Once a student of Rimba II Secondary School,[3] Hakeme followed his brothers' footsteps (eight of them) into football from the age of 13, playing for Tabuan A in youth tournaments around Brunei.[4] His side went on to achieve the double in 2017, becoming league champions and cup winners.[5][6] They were then invited to participate in the 2017–18 Brunei FA Cup where they managed to reach the quarterfinals, faring better than their two senior teams.[7]
At the start of 2019, Hakeme signed a contract to play for DPMM in the 2018–19 Brunei Premier League,[8] and scored the first goal of the season for his side in a 4–0 victory against Rimba Star on 8 January.[9] In the subsequent matches, he scored two consecutive hat-tricks, with his second against Rainbow FC in the qualifying round of the 2018–19 Brunei FA Cup following their league win against Panchor Murai.[10] Following the win, Hakeme went on to score 8 goals in his next 6 league appearances, being awarded the Golden Boot, as DPMM became league champions.[11]
The head coach of DPMM's first team at the time, Adrian Pennock, kept an eye on Hakeme and promoted him to the first team in the second half of the 2019 Singapore Premier League season.[12] An injury to striker Andrey Varankow enabled Pennock to give the youngster his first-team debut against Geylang International on 2 August, withdrawing Adi to the bench after a poor performance against Home United the week before.[13] At the start of the second half, Hakeme stole the ball deep in the Eagles' back line and broke the deadlock with a debut goal, which at 16 years and 175 days of age was only a day longer than Hariss Harun's youngest goalscorer record for the Singapore leagues.[14] The goal helped DPMM to emerge as 3–0 victors at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.[2] Following the suspension of the Singapore Premier League in the 2021 season, DPMM competed domestically in their return to the Brunei Premier League with their first team. Hakeme came on as a substitute in the opening match of the season, scoring a goal in a 16–1 demolition of BAKES FC.[15]
Hakeme played regularly for DPMM at the 2022 Brunei FA Cup, scoring 15 goals that year. He scored five goals against Seri Wira in their opening group game on 13 August which finished 18–0.[16] He then scored four goals in a 15–0 win over Jerudong on 1 October in the first knockout match of the Cup.[17] From there, he scored in every round including the winner in the first leg of the semi-final against Kota Ranger.[18] He played as a starter in the final against Kasuka where his brother Shahrazen netted the winner in the second half to secure a 2–1 win.[19] At the end of the match, Hakeme was awarded the Young Player of the Tournament.[20]
DPMM returned to the Singapore Premier League in the 2023 season, and in their first match in three years which was away against Lion City Sailors Hakeme equalised in the 62nd minute to draw 1–1 before being stretchered off 10 minutes later. The match ended 3–1 to the home team.[21] Scoring regularly throughout the season in the form of individual brilliance, with such goals like a 35-yard direct free kick against Hougang United in a 2–3 loss on 7 June,[22] along with a feint and run from his own half in a 1–3 victory against Lion City Sailors on 11 July earned him the SPL Young Player of the Month for June 2023.[23][24] He was awarded the same accolade for the month of July, after registering goals in the games against Balestier Khalsa and Geylang International.[25] He finished the league with 12 goals to his name, becoming the team's top goalscorer for the campaign and providing 5 assists.[26]
At the start of 2024, Hakeme helped the DPMM under-20 side become champions of the Brunei Under-20 Youth League, captaining the side in the final against IKLS-MB5 FC U20.[27]
International career
Youth
Hakeme's first international tournament with the Young Wasps was the 2017 AFF U-15 Championship held in Thailand in July 2017.[28] Under Stephen Ng Heng Seng, Brunei U15 managed to finish fourth out of 6 teams, with five points in as many games. Hakeme was ever-present for Brunei at the tournament playing at centre-back.[29] Two months later, the same team set off to Chinese Taipei for the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship qualification Group F matches which were hosted there.[30] Hakeme scored a goal in the first match, a 4–0 victory against Macau on 16 September.[31] Brunei finished third in the group after another win against Hong Kong in their fourth and last match pushed them to 6 points.[32]
A day after scoring in his DPMM FC first-team debut, Hakeme was announced to be joining Brunei U18 for the 2019 AFF U-18 Youth Championship held in Vietnam in August 2019.[33] He played in four matches without finding the back of the net for the Young Wasps.[34]
Hakeme returned to the national Under-19 side competing at the 2022 AFF U-19 Youth Championship in Indonesia in early July 2022.[39] He played in all five matches but failed to find the net despite being touted as the main attacking threat.[40] In the following September the same team travelled to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifying. The Young Wasps lost all three games without scoring a goal even with Hakeme starting every match as captain.[41]
In March 2022, Hakeme was announced to be traveling to Laos with the Brunei national team for an international friendly to be played at the end of the month.[42] He debuted for Brunei in a playmaking role, and scored with a direct free-kick in the second half but the game ultimately was won by Laos with a 3–2 score.[43] He earned his second cap in another friendly against Malaysia two months later which ended 4–0 to the Malayan Tigers.[44]
In late September 2022, Brunei hosted a tri-nation tournament involving Maldives and Laos and named Hakeme in the squad despite returning from Kyrgyzstan just days before.[45] He came on for the debuting Haziq Kasyful Azim Hasimulabdillah at the hour mark for the match against the Maldives that resulted in a 0–3 lost for the Wasps on 21 September.[46] Six days later, he was played from the start against Laos and this time came out as victors with a 1–0 win courtesy of a Nazirrudin Ismail goal.[47]
Hakeme was fielded by Mario Rivera for the friendly matches against Sabah FC and Hong Kong in September 2023,[51] as well as the two-legged tie against Indonesia at the 2026 World Cup qualification matches.[52] Suffering heavy defeats against the abovementioned nations, an irate Hakeme launched a short tirade at so-called "insiders" in a post-match interview after the 0–6 home defeat to the Garuda on 17 October.[53]
In March 2024, Hakeme played twice against CONCACAF member Bermuda and OFC member Vanuatu in the 2024 FIFA Series, scoring an injury time direct free kick for the winner against the latter team on 27 March in a 2–3 victory.[54] The following June he made two further appearances from the start against Sri Lanka and contributed to two 1–0 victories for the Wasps.[55]
September 2024 saw Brunei facing Macau in a two-legged play-off to enter the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification. Hakeme started the first leg at Bandar Seri Begawan and scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory.[56] He also played at the return leg in Macau four days later and register a 0–1 away win for the Wasps and advance to the next phase of the Asian Cup qualification.[57]
Hakeme made two appearances for the Wasps at the 2024 ASEAN Championship qualification matches against Timor-Leste in October 2024, this time Brunei were defeated 0–1 on aggregate.[58] The following month, he played from the start in an away friendly against Russia where the Wasps suffered an 11–0 defeat.[59]
Style of play
Hakeme is a forward who predominantly plays on the left wing, using his pace to run past defenders and either creates chances for his teammates[60] or aims for the goal when in favourable circumstances.[23] He is also adept at free kicks, utilising the knuckleball technique to confuse the opposing goalkeeper when shooting directly at the goal.[54][61]
