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The UT MARA Debating Society is one of the most active and successful societies in Universiti Teknologi MARA. Since 1998, through rigorous effort and an unrelenting drive for excellence, UT MARA has trained generations of students in public speaking and debating. Every year we send contingents to tournaments throughout Malaysia and the world.




For our members, we offer training aimed at all levels of ability with a Beginner Class, an Intermediate Class and a Senior Class. Members will gain access to the abundant resources of this society.






Queen Jainah
President, Queen of Catalonia, Mother of Felines
Muqriz Mustaffa
Vice President, Resident Baller and The Only Morning Person in the Club
Jasmine Ho
Secretary I, Panda On The Verge of Extinction
Aqila Zulaiqha
Secretary II, Potato NOT On The Verge of Extinction
Hannah Dallilah
Secretary III, Inspiration for "Hey There Delillah" by Plain White Tees
Muayyad Khairulmani
Director of Operations, "Abam LLB" and Failed John Cena Impersonator
Fathanah Rafee
Director of Training and Development, Resident Sketcher and Definitely Has A Crash on The Guy Above
Hafiz Muh Reza
Director of Public Relations, We Call Him Fred Cause The Club Voted For It

 Mahirah Marzuki
Director of Recruitment, Resident Chipmunk and Tagalog Translator
Izzat Arif
Director of Alumni Relations, You Should Definitely Try His Lemon Cake and Serial Arsonist
Terence Aaron
Director of Community Outreach, UT MARA Chronicler and The Person Responsible For This Site




The UT MARA Debating Society believes that all member deserve a shot. For as long as you attend debate sessions, you will receive the proper guidance from our trainers.

For now, training for juniors are on Mondays 6.00pm-9.00pm. Intermediate classes are on Wednesdays, 6.00pm-9.00pm, and Senior classes are on Thursdays 6.00pm-9.00pm. All classes are conducted at the Law of Faculty of UiTM Shah Alam.

We also have free-for-all sparring sessions from time to time. Members will be alerted when it happens. We also invite guest speakers for public lectures that is open for all but this is subject to availability of speakers.

The division of classes also does not affect your standing in team selections. Our team selection process is free-for-all and every member can attend. If you are good, you are good.



Mifzal Mohammed
Junior Class Trainer

 Mifzal is the champion of the Asian-British Parliamentary Championship 2014 and was the Finals Best Speaker of the United Asians Debating Championship 2015. Also in 2015, his team managed to reach the Quarter Finals in Open Category of Korea Australs 2015. He has trained many world class debaters and he was also a faculty member of the Asian Debating Institute in Korea. 

 He is normally referred to as a puppy but in actual fact a rabid wolf in debates. OMG PUPPY SO CUTE *RUBS MIFFLES'S CHIN*



Mai Mokhsein
Intermediate and Senior Class Trainer

 She's Mai. But in case you are no convinced by such a powerful name, *you heretic* she is a 4 time finalist of the Asian British Parliamentary Championship and also was also crowned Asia's Overall Best Speaker in 2014 at the Singaporean edition of the tournament.

 She coined the name Miffles.






Queen Jainah
President
+60126566842
@jainahjay

Mifzal Mohammed
Junior Class Trainer
+60126065553
@mifzalmohd

Terence Aaron
Social Media & Site Administrator
+60143922575
@terenceaaron
How Varsity Debating Changed My Life (And Could Change Yours)


The Malaysian contingent at NTU UADC 2014 (Singapore) | Source: UT MARA Debate Society
The Malaysian contingent at NTU UADC 2014 (Singapore) | Source: UT MARA Debate Society

Written by Terence Aaron,
Contributor at Greater Malaysia

The room was full of tension. Sitting across us in the government bench were the University of Western Canada. Next to them in their opening half was the University of Belgrade. On our right was the University of British Columbia, debating as our opening opposition. The motion of the round was “This House Regrets the commodification of Indigenous Culture.”

Judging the room was the enigmatic Li Sheng Wu from Oxford University. Some may know him as Lee Kuan Yew’s grandson. Everybody was desperate for those last 3 points. After 9 grueling preliminary rounds, the winner of this debate will proceed to the knock out rounds of the World University Debating Championship.

Prep Time

 



No one starts being a great debater automatically. Everyone has to start from somewhere. To be fair, preparing a 7 minute speech in a parliamentary debate in 15 minutes can sound daunting to the outsider. You will also be forced into positions that you might feel uncomfortable with.

However, do it enough times, you will be transformed to a new person. The first 7 minutes are baby steps as you learn to visit more complex ideas. For every single argument you make, you will hear a counter argument that challenge your views.

What you thought was absurd, slowly deconstructs as you go through more debates. As you learn about the many characters in life, you will understand why people react to things differently. Be it due to their socio-economic background, their race, their religion, or even their culture. You will see the bigger picture and learn to empathize with the problems of others.

The misconception that people have about arguing is that the loudest and brashest often come out on top. The world of parliamentary debates instead rewards the rational speaker and who is most able to relate an idea to the audience. Due to this, debaters learn how respect another person’s opinion without hating them. Debating literally, turns you into a more understanding person.

Debating also makes you an even more multi-layered character. The wide range of topics, from philosophy to economics, from ethics in sports to gender politics forces you to be well-versed in current issues. Acknowledging the diversity in the real world, speakers learns how fine tune their language in order to gain trust in listeners.

All of those are lessons that cannot be taught in the regular class room. Only with the constant interaction in this intellectual sport you will gain this skill.

The New Malaysian Dominion


Champions of Asia | Source: IIUM English Debating Club
Champions of Asia | Source: IIUM English Debating Club


Debating didn’t just transform me; it created a new class of intelligentsia in the country. These new breed of thinkers challenge the conventional and dominate the global debating scene.

In recent years, Malaysia has become a major force in South East Asian debating. University Malaya (UM) recently won the ESL (English as a Second Language) category for “Australs” (Australasian University Debating Championship). The UT MARA Debating Society, managed to reach the quarters of the open category, only to lose to the reigning champion, University of Sydney.

The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Debate team recently won the UADC 2015(United Asian Debating Championship) in Bali. In fact, it was a historic all-Malaysian grand final with the UT MARA Debating Society as runner ups. The overall best speaker prize also went to a Malaysian, Syed Saddiq of IIUM while Mifzal Mohammed from UT MARA was crowned as the Finals Best Speaker. Just the year before that in the Singaporean edition, IIUM ranked 2nd with Maizura Mokhsein from UT MARA was crowned as the best speaker in Asia.

DebateAJ
Ameera Natasha Moore & Jainah Jaafar at the BFM | Source: Jainah Jaafar

On the world stage, IIUM managed to rank in top 10 teams, standing tall with teams from Harvard, Cambridge and Hart House. Even Asia Pacific University managed to reach the top 30.

Malaysia’s dominance didn’t stop at varsity debating. Many of Malaysia’s top debaters adopted their own Secondary School teams and started grooming them at an early age. Most recently, the Malaysian contingent managed to rank 7th out of 53 countries in the World Schools Debating Championship.

Outside the competitive debating scene, the same crop of debaters has been part of MIDP’s (Malaysian Institute of Debate and Public Speaking) collaboration with BFM. Jainah Jafaar (UT MARA) and Ameera Natasha Moore (IIUM) recently squared off in a debate about political funding. Brave enough to discuss controversial topics, debaters Syed Saddiq (IIUM) and Mifzal Mohammed (UT MARA) exchanged jabs over the hot button issue of POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act). TheRohingnya refugee crisis was also debated by Deborah Woong (Universiti Malaya) and Kelviin Manuel Pillay (KDU Debate Association).