TANAH JAMBU, Tuesday, 30 November 2021 – Six officers from Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) received the
OBOE Endeavour Academic Excellence Award in a ceremony held virtually for the first time today.
Present as the guest of honour was Major General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat, Commander of the RBAF. Also present were Her Excellency Tiffany Anne McDonald, Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, Services Commanders, Joint Force Commander, Deputy Permanent Secretaries of Ministry of Defence and Australian Defence Adviser to Brunei Darussalam, as well as senior RBAF officers.
The award recipients were 782 Major Pg Baharuddin bin Pg Haji Ali, 808 Major Haji Mohammad bin Haji Ahmad, 821 Major (U) Wan Muhammad Azem bin Haji Md Aminuddin, 824 Major Ahmad Bohare bin Mansor, 830 Major (U) Arif Shamirul bin Salleh and 862 Major Khairul Faizin bin Haji Abdul Gapar.
The ceremony started with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and was followed by the welcoming remarks by Lieutenant Colonel (U) Azmie Iskandar bin Ariffin, Acting Commandant of the Defence Academy RBAF, and a speech by Her Excellency Tiffany McDonald, Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam. In her remarks, Her Excellency congratulated all of the award recipients and emphasised the importance of defence relationship as one of the key pillars of bilateral engagement, where Australia and Brunei Darussalam share a strong bond and excellent cooperation in a variety of areas, including defence. In addition to that, she also praised Brunei Darussalam’s Ministry of Defence and members of the RBAF for their crucial role in supporting the whole of government response to COVID19.
The OBOE Endeavour Award is an academic excellence programme from the Australian Government, awarded to Command and Staff Course participants who have achieved outstanding results during the course. These officers will be invited to Australia to meet with key leaders of the Australian Defence Force, tour Australian military bases, participate in educational and cultural activities, and engage in dialogues and discussions.
The program aimed to impart knowledge to the officers about Australia and its Defence Force, share commonalities on the region’s security and interest, as well as to foster the relationship between the armed forces and enhance the bilateral defence relations between Brunei Darussalam and Australia. This event is the fourth in the series since it first started in 2018.
The name ‘OBOE Endeavour Award’ was chosen to commemorate the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the successful liberation of Borneo from the Japanese occupation during Operation OBOE in World War II, which marked the beginning of Brunei Darussalam and Australia’s defence relationship.
ENAM PEGAWAI ABDB MENERIMA ANUGERAH OBOE ENDEAVOUR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
TANAH JAMBU, Selasa, 30 November 2021 – Enam orang Pegawai Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (ABDB) telah menerima anugerah
OBOE Endeavour Academic Excellence di majlis yang berlangsung buat julung kalinya secara dalam talian pada hari ini.
Hadir selaku tetamu kehormat ialah Mejar Jeneral (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat, Pemerintah ABDB. Turut hadir ialah Puan Yang Terutama Tiffany Anne McDonald, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia ke Negara Brunei Darussalam, Pemerintah-Pemerintah Angkatan Tentera, Pemerintah Angkatan Bersama, Timbalan-Timbalan Setiausaha Tetap Kementerian Pertahanan dan Penasihat Pertahanan Australia ke Negara Brunei Darussalam serta Pegawai-pegawai Kanan ABDB.
Penerima-penerima anugerah adalah 782 Mejar Pg Baharuddin bin Pg Haji Ali, 808 Mejar Haji Mohammad bin Haji Ahmad, 821 Mejar (U) Wan Muhammad Azem bin Haji Md Aminuddin, 824 Mejar Ahmad Bohare bin Mansor, 830 Mejar (U) Arif Shamirul bin Salleh dan 862 Mejar Khairul Faizin bin Haji Abdul Gapar.
Majlis dimulakan dengan bacaan Surah Al-Fatihah dan diteruskan dengan ucapan alu-aluan oleh Leftenan Kolonel (U) Azmie Iskandar bin Ariffin, Pemangku Komandan Akademi Pertahanan ABDB, diikuti dengan ucapan daripada Puan Yang Terutama Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia ke Negara Brunei Darussalam. Dalam ucapannya, Puan Yang Terutama mengucapkan tahniah kepada semua penerima anugerah dan menekankan kepentingan hubungan pertahanan sebagai salah satu tonggak utama hubungan dua hala, di mana Australia dan Negara Brunei Darussalam berkongsi kerjasama yang kukuh dalam pelbagai bidang, termasuk pertahanan. Di samping itu, beliau turut memuji penglibatan Kementerian Pertahanan Negara Brunei Darussalam dan anggota ABDB atas peranan penting mereka dalam menyokong keseluruhan tindak balas kerajaan terhadap COVID19.
Anugerah OBOE Endeavour adalah Program Kecemerlangan Akademik daripada Kerajaan Australia yang dianugerahkan kepada peserta-peserta Kursus Maktab Turus yang telah mencapai keputusan yang cemerlang semasa kursus tersebut. Pegawai-pegawai tersebut akan dijemput ke Australia untuk berjumpa dengan Ketua-ketua Pertahanan Australia, melawat pangkalan tentera Australia, mengikuti aktiviti-aktiviti pendidikan dan kebudayaan, serta melibatkan diri di dalam sesi dialog dan perbincangan.
Program ini bertujuan untuk memberikan kefahaman kepada pegawai-pegawai berkenaan mengenai Australia, Angkatan Tentera Australia, serta berkongsi mengenai persamaan di dalam kepentingan keselamatan serantau dan mengeratkan 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 keempat diadakan sejak ianya pertama kali diadakan pada tahun 2018.
Nama ‘Anugerah OBOE Endeavour’ dipilih sempena memperingati penglibatan Angkatan Tentera Australia dalam kejayaan membebaskan Borneo daripada Jepun semasa Operasi OBOE di Perang Dunia ke-2 yang telah menandakan permulaan hubungan pertahanan di antara Negara Brunei Darussalam dan Australia.
