18th June 2008 - The public will be able to subscribe to DSTCom's new mobile broadband service, GO!broadband, at cheaper rates, only available at the DST GO!broadband Roadshow in Tutong, on Friday, 20th June 2008.

GO!Unlimited monthly registrations will cost only $288 at the roadshow, which includes one month's rental (worth $78), a GO!broadband Modem (worth $300), deposit ($50), and an annual license fee of ($25).

GO!broadband Prepaid Starter Packs, including a GO!broadband Modem will only cost $199 at the roadshow.

Anyone who subscribes for either one of the above-mentioned services, will be entitled to purchase an Acer Aspire laptop for only $999, and also win prizes in the instant lucky dip.

The DST GO!broadband Tutong Roadshow will also feature fun and games for children, hourly lucky draws, magic shows, entertaining performances, and more.

2nd June 2008 - Fans of the hit Disney Channel Show Hannah Montana will be able to be part of the World TV Premiere of Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 3-D, which airs on Sunday, June 21st, 2008 at 9pm.

The Disney Channel is giving away free limited edition Hannah Montana 3-D Goggles to viewers in South East Asia, including KRISTAL Astro subscribers in Brunei.

By wearing the 3-D goggles during the TV event, subscribers will be able to experience 3-D effects, giving them the live concert-going experience.

KRISTAL Astro subscribers interested in getting the free limited edition Hannah Montana 3-D goggles should call the KRISTAL Astro Hotline at 8816888, during office hours, and give them their subscription details. The goggles are available, only while stocks last.

2nd June 2008 - DST Group today marked another milestone in providing a better access to its products and services, with the re-opening of DST Group counter branch at the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Complex in Bandar Seri Begawan.

Besides offering bill payment and registration services, the new-look Yayasan branch now sports a new 3G experience centre, where the public will be able to get a hands-on experience of the newly launched GO!broadband services.

The Yayasan branch is open from 9am to 4pm from Mondays to Thursdays, and Saturdays, and from 9am to 11am, and 2.30pm to 4pm on Fridays.

19th May 2008 - KRISTALfm radio competition winners enjoyed a premiere screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie at the Empire Cinema, last Thursday night.

The 130 winners of the phone-in competition had the chance to meet KRISTALfm DJs Honey, Yantee, Dafi, Dean, and Tina, who also attended the movie screening.

Besides getting to meet and mingle their favourite KRISTAlfm DJs, the winners were also treated to free popcorn and drinks.

5th May 2008 - DST Group's recently ended roadshow was a success, and proved to be a huge hit among the locals.

Thousands flocked to the Jerudong Park Amphitheater during the three-day roadshow, which started a day after the official launch of GO!broadband, and ended yesterday.

The roadshow, which was held in conjunction with the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, was officiated by Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Hj Yusoff bin Awang Haji Abd Hamid, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Communications.

Highlights of the roadshow included the showcase of the much anticipated GO!broadband services, where the public were given the chance to get a hands-on experience at the 3G Experience Center.

Besides getting the chance to become one of the first subscribers of the new product offerings, the public were treated to hourly lucky draws, fun games, mini-tournaments, and entertaining live performances.

DST Group's local merchants and partners also participated in the event.

The DST Group Roadshows will continue to be held in the other districts of the country, with Kuala Belait as the next destination.

2nd May 2008 - After two weeks of public voting, and enthusiastic campaigning by various blogging finalists, the hilarious Kurapak blog defied the odds and emerged as the Bruneian Blog of The Year in The Simpur Bloggies, the first official Bruneian Blog Awards. The results of the voting phase were announced at The Simpur Bloggies Awards Ceremony, held at the Jerudong Park Amphitheater this afternoon.

Kurapak obtained an amazing 46% of the public vote, beating off 5 of the most popular Bruneian blogs; Ranoadidas, Spiritual Garden, Arab Families, Brunei Fishing, and Anakbrunei.

The regularly updated Kurapak blog is full of amusing jokes and gags which range from real life stories, made-up gags, and of course, local Bruneian-style jokes.

The author and creator of Kurapak Ak Syahreen Pg Metassan won an Acer Laptop from Concepts Commercial Suppliers, a $2,400 DSTCom Advertisement subscription, an iLuv Hi-Fi from Hi Max Trading & Services, a total of $1,400 cash from Simpur, Arab Families.com, Ranoadidas.com, and Kurapak.com, a night’s stay in a Junior Suite, including breakfast and a one-hour body massage at the Orchid Garden Hotel, Ranoadidas.com merchandise, Kurapak.com merchandise, and The Simpur Bloggies Trophy, on top of a few hundred dollars’ worth of category winner prizes.

Simpur (www.simpur.net.bn) launched the very first Bruneian Blog Awards, The Simpur Bloggies, in early September 2007, to celebrate the nation's informative, creative & entertaining bloggers.

Every month, from September 2007 to March 2008, the Bruneian public were given the chance to nominate, and vote for their favourite Bruneian blogs, divided into 6 categories; Personal, Local Content, Photo, Lifestyle, Specialty, and Wild-Card blogs. The category winners were then up for another vote in April 2008 to determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year.

The Simpur Bloggies was sponsored by DSTCom, Concepts Commercial Suppliers, Orchid Garden Hotel, Hi Max Trading & Services, DST Group, Arab-Families.com, Ranoadidas.com, and Kurapak.com.

1st May 2008 - DSTCom finally revealed their much anticipated Mobile Broadband service at a grand launch event, held at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom at The Empire Hotel & Country Club this morning.

Consenting to grace and inaugurate the event was His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office.

DSTCom's Mobile Broadband service, branded as 'GO!broadband', offers high-speed Internet Access at speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, without having fixed lines, letting its subscribers surf while on the move.

GO!broadband makes full use of DSTCom's newly deployed Ericsson 3.5G network based on the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access High Speed Downlink Packet Access (WCDMA HSDPA) technology.

After the launch of GO!broadband, DST Group's CEO and Chairman, Dr Awang Haji Mohd. Amin Liew bin Abdullah presented a mock cheque of $40,000 from DST Group to His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah for the Dana Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Fund, which was represented by Dato Paduka Awang Ali Hashim bin Haji Daud, CEO of Yayasan's Office.

Later, His Royal Highness was given a tour of the 3G Experience Center which was set up outside the ballroom. There, His Royal Highness was briefed on the various product offerings and packages, and also had a hands-on experience of the new products.

28th April 2008 - DST Group's yearly staff annual dinner was held last Saturday night at the Empire Theatre at The Empire Hotel & Country Club in Jerudong. This year's event celebrated the Group's 13th year in operation, and carried 'International Cultural Night' theme.

Yang Mulia, Haji Yakob bin Haji Yusof, a member of DST Group's Board of Directors, was the Guest of Honour at the event.

DST Group employees were treated to grand lucky draws, which included an all expenses paid trip to the Gold Coast in Australia, and were entertained by performances from the local comedic group Kumpulan 69, and artists Puteri Norizah, The Seeds, and Rafiz.

22nd April 2008 - The first Shutterbug Central Printerku lucky draw was held today on the Jenny M Show on KRISTALfm, where local photographer Ridzuan Ambran Aston won a 40-page digital photobook sponsored by Printerku.

The draw was done by Idham Abas, Managing Director of Printerku.

In conjunction with the launch of Shutterbug Central, Simpur's section dedicated to Brunei's finest, and upcoming Photographers, Printerku will be giving away a 40-page digital photobook, worth $88, to one lucky photographer every month until September 2008.

The next draw will be held on Tuesday, 27th May 2008, where all photographers listed on Shutterbug Central will be included in the draw.

15th April 2008 - KRISTALfm welcomed the all The Simpur Bloggies finalists to the Jenny M Show yesterday, giving them a chance to promote themselves for the final round of the event.

Brunei's best bloggers - Nonnie King of Spiritual Garden, Ak Syahreen Pg Metassan of Kurapak, Md Reeda Malik of Anakbrunei, Shaikh Khalid Shaikh Ahmad of Arab Families, and Md Rano Iskandar Abdullah of Ranoadidas joined DJ Jenny Malai Ali and Simpur representatives Hj Md Azmi Hj Ghazali and Hj Md Kamarul Dzaman Hj Ajimain at the KRISTALfm Studio in Tungku. Unfortunately Best Lifestyle Blog winner Brunei Fishing wasn't able to attend.

In the entertaining interview, the bloggers talked about their blogging and personal backgrounds, and started promoting their blogs for the final round of the event which started at 9am yesterday.

The public can now vote for the Bruneian Blog of The Year, until 9am, 29th April 2008.

4th April 2008 - DST Group today marked another milestone in providing better access to its products and services to its customers, with the opening of DST Group new Rimba counter branch at Unit G, 28 & 29, Giant Hypermart, Tasek Rimba.

DST Group's Chief Operating Officer, Awang Haji Marsad bin Awang Haji Ismail officiated the opening of the new branch with a plaque signing ceremony, followed a Doa selamat which was led by Imam Hj Mohd Afdzilah bin Hj Yusof of the Raja Isteri Pg Anak Saleha Mosque.

The new Branch will now be able to serve not only the residents of Kampong Rimba, but can also serve the areas connected by the Tungku Link road, with the easy accessibility of its location.

The branch offers services from bill payments and registration of Prima and Simpur, to sales of Easi and Simpur prepaid cards, and operates 7 days a week, from 9:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m.

To date, DST Group has 8 branches all throughout the four districts; Yayasan, Gadong, Delima, Airport, Kuala Belait, Tutong, Temburong and now the new Rimba Giant Hypermart branch.

DSTCom's Cash Bonanza promotion prize presentation for the winners of the month of March was also held at the event.

The Cash Bonanza promotion encourages both Easi and Prima subscribers to increase their monthly usage and stand a chance to be qualified for the monthly draw, which ends on 30th April 2008. Around 65,535 Easi subscribers qualified for the month of March, based on usage of more than $40, and 20,173 Prima subscribers qualified based on usage of above $70.

DST Group's Chief Operating Officer, Awang Haji Marsad bin Awang Haji Ismail, presented prizes to 13 Easi and 13 Prima subscribers, where the top three winners won themselves $888, $688, and $488 cash respectively.

Top 3 Easi Winners
1. Mohd Ariwan Ali
2. Syaekhoni
3. Jeffri Said

Top 3 Prima Winners
1. Chua Cheng Hong
2. Fabrica Interior Furnishing Co.
3. Mohammad Husaini Haji Wahsalfelah

The remaining 20 winners received consolation prizes of $188 cash each.

The Cash Bonanza prize presentation for the month of April will be announced in May 2008.

4th April 2008 - GreenCity Concept Sdn Bhd, Content Service Provider for DST Communications Sdn Bhd organized an Appreciation Lucky Draw to reward its WondeRing subscribers, at the DST Group Headquarters today.

WonderRing is the pioneer in providing personalized Ring Back Tones to mobile phone subscribers in Brunei Darussalam.

Prima and Easi users who subscribed to the WondeRing service between 17th November 2007 and 31st March 2008 were entitled to earn tickets to the Draw.

29 lucky subscribers were picked to win prizes including a SHARP 32" LCD TV (sponsored by Little Bean Electrical Company and SHARP), an APPLE iPhone, a SHARP 29” TV, a SHARP Home Theatre Set, 5 special prizes and 20 consolation prizes.

Monthly Draws held in the months of December 2007, January and February 2008 gave away 29” TV’s, Mobile Phones, Home Theatre Sets and DST Easi Recharge Cards.

2nd April 2008 - KRISTALfm's DJ Jenny welcomed the author and creator of the Ranoadidas blog, Md Rano Iskandar Abdullah, to her radio show at 10.30 am this morning.

Popular blog Ranoadidas emerged as the winner of the Wild-Card Blog category, obtaining the most number of email nominations from the Bruneian public.

Ranoadidas continues to be one of the best places to get news & information on Brunei’s social & sports scene. The up-to-date and in depth coverage of the events happening in and around Brunei makes it one of the most visited Bruneian blogs around, and not to mention one of the most popular. It has evolved from being the author’s personal web-log a few years back to becoming THE place for detailed local event news, with quality photos to go with the articles. Ranoadidas is also a great example of making money out of blogging with the advertising sponsorship deals generated by the blog. Being one of the pioneers of the local blogging scene, Ranoadidas still remains as the must-visit blog for Bruneians all around the world.

In the interview, Md Rano Iskandar talked about his transitions in blogging and why he ended up creating a blog which covers the local social scene. The blogger also shared and gave ideas on how to make it big on the blogging scene.

Md Rano Iskandar then received prizes from Hj Md Azmi Hj Ghazali, Executive Officer of the Content Unit of DST Multimedia Sdn Bhd. Prizes included a night's stay in a Junior Suite, including breakfast for two at the Orchid Garden Hotel sponsored by DST Group's Loyalty Programme, and merchandise from DST Group & Simpur.

1st April 2008 - To mark DST Group's 13th Anniversary, a 'Doa Kesyukuran' ceremony was held at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Mosque in Kampong Rimba last night.

The ceremony began with the Maghrib mass prayers, followed by the recital of the Surah Yaasin, bertahlil, and thanks-giving prayer led by Imam Haji Mohammad Afdzillah bin Haji Mohammad Yussof.

Present at the ceremony was the Chief Executive Officer of the DST Group, Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, muslim DST Group employees, and residents of Kampong Rimba.

A cheque was also presented during the ceremony by Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew, as a donation to the mosque.

The ceremony ended with the Isya' mass prayers, followed by refreshments.

31st March 2008 - To promote a healthy lifestyle amongst its staff, DST Group has initiated to organise the 'DST Group Sports Hour'; sporting activities which will be held on the last hour of every last Friday of the month.

The first activity, which was held last Friday, was a Jogathon in which over 50 employees participated, including DST Group's Chief Operating Officer, Hj Marsad bin Hj Ismail.

The route of the event was between the DST Group Headquarters and Jerudong International School.

28th March 2008 - A team of 20 DST Group employees were recently in Kota Kinabalu to attend a Performance Coaching and Organisational Development Training Program.

The team was led by Ustaz Hj Hanafi Bin Abd Rahman, Dyg Tengah Bte Metussin and Pg HMN Mashadi PHT.

The training program included Trust & Belief Concepts, Leadership in Organizations, and also Motivation Factors in Organizations, and was conducted at the Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu Hotel by Mohammad Fuad Ariff and Mohammad Azlan Arsad of Training Manpower Solutions (TMS).

Various outdoor activities were also conducted where teams had the chance to visit the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, and KK Adventure Park, where teams performed Flying-Fox, High-Rope Walking, Wall-Climbing and Obstacle Race activities.

The 4-day training program concluded with a certificate presentation ceremony by Dyg Hjh Faikah Bte Ahmad, Senior Manager of Group Asset.

25th March 2008 - After a two week phase of public nominations, the sixth round of winner of The Simpur Bloggies, the Bruneian Blog Awards, was finally announced by Simpur representative Hj Md Azmi Hj Ghazali, live on KRISTALfm’s Jenny M Show with DJ Jenny Malai Ali at 10.45 am this morning.

Popular blog Ranoadidas emerged as the winner of the Wild-Card Blog category, obtaining the most number of email nominations from the Bruneian public.

Ranoadidas continues to be one of the best places to get news & information on Brunei’s social & sports scene. The up-to-date and in depth coverage of the events happening in and around Brunei makes it one of the most visited Bruneian blogs around, and not to mention one of the most popular. It has evolved from being the author’s personal web-log a few years back to becoming THE place for detailed local event news, with quality photos to go with the articles. Ranoadidas is also a great example of making money out of blogging with the advertising sponsorship deals generated by the blog. Being one of the pioneers of the local blogging scene, Ranoadidas still remains as the must-visit blog for Bruneians all around the world.

The author & creator of the blog, Rano Iskandar Abdullah, wins a host of prizes from the event’s sponsors, and also claims the sixth and final spot in the final round of The Simpur Bloggies, which will determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year.

Simpur launched the very first Bruneian Blog Awards, The Simpur Bloggies, in early September 2007, to celebrate the nation's informative, creative & entertaining bloggers.

Every month, from September 2007 to March 2008, the Bruneian public has been able to nominate, and vote for their favourite Bruneian blogs, divided into 6 categories; Personal, Local Content, Photo, Lifestyle, Specialty, and Wild-Card blogs.

The winners of these categories will then be up for another public vote, in April 2008, to determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year. Best Personal Blog winner Spiritual Garden, Best Local Content Blog Winner Kurapak, Best Photo Blog Winner Anakbrunei, Best Lifestyle Blog winner Brunei Fishing, Best Specialty Blog Arab Families, and now Ranoadidas have made it into the finals.

Brunei’s most popular bloggers will stand a chance to win thousands of dollars worth of cash and prizes sponsored by DSTCom, Concepts Commercial Suppliers, Orchid Garden Hotel, Hi Max Trading & Services, Ranoadidas.com and DST Group.

The Bruneian Blog of The Year winner will win an Acer Laptop, a $2,400 DSTCom Advertisement subscription, iLuv Hi-Fi, $800 cash prizes, a night’s stay in a Junior Suite, including breakfast and foot massage at the Orchid Garden Hotel, Ranoadidas.com merchandise, and The Simpur Bloggies Trophy, on top of a few hundred dollars’ worth of category winner prizes.

Bruneian blog readers and enthusiasts can start voting for their favourite blogs from 14th April 2008, where the six finalists will go head to head to determine who becomes the Bruneian Blog of The Year.

18th March 2008 - The draw for the recently ended National Day Competition on Simpur was held today at 10.45 am, live on the Jenny M Show on KRISTALfm.

For more than three weeks, Simpur visitors were given the chance to participate in the competition, where one lucky winner had the chance to win a collection of books on Brunei's history, exclusively autographed, and written by Pehin Jawatan Dalam Seri Maharaja Dato Seri Utama Dr Haji Awang Md Jamil Al-Sufri, Head of Brunei's History Centre.

All the participants needed to do was email the answers related to Brunei's Independence before 17th March 2008, and all the correct entries were included in the draw to win the books.

KRISTALfm's DJ Jenny Malai Ali, was on hand to do the draw on behalf of Simpur.

Aliakbar bin Haji Gapor, a frequent winner in Simpur's previous lucky draw competitions, won once again, taking home the books along with some great Simpur merchandise including a T-Shirt, Mug, Egg-Radio, and Prepaid Card.

Simpur would like to take this oppurtunity to thank the public for participating in the competition and KRISTALfm for broadcasting the draw live on air.

12th March 2008 - Simpur launched Shutterbug Central today, a new section aimed at showcasing the nation's finest, and upcoming photographers.

Shutterbug Central follows a similar concept to the largely successful Blogging Nation, where Simpur provides links to photographers' online photo galleries. In addition to that, local photographers are able to display their profiles, contact details, and even the photography equipment they use.

In conjunction with the launch, local digital printer Printerku will be giving away a 40-page digital photobook, worth $88, to one lucky photographer every month until September 2008.

All local photographers have to do is get listed on Shutterbug Central, and they'll automatically be included in the Printerku lucky draw, which will be held once a month. The first draw will be held live on KRISTALfm on Tuesday, 15th April 2008, on the Jenny M Show.

7th March 2008 - Today DST Group launched its new DST Care 151 Call Centre located at its new premises on level 11 at DST Group Headquarters in Tungku Link.

The new Call Centre continues to be an important touch point for DST Group with its customers, now providing better facilities and a more convenient approach to serving its customers.

In addition to providing enquiries on bill statements on Prima, Simpur and Kristal-Astro, to Easi prepaid service and lost SIM Cards, DST Group have recently upgraded the customer care technology to cater to the growing number of DST Group subscribers, providing a more customised customer service with the introduction of the DST Care 151 IVR (Interactive Voice Response) System.

DST Care 151 is accessible by dialling “151” on DSTCom's Prima or Easi service where DST Care 151 callers will have the option to direct their enquiries, in Malay or English language through the IVR.

The new menu options made available are:

Press 1 – Report lost SIM card

Press 2 – Prima Billing Enquiry
DST Group subscribers can check their own bill balance as well as for other Prima numbers. The IVR will prompt the subscriber to enter the mobile number and valid IC number. The subscriber will then be notified of their total bill amount, due date, latest bill amount and unbilled amount. For further billing enquiry, the subscriber also has the option to speak to a DST Care 151 operator by pressing 0. For Prima number registered under Company/Corporate/Government, subscriber needs to enter the valid account number.

Press 3 – New Services

Press 4 – Prima Services

Press 5 – Easi Service

Press 6 – Kristal Astro Services
For Kristal Astro billing related enquiries, subscribers are advised to call between 8am to 8pm.

Press 7 – To Change Preferred Language
Callers can change their preferred language to either Malay or English.

Press 0 – To Speak to Operator
For any other general enquiries callers can press 0 to speak to a DST Care 151 operator.

Press # - To Repeat Information
The caller can press the # button if the caller wishes to repeat the previous menu.

28th February 2008 - KRISTALfm's DJ Jenny welcomed the author and creator of the Arab Families blog, Shaikh Khalid bin Shaikh Ahmad, to her radio show at 1.30 pm yesterday.

Arab Families won the fifth category of The Simpur Bloggies, the Best Specialty Blog. It was up against the likes of The Daily Brunei Resources, Bunny's Yummies, Foodie Tales and Danurasana in the voting phase of the Best Specialty Category of The Simpur Bloggies.

The Arab Families blog documents the activities and happenings in the daily lives of the Shaikh Said Al-Hijazi family, a well-known Bruneian family of Arab descendants. The blog gives visitors a unique look at anything and everything happening in this family, including their regular big, fun-filled family gatherings.

In the interview, Shaikh Khalid talked about his main objectives in creating the blog, and even shared with the listeners on how and why he loves blogging.

Shaikh Khalid then received prizes from Hj Md Azmi Hj Ghazali, Executive Officer of the Content Unit of DST Multimedia Sdn Bhd. Arab Families won an Altec Lansing AHP-712i Headset & Delux Speaker 2.0 sponsored by Concepts Commercial Suppliers, a night's stay in a Junior Suite with breakfast for 2 at the Orchid Garden Hotel, a Mobile Handset + Easi Starter Pack from DSTCom, and merchandise from DST Group & Simpur.

28th February 2008 - KRISTALfm's DJ Jenny welcomed representatives from the upcoming Travel Fair on her show yesterday. Abd Halim Hj Abd Rahman from Abacus, Michelle Lo and Dk Rodzi Pg Hj Abd Rahman from Royal Brunei Airlines, were on hand to promote the event, which will be held on the 1st and 2nd of March at The Oil & Gas Discover Centre in Seria.

The annual event, in its third year this year, will be the place to be to get discounted air fares to all Royal Brunei destinations. Visitors can also participate in competitions where prizes include 200,000 worth of air miles, hundreds of dollars worth of RBA cash vouchers, and even tickets to fantastic destinations.

19th February 2008 - To help make the run-up to the final round of The Simpur Bloggies even more exciting, Simpur yesterday announced the introduction of a new category in the Bruneian Blog Awards, the Wild-Card Category.

In addition to the 5 category winners of The Simpur Bloggies, there will be one more spot in the final round for the winner of the Wild-Card category.

The introduction of this category gives the hundreds of blogs listed in the Brunei Blogs Directory one last chance to participate in the final voting round, which will be contested in early April this year.

From 10th March 2008, blog-readers will be able to send in their nomination entries, which is their Wild-Card blog choice, including a reason why they chose the blog. The blog with the most nominations will therefore win the Wild-Card category.

The Wild-Card Category winner, and the best nominator will both win a night's stay in a Junior Suite, including breakfast for two at the Orchid Garden Hotel, and DST Group and Simpur merchandise, all sponsored by DST Group.

19th February 2008 - After a month-long phase of public nominations and votes, the fifth round of winners of The Simpur Bloggies, the Bruneian Blog Awards, was finally announced by Simpur representatives Hj Md Azmi Hj Ghazali and Hj Md Kamarul Dzaman Hj Ajimain, live on KRISTALfm’s Jenny M Show with DJ Jenny Malai Ali at 10.45 am yesterday.

Arab Families emerged as the winner of the Best Specialty Blog category, obtaining 28% of the public vote, beating off 4 other popular blogs; The Daily Brunei Resources, Bunny’s Yummies, Foodie Tales, and Danurasana.

The Arab Families blog documents the activities and happenings in the daily lives of the Shaikh Said Al-Hijazi family, a well-known Bruneian family of Arab descendants. The blog gives visitors a unique look at anything and everything happening in this family, including their regular big, fun-filled family gatherings. Arab Families was created to unite family members in Brunei, and all over the world, and keep them up to date with all the family’s latest activities. The blog also features a brief look at the family’s history, letting the younger generation of the family learn more about their roots. It's hoped that this blog will inspire other families to create similar blogs, using the Bruneian blogosphere as a platform to share their unique family experiences.

The author & creator of the blog, Shaikh Khalid bin Shaikh Ahmad, wins a host of prizes from the event’s sponsors, and also claims the fifth spot in the final round of The Simpur Bloggies, which will determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year.

Simpur (www.simpur.net.bn) launched the very first Bruneian Blog Awards, The Simpur Bloggies, in early September 2007, to celebrate the nation's informative, creative & entertaining bloggers.

Every month, from September 2007 to February 2008, the Bruneian public has been able to nominate, and vote for their favourite Bruneian blogs, divided into 5 categories; Personal, Local Content, Photo, Lifestyle, and Specialty blogs.

The winners of these categories, and a Wild-Card blog, will then be up for another public vote, in April 2008, to determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year. Best Personal Blog winner Spiritual Garden, Best Local Content Blog Winner Kurapak, Best Photo Blog Winner Anakbrunei, Best Lifestyle Blog winner Brunei Fishing, and now Arab Families, have so far made it into the finals.

Brunei’s most popular bloggers will stand a chance to win thousands of dollars worth of cash and prizes sponsored by DSTCom, Concepts Commercial Suppliers, Orchid Garden Hotel, Hi Max Trading & Services, Ranoadidas.com and DST Group.

The Bruneian Blog of The Year winner will win an Acer Laptop, a $2,400 DSTCom Advertisement subscription, iLuv Hi-Fi, $800 cash prizes, a night’s stay in a Junior Suite, including breakfast and foot massage at the Orchid Garden Hotel, Ranoadidas.com merchandise, and The Simpur Bloggies Trophy, on top of a few hundred dollars’ worth of category winner prizes.

Bruneian blog readers and enthusiasts can send in their nominations for the last and final category, the Wild-Card Blog, from 10th March 2008, where all blogs listed in the Bruneian Blog Directory, except for the 5 category winners, can be nominated. The winner of this category will join the other winners in the final round of The Simpur Bloggies.

12th February 2008 - Members of Simpur's very own social networking site 'The Lounge' can now enjoy recently introduced new features, after a mini site upgrade yesterday which lasted a few hours.

The Lounge was updated with a huge list of tweaks and fixes across the whole site, including some notable ones:

Music @ The Lounge
Members can now upload and let other members listen to their favourite music in the newly added music player. Local artists can take advantage of the player to promote their songs and albums. The 'Open Popup Window' feature of the player lets members continue to listen to music while browsing other sites.

Mass Uploader
Members can now upload up to 100 photos, 30 videos or 100 songs/podcasts in one go. The Mass Uploader features a simple easy-to-use drag and drop style interface.

Blog Enhancements
The previous 'buggy' editor has been replaced with a much more stable, easy-to-use text editor. Members can also now tag their posts, and have access to previous/next links. The next update release will also include more additional enhancements to the blog features in The Lounge.

Higher Video Quality
The video player has been updated to set on a fixed size, resulting in better-looking videos, despite eliminating the options to have small and medium sized videos.

More updates have been scheduled in the coming months, giving Simpur visitors more reasons to sign up and join others at The Lounge.

12th February 2008 - The draw for the recently ended Rambo 4 movie competition on Simpur was held today at 10.45 am, live on the Jenny M Show on KRISTALfm.

For three weeks, Simpur visitors were given the chance to participate in the competition, where The Mall Cineplex sponsored exclusive Rambo 4 merchandise to give away to 20 lucky winners.

All the participants needed to do was email the answers to simple Rambo-related questions before 12th February 2008, and all the correct entries were included in the draw to win either one of 10 exclusive Rambo 4 Tank Tops or 10 exclusive Rambo 4 Bandanas.

KRISTALfm's DJ Jenny Malai Ali, was on hand to do the draw on behalf of Simpur and The Mall Cineplex.

Simpur would like to take this oppurtunity to thank The Mall Cineplex, for sponsoring the prizes, the public for participating in the competition and KRISTALfm for broadcasting the draw live on air.

Simpur visitors can now stand a chance to win more movie merchandise by participating in the on-going Iron Man / Indiana Jones movie competition, where prizes are once again generously sponsored by The Mall Cineplex.

31st January 2008 - KRISTALfm's DJ Yantee welcomed the authors and creators of the Brunei Fishing blog, Hussaidon and Musa, to her radio show at 2.30 pm this afternoon.

Brunei Fishing won the fourth category of The Simpur Bloggies, the Best Lifestyle Blog. It was up against the likes of Woman In A Wetsuit, Surkrew, Classic Articulation & The House of El in the Best Lifestyle Category of The Simpur Bloggies.

The Brunei Fishing blog is a site dedicated to all Bruneian angling enthusiasts, keeping everyone up-to-date with the local fishing scene. This well put together blog gives visitors an insight to the fishing craze that has recently hit the nation.

Brunei Fishing gives local anglers the chance to submit photos of their fishing triumphs and even share their tips and information on the best places to catch different types of fish. The informative nature of this blog has attracted not only local visitors, but even visitors from all over the region, and is definitely one of the best blogs to visit for fishing beginners and professionals alike.

In the interview, Hussaidon and Musa talked about their main objectives in creating the Brunei Fishing blog, and even shared their future plans for it.

Earlier in the day, they received their prizes from the Manager of Business Operations of DST Multimedia Sdn Bhd, Shamsulbaharin bin Hj Abd Rahman. The Brunei Fishing team won a Simpur Bloggies Trophy, Altec Lansing AHP-524 Headset & BT150 Jabra Bluetooth Headset sponsored by Concepts Commercial Suppliers, a night's stay in a Junior Suite with breakfast for 2 at the Orchid Garden Hotel, a Mobile Handset + Easi Starter Pack from DSTCom, and merchandise from DST Group & Simpur.

26th January 2008 - Staff from Simpur were recently invited as special guests at the first KB Bloggers Gathering in Kuala Belait. The event was held at Serikandi Restaurant, who were also main sponsors of the event. Shaikh Khalid Shaikh Ahmad of the Arab-Families blog, was part of the organizing committee of the event, which hosted more than 50 bloggers, mostly from Kuala Belait.

The night started with a welcoming speech by the Arab-Families author, followed by a speech from Liza Mohd, author and creator of the KB Happening blog, who was the Chairperson of the event.

In her speech, Liza stated that the objective of the gathering was to bring all local bloggers under one roof and bridge the gap in the fragmented space of blogging. She also hoped that blogging will not turn into another fad or even just a medium for individuals to be in the spotlight. Liza stressed that it's imperative that bloggers blog for genuine reasons, blog in good faith, and most importantly, blog to inspire the younger generations.

Simpur representative, Hj Mohd Kamarul Dzaman bin Hj Ajimain also delivered a speech, thanking the organizers for the invitation, and also showed his appreciation to everyone who has supported Simpur's Blogging Nation since its inception almost a year ago. Hj Mohd Kamarul also stated that there has been an encouraging increase in local blogs, averaging at a rate of 3 blogs a day.

The final speech was given by 'Senor Pablo' of the World Of Pablo blog, who touched on how blogging had been a positive experience to many, including himself. He also stressed that all bloggers should maintain their positive attitudes, which will in turn help to contribute to the growth of the nation in general.

Other guests that night included the winner of the Best Personal Blog of The Simpur Bloggies, Nonnie King (Spiritual Garden), Best Photo Blog winner Reeda Malek (AnakBrunei), and Best Local Scene Blog winner Ak Syahreen Pg Metassan (Kurapak). Perhaps the most popular blogger to date, and also one of the sponsors for The Simpur Bloggies, Rano Iskandar from RanoAdidas.com was also in attendance.

After the speeches, guests proceeded to enjoy their food, while the 'Gambus' playing live band entertained everyone. The night carried on with a couple of interactive games and even lucky draws, where prizes were sponsored by the Serikandi Group, Simpur and WestEgrets.

Please click here to view photos from the event
Photo above by Kaybee Blogger.

21st January 2008 - A total collection of $169, 873.00 was received from DSTCom's valued Prima and Easi subscribers via SMS Brunei Prihatin for the National Orphan's Fund from 7th September to 20th October 2007 (during Ramadhan) through the 8885555 service.

DST Group's Chief Operating Officer, Haji Marsad Haji Ismail, handed over the cheque to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Awang Haji Mohammad bin Haji Daud, in a ceremony at the Brunei International Airport Restaurant in Berakas yesterday.

In his speech, the guest of honour praised all agencies involved in the charitable project in making it a success. The objective of the event was to raise money for the National Orphan's Fund, as well as giving opportunities for the community to perform charitable acts during the fasting month.

The SMS Brunei Prihatin for the National Orphan's Fund was a collaborative project between the Department of Community Development (JAPEM) under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports with Radio Television Brunei, DST Group and B. Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd.

The SMS Brunei Prihatin was first launched in 2005 in conjunction with the Fasting month of Ramadhan, with a total collection of $183, 517.00 while in 2006 a total collection of $156,580.00 was received from DSTCom subscribers.

Aa total collection of $209,356.00 was received from both DST Group and B.Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd.

18th January 2008 - FasCom, a member of the DST Group of companies, has just launched its brand new company website.

FasCom, is the service provider of nationwide two-way trunk radios in Brunei Darussalam, providing facilities for companies, or individuals who require inter-communication needs.

FasCom's website provides information on their services, including technical specifications of the Walkie-Talkies they provide, and of course, the different rental packages and pricings they offer.



> Visit the newly launched FasCom Website

14th January 2008 - Datastream Solutions, the latest addition to Brunei's largest integrated telco and multimedia group, DST Group, recently launched their company website.

Datastream Solutions is a company that focuses on enterprise application development, providing a wide range of professional services such as IT Consultancy & Planning, Digitization & Data Conversion, Project Management, Training Services Network, Security, and System Management among others.

The company is backed by 3ntity Berhad, an award-winning solutions company specializing in enterprise application solutions, including e-Supply Chain Solutions and e-Government applications.

14th January 2008 - After a month-long phase of public nominations and votes, the fourth round of winners of The Simpur Bloggies, the Bruneian Blog Awards, was finally announced by Simpur representatives Hj Md Azmi Hj Ghazali and Hj Md Kamarul Dzaman Hj Ajimain, live on KRISTALfm’s Breakfast Show with DJ Tina at 9 am last Tuesday.

Brunei Fishing emerged as the winner of the Best Lifestyle Blog category, obtaining 34% of the public vote, beating off 4 other popular blogs; Woman in a Wetsuit, Surkrew, Classic Articulation, and The House of El.

The Brunei Fishing blog is a site dedicated to all Bruneian angling enthusiasts, keeping everyone up-to-date with the local fishing scene. This well put together blog gives visitors an insight to the fishing craze that has recently hit the nation. Brunei Fishing gives local anglers the chance to submit photos of their fishing triumphs and even share their tips and information on the best places to catch different types of fish. The informative nature of this blog has attracted not only local visitors, but even visitors from all over the region, and is definitely one of the best blogs to visit for fishing beginners and professionals alike.

The authors & creators of the informative blog, Musa (si pengapon), Hussaidon (SY), Dayat (DYT7), Jeffry (The JEP) & Huraizal (DR HU), wins a host of prizes from the event’s sponsors, and also claims the fourth spot in the final round of The Simpur Bloggies, which will determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year.

Simpur (www.simpur.net.bn) launched the very first Bruneian Blog Awards, The Simpur Bloggies, in early September, to celebrate the nation's informative, creative & entertaining bloggers.

Every month, from September 2007 to February 2008, the Bruneian public has been able to nominate, and vote for their favourite Bruneian blogs, divided into 5 categories; Personal, Local Content, Photo, Lifestyle, and Specialty blogs.

The winners of these categories will then be up for another public vote, in March 2008, to determine the Bruneian Blog of The Year. Best Personal Blog winner Spiritual Garden, Best Local Content Blog Winner Kurapak, Best Photo Blog Winner Anakbrunei, and now Brunei Fishing, have so far made it into the finals.

Brunei’s most popular bloggers will stand a chance to win thousands of dollars worth of cash and prizes sponsored by DSTCom, Concepts Commercial Suppliers, Orchid Garden Hotel, Hi Max Trading & Services and DST Group.

The Bruneian Blog of The Year winner will win an Acer Laptop, a $2,400 DSTCom Advertisement subscription, iLuv Hi-Fi, $800 cash prizes, a night’s stay in a Junior Suite, including breakfast and foot massage at the Orchid Garden Hotel, Ranoadidas.com merchandise, and The Simpur Bloggies Trophy, on top of a few hundred dollars’ worth of category winner prizes.

Bruneian blog readers and enthusiasts can now send in their nominations for the next category that’s in the spotlight, Best Specialty Blog.

5th December 2007 - KRISTALfm's DJ Jenny Malai Ali welcomed the author and creator of the Anakbrunei blog, Muhammad Reeda Malik to her radio show at 10.30 am this morning.

The Anakbrunei blog was up against the likes of Shimworld, She-Shoots, Ucingitam & Blind As Each Other in the Best Photo Category of The Simpur Bloggies, in what became the tightest voting phase to date, with Anakbrunei winning by a single vote.

In the interview, Reeda talked about his blogging experiences, including how he started the hobby, and the many types of entries he has posted.

Anakbrunei initially started off as a personal blog, but has blossomed into a money-making venture, becoming one of the few Bruneian blogs that's managed to attract advertising sponsorship deals from local business establishments. As much as the blog covers social events and happenings, Reeda still maintains that it's still mostly a Photo blog.

At the end of the interview, Reeda was presented with his awards prizes by Simpur representative Hj Mohd Kamarul Dzaman, which included an Altec Lansing Headset AHP-524 and Jabra Bluetooth Headset BT150 sponsored by Concepts Commercial Suppliers, a 1 night stay in a Junior Suite with breakfast for 2 at the Orchid Garden Hotel sponsored by the hotel, a Mobile Handset and Easi Starter Pack from DSTCom, and some Simpur, DST Group & DSTCom merchandise.