BESTARI JAYA, 28th October – Students of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) have recently triumphed over a total of 27 teams representing 16 different universities, in the Intervarsity Debate Competition 2017, taking home a hefty sum of RM5000. Winning against Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) Team B in the finals, the victorious team comprised Adhwa\’ Afnan Hafiy bin Abdul Sani, Muhammad Amirul bin Rosli and Muhammad Afif Nazhan bin Mohd Hasni. The competition, which lasted for three days, was sponsored by Standing Committee of Education, Human Capital Development and Science, Technology and Innovation Selangor.
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The competition for this year differed from the norm. Disallowing open participation from public universities, strong competitors familiar to the debate scene such as Universiti Malay (UM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) were unable to send teams to fight it out for the title of champion. Among the topics covered in the debates revolved heavily around social themes that dealt with issues faced by youth.
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Adhwa’ Afnan Hafiy opened up to us regarding his thoughts and motivations as a debater, “The main purpose of tertiary education is to prepare university students before they enter the working world. The skills they need are not limited to academic knowledge only. Soft skills such as debate and oratory skills provide students with much needed communication and critical thinking skills.\”
He also encourages students alike to join debate-themed activities. “I believe that involvement as a university student in oratory competitions such as debating would enhance your resume. The opportunity to uphold the university name is also a very fulfilling experience, not to mention the prize for winning the debate competition is very profitable,” he added while laughing.
He ended our interview with him by addressing his thanks to those who assisted the team. \”I would like to thank Pak Ariff, the current debate club coach, UNITEN Alumni M. Mohd Hasril as well as club advisors Miss Amira and Madam Hazlin. There would have been no victory without them and I hope that the debate club will continue receiving support from the university management and all UNITENians.\”
We from NADi would like to congratulate all the debaters for winning first place and to keep up the good work. May all the knowledge and experience gained from this help your future endeavors.
Written by: Andrew Chan
Photo Source: Adhwa’ Afnan Hafiy b Abdul Sani
Special Thanks to: Siti Khairunnisa binti Amat Jalani