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| Social visit: Datin Seri Sharifah Aziah Syed Zainal Abidin (L), wife of Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, visits one of the shops at Sumbangsih Mulia SME Complex. Picture: Saifulizam/BT |
She was accompanied by Sri Norizan Sulaiman, the wife of the secretary general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, and Datin Zakiah Dato Hj Alias, the wife of Malaysia's High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam.
On hand to welcome the group was the Sumbangsih Mulia Building Manager, Pg Kahar Pg Md Salleh.
The $2.5 million complex officially opened its doors to house local entrepreneurs in February this year. The building has a total of 122 shop lots, outside and inside the air-conditioned building.
Outside, 108 stalls are used to sell food products, 14 lots for fruits and vegetables, and the other 10 lots are occupied by barbecue stalls.
Meanwhile,in the air-conditioned area, 30 lots are provided for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) selling various local products such as Brunei handicrafts and dry food. "So far, 19 out of the 20 slots are occupied at the ground floor. On the first floor, eight businesses had been set up, and there is another two coming soon," said Pg Kahar.
One of the main attractions at the complex was the 'Batik Desa Mas' boutique, owned by a local, Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim.
Zainal Abidin told The Brunei Times that he had started hand-printing batik since 2000. However, it was only during the last two years that he became more active, and so far had produced at least 50 pieces of batik. According to him, the visitors gave him good comments about his products which he took as encouragement. Some of them even bought some batik pieces to take home.
The visit was part of Datin Sharifah's itinerary during her three-day stay in Brunei.
The Malaysian minister, Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar, and his entourage were in Brunei to attend the friendly sports game with the Brunei Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are scheduled to leave the country today.
The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/home_news/2007/10/30/malaysian_ministers_wife_visits_sumbangsih_mulia_sme_complex
