Combo photo of the participants and adjudicators on the first online iteration of the tournament.
KUCHING: SM Lodge has taken the 16th Swinburne Sarawak Inter-School Debating Championship (SSIDC) title, the first online iteration of the debate tournament since its inception in 2006.
The SM Lodge team comprising Ashton Gregory, Darren Kiu and David Luk Ku Chian defeated St Joseph’s Private School’s Edmund Wong Li Hong, Jordan Lai Qi Hao and Kieran Paul Bhasker on the motion ‘This House, as the government of China, will allow the secession of Hong Kong’.
David was named the Best Debater in the senior category (Forms 4 and 5).
In the junior category (Forms 1 to 3), SM Sains Kuching Utara’s team consisting of Georginna Unice Telen Gilbert, Hana Humaira Saiful and Marissa Nur Aimy Mohd Marzuki Amri defeated Bong Xin Yu, Jordan Tan Zi Xian and Nur’Ain Jamilah Md Nasrudin from SMK Batu Lintang on the motion ‘This House would legally prosecute politicians (eg Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Marjorie Taylor Greene) who have directly incited the US Capitol riots’.
Marissa Nur Aimy was awarded the ‘Best Debater in the Final’ award.
The Swinburne Sarawak tournament is the largest English debating championship in Borneo, endorsed by the Ministry of Education
A total of 204 students comprising 41 teams in the senior category and 27 teams in the junior category from all over the country and Brunei participated in the tournament online for the 16th year.
The tournament was held over three Saturdays, the first on on Feb 27 starting with a Debate and Adjudication workshop helmed by Swinburne lecturer, chief adjudicator Hugh John Leong.
A total of 42 schools were represented including five schools from Johor, four from Kelantan, two each from Kedah, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah, and one each from Perak, Selangor, Terengganu, and Brunei.
For Sarawak, the majority of teams came from Kuching and the rest from Bau, Limbang, Miri, and Sibu.
Not only did more students take part from different parts of the state and country due to the tournament taking place online, Swinburne’s alumni and former debaters who are now living in different parts of the world also participated as adjudicators.
Deputy chief adjudicator and now lecturer at Swinburne Dr Stanley Nwobodo adjudicated from Nigeria; Nicholas Chong, the student-founder of SSIDC adjudicated from Australia; former two-time president of the Debaters’ Club and SSIDC chief adjudicator Kasun Illankoon adjudicated from the United Arab Emirates; debater Surojit Rakshit adjudicated from Uganda; Joshua Chew, former club president and SSIDC debater himself, adjudicated from Penang; while other SSIDC alumni adjudicated from the United Kingdom and Singapore.
Speaking at the awards presentation were Dr Les Met, deputy director (Learning Sector) who represented the director of the State Education Department Dr Norisah Suhaili, as well as Swinburne Sarawak deputy vice-chancellor and chief executive officer Professor John Wilson.
Both commended all the students taking part in the tournament, saying it was the ultimate challenge in courage, and that the oratory and critical-thinking skills they were developing were important skills that would serve them well in school and at work.
Meanwhile, the main sponsor of the event, Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), through its chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton said SFC engages with various platforms to convey the conservation message to the public.
“We know that healthy debating on environmental themes means students get to learn and think more about conservation, and enables them to voice out their opinions on the issues.
“Debating enables the growth of environmental thinkers among the young. SFC believes in getting all to think about environmental issues and act on them now, and also in the future.
The passionate youth will be major movers and shakers of the future,” he said.
Aimed to encourage students to use their critical thinking and English oratory skills, the debate tournament this year included motions based on themes such as Crime and Law, Education, Economics, Environment, Family and Society, Geopolitics (War), Health, and Politics.
For more information about Swinburne, visit its website www.swinburne.edu.my, Facebook page (@swinburnesarawak), Instagram (@swinburnesarawak), Twitter page (@Swinburne_Swk) or YouTube channel (Swinburne Sarawak).
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