Borneo Bulletin-Oct 10
HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to the establishment of the Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund, together with the setting up of a National Committee of Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund to oversee the process.
With the establishment of the fund, members of the public can donate money to help ease the suffering of survivors of the earthquake and tsunami which struck Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on September 28.
Starting from October 9, 2018, to January 6, 2019, members of the public can donate cash and organise charitable activities towards raising money for the fund.
Additionally, the public can make use of SMS Brunei Prihatin Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund, which was officially launched yesterday by Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin.
The SMS launching ceremony was held at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) following the commencement of the first meeting of the National Committee of Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund.
Also present at the launch were the Permanent Secretaries from the MCYS and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA); Chief Administration Officer of Progresif Cellular Nurul Haniah binti Haji Jaafar; Assistant General Manager of DST Haji Amer Iskandar bin Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Zakaria; and Commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohd Jammy bin Haji Muhd Shah Al-Islam.
Comprising various government and non-governmental agencies, the National Committee of Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund is co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary at the MCYS and the Permanent Secretary at the MoRA.
In his remarks, Minister of Culture Youth and Sports, who is co-advisor to the committee, gave an assessment of the situation in Palu and Donggala of Central Sulawesi. “Based on the information from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA), more than 1,900 people have lost their lives and around 10,000 people are suffering from serious injuries, while 74,000 people have lost their homes.
“The earthquake and tsunami also damaged nearly 66,000 homes. We are also saddened to hear of the dire conditions that the survivors have to endure.”
To donate via SMS from October 9 to November 22, members of the public only need to type in the word ‘BANTU’ and the cash amount in 1, 5, 10, 15 or 20 without any spacing – for example, BANTU20 for a donation of BND20 – before sending to 38111.
Donations can also be forwarded to the Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund Secretariat located at the Finance and Administration Division on the second floor of the MCYS building during office hours, or via an online transfer to the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) account at 00-001-01-0076007.
Donation boxes will also be allocated in banks, shopping complexes and government buildings across the country, while donation boxes in mosques and suraus will be made available starting this Friday.
Any party intending to set up collection boxes for the fund must first acquire a set of special stickers from the Sulawesi Disaster Humanitarian Fund Secretariat.
‘https://borneobulletin.com.bn/brunei-reaches-out-to-sulawesi-victims/
