Brunei Darussalam has a lot of talented entertainers!

Hello, people! It's been quite a long time since I posted my last post. That is because there was nothing so exciting to post about. Plus, I'm in the middle of BIG exam right now. Yes, it has not yet OVER. I still have three more papers to go and one of them will be later in the afternoon.

But then, here I am. I have something to share, of course! Something that I can't wait to share with you people (Whoever is reading this).

As most of you already knew, I am a Bruneian and I live in Brunei Darussalam. I love my country so much. Although, I'm really into Japanese pop and culture, I never forget my own beloved country. Living in Brunei is really pleasant. Yeah, it's a small country and some might don't even know where Brunei is. But who cares. It really is peaceful here. Our king (or Sultan we call him), is really considerate and care about his people. Education is free. Health welfare is free. Crime rate is very low. Facilities and technologies are somehow very advanced. I'm so thankful to be born in this peaceful and beautiful country. 

One of my Malaysian friends on FaceBook once asked me, "Your country is one of the riches in the world but why isn't Brunei famous? I don't even know your artists or whatever it is... and bla bla bla". I didn't tell her but her question really made me mad. However, I answered her question calmly. I told her that I don't really care about fame. I am thankful enough for what we already have. Brunei Darussalam  is a great country. With a generous Sultan, who cares so much about his people and religion, for me is enough. Plus, free education and health welfare, I don't know what else to wish for. I'm living so comfortable here. I'm happy. We are all happy. So what's the problem?

True that I love Japanese POP and culture so much. There are times when I wish that I was born Japanese. True. I admit that. But really, I love my country. I'm proud being a Bruneian.

But something is making me sad. My friends and most of the people around me always see Brunei as boring, no entertainment, nothing to be proud of and always I hear them saying 'stuffs' about Brunei even though they are BRUNEIAN. It's making me sad and mad. Bruneian, they can't really see the good points about Brunei because they are always looking at others. 

How many Bruneians out there watch RTB channel?
How many Bruneians out there watch local's dramas?
How many Bruneians out there listen to local's songs?
How many Bruneians out there even know about the history of Brunei?
How many Bruneians out there even know the names of the local's artists?

VERY LITTLE.

Most Bruneians, instead of watching RTB channels and local's dramas, they watch ASTRO.
Most Bruneians, instead of listening to local artists' songs, they listen to KPOP, JPOP, English songs, Malaysian songs, and other foreign songs most of the time. (I admit that I am one of them. But then again, I do listen to Brunei tracks EVERYDAY at 7 pm on Pelangi FM. I do watch RTB channels EVERYDAY. Believe me, I do)

These kinds of things are really making me sad. Every time I ask my friends about our local artist, they will be like, "Who the heck is that?" and when I tell them, they are always like, "Eww... Brunei". Okay, honestly I feel like punching them right on the spot.

WHY? WHY ARE THESE BRUNEIAN ACTING LIKE THAT?

You know Fasha Sanda. You know Faizal Tahir. You know Shila Hamzah. You know Angelina Jolie. You know Justin Bieber. You know Lady Gaga. You know Lee Min Ho. You know SNSD.

But you don't know Zul Faden. You don't know Neff Aslee. You don't know Maria. You don't know Dinshe. You don't know Andromeda. You don't know Mienul. You don't know Seniman Jalanan. You don't know Qeez Idrus. You don't know Hill Zaini. You don't AJ Abdul. You don't know Dhask. You don't know Aziz Harun. You don't know Jazz Hayat. And others talented local artists, such as 5:10 am, Putri Norizah, Hans, Asde, Eqah, Ina, Seri Nazrina, Feez Madea, Fairuznizan...they are so many that I can't list them all down here.

Why is that? Okay, maybe you have heard their names somewhere before, but have you ever tried to actually listen to them? Trying to know more about them? Supporting them? NO.

I won't deny the fact that Brunei's music wasn't so great before. But now! AT LEAST TRY TO LISTEN TO THEM. They have IMPROVED a lot. New musics are PRODUCED. A lot of great songs. But you didn't know. Because you never tried to listen to them. Even my father. Every time a local song starts to play on the radio, he will change the channel right away. It's like he has local song phobia, or something like that.

I've been following the local artists for quite a long time now. But I never really have anyone to talk about them with. But now, I'm really happy. I have some friends who finally have the same idea as me, who also sees these local artists as talented and deserve our support. I'm happy. I also realized that there are now more people who follows the local artists' updates compared to in the past. But still, most of the Bruneian are still too...I don't know, most still cannot see the talented artists in Brunei Darussalam. There are so many. I hope, this kind of situation will change in the future.

Please be proud of your own country, people :) I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feeling. I am just expressing my feeling. My opinion on this matter.