Today witnessed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and Baiduri Bank for the development of a programme to train and certify Baiduri Bank Group employees in first aid. The event was held at Baiduri Community Space, Baiduri Bank Headquarters.

Present as the Guest of Honour to witness the milestone was Yang Mulia Awang Haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health.

Through the partnership, BDRCS will train two Baiduri Bank employees with ‘Train-the-Trainer’ certification in both medical first aid and mental health first aid. These employees will then be able to train their colleagues in medical first aid as well as mental first aid.

This will allow the Bank to further equip and grow its own pool of internal mental health first aiders in addition to its current medical first aiders. Since 2009, the Bank Group has trained more than 600 employees in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic first aid, as well as in other health related areas such as workplace health and safety, and personal safety skills.

Baiduri Bank Group currently has in place a purely employee led initiative called the ‘Employee Wellness Initiative’, which works towards having regular events and activities to promote mental, emotional and spiritual health along with financial wellbeing, in line with and supporting the Ministry of Health’s vision of ‘Together Towards a Healthy Nation’.

These activities are led by the Bank’s Wellness Ambassadors - selected employees who are champions of advocating a wellness culture among their colleagues. These Wellness Ambassadors also undergo specialized training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to promote a healthier lifestyle supported by the Health Promotion Centre at the Ministry of Health.

In his welcoming remarks, Ti Eng Hui, Chief Executive Officer of Baiduri Bank said: “As part of Baiduri Bank's commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and our support towards the whole-of-nation approach, we are very proud to be able to support the Ministry of Health's initiative to address and reduce the rate of non-communicable diseases and premature deaths in the country.

“Our goal through this partnership with BDRCS is to equip even more of our employees with the knowledge in Basic CPR and first aid, as well as to raise awareness on mental health issues in the community, which have indeed intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Ti signed the MOU on behalf of the Bank, alongside Veronica Chong, Head of Group Human Resources and Administration, while signing on behalf of the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society were Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yussoff Pengiran Haji Bahar, President of the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society, as well as Haji Muhd Suhaimi bin Haji Ibrahim, Deputy President for Operations and Government Relations.

The event, which coincided with celebrating World First Aid this year on 10 September, continued with a one-day seminar that focused on the theme of this year’s World First Aid Day – ‘Lifelong First Aid Learning’. The seminar included workshops on the importance of first aid learning and workplace health and safety by Safety Health Environment National Authority (SHENA), Brunei Asia Pacific Learning Hub, Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent Society National Academy and Baiduri Bank.

For more information on the Bank’s CSR projects and initiatives, visit www.baiduri.com, follow the Bank’s social media accounts or call its 24-hour Customer Helpline at 244 9666.