brunei Premier League (BPL) I and II clubs, with the Sports School having the same number of players in the team.

"They train everyday and work on their fitness in the morning," said Liew during an interview.

This will be Liew's second outing in Bangkok in the space of a year, the coach also in charge of the national Under-14 team that competed in the Asean Youth Football Cup in June.

Bruneian shines at World Cup


AHMAD ATHERY HJ ABD SAMAD had an impressive start to his first international outing as a national bowler.

The 33-year-old Bruneian averaged 198.13 on the first day of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Melaka, Malaysia, yesterday, and finished with a total of 1,585 pinfalls after the first block of eight games.

Finishing in the top half of the field, Ahmad Athery is now 43rd in the field of 87 players and is just ahead of Remy Ong Singapore's best player and one of Asia's leading bowlers.

Ahmad Athery will bowl another eight games today and tomorrow at the newly built 52-lane Melaka International Bowling Centre (MIBC) before the top 24 progress to the next round on Thursday.

National bowling coach Mike Griffith praised Ahmad Athery's performance but felt he could have done better.

"He had a solid performance but there were missed opportunities," said Griffith from Melaka.

"The lane conditions were surprisingly tough and not what we practised on during Sunday, so the scores were not as high as predicted.

"His last game was a 173, so if not for that he could have had an average of at least 200.

"He had two open frames in the last game which he should not have missed, and that cost him a finish ahead of his two idols," added the Australian.

Before he left for Melaka, Ahmad Athery said he was proud to be bowling with his idols Walter Ray Williams Jr of the United States and Paeng Nepomucino of the Philippines.

Recovering well from a fall during Saturday's unofficial practice, Ahmad Athery's finish yesterday was only 32 pinfalls away from Williams Jr and 41 from Nepomucino.

Griffith felt it could have been a different story though.

"After two games he was already ahead of Walter Ray," said Griffith, who has been in charge of the national team for the past four years.

"He was very nervous in the first three games and his palms were sweaty. He was struggling in his first two games but found his comfort zone after that and then came good."

Now only 85 pinfalls away from breaking the top-24, Griffith was confident Ahmad Athery could make up the numbers.

"His goal is a top-24 finish and a berth in the next round, and he can definitely do it," said Griffith.

"There are 16 games to go and he can easily make it up by improving by less than 10 pins each game," added the Melbourne native.

After the completion of 24 games on Wednesday, the competition will be cut to the top 24 men and women bowlers.

They will then go on to play a further eight games, and the field will be cut to eight bowlers after that, with the final to be contested on Sunday.

Aidil Adha on Nov 28


BRUNEI Darussalam will celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Adha on Saturday, November 28, which corresponds with the 10th day of Zulhijjah, as confirmed by Syariah Court Judge Dato Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Metussin Hj Baki.

The first day of the month of Zulhijjah starts tomorrow, November 19, while the month of Zulkaedah will have 30 days.

Hari Raya Aidil Adha prayers will be held on November 28 in mosques nationwide beginning at 7.30am.

This was decided by the Syar'e judges and religious officers at the Ministry of Religious Affairs as well as officers from the Survey Department at the Ministry of Development based on the absence of the new moon for the month of Zulhijjah.

The sighting was made at several observatory points, including Bukit Shahbandar in Jerudong, Bukit Ambok and Bukit Agok in the Tutong District and Bukit Lumut in the Belait District.

In conjunction with the sighting of the new moon, the Ministry of Religious Affairs also organised a religious ceremony at the ministry's building in Jalan Menteri Besar attended by Pehin Jawatan Luar Pekerma Raja Dato Seri Utama Dr Ustaz Hj Md Zain Hj Serudin, Minister of Religious Affairs.

Also present were Deputy Religious Minister Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Othman, permanent secretaries, deputy permanent secretaries and the ministry's senior officers.

The event began with the recital of Quranic verses by Ustaz Yusairi Asbol from Tahfiz Al-Quran Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute, followed by mass recitation of salawat or praises for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

'Heritage industries' to keep Kg Ayer afloat


BRUNEI's ancient water village Kampong Ayer will need to be both economically self-sustaining and maintain its allure of heritage and culture to keep it from drowning in the sea of transformation of Bandar Seri Begawan into a modern capital city, an expert told The Brunei Times yesterday.

The twin prongs of development for the floating village were identified by Marc Emile Shamma'a, national director of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), one of the consultants involved in the Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) Development Masterplan project.

The undertaking, spearheaded by principal consultant HOK Planning Group, hopes to formulate a blueprint to serve as guide for all development work in the capital over the next 30 years and beyond.

The masterplan is expected to be formulated by July next year.

Meanwhile, during a "visioning workshop" yesterday, aimed at generating ideas and collecting public input for the masterplan, ideas on how Kg Ayer as well as the rest of Bandar Seri Begawan should be developed were discussed.

During the workshop, Shamma'a explained how Kampong Ayer should leverage on handicraft-making and other traditional industries practised in the village, that is over 500 years old, not only to generate income for the residents there, but also to keep tourists flocking to Brunei's "Venice of the East".

He said that these traditional trades needed to be identified and focused upon commercially. "The water village has been around for more than 500 years. We need to find out what makes the 'heart of Bandar' beat," he said.

Shamma'a cited Venice as an example from which Kg Ayer could learn. Venice is renowned for its art of glass-blowing, where visitors pay to see the glass artisans at work and buy their unique creations.

"Tourists come to see the process and buy the product. They also bring back the stories that lie behind the making of the products," he said.

Whether it was boat-making or producing handicrafts, traditional Bruneian crafts needed to be promoted and preserved in the generations to come, he stressed.

Referring to such livelihoods as "heritage industries", Shamma'a said that the community would not only gain revenue from the products sold but also benefit from the tourists the village as an attraction in its own right would bring in.

He also suggested an incentive structure be introduced to keep the residents of Kg Ayer from migrating to the developing mainland and to keep the traditional arts alive.

Fear of these heritage industries becoming extinct, mainly due to the reluctance of the younger generation to take up traditional trades, is an ongoing concern in Brunei.

At present, courses on handicraft-making are taught and promoted at the Brunei Arts and Handicraft Training Centre, located on the mainland opposite the water village, where several private companies and individuals from all over Brunei also sell their Brunei handicrafts.

Study reveals rainforest riches


FIVE hundred species of fungi and 200 species of bacteria have been discovered by scientists in the forests of Brunei Darussalam during exploration outings from November 3 to 16.

The discovery reflects Brunei's potential in research into micro-organisms, said Yasuhisa Tsurumi, manager for the Resource Development Division of the Nite Biotechnology Development Centre (NBDC). The centre is part of Japan's National Institute of Technology and Evaluation or Nite.

NBDC researchers are working with Brunei's Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources on a joint research study on forest micro-organisms under a 2007 Memorandum of Understanding.

Brunei has abundant untouched forests which hold huge potential in micro-organism research, and with the discovery, that potential has increased further, Tsurumi said.

Researchers revealed the discovery during a media briefing yesterday on the progress of the micro-organism exploration project at Brunei Forestry Centre in Sg Liang.

However, he said, even with this potential, it would take a long time to start anything as the project needed human capacity, experience and budget, the lack of which were restraints.

There is no telling how long the project would take, he added.

"A long period of time is needed to conduct research. Our research is only the first step in this project," he explained.

Asked why a long period of time is needed, Tsurumi explained that the collection and isolation process would take time. Time was also needed to separate the samples according to categories before a comparison could be made, and these processes would take three to four weeks.

The exploration was conducted at several sites in Rampayoh, Labi, and Berakas Forest Reserve from which a total of 13 soil samples and eight leaf samples as well as water samples were collected.

Only after analysing and identifying the samples would we know if any new micro-organisms have been discovered, he said.

"In December, we will compare, select and store the samples," he said, adding that this would be conducted from November 29 to December 18.

Discussions were still ongoing between the government and NBDC on whether the samples will be sent to Japan for further analysis and DNA sequencing for identification.

According to Tsurumi, the process has to be conducted in Japan because "We have the experts in DNA sequencing and analysis. We do not know what facilities Brunei has".

"We hope to bring the samples back. If decision is 'no', then the sample will stay here," he added.

Tsurumi is leading researchers in the micro-organism exploration project, a first for Brunei.

The first and foremost benefit from the research is the transfer of technology and capacity building, he said.

The project is part of a development programme and the joint research on forest micro-organisms is scheduled in the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the Heart of Borneo project between the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) and NBDC.

In a previous report, the first secretary at the Japanese Embassy in Brunei, Hiroshi Okouchi, said that developing a micro-organism industry, or the application of micro-organisms in a variety of fields such as agriculture, forestry, food and medicine, could help Brunei in its goal of developing a more diversified economy less reliant on oil and gas.

The exploration of and research into micro-organisms has commercial value for its development and sale of products, royalties and patent rights.

HM grants audience to S’pore senior minister


His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam receives in audience Singaporean Senior Minister Zainul Abidin Rasheed (L), who is in Brunei for a working visit. The monarch also granted audiences yesterday two outgoing ambassadors, Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei Herijanto Soeprapto and Iran’s Ambassador to Brunei Abolfazl Khazee Torshizi. The ceremonies took place at Istana Nurul Iman.
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