Brunei..captivating..sustaining...

“Have you tried this?” said Haji Z, the representative from Brunei Government, sitting across our dinner table. In his hand, was a small piece of bamboo pried open but not quite till the end; his fingers deftly and skillfully twisting the bamboo stick; at the end of which was a gooish, whitish substance, resembling our home made glue.

“No, we haven’t,” said Dr. Y my colleague from Universiti Utara Malaysia.

‘But we will surely try,” said I, laughing, poking my fork at the varieties of kerabu (vegetable and seafood delicacy) in my plate.

“Yes, I hope you will. This used to be the staple food for our older generations, when food was scarce. It is called Ambuyat, to be eaten with the sauce," pointing to the small bowl of sidedish near his plate.

“It is very filling. And the sauce is the most important. Because the ambuyat itself is tasteless as it is made from sago flour and hot water. You have to be really skilled to be able to make it to the right consistency,” said J smilingly, the officer from AITI Brunei.

Haji Z went on, “Our country has started to implement self-sustaining projects. For a start, to produce our own rice. And the tender, roasted lamb that is in your plate is our own born and bred. And also the beef. But of course, the original herd were imported from New Zealand.” His eyes were twinkling as he looked at the difficulty I was having in twisting my own ambuyat. I had to use both my hands.

“Laila – that is the name of the rice genus. Harvested three times a year. We just had the first harvest not long ago,” added J, grinning with pride.

“Very impressive,” said Dr. Y, “unlike our country. My state which is Kedah, is supposedly to be known as the Rice Bowl of Malaysia. Most of the plots of padi fields no longer exist as they are slowly turning into housing estates.”

My trip to Brunei was a very fulfilling one. I was representing Universiti Sains Malaysia - USM (alone), while the other proponent was Universiti Utara Malaysia - UUM (Dr. Y and her research officer). We were the only two other proponents from Malaysia, besides a big telco company, which did not send any representative as their proposal has always been accepted for the third year running. For UUM, it was their second time (still needing some modifications to their proposal) while for USM, this is our first time and I have a lot of things to pick and gather.

Apart from learning the basic techniques on how to prepare appropriate proposals in order to secure research grants from outside Malaysia (i.e. for this meeting at ASEAN level), I also learnt a lot of other things. Mainly, I have never set foot on this captivating country.

As a start, I was already impressed with the doa at the beginning of the journey on Brunei Royal Airlines. It was a heartrending doa (before a Muslim undertakes a journey, he or she is recommended to make doa or prayers for safe journey) recited on the screen of the aircraft before take-off. I said Amin..Amin..and Amin with all my heart.

The moment my feet touched the airport, I was again mesmerized by the Jawi letterings on the welcoming guide posts greeting me. Then at the hotel in the middle of the city of Bandar Seri Begawan, I noticed the same letterings on every store, even on the one and only McD, KFC as well as others. How this country has been able to elevate the standard of Jawi as it is now. (I sigh, when I think of this lost opportunity back home).

Then, at night, tired from the meeting the whole day, we, the delegates, were brought to an exclusive restaurant owned by a dignitary of Brunei, just across the Kampung Air (The Water Village).

Spectacular views – the lights coming from the heritage houses were playing in the shadows, on the surface of the undulating waves of the sea under the moonlight. As though dancing to the harmonious traditional music from young lads, clad in their traditional attire. We were really entertained. It was so beautiful…

On the way back to the hotel, I was taken in by the beauty of the quietness and serenity of the surroundings. I did not see youths philandering, (lepak-lepak). No improper dressing. Funky clad and punks; there was none. I guess most of the youngsters are at home, safe with their family.

And the drivers? We Malaysians could and should learn from them about road ethics. Here, if you are a pedestrian, you are the king of the road, the cars will stop in their tracks to let you cross the road, no matter how busy. (It reminds me of Canada.) Try doing that back home? (You risk being called, “You crazy? Lived long enough?” or the worst – you get yourself killed!)

Another plus point - the TV programmes, very Islamically inclined and knowledge enriching. Not so much of the worship of hedonistic culture that is rampant with ours back home…

How can we learn and implement these things to our beloved country? Please share with me….