TANAH JAMBU, Friday, 17 November 2023 - Six officers from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) received the OBOE Endeavour Academic Excellence Award from the Australian Government in recognition of their outstanding results during the recently concluded 13th RBAF Command and Staff Course (CSC) 2023. The ceremony was held at the Defence Academy Royal Brunei Armed Forces (DA RBAF).
The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Luke Arnold, High Commissioner of Australia to Brunei Darussalam as Guest of Honour. Also present were Yang Mulia Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan, Commander of the RBAF, Commander Royal Brunei Land Force and Acting Service Commanders, Acting Joint Force Commander RBAF, members of the Australian High Commission, Military and Civilian
Directors as well as DA RBAF officers.
The ceremony commenced with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and was followed by welcoming remarks from Colonel Pengiran Sharifuddin bin Pengiran Haji Yusof, Commandant of DA RBAF. In his address, he extended his heartfelt congratulations to the awardees of the OBOE Endeavour Academic Excellence Award for their exceptional academic and leadership achievements during the course. On behalf of the RBAF, Colonel Pengiran Sharifuddin
expressed profound gratitude to the Australian Government for their pivotal role in this initiative, whereby how the award has significantly elevated the standards of excellence within the college. Emphasising the deep-rooted defence relationship between Brunei Darussalam and Australia, he remarked on the importance of the programme in fostering stronger military cooperation and mutual growth. He also underscored the shared values and visions that bind the two nations, viewing the award as a symbol of the enduring partnership and a beacon for future collaborative success in regional security and defence.
In his speech, His Excellency Luke Arnold conveyed that the award was created to recognise the academic excellence of military officers from the RBAF, an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding and build networks between Brunei Darussalam and Australia and their respective armed forces. He then congratulated all award recipients for their outstanding results for completing the Command and Staff Course and emphasised that military education and exchange is fundamental to understanding the strategic environment which is needed to share experiences and insights in this increasingly complex world including the shared Indo-Pacific region. He also appreciated and valued the RBAF’s continuous invitation for Australian officers to attend the Command and Staff Course in Brunei Darussalam and looked forward in the future to extending further offers for military officers from the RBAF to attend courses at the Australian Defence College.
The Guest of Honour was then invited to present the award to the six recipients, 859 Lieutenant Commander Mohd Hydzir Zuhdi bin Haji Sulaiman, Royal Brunei Navy, RBN from the Royal Brunei Navy, 881 Major Mohammad Sufrien bin Johan, from the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF), 889 Lieutenant Commander Dayangku Lyadia Ulandari binti Pengiran Haji Muhamad, RBN from the Royal Brunei Navy, 892 Lieutenant Commander Hidayatul Zabidah binti Haji Dayang, RBN from the Royal Brunei Navy, 907 Major Siti Nur Irmaya binti Yahya, from the Ministry of Defence and 925 Major Abd Rahim bin Haji Adris, from the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF).
The OBOE Endeavour Award is an academic excellence programme by the Australian Government awarded to CSC participants who have achieved outstanding results during the course. These officers will be invited to Australia to meet Senior Military Officers from the Australian Defence Force, tour selected Australian military bases, participate in educational and cultural activities, and engage in dialogues and discussions. This year’s award recipients will leave for Australia from 2 to 9 December 2023.
The programme is aimed at imparting knowledge to the officers about Australia, in particular its Defence Force, discovering commonalities and appreciating differences in the region’s security and interests, as well as fostering the relationship between the two Armed Forces and enhancing the bilateral defence relations between Brunei Darussalam and Australia. This event is the sixth in the series since it started in 2018.
ENAM PEGAWAI MENERIMA ANUGERAH OBOE ENDEAVOUR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE 2023
TANAH JAMBU, Jumaat, 17 November 2023 – Seramai enam orang pegawai daripada Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (ABDB) telah menerima anugerah OBOE Endeavour Academic Excellence dari Kerajaan Australia sebagai pengiktirafan terhadap pencapaian cemerlang di dalam Kursus Maktab Turus ABDB sesi ke-13. Acara tersebut berlangsung di Akademi Pertahanan Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (AP ABDB).
Acara tersebut telah dihadiri oleh Tuan Yang Terutama Luke Arnold, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia ke Negara Brunei Darussalam selaku Tetamu Kehormat. Turut hadir ialah Yang Mulia Mejar Jeneral Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan, Pemerintah ABDB, Pemerintah Tentera Darat Diraja Brunei dan Pemangku-pemangku Pemerintah Angkatan Tentera, Pemangku Pemerintah Markas Angkatan Bersama ABDB, kakitangan dari Suruhanjaya Tinggi Australia,
Pengarah – pengarah Tentera dan Awam serta Pegawai-Pegawai AP ABDB.
Acara dimulakan dengan bacaan Surah Al-Fatihah dan diikuti dengan ucapan alu-aluan oleh Kolonel Pengiran Sharifuddin bin Pengiran Haji Yusof, Komandan AP ABDB. Dalam ucapannya, beliau menyampaikan ucapan tahniah kepada penerima-penerima anugerah yang mencapai keputusan akademik yang cemerlang dan pencapaian kepimpinan di sepanjang Kursus Maktab Turus dijalankan. Bagi pihak ABDB, beliau juga menyatakan ucapan penghargaan kepada Kerajaan Australia atas peranan mereka dalam menjayakan inisiatif ini dan menekankan kepentingan anugerah tersebut dalam meningkatkan tahap kecemerlangan secara signifikan di dalam maktab tersebut. Beliau juga menyatakan kepentingan hubungan pertahanan yang erat di antara Brunei Darussalam dan Australia serta menekankan kemajuan program ini dalam memperkukuhkan kerjasama ketenteraan dan pertumbuhan bersama. Beliau juga menekankan nilai-nilai dan visi bersama yang mengikat kedua-dua negara dan melihat anugerah tersebut sebagai simbol kerjasama yang berkekalan, menjadi mercu kejayaan untuk kolaboratif masa depan dalam keselamatan dan pertahanan serantau.
Sementara itu, dalam ucapannya, Tuan Yang Terutama Luke Arnold menyampaikan bahawa anugerah ini diwujudkan sebagai pengiktirafan terhadap kecemerlangan akademik pegawai-pegawai daripada ABDB, peluang untuk mendalami persefahaman dan membina rankaian di antara Negara Brunei Darussalam dan Australia dan Angkatan Tentera masing-masing. Beliau turut mengucapkan setinggi-tinggi tahniah kepada kesemua penerima-penerima anugerah diatas keputusan yang cemerlang setelah menamatkan Kursus Maktab Turus dan menekankan bahawa pendidikan kententeraan dan pertukaran adalah asas kepada kefahaman persekitaran strategik yang diperlukan untuk berkongsi pengalaman dan pandangan dalam pergolakan dunia yang semakin kompleks termasuk dirantau Indo-Pasifik ini. Beliau juga menghargai jemputan yang berterusan daripada ABDB kepada Pegawai-Pegawai Australia untuk menghadiri Kursus Maktab Turus di Negara Brunei Darussalam dan mengharap untuk menawarkan kepada Pegawa-Pegawai ABDB untuk menghadiri kursus-kursus di Maktab Pertahanan Australia di masa akan datang.
Tetamu Kehormat kemudiannya dijemput untuk menyampaikan anugerah kepada enam penerima iaitu 859 Leftenan Komander Mohd Hydzir Zuhdi bin Haji Sulaiman, TLDB daripada Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei, 881 Mejar Mohammad Sufrien bin Johan daripada Tentera Darat Diraja Brunei (TDDB), 889 Leftenan Komander Dayangku Lyadia Ulandari binti Pengiran Haji Muhamad, TLDB daripada Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei, 892 Leftenan Komander Hidayatul Zabidah binti Haji Dayang, TLDB daripada Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei, 907 Mejar Siti Nur Irmaya binti Yahya daripada Kementerian Pertahanan dan 925 Mejar Abd Rahim bin Haji Adris daripada Tentera Darat Diraja Brunei (TDDB).
Anugerah OBOE Endeavour adalah merupakan Program Kecemerlangan Akademik daripada Kerajaan Australia yang dianugerahkan kepada peserta-peserta Kursus Maktab Turus yang telah mencapai keputusan yang cemerlang semasa menjalankan kursus tersebut. Pegawai-pegawai berkenaan akan dijemput ke Australia dan berkesempatan bersemuka dengan Ketua-ketua Pertahanan Australia, melawat beberapa pangkalan tentera Australia yang terpilih, mengikuti aktiviti-aktiviti pendidikan dan kebudayaan serta melibatkan diri di dalam sesi dialog dan perbincangan. Penerima-penerima anugerah pada tahun ini akan berlepas ke Australia bermula pada 2 hingga 9 Disember 2023.
Program ini bertujuan untuk memberikan kefahaman kepada Pegawai-pegawai mengenai negara Australia khususnya mengenai Angkatan Tentera Australia, serta memberi peluang bagi menerokai persamaan dan perbezaan mengenai kepentingan dan keselamatan serantau dan mengeratkan lagi hubungan antara kedua buah Angkatan Tentera serta meningkatkan lagi hubungan pertahanan dua hala antara Negara Brunei Darussalam dan Australia. Majlis penyampaian anugerah ini adalah kali keenam diadakan sejak ianya pertama kali diadakan pada tahun 2018.