Miri’s Riam Road Secondary School crowned national Malay forum champion

KUCHING (Sept 23): Riam Road Secondary School from Miri emerged champion of this year’s National Malay Forum Competition here yesterday.

SM Kian Kok of Kota Kinabalu took second place, while SM Chung Ling Persendirian of Penang placed third.

Also participating were SM Yuk Choy (SUWA), Ipoh; SM Chong Hwa, Kluang, Johor; and SM Kuen Cheng, Kuala Lumpur.

The winning team comprised Benjamin Liaw Jun Wei, 17; Kayla Annabelle Ng Yii Ning, 17; Elena Sim Jia Ying, 17; Felice Chong Jia Ying, 16; and Oscar Ong Kang Heng, 16, who also won the Best Panel Member award.

Speaking to The Borneo Post after the results were announced, Oscar said the victory brought a mixture of emotions after the pressure and hard work leading up to the competition.

“When we were announced as the winners, I was filled with different emotions. I was happy, but at the same time I also felt sad because of all the struggles and pressure leading up to the competition.

“When I look back at all the struggles, all the sacrifices my friends made and all the energy they put in, I feel that we really deserved to be the winner,” he said.

The competition also marked how far some of the students had come in their command of Bahasa Melayu.

Oscar recalled struggling with even basic words when he was younger, saying he would mix up ‘rumput’ and ‘rambut’ when he was in Form 1.

“I started from zero. I would get the words mixed up. I even thought ‘kepala’ was coconut,” he said.

He said the guidance and training he received over the years had not only helped improve his Bahasa Melayu but also changed the way he viewed the importance of the national language.

For the team, however, success was not only about individual improvement but also learning how to work together.

According to team chairperson Elena, the five members did not know one another well when they first came together, making team chemistry one of the challenges they had to overcome.

“As chairperson, my role was different because I had to control the flow of the forum.

“At first, the five of us didn’t really know each other, so within a short time, we had to become familiar enough that just by looking at one another, we knew what to say,” she said.

That understanding was built through intensive preparation, with the team training for an average of about three hours a day and moving to full-day sessions as the competition drew closer.

They shared that their preparation included practising scripts and intonation, understanding their topics and preparing for higher-order thinking skills (KBAT) questions.

The students also researched possible questions related to current issues such as artificial intelligence (AI), social media and unity so they would be prepared for questions beyond their main topic.

For Elena, the victory represented more than the five students who stood on stage.
“It has actually been a long time since we won the national trophy. Bringing it back this time is not only about us — it represents our school, our alumni and the efforts of every previous batch.

“Our tears carried the hard work and effort of many people,” she said.

Asked what advice she would give juniors interested in joining future forum competitions, Elena encouraged them not to be discouraged by difficulties along the way.

“The hurdles you think you cannot overcome will eventually be behind you,” she said.

Their Bahasa Melayu teacher and coach Seriam Umpeng, meanwhile, said one of the clearest changes she saw throughout the training was the students’ growing confidence in using the national language.

“They have become more confident speaking Bahasa Melayu and are more willing to speak before an audience or go on stage,” she said.

That progress, however, had to be made while the students were also juggling their academic commitments, including examinations and trial papers.

Seriam added that maintaining discipline was therefore crucial throughout their preparation, while also acknowledging the teachers who had sacrificed their time and effort to guide the team.