What Were You Doing On The 23rd Of February 1984?

Brunei gained full independence and sovereignty on the 1st of January 1984, and we celebrated our first National Day on the 23rd of February 1984.

I was a student of Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri sitting north west of the Royal Dais with my schoolmates on the benches of the Brunei National Stadium. Most of the schools in Brunei were asked to participate in the National Day, so weeks before the event my classmates and I got ready the yellow straw pompoms for our grandstand show (we were the yellow bits of the Brunei Flag). We made the pompoms ourselves, using a fork to "brush" through the straw until it became suitably bushy. We attended several rehearsals prior to the day, sitting in the hot sun and practising waving our pompoms wildly when we were told too. Some students had flash cards, others had umbrellas and there were those who did the field performances.

[Incidentally, nothing much has changed for a government school student since those days, although nowadays National Day is celebrated at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddin, the "padang" (or field) in the center of town.]

What do I remember of that day in February 1984? I remember the King of Tonga and his bespoked BIG chair. I remember watching students faint on the field and seeing the Red Cross rushing to them carrying stretchers. I remember a young Prince Charles without his Lady Diana (how disappointed we all were when she couldn't come due to her pregnancy). I remember too, His Majesty's speech, especially when he said:

It is my earnest wish to see the development programs, including the provision of land and housing for my landless native Subjects, carried out with greater vigour and enthusiasm to enable my people to enjoy a progressively higher standard of living. And as oil and gas are depleting assets it is my desire to see Brunei Darussalam's oil production maintained at a more rational level in keeping with the need to prolong the prosperity now enjoyed by my people. At the same time I would like to see her overseas investments to be more efficiently managed while efforts at economic diversification be further intensified. In these endeavors as Head of State, as well as Head of Government, I shall spare no effort in working for the benefit of my people.

Happy Independence Day everyone.

Ps/ 24 years later and I am a contented old bird. Brunei has a thriving land and housing scheme for its citizens. We do fairly well with our investments overseas. We enjoy the advantages (and disadvantages) of being in an oil rich country. But we are still so dependent of the black gold.

Comments

[EmmaGoodEgg]

Man you're so young Bonnie! :)

[Maurina Hamid]

...and i was.... not even conceived yet.