January 29, 2009 – A new tourist destination, an Entrepreneur Incubator Programme and a fresh curriculum for child development were among the business plans that Bruneians submitted as part of their wish stories for the final leg of the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Wish Campaign.

The BIBD Wish Campaign closed in December, with a total of 16,000 stories received over the course of the campaign’s nine-month run. Bruneians whose stories showcased their financial discipline were awarded and guided one step closer toward their goals.

Presenting the awards to the Wish-Makers was Dato Paduka Haji Ali bin Apong, the permanent secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office. Also present were BIBD Acting Managing Director Javed Ahmad, distinguished guests and BIBD Staff.

The ceremony was held at the International Convention Centre.

Among the last batch of Wish Awardees, many stories endeavoured to raise the economic well-being of the country.

Her vision for the facility included a research centre to study the science of Rasullulah medical practices and to gather knowledge for the future of the Islamic medical industry.

Amid requests to organise a second intake of Islamic Medical Practice Course, her organisation, Darusysyifa Warrafahah, is expected to recruit 200 members in 2010 and are facing space constraints. The wish award will assist Pg Dr Rahmah’s plan of housing the increasing number of patients  and course members.

Hajah Maymon wished to launch a new tourist destination that will celebrate the traditional culture of Brunei and showcase the country's natural environment, cuisine and handicrafts, while Haji Mohd Fadzillah wrote about starting an Entrepreneur Incubator Programme in his school to cultivate business start-ups and groom young talents.

Being in the human resource industry, Sharifah Ratna interviewed many graduates who excelled academically but lacked critical thinking skills or the ability to work with teams. She saw an opportunity in the Bruneian market and wanted to introduce a child development programme to help young children develop confidence, self-discipline and creative thinking skills.

“Children are the most precious part of our future economic development. Our children need to be trained as early as possible to nurture creativity, [so they can] be strategic thinkers, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs, and risk-takers able to spot revenue opportunities for Brunei’s growth,” she explained.

Other Wish Awardees showed their commitment to strengthening family and religious values, some wishing to bring their family on a Haj and others to secure the future of their loved ones.

Hajah Mas Siti came to understand the importance of savings with the passing of her father when she was only sixteen. Now with a family to support, she and her husband knew that they needed to save money to prepare for unforeseen circumstances and to provide well for her children. The wish award has given her the opportunity to work towards financial independence with BIBD.

“I will definitely have peace of mind [to know] that we are financially secure and that our kids are protected,” she said.

Earlier, two previous wish awardees fulfilled their wishes. Hjh Amal Lina, BIBD’s August wish awardee presented a cheque of $8,000 to Hajijah bte Hj Moktal of SMARTER. She has wished to donate to SMARTER and today she has fulfilled that.

Amalina bte Abdullah, BIBD’s wish awardee for November on the other hand presented a cheque of $8,000 to Anisah Pehin Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Aziz the Vice President of Sounds of Hope. Amalina’s wish was to help the families in poverty in Brunei. With this, she has chosen to present her entire wish award to Sounds of Hope (SOH).

After the December Wish Presentation, only one question remains. Who will receive the Grand Award of BND 1 Million?