The third session of Youth Parliamentary Debathon 2022 was aired on the 24th of September 2022 and it was remarkably intense. The topic of “Should Malaysia Enforce Compulsory Voting?'' was debated heatedly by 10 debaters from all over Malaysia. The session was moderated by the Assistant Director at Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) under Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, Mr. Mohamad Ika Danial Abdullah.
Organised by Malaysiakini and KiniEvents, the Youth Parliamentary Debathon 2022 is joined by our partners, The Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia and Australian High Commission in Malaysia as Collaborative Partners, Bersih as Strategic Partner and Taylor’s College as the Youth Empowerment Partner.
This event is also supported by our Co-Partners, Malaysian Institute of Debaters and Public Speaking (MIDP), UndiSabah, Undi18, Impact Malaysia, The Risers, Institute for Research and Development of Policy (IRDP), University of Malaya Students Union (UMSU) and International Islamic University Malaysia Students Union. Last but not least, our Media Partners which are KiniTV, World of Buzz, Cilisos Media and Astro Awani.
The debaters who participated in this session were aged 16 to 25 years old and they have highlighted many issues to do with the current voting system in Malaysia and also issues that made some citizens did not want to vote such Unstable Government and People's Lethargy and Distrust of the Ongoing Political Process.
On top of these issues, the debaters have also proposed suggestions that can combat the issues of low voter turnout and also to encourage citizens to be more involved in the political arena. The statements by the debaters are still votable until the 23rd of October 2022.
Muhammad Zikrul Safwan, a 23 year old student from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) was awarded the Best Debater for this motion topic’s session. He was deemed outstanding by the panel of judges because he had strongly highlighted how Malaysians have trust issues with the current political system and he believes that the government should start to gain the citizens' trust in order to get them to vote in the upcoming elections. He had excellently answered other debaters’ questions that were directed to him.
The Best Debater was selected by representatives of the organiser and the partners. The panel of judges were Chandran Ravi, Chief Operations Officer of Malaysiakini; Nik Mohd Yusof, Political Research Officer of The Australian High Commission in Malaysia; Nurul Iman Binti Arshad, Programme Director of Diploma in Early Childhood Education from Taylor’s College; Azim Nadzari, Head, Training & Development of MIDP and Thomas Fann, Chairperson of Bersih.
The judges collectively agreed that the young debaters had some great points such as the Malaysians having low trust with the current political system. Not only that, the debaters also highlighted that voters are expected to vote without proper basic accessibility in rural areas and there is no proper education regarding the political situation in Malaysia which causes most citizens to choose not to vote.
“The debate was very interesting. It was insightful to see the debaters explain the pros and cons of mandatory voting while explaining how it would affect not just the voters, but even the changing interests of political parties as well.” said Azim Nadzari, Head, Training & Development of MIDP.
Vote for the debaters’ statements and also your favourite debaters from now to 23rd October 2022. To better understand the debaters’ statements and suggestions, you can watch the replay of the session here. The Most Popular Debater Award winner will be announced on 24th October 2022.
Recruitment to participate as a debater for the 3rd motion topic of Youth Parliamentary Debathon 2022 is now OPEN and all submissions must reach the organiser by 7th October 2022 (Friday). No payment is required for the submissions.
We look forward to receiving your entries and don’t miss out on the golden opportunity to debate as Member of Parliaments yourself!
