Sayyidina Hassan tops in 10th PRYNSA

Proud winners: (Top) Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah (C) presenting the prizes to the winners of the 10th PRYNSA competition at the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong. (Middle) Haji Saidin Salleh, Director of Forestry at MIPR, delivering his welcoming speech. (Above) A section of the invited guests at the event. Pictures: Zamri Zainal

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Thursday, July 24, 2008

FORTY students from five schools were given the opportunity to show their interest in nature, talents and capabilities in the Princess Rashidah Young Nature Scientist Award (PRYNSA) award ceremony yesterday organised by the Forestry department, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) Company Sdn Bhd which took place at the Rizqun International hotel.

The five schools were vying for the coveted prize of the 10th PRYNSA Award. Sayyidina Hassan secondary school emerged victorious as the 10th PRYNSA winner, with their project titled "Plants defence mechanism: Are myrmecophytic Macaranga always better protected to herbivores than other non-myrmecophytic Macaranga?".

First runner-up position went to Seri Mulia Sarjana school with their project titled "Comparison of coleoptera diversity and abundance in peat-swamp forests in Belait district".

Pengiran Isteri Hjh Mariam (PIHM) secondary school, Serasa Muara was named the second runner-up with their project titled, "Comparison of leaf construction costs of native species in different forest types in Brunei Darussalam". The other two finalist schools were Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science college and St Andrew's school.

The Royal Patron for PRYNSA, Her Royal Highness Princess Hjh Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, graced the award ceremony as the guest of honour.

Her Royal Highness was accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah binti Kebawah Duli Yang Maha mulia Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah.

The chairman of the organising committee and director of Forestry Department, Hj Saidin Salleh, in his welcoming speech said that "competition is a good driver to excellence. Involvement in such competition would nurture the capabilities of our young scientists to aim high in their chosen field of study. The objective of PRYNSA is to instill awareness, love and sense of appreciation towards nature among the students. Another objective of PRYNSA is to promote natural science as an opportunity for socio-economic development."

He added that as of yesterday, PRYNSA had successfully educated and exposed 500 students to the world of scientific research.

In addition to that, the director noted that Brunei has shown its commitment and support both in the regional and international arena.

Regionally, Heart of Borneo (HoB) is an effort to protect the tropical rainforest on Borneo island. Under the HoB, Brunei is designating 58 per cent of its forested land mass as areas of conservation under an island-wide forest conservation measure.

Brunei is also the 191st party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) effective July 27 this year. These are just a few of the many achievements that show the seriousness of the country's commitment in the protection and conservation of its natural resources.

Her Royal Highness Hjh Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah consented to give away the prizes to the winners and later viewed the mini exhibition put up by the students. The winning teams brought home cash prizes, trophies and one laptop for each school sponsored by BSP and HSBC bank.

The PRYNSA award sponsored by Brunei Shell Petroleum Company, was first organised in 1997, with the aim of nurturing excellence among the younger generation, especially in the field of natural sciences. The prestigious competition was open to all secondary schools in the country.