Excellent Village Awards’ finalists strive for success

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

VILLAGES and mukims in the country will continue their activities in the new year as they vie for the chance to top the Anugerah Kampung Cemerlang (AKC) 2013 or the Excellent Village Award 2013. The results will be announced next month.

Among the objectives of the ‘One Village, One Product’ (OVOP) project is to encourage and motivate village council members to strive to make their villages more self-reliant, progressive and united, and not solely dependent on government support.

Belimbing Village Consultative Council, one of the 10 finalists from Brunei-Muara District, is still organising activities as they look forward to the awards ceremony.

The council’s head of Youth and Sports Bureau, Yusri Hj Md Daud, said: “We will continue to organise activities and events even though the judging for the award had been done. Until the result is announced (in February) we would be anxiously waiting for the result.”

Belimbing Village Consultative Council featured its Tasek Sarubing Recreational Park as one of its products alongside its handicraft.

Yusri said they hoped that by being active, Belimbing Village Consultative Council will continue to be one of the finalists for the AKC award and win the top honours.

Another finalist is Temburong’s Kg Amo — the village has highlighted their pineapple economic project for the award.

Penghulu of Mukim Amo, Hj Bahrun Hj Talib, said one of their efforts in developing the mukim, was to focus on the development of their OVOP projects.

Hj Bahrun oversees the development of 13 villages under Mukim Amo. He said their project is progressing rapidly.

“Mukim Amo Village Consultative Councils participated in many events, such as exhibitions for the Excellent Village Awards at the International Convention Centre or bazaar in shopping complex where we were able to highlight many of our handicraft products. Now we have more variety in terms of handicraft as well as food. All these are attributed to the hard work of the members of the Village Consultative Council and villagers,” he said.

Hj Bahrun said the new year also promises greater returns for their economic projects especially their eco-tourism products, which continue to receive positive response from visitors.

Hj Bahrun hoped that Kg Amo and other finalists in Temburong District will place top at the AKC award, a sign of unity and commitment of the councils’ members on their economic projects.

Four village consultative councils in Temburong, 10 in Brunei-Muara, five in Belait and four in Tutong are the 23 villages shortlisted for the 2013 Excellent Village Awards.

The Brunei Times