As’salamu’alaikum warrahmatullahi wabbarakatuh.
Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Rahīm.
First and foremost, on behalf of the management and administration of The New Brunei Digest, we would like to take this humble opportunity to greet our readers, old and new, on the auspicious occasion of our nation’s 42nd National Day.
As some of us may know, the theme for this year’s National Day is ‘Bersatu Mencapai Cita Negara’, which roughly translates to united in achieving our nation’s aspiration. A rather fitting theme for not only our country as we look towards Wawasan 2035 in the coming years, but also for this platform.
When I touched upon earlier in my greeting to readers both old and new, it is a nod to those readers who have read all our stories in the past. It has been a long journey for myself and fellow founder, Waleed PD Mahdini, and without the support and encouragement of our readership in the past, the professional network and acquaintances we have built up over the years, we would not even begin to consider this substantial undertaking.
However, I digress… it was during His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 78th royal birthday celebrations that we had decided to venture back into this arena, with a new platform.
In His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan’s titah to mark the occasion, His Majesty highlighted that 2035 was nearing, and that we, as a nation, need to pull together in order to reach the targets that His Majesty laid out years ago.
It was during that moment where His Majesty asked us, the rakyat, to question ourselves what can we do for the nation, and for one another, that spurred us both on to put together The New Brunei Digest.
You see, for my own part, I have been in this industry for over 22 years, and my colleague longer still. Between us is almost five decades of working in communications, first and foremost on the frontlines and in the newsroom. Our bylines include that of Radio Television Brunei, where most of the Bruneians working today will have seen my colleague on their screens; and the Borneo Bulletin; and then came the inception of The Brunei Times, where we spent most of our years working together, as well as several other notable enterprises along our journey.
In the corporate world also, ranging from Corporate Affairs in various organisations, we have been in the Oil and Gas sector, Banking and Finance, and as Media and Communications consultants in one way or another for past members of the State Legislative Council, and a number of smaller medium enterprise companies. At one point we even ran and delivered a car magazine, the first of its kind in Brunei Darussalam, with foreign contributors filling in where necessary as newly released cars would only be arriving on our shores much later on.
With all that in the proverbial bank, it was a clear sign for us that it is now or never. Albeit with a new approach, better focus, still the hallmarks of the kind of writing and language that drew readers to our stories all those years ago, this time around we hope that we can bring more likeminded individuals to participate on a broader scale.
As we firm up our platform, our forté will be Opinion and Analysis, Talking points involving Business and our Economy, with video content to come later down the road. Our wish is to deliver content and material that is relevant to our sovereign and the decision makers, and more importantly to break it all down for the rakyat and residents alike. As it is only with your support will our endeavour not only endure, but insya’Allah more importantly, thrive.
So, please feel free to write in to The Driven Company, our publisher’s email address at driven.BN@gmail.com should you like to schedule an interview or discussion to collaborate. As we begin to move forward with our plans to grow this platform, we are open to explore all opportunities to engage with collaborators and contributors alike.
Lastly, best wishes also to all observing the holy month of Ramadhan and to the members of our community currently enjoying the festive celebrations of the Lunar New Year. May this special time of the year unite us as we celebrate 42 years of nationhood.