Rano says the public is anxious to hear the news later this evening on His Majesty's Titah which was delivered this morning. From what I recollected from my peers is that His Majesty the Sultan highlighted the current situation of the H1N1 situation and questioned the government agencies on why some of the agencies still send the respective officers overseas during the H1N1 situation and secondly, His Majesty was also curious to why donations are only made during "perayaan" and furthermore, why are the government agencies lobbying the donation from the bigger companies and put them at a burden? Issues of SPN 21 and Zakat were also highlighted. I did love one quote though but I won't reveal it just yet. So do catch the news later tonight at 8pm and 10pm on RTB. It will be an interesting news to catch and of course, tomorrow's papers as well

His Majesty at the Bomba Multipurpose Hall this morning. Click here for more images

Images by Masri Osman

Anyway, my Sunday was a bit relaxed. I didn't cover the NBT's 13th Treasure Hunt. Instead I spent some time at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for the local barista competition which took place in town in the morning. My brother was one of the judges and I, in the end, didn't have judge the barista competition. Apparently, my brother had too much dosage of espresso shots from tasting yesterday. That would have jump started my body system and make me hyper for a few hours or so. I shall be posting pictures of the event tomorrow.

Speaking of news, most of the local reporters are chasing for news.. why? Because there isn't much news or coverage especially today but of course, the headliner tomorrow will be His Majesty's Titah. Since the H1N1 cases have been around, events and functions have been put on hold. Weddings are still carried out (Congrats Robin and Nana) and now the only major events left are the Brunei Halal Expo and the Bridex 2009. So let's hope everything will go as planned.

E-Class a definite "Masterpiece". I attended the exclusive demo of the E-Class Masterpiece which took place at the Jati Transport Showroom last Friday. They displayed three limited edition E-Class Masterpiece models which are E200K, E250 and E280. It was also a special lunch feast where the invited guests enjoyed food catered by Excapade Sushi.

So let me brief you a bit on the Masterpiece models. The E200 Masterpiece features a more dynamic, improved pistons and it has a maximum torque increase from the previous 224Nm to 250Nm from 3,500 rpm.

Most of them have similar features but what stands out is the state-of-art transmission technology on the 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission and yes, you can even skip several gears to give more acceleration whilst driving.

Let's not forget the special interest rate of 3.98 per cent per annum for those who hire purchase before the 31st July 2009. So make your way to Jati Transport Showroom (Beribi and Gadong) and try out the features of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Masterpiece.

Below are the top three winners of NBT Treasure Hunt with Mr. Ninan Chacko

Caption: Group Photo of winners with Mr Ninan Chacko, NBT Managing Director (centre) (L-R) 3rd Prize (3d/2n Hong Kong): Lim Sha Lun, Kelvin Chen, Peng Pei Yee & Bong Ming Wey, 1st Prize (3d/2n Auckland): Muhamad Rudian Bin Muhamad, Paris Baktihar Andry, Chin Sin Yuan & Michael Lee Loi Fatt and 2nd Prize (3d/2n Perth): Lim Sheena, Lim Shin Ling, Ricky Lim Jin Lee & Lim Swee Gee.

Rudi, Mr. Chacko, Paris, Rueben and Mike the champions

Images courtesy of NBT.

Dream Charter turns 6 months. The last time I went on the Dream Charter was back in January. I met up with Aideen and Peter, the co-owners of Dream Charter, who created a theme excursion for those interested in going for a cruise. Last week, The Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Dato Hamdillah and his spouse, attended the 6-month anniversary of the Dream Charter.

According to the co-owners, they recorded a high number of visitors last month as the locals and the expats wanted to experience the "sunset" cruise. There will be arrival of another boat in October to better serve its customers. For more details, you can contact 7119744 or you can email at dreamcharter@gmail.com

Dato Hamdillah and his spouse experiencing the Dream Charter

Image courtesy of Bahrum Ali, The Brunei Times

Aideen and Peter the co-owners of the Dream Charter