Ten students from various schools nationwide yesterday battled to win the hearts of the judges in the National Level Story Telling Competition that played out at Radio Television Brunei (RTB).
Organised by the Language and Literature Bureau, the competition promised a $500 cash prize, trophy, certificate and a book donation from the bureau to the best storyteller.

In his speech, Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Awang Haji Othman said, “Through this competition we will be able to judge the students’ story-telling skills and fluency in the Malay language. We are happy to note that children now dominate the Malay language.

“The bureau strives hard to promote the Malay language so that it can be learnt, mastered and widely adopted in accordance with the status of Malay as the national language.

“Lately we have heard concerns over the lower level of achievement in the Malay language, when compared against the English language. This matter should become an agenda for those who engage in the cultural sector and language.

“Because, if this is true that there is a drop in the Malay language, particularly among the ‘tunas bangsa,’ then it would be difficult to hope that they would become Malay language users in the future. And this will definitely bring about an impact of negative consequences to our country that practises MIB.”

The deputy minister went on to add, “The bilingual education system – which uses English for most subjects and is also the language of instruction for core subjects other than Malay and Islamic Religious Knowledge – is not to blame for this. The system is running smoothly and successfully accelerates the process of acquiring a new generation of knowledge among our children.”

The day also saw the deputy minister handing out prizes to the winners.

Hidayah Tul Fitri bte Haji Masri came in first place followed by Hafizuddin bin Danny Sumbahan Iwanan and Md Hassanul Hadi Ikram bin Hj Dayang in second and third places respectively.

The competition aimed to instil the reading habit among children and increase confidence in public speaking.

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