Curtin Oratory and Debating Society aiming for more accolades

Miri – 8 October 2012 – The newly formed Curtin Oratory and Debating Society (CODES) of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) is setting its sights on more accolades after coming in second in the recent Yayasan Sarawak English Debate Championship, its first competition.

Held at Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak, the four-day championship themed ‘Searching for Drivers of Technology, Development and the Environment’ saw top debaters from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak,Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak, Masterskill Global College, Politeknik Kuching Sarawak, Multimedia College Sarawak and SEGi College Sarawak competing.

CODES was represented by two teams – Curtin A and Curtin B. The former, comprising mechanical engineering student Vigneswaran Duraragh, 19; computer system and networking student Hanani Shukri, 20; and foundation student (civil engineering) Malcam Prasad, 21, made it to the final round of the competition.

In the final round, Curtin A competed against UNIMAS where the students debated on the topic ‘Proton should adopt a strategic change by developing cars that run on biofuel’. The team walked away with a RM2,400 cash prize and a trophy for placing second.

Curtin B was represented by business administration student Gillian Harris, 19; mass communication student Keeshaanan Sundaresan, 19; and chemical engineering student Lishaanth Nair, 19.

Curtin B’s Keeshaanan won the Public Speaking Runner Up and Best Overall English Speaker awards while Vigneswaran of Curtin A was named the 3rd Best Debater of the championship.

According to Keeshaanan, the competition allowed the debaters to test their knowledge and skills, as well as their synergy working as a team. It also boosted their self-confidence and interest in debating and they hope to motivate more Curtin Sarawak students to join CODES and be active debaters.

“We competed against the best teams in Sarawak and getting into the final was a real bonus for us. Most importantly, we gained much-needed exposure that has helped us sharpen our debating skills and given us the confidence to enter more competitions,” said Keeshananan.

Meanwhile, Vigneswaran said CODES is determined to expand its membership and create more teams to represent Curtin Sarawak in national and international level competitions with the support from the university’s School of Foundation and Continuing Studies and University Life Department. It is also looking into organising debating competitions for schools in Miri.

The team from Curtin Sarawak posing with the mock cheque awarded by Yayasan Sarawak.