St Joseph’s Private School wins senior category at inter-school debate championship

KUCHING: St Joseph’s Private School emerged as the champion for senior category in the 19th Swinburne Sarawak Inter-School Debate Championship (SSIDC), one of the largest English debate competitions for secondary schools in the country.

The school, represented by Form 4 and 5 students Glenys Wong, Michelle Ting Chiong Sung and Rachael Chai Xin Ru, defeated representatives from SM Lodge, debating the topic ‘This House supports romantic relationships with Artificial Intelligence (AI).’

Additionally, Michelle Ting Chiong Sung from St Joseph’s Private School was named the best debater in the final round of the debate.

Meanwhile, in the junior category involving Form 1 to 3 students, Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka emerged as the champion. They defeated Kolej Abdillah in the final, debating the topic ‘This House would forgive all debts of individuals who have retired legally.’

Jood Ammar Sazzli Shahlan from Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka was named the best debater in the final.

The 19th edition of the championship saw the participation of 222 students from 26 schools across the country, forming a total of 74 teams.

Swinburne Debate Club advisor and SSIDC founder Dr Christina Yin said that the competition, held from June 24 to 27, at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, successfully attracted secondary school students from across the country, including Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

The champion of the senior category.

“All these young participants had the opportunity to showcase their debating skills in a prestigious event that adopts the ‘Asian Parliamentary Style’ approach, ensuring a fair competition.

“This year’s competition debated themes such as education, politics, law, technology and AI, sports, economics, youth, international relations, society, environment, and sustainability in Sarawak and Malaysia,” she said after the final here on Thursday (June 27).

Elaborating further, she said the aim of the programme is to encourage secondary school students in Sarawak to debate and hone their verbal and communication skills as well as their reasoning and critical thinking abilities.

“This provides an opportunity for students to enhance their knowledge by broadening their reading materials and presenting topics for debate.

“Additionally, it serves as a platform for them to practice their thinking skills, debate in English, and continue developing their talents to the next level,” she said, adding that the championship has been held annually since 2006.

The championship also offered several other awards to recognise the efforts of debaters in both categories. These included the Most Promising Team, Most Improved Team, Best Team, Overall Best Debater in the Finals, Top Five Debaters in the Preliminary Rounds, and Best Sarawak Team.

Also present was the deputy director of Student Development Division (Co-curricular Unit), Dennis Nur Amin Abdullah; representing State Education Department director Datuk Dr Azhar Ahmad.