The Inaugural Asian British Parliamentary Debate Championship

In Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

British Parliamentary brings two people in a team to debate in a round of four teams fighting for the first ranking. It involves strategy, non-evident back stabbing and incessant reminding of each team's presence.

I was lucky enough to go to this tournament.


As part of the UKM Contigent

Our flight took us off Malaysian soil at around noon and after 2 hours we arrived in



...with it's Pink Taxis


...it's beautiful architecture


...full of spirit


...and mystique


...with a bustling night life.
(that isn't stifled by irrational religious conservatives)

Break Night

My debate is an unstable one. Something I've realised ever since the training camp just before exams began. Wanting something badly made me shoot up to 2nd place, however as easily as it can improve with determination, it can also spiral down with defeat.

The night after the final preliminary round, we were brought to a river and introduced to a Thai culture that paid homage to the river Goddess and appreciation for water.

Reflected upon the dark waters I saw nothing. I felt defeated during that round. Not because I felt outwitted by the competition. Not because I couldn't necessarily think of anything to say during my speech.

I felt defeated because I had no material to work with in my speech. What can a whip do in his speech if there was barely anything substantial in that room rebut. At what point did the sense of defeat started me on the spiral down to this level? The entire room was empty and substandard, and I felt as if being in that room reflected upon my ability.

We got first place for that round, but a shallow victory.

On another note, however, the people in that room were one of the friendliest I've met throughout the tournament. They were friendly even to each other during the round.

Was skill in one's speech inversely proportionate to how grounded one is? I've met several examples that refute that theory, however the snobbish effect I feel from the very few who are good leave an impression enough to create a tinge of fear to speak to those people, with fear of being patronised.

I shot these two cuties with a rifle. Apparently I'm quite good at shooting. Hmm.

I guess debate is unpredictable. Even as I look through the tabs, the best team didn't get first ranking all the way. Perhaps it takes a transcendent amount of skill for it to be predictable. Or maybe there's no such thing.

All I can do for myself is aim to improve the portions of my skillset that needs work.

Knowledge of current events in the world.

Thinking outside the box.

Thinking analytically and creatively.

Structure.

Better support and communication towards my team mates.

Friendlier and less bashful to socialise with the
other debaters from other universities.

Speaking of unpredictability, it ends up that our team broke to the octo finals.
We broke the 27th team, I remember feeling surprised, elated, and totally turned off by the fact that I still had to debate the next day.

I guess sometimes unpredictable things happen to your favour. =)

Championship Dinner

I remember being at awe when Ganeshry stood up and obliterated the government's case on genetically modified foods last Royals. As I watched the finals, I felt less at awe.

Hopefully it means the gap between that stage and me has narrowed, if not just a little.

Experiencing Bangkok with the company debaters

Perhaps it's time I become smarter. Like this guy.

Managing Emotions?

I thought that after Pendidikan Moral and Pengajian Am in secondary school that the government would stop forcing its students to study perfectly useless subjects. (even if it isn't useless, the way the syllabus is fashioned by whoever numbnuts that are involved within the ministry makes it useless.)

Then entering university I discovered I had to learn Tamadun Islam and Hubungan Etnik.

I personally don't really care about what a bunch of people did billions of years ago regardless of what basis you categorise them, whether by religion or otherwise. And even if I were to care about it, I do not see any benefit it will bring any of us.

If these courses are meant to bring about racial harmony, I simply salute the idiocy of the people sitting in the MOHE for thinking a few lectures given by an imbecile with fleas in his beard who throws pencils at you from the stage will improve racial harmony whatsoever.

After I was done with that in first year, I thought it was finally over. I thought that, finally, no more courses seething with the dripping scum of uselessness will ooze over my path.

Then I was forced to take "Managing Your Emotions".

The course involved some guy from Bangi blabbing random theories about emotion to us. I'm not even going to bring up the fact that he failed to show up for about 3 classes and didn't even tell us beforehand. But aside from the fact that they assign completely and utterly incompetent lecturers to teach these equally lackluster subjects (which takes a way even more incentive for us to give a shit) the syllabus they prepare doesnt achieve their objective at the end of the day.

Example:

Primary Emotions - The Pros and Cons

Pros

Nervous system and neural structure capable of mediating few emotions.
(I have no idea why this is a pro. There's nothing evidently pro-ish about this statement. It's just a neutral statement that doesn't make me like primary emotions more or think it's very useful)

Cons

No such thing as "primary emotion"
This is when you hear "Kua Kua Kua" playing in the background with a broken wind instrument.

Why are you telling me about something that doesnt exist???

A question from the exam

Apakah emosi di atas?
A. bimbang
B. gembira
C. takut
D. dulan

There's nothing wrong with the format of question per se, but the picture they gave was severely distorted and they didn't give "constipated" as one of the options. Oh ya that's not an emotion.

But then again if since "constipated" is propagated by the nervous system it is a primary emotion and there's no such thing anyway so who cares.

.
.
.

Next semester I have to go through "Managing Time".

If they teach me about the theory of time and space I would be half interested. Then again these people are idiots so they will probably ask me to write down what I do each day every 15 minutes in some diary thing.

Inilah varsiti kita.