Inter-Varsity Debate Competition 2015

A debate team from UTAR emerged victorious during the Inter-Varsity Debate Competition held from 5 to 6 November 2015 at Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS), UTAR Kampar Campus.

Hosted by FAS Department of Languages and Linguistics for the first time, the two-day competition was participated by 48 Primary English Educations (Program Latihan Perguruan Peringkat Ijazah Pertama, PLPPIP) undergraduates from UTAR, UCSI University and SEGi University.

Representing FAS Dean Dr Alia Azalea at the opening ceremony was FAS Deputy Dean for Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Krishnan a/l Vengidasamy, who attributed the success of the competition to the generous sponsorship by Second Minister of Finance Dato’ Seri Haji Ahmad Husni Bin Mohamad Hanadzlah. “The debate competition, initiated under the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) and Education Performance and Delivery Unit (PADU) is catered for PLPPIP students. Such a competition not only develops the participants’ critical thinking and communication skills, but also allows them to learn beyond their classrooms,” he said.

Echoing Krishnan’s sentiments was UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Assoc Prof Dr Teh Chee Seng. “It’s interesting to see this competition serving as a platform which brings three private institutions together. May all of you take every opportunity to learn, to mature and to network with one another,” Dr Teh mentioned.

Also present were FAS Head of Department of Language and Linguistics Christina Ong Sook Beng, Assistant Directors of Teacher Education Division (Bahagian Pendidikan Guru, BPG) Azzarina binti Anor Basah and Rossheta binti Abd Rahman.

The competition kick started with preliminary rounds which had 48 participants evenly divided into smaller groups. The groups subsequently locked horns with one another on topics ranging from the use of English in Malaysia to the country’s education system. The final round saw an intense battle of words and wits amongst the three remaining team representing the three institutions respectively.

UTAR emerged as the champion while SEGi University and UCSI University were placed second and third respectively. List of UTAR winners are as follows:

CHAMPION - UTAR
Lee Pei En
Simranjit Kaur A/P Baljit Singh
Wee Soo Ying
Khor Qiu Wen

Final year UTAR student Simranjit Kaur was also the proud winner of the Best Debater Award who took home a certificate and trophy.

During the closing ceremony, adjudicator Indrani Sathasivam Pillay complimented the participants for being resourceful and able to present ideas professionally despite the level of difficulty of certain debate topics. “I believe this has been an enriching experience for all. The past two days have certainly made you realise and learn about the importance of teamwork,” said the lecturer from UiTM Seri Iskandar, who also advised the participants to constantly enrich their knowledge as they will be assuming the roles of educators in due course.

(From left) Ong, Krishnan, Dr Teh, Rossheta and Azzarina

Participants during the debate competition

Best Debater Award winner Simranjit in action

Dr Alia (left) with the champions from UTAR

Dr Alia with the Second Place winners from SEGi University

Dr Alia with the Third Place winners from UCSI University

Dr Alia presenting the Best Debater Award to Simranjit

A group photo of Dr Alia and the winning teams

Ong (fourth from left) with the adjudicators from UiTM Seri Iskandar and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College