In the Spotlight: Awg Haji Rozan Yunos a.k.a Mr. Brunei Resources

Do you want to be a blogger? Awg. Rozan Yunos is a history enthusiast and has written many articles in magazines and newspapers. He has also written a book and runs a blog called Brunei Resources.

Read his message to SMR students.

T: Tell us about yourself.

RY: My full name is Haji Mohd Rozan bin Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos and I am the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Development. On the internet, I am better known as Mr. BR. I have been working for His Majesty's Government since 1987 on my return from England. I graduated with a BA Joint Honours in Law and Economics. I served in many departments and ministries under the government. I also graduated with an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MPA from Harvard University in USA. In my spare time, I write about Brunei History in my blog bruneiresources.blogspot.com as well write a column for Brunei Times called the Golden Legacy. I also run a website bruneiresources.com which provides information about Brunei.

T: How did Brunei Resources start?

RY: Bruneiresources.com website started around 2005 when I was doing my Executive Development Program at UBD, a program for government heads of departments. At that time, each of the course participants copied the lecturer's powerpoint notes. I thought why not just one person copy the notes and then put it up on one website and everyone else can download. After that I started putting up more information about Brunei. The Bruneiresources blog started around end of 2005 which was at first used to advertise what new information I have on the main website. Later the blog became more popular and I wrote on the blog instead and reserve the more difficult information for the website.

T: What do you usually write about and where do you find your ideas?

RY: I write mainly about Brunei, in fact anything about Brunei but I am better known for the little articles of History of Brunei. The ideas come from  many books about Brunei which I have acquired over the years. Some of the books are more than 100 years old.
 
T: How many readers has the site attracted so far?

RY: So far, the main website has about 800,000+ visitors and the blog close to 700,000. Everyday between 400 to 500 people visit each site. On some days depending on the topic, the blog may attract more than 1,000 visitors a day.
 
T: In what way do you hope your website or blog will influence Bruneians?

RY: What I hope readers can get from my blog and my website is a deeper understanding or a more wide knowledge about Brunei. If you are aware of all the information, then you can make your own judgment, better judgment, whether something is right or wrong.

T: Are you going to write another book in the future?

RY: I have compiled all the articles I have written for Brunei Times for 2007 and 2008 into two books, The Golden Legacy Volume 1 and The Golden Legacy Volume 2. Articles for 2009 are currently being compiled and will be in my third book called Our Brunei Heritage to be published in January 2010.
 
T:  Lastly, do you have any advice for SMRIMBA students?

RY: Obviously to get far in life, you must acquire all the knowledge that you can get your hands on. But the most important thing is reading. The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more you will realise that you need to read more and you realise you become wiser and more knowledgeable. When I interview people for jobs, I realised most of them do not read beyond the textbooks that are given in school. They may pass their exams but they do not have additional knowledge. Those who acquire additional knowledge are automatically much better suited to be employed. Read anything you can get your hands on. However at the same time, study hard. All the best!

SMRREADS thanks Awg. Haji Mohd Rozan bin Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos for his kind contribution and support. We also hope that this entry will inspire students to start reading more and perhaps start blogging.