D'bait

One of the clever things I heard this time around is about the Malaysia's UiTM debater duo winning streak in the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC), placed second amongst all formidable names in the world of varsity debate.

While certain local political quarters might have implied debating is not a productive practice and not a Malaysian culture in dealing with disputes (It's Najib) , the duo's amazing feat needs no further validation. The volume & prestige of the stage speaks for itself..and they've made the country proud. Congrats guys.

Mifzal & Jasmine, I was made aware of their journey juuust recently from last week's Bella@NTV7's interview where Elaine Daly hosts them in an another good show (as Bella always managed to do). When the show was aired they were about to fly to Greece for the WUDC in a couple of days I think.

What amuses  me is their (1) flair and articulation in conveying their (2) outlook on things.

When asked about the most valuable takeaways from involvement in debates:
It's teaches oneself to be more understanding. Stripped from all prejudice. Because debates often put oneself to thoroughly represent another's shoes and viewpoints- be it majority speaking on behalf of minority, male to female, people from different walks of life, etc. In that sense, debating is very empowering because misunderstanding is the root of all problems. Better understanding can just lift so much wight on many crisis, and acceptance that'll follow after understanding is achieved will solve many issues that we are dealing now.

When asked about what virtue does debate teaches them personally:
Contrary to the popular notion that debate grooms oneself to be dominantly critical, eloquent & assertive verbally, debate actually teaches a lot about listening with composure and talk less but wisely. Impact is of higher importance than just vocal. Debate hone the skill of  controlled delivery of ideas, instead of just just go all machine gun style. It grooms oneself to listen more than speak.

These are just some catch I got from the interview. Rephrased.

During MRSM days I was part of the english debate team myself, and albeit not winning anything worth mentioning I always have this liking for duel between fronts of different ideas. I still have, until this day. And I gained some great memories too from that experience.

One weaponly word that my debate teacher (she's a lawyer by training) gave me back then that I still remember is “I believe you have just twisted your tongue mister with that fact, because  actually blabla”. That was supposed to shake the foundations of the other party, instill fearrr hahaha.