Pau, Wywy, Halal-Haram saga in Brunei

Around the 3rd of April 2008, RTB carried the news regarding the restaurant that served the "pork enzyme" chicken buns. .. Within several hours of the news, everyone in the country knows it is the famous Wywy restaurant. The next day, the restaurant saw a drop in the number of customers that enter its doors...

By the 4th week of April, Wywy restaurant published a notice in Brunei Times and Borneo Bulletin newspapers claiming that their product is halal and they used non-pork ingredients in the making of the pau. Anyone who says otherwise would be sued by the company.

Since that statement, the authorities haven't come forward to either agree or disagree with the statement published by Wywy restaurant.

So the question now is, what is going to happen? Is anything going to happen to whoever was responsible in making the news report?

Since some of the most resourceful bloggers in Brunei managed to get the Ministry of Industry and Resources memo in their blog for all to see the content of the "lab test," what then is the actual story of the whole thing?

Some people actually believed that Wywy's success has always bring many jealous enemies who wanted to destroy its business. From its cleanliness to its operating hours, someone is really "sakit hati" with wywy's business success. I hope that mole is exposed.... heheh...

Anyway, the point is, since Wywy published such statement for all to see, the government must respond in kind... they cannot just let the public be in suspense in the whole saga... Where's the transparency and accountability? Could someone just misused his position to target some business in Brunei and get away with it so easily??

As long as the govt remains silence, then i guess Wywy is right and they didn't actually served anything non-halal, and it could be due to sabotage by some unhappy former or currently working staff (ps. i ever went to one of their new branch, and the manager of the branch was really "kuai lan" to the staff, who were not attentive to customers. One does not criticized staff loudly in front of customers, not only embarrassing the staff but also making customers feel - why such manager/boss exists!).

Brunei law on halal-haram is quite "unique" - as long as the cook and owners of the restaurant are non-Muslim, their restaurant are automatically "Not Halal". So this is quite tricky... One could say that this is really bias, but I guess there are several sides of argument in this matter.

How halal is Dynasty, Emperor's Court, Empire, Sheraton, etc.... can Bruneians just eat food from Indonesian restaurants or Indian restaurants all the time? how halal are those restaurants? Have you check the cleanliness of the restaurants... sometimes the toilet are darn dirty and yet the restaurants could still operate.

"Muslims" restaurants by the sidewalk, road ways are allowed to operate but when non-Muslim try to ask permission, it is always denied. Must use "ali-baba" license then can get approval. Does this actually help the people or just allow them more dependent on other people???

Interesting Story ...

Tunku Azizah is one tough princess

BY KEE HUA CHEE

Tunku Azizah

Anyone would think Tunku Azizah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar, the beautiful Tengku Puan Pahang, has led a fairytale life. Yet she has endured great heartache in her desire to be a mother.

The fourth child of the Sultan of Johor, she has 10 siblings. Her marriage in 1986 to the Crown Prince of Pahang was a week-long affair attended by 8,000 guests � her father was then the Agong.

�We married in March 1986 but up to July that year, we only went out as husband and wife once! Even then we were surrounded by our retinue and the bodyguards. In Johor Baru, I lived with my parents at Istana Bukit Iskandar which is next to the Johor State Prison. Tengku Mahkota Pahang used to ask me which building was actually the prison!� she laughs.

Both fathers-in-law are extremely close. �They are best friends and give each other nicknames. The Sultan of Pahang calls my father Sultan Mahmud Iskandar, �Moody�, while he calls Sultan Ahmad �Addy�,�� says Tengku Puan Pahang with a laugh.

Her marriage marked the third union between the two royal families. In the 19th century, her great great grandfather, Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor married a Pahang princess while Sultan Mahmud of Pahang married her great grandaunt who became Tengku Ampuan Mariam. Both marriages, strangely enough, did not produce any children.

Not surprisingly, Tunku Azizah, 44, feared the same fate might befall her marriage. After nine years, she had six miscarriages.

�I was afraid history would repeat itself, third time unlucky. As I had married the Pahang Crown Prince, I was expected to produce an heir and spare. I fully sympathise with Crown Princess Masako of Japan as I know exactly how she feels,�� she says.

She miscarried a few months into her marriage and experienced her first heartache. Four years later, her hopes were lifted when she discovered she was pregnant with twins. It was even more heart-wrenching when she lost the first twin at two months.

�I thought I could keep the second twin but I lost it too at four months. I was devastated. Tengku Mahkota and I broke down in London, where we had hoped to get the best medical care.

�My husband was supportive and caring throughout. He told me to never give up on him. He said everything was in God�s hands and if we were meant to be childless, it was not my fault and I should not worry.�

But worry she did. It was her grandmother, the late Sultanah Aminah of Johor who was her source of inspiration in these hours of darkness.

�My grandma and I had a lot in common. She too had six miscarriages! She had seven children of whom only three lived to be adults. The rest died before they turned one. It took her 12 years before she had a child who lived beyond a year old! When I couldn�t conceive, I thought of my grandmother. If she could persevere, so could I. I reminded myself that she did not enjoy such medical treatments as I was undergoing.

�So I put my trust in God and never gave up hope I would be a mother one day.�

Tunku Azizah and her children.

Python�s revenge?

After her 15th fertility treatment, Tunku Azizah became pregnant, again. She was two-and-half months pregnant and all was going well. Then one afternoon at Istana Abdul Aziz, Kuantan, the palace guards caught and killed a 20-foot (six-metre) python. The princess was upset over this unnecessary spilling of blood and scolded the guards.

�That night, I had a miscarriage. My husband was in England so I rang the Sultan of Pahang who rushed over. I hugged him and we wept.�

Blessings from the Sultan of Brunei

Finally, the Sultan of Brunei�s second consort, Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam sent her fertility expert Datuk Dr Prof P.C. Wong over.

The Tengku Mahkota of Pahang is a loving father...

He achieved the seemingly impossible and successfully saw Tengku Puan Pahang through a pregnancy.

�Mind you, the nine months were not a bed of roses as I was in bed most of the time � in fact, I was horizontal for six months!

�I was only allowed to go to the bathroom once a day. I did everything else in bed, praying and eating what the doctor ordered,�� says Tunku Azizah.

When a healthy baby arrived in 1995, they named him Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim.

�We named him �Hassanal� in honour of the Sultan of Brunei and �Ibrahim� as he was born on the same day as Sultan Ibrahim of Johor.�

She never tires of telling this tale.

�I went to the best and most expensive fertility clinics in UK and the US and all failed me. It was Dr Wong from Parit Buntar, Perak, who gave me Hassanal, using IVF (in vitro fertilisation). I travelled the world only to discover the best expert was right at home!�

Two years later came Tengku Muhammad, an ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) baby and it was back to bed for the mother.

...and supportive husband.

�This time, I spent only three months in bed. I was getting more confident. He is named after Prophet Muhammad. My son is a twin but I lost the other at two months. I was reading Muhammad � the Man and Prophet and vowed that if I could have this baby, I would name him Muhammad.�

Happily, her third pregnancy produced twins, Tengku Ahmad and Tengku Afzan, in 2000. They were named after her in-laws. This time, she used the frozen embryo technique.

�We used five embryos, two from Hassanal�s batch in 1995 and three from Muhammad�s batch in 1997. The five eggs were thawed and replaced in my uterus in 2000.

�Because of this, one twin could have been made in 1995 and the other in 1997, so in a way, I don�t know their exact ages!� she jokes.

One night after the twins� birth, her husband asked if she wanted another child. �I said �No�. God has blessed us enough. Then came a miracle � our last child was a DIY (do-it-yourself) baby! We did not resort to any fertility treatment.

�Jihan, born in 2002, was a completely natural baby. She was conceived without any artificial means! We named her Jihan Atho�atullah, which means Gift from God. I think God wanted to show His greatness by granting us Jihan after the trials and tribulations I suffered.�

She is now using her experience to help fulfil the wishes of childless couples by launching the Tunku Azizah Fertility Foundation (TAFF). Each couple selected will receive three free treatments worth RM15,000 each.

�It is pronounced �tough�, because I tell women undergoing treatment they have to be tough. I had to endure so many disappointments.

�You must believe in the miracle of God and the miracle of science. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would have so many children. Even now, as I see them playing and running around, I am still amazed and sometimes ask if they are really my children.� W

http://allmalaysia.info/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2005/3/19/people/10436107

Originally published in The Star on Saturday March 19, 2005

Dinner Again

We thought that when we bring fresh food to a restaurant to cook, it would not only be fresher but also cheaper, but what we thought was wrong. Not only was it more expensive than the previous dinner where I complained that was "very expensive". yesterday, we had another dinner, at a different restaurant, and man, the "workman" ship for the food, for example is $50 per kilo of fish is really a "night time robbery" (remember daylight robbery saying?) since that fish is the one we bought ourselves!

Lamb stew.. nice

Chili Crab... again would be better if more gravy

Thai Style Chicken

Cheese Prawns (Tiger Prawns)

Asam Fish... would be better if the gravy was more...

Chinese Temple in Brunei

Is the above pictures that of Brunei Town's Chinese Temple? It should have been taken when the Allied or Australian forces freed Brunei from Japanese Occupation.

The current location of the Bandar's Chinese Temple

Chinese Way to get baby Boy...

The chart, said to be 99% accurate for couples to have baby boy

"Tui Bin Kang" Cemetery

Above: Some of the tombs at the top of the hill.
Bottom: Some of the damaged pictures in the cemetery complex.

Another damaged tomb....

Above: To protect from soil erosion...

Oldest Chinese Cemetary in Brunei?

The Chinese Cemetery on the "other" side of Brunei River could be the oldest Chinese cemetery in Brunei (or the Tasek Chinese Cemetery could be the oldest). In order for descendants to pay respects to their ancestors who were buried there, they must hail a boat from one of the many boats cruising in the Brunei River.

The cost per person to go to the other side of the Water Village is just 50cents. According to a colleague of mine, to ask for the whole boat will just cost about $10 to $15 and to pay more than that for the whole boat is already too much. Problem is that, he told me this after I have taken the boat ride to see other interesting things in the Brunei River and I have to pay double the price, i.e. $30!

Nevertheless it was the first time for me to go and visit the Chinese Cemetery at "Tui Bin Kang" (The other side of the river), though the name of the village where the Cemetery is located confused me... its either Kg. Bebakut, Kg. Sungai Si Amas or what?... I have to check this up...

Above: The entrance to the Cemetery is littered with rubbish... mostly washing machines...

The view from the top of the Cemetery...

Chinese Cemetary in Brunei

There are several Chinese cemetery in Brunei Darussalam, a testimony of how long the Chinese has been part of Brunei's society for such a long time.

Top and botton: The view from the Muara Chinese Cemetary

Top and bottom: The view from the Tasek (Tasik) Chinese Cemetary (within the Tasek Recreation Park, Bandar Seri Begawan)

A Very Expensive Dinner...

This Udang Galah (Brunei's Lobster :)) I bought for $12/kg...

The prawns above I bought for $8/kg...

Vegetable from the Restaurant

Sapo Tafu from the Restaurant...

Kerapu Fish we bought $6/kg, bought outside...

Fish we bought from Jerudong Market at $10/per kg...


We bought 2 types of fish and 2 types of prawns and asked one of the famous Chinese restaurant in Brunei to cook it..... When the bill arrived, just for the "workman ship" costs $75!!! We were all shocked. Even seafood restaurant in Jalan Muara only cost $10/kilo for any seafood brought for cooking.

I guess it would be the last time I would ever bring anything to be cooked by that restaurant... Mahal Gila...

Wajid Temburong

Besides Udang Galah and Chendol, one of Temburong District's most famous product is wajid. This brown sticky rice is sold for $2 for 8 small pieces... See how expensive it is?

The main ingredient is the one on the right, marked B$37

Lobster Trouble...

The above meal, with four dishes, costs about RM66, which is not bad... Apparently at night is very popular in Penampang, Sabah. Every night the restaurant is full and we like the garlic chicken and claypot which the waiter is the restaurant's several best dishes. (The waiter cant entertain us much coz there were so many people waiting for seats).

Lots of story behind this lobster.... But this is for my family to know.. haha..

Brunei to allow more access to AirAsia??

Crazy or what, those people who let AirAsia "steal" passengers from Brunei to KK and Kuching (See today's Borneo Bulletin).

Tiger Air was given approval several months back and yet Brunei still haven't let them fly in (I'm assuming its Brunei side still lagging here). Why gives AirAsia priority???

Do all those policymakers up there realize how far develop KK is already by now? It used to be a ghost town but now, it is expanding far bigger than Brunei. AirAsia is having its second hub in KK, that could cater flights from KK to China, the Philippines, etc... Almost every few minutes there will be a flight landing or leaving KK aiport. How about in Brunei? After several hours then you get to see one aircraft landing or departing from Brunei Airport.

AirAsia is buying more and more new aeroplanes and yet Brunei??? Is RBA thinking of anything new to buy to replace the old Airbus/Boeing aircraft???? I guess they could "think" but couldnt do much about it.

Even Singapore airlines is reducing its flights to Osaka, Japan and Bangkok (coz many budget airlines flying there) and diverting flights to Brisbane and Dubai.

Entah, why is the transport industry in Brunei is not friendly to others and YET letting others to monopoly the industry... Kan buat airport baru pun nada kena approve, just expand the old one they say... who wants to come to Brunei? I see the amazing developments in Sabah now, so many international flights flying there, and yet Brunei, supposedly more advance and richer neighbour, yet in reality...............................................

Why let it be??? Brunei must have more investments in its leisure industry so it could REALLY compete with Sabah or Sarawak!

Don't just invest in other countries when other countries wouldn't even invest in Brunei. No one is going to help Brunei, unless Brunei helps Bruneians!

Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu (III)

cute rabbits... ehhh... geram I see...

kissing fish...

Mice... wonder if its for people who rear snakes? Its not hamster right?

Cute but caged dogs... sigh...

Reminds me of CCK of Bangkok, Thailand, though this is far smaller than the one in Thailand...

Could Brunei ever have this type of Sunday Market?... Jgn tah saja kan jual baju, begs and hmm.. what else, all those boring things la... something arty and crafty that is not imported from neighbouring countries and sold as "local"...

Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu (2)

Trip to KK.. Jalan Gaya Sunday Market