In the Spotlight: Awg. Irman bin Hifni

Awg. Irman bin Hifni (seated next to lady in red tudung) is a local English teacher who is also a very talented person. He kindly contributed his time to support SMRREADS. Read his entry and we hope that you readers will be inspired to be a teacher or an artist like Awg. Irman and also read more!

T: Tell us about yourself.

IH: Firstly, Thank you for the honour of inviting me to say a few words on SMRREADS. I am always willing to help in any way to promote reading. I teach English in SM Sultan Hassan Temburong and was the head of Dept for six years. I have always placed great importance in promoting reading culture. Apart from teaching duties, I am in charge of choir, nasyid, zikir, PRYNSA, Drama to name a few. My school gained some notable achievements over the past few years, especially in Nasyid and Choir. Outside my teaching world, I enjoy composing songs and I won Simfoni Tanahair 2009 in June. I am also involved in other creative activities.

T: What do you like to read?

IH: Reading has been an important part of my life and I enjoy reading almost anything. I love books by Charles Dickens and J.K Rowling (I am seriously in love with all Harry Potter books), National Geographic, Readers' Digest, fashion magazines, Wikipedia materials and history books.

T: Any favourite book that you've read? Or a book that you'd recommend our students to read?

IH: A friend recommended me a book called 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', by Khaled Hosseini. It took me awhile to get started and I almost gave up in the beginning. After page 100, I suddenly could not put the book down. I am not going to go into the details but if you are curious, go and get the book. Another one that I enjoyed reading when I was in secondary school was 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' by Harper Lee.

T: With a busy schedule, when do you find the time to read?

IH: People who are close to me would know that I am always 'Go! Go! Go! Don't Stop!' I sometimes find that I don't even have time to sit but I always read something before I go to sleep. I also log on to news websites on  my mobile phone when I wake up in the morning to avoid going back to sleep. Living in Temburong also means that you have to frequently use the boat to go to BSB. This takes 45 minutes and it's always perfect to read something to kill the time.

T: Why do you think reading is important for the young generation?

IH: I cannot imagine a person who doesn't like reading (no offense) can survive in a very challenging world. None of us are perfect and one can never be too smart to read. There is always something new to learn. If we want changes and be more competitive with the world outside Brunei, students need to love reading. It's frightening enough to have a generation of young people who do not read and decide the fate of our nation in future. Do you see my point?

T: Do you have any advice for SMR students?

IH: Dearest SM Rimba students, I have seen what reading can do to my students. I have some students, who come from disadvantaged background, succeede in their examinations. I have witnessed students with a lot of behavioral problems change their attitudes when they hold books in their hands. It's amazing how reading can change your personality and perception. Get excited about books, get help from your teachers to read the right books and recommend one to a friend. One of my ex students once wrote ' I am never sad and alone when there are books around'.

SMREADS thanks Awg. Irman Hifni for his contribution and good advice. We hope that our readers will follow his advice and read more.

Thank you very much for reading SMRREADS and log on next week to find out who's going to be in the spotlight!