By Sim YH –
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, OCT 31 – The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) contingent will join Malaysian Battalion (MALBATT) 850-12 as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping mission.
Accordingly, the Doa Selamat Ceremony for the departure of the ABDB contingent that will participate in MALBATT 850-12 was held at Surau Ad-Difa’, Bolkiah Garison, today.
Present at the event were the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and the Second Minister of Defence, Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (R) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof; The Governor of ABDB, Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan and the High Commissioner of Malaysia to Brunei Darussalam, His Excellency Datuk Mohd Aini bin Atan.
The ABDB contingent led by Major Pengiran Muhammad Syahir Fadillah bin Pengiran Salleh consists of 30 members, namely three officers, 27 people of other ranks, including two female soldiers who will carry out a mission for 12 months.
They are scheduled to depart for Malaysia on November 1, before continuing their journey with MALBATT to Lebanon.
The purpose of the event was to pray to Allah SWT for the protection and well-being of the ABDB MALBATT 850-12 contingent as well as the success of their mission.
The ceremony was also interspersed with the presentation of tazkirah titled Ethics in Jihad which emphasizes discipline and ethics in carrying out duties and obligations in the path of Allah SWT as well as upholding ABDB’s core values in serving the nation, country and religion.
The Government of Brunei Darussalam has been involved in the UNIFIL mission under the MALBATT umbrella since 2008 and has shown a high level of commitment in contributing to international efforts to maintain global peace and stability.
Through involvement in the mission, Brunei Darussalam has also strengthened diplomatic relations and military cooperation with other countries and proved ABDB’s ability to carry out tasks at the international level.
