The infamous Parliamentary Debathon by Malaysiakini is making its comeback with the pilot episode to be held on 27th May 2023, to empower youth aged between 16 - 25 to discuss important issues in Malaysia.
Parental leaves are one of the important issues in Malaysia as they represent a crucial aspect of work-life balance for parents. Malaysia currently has no legal requirements for parental leave; besides maternity and paternity leaves, but countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland offer some of the most progressive policies in this regard. In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave, with 90 of those days reserved for the father. Norway offers up to 49 weeks of paid parental leave, while Finland offers up to 18 weeks.
This youth-led debate seeks to explore the pros and cons of implementing parental leave policies in Malaysia.
Youth Parliamentary Debathon 2023 is proudly championed by our Changemaker Partner, The Body Shop Malaysia as they are hugely known for pioneering social change as well as empowering youths towards successful nation building.
The brand also believes in youth representation in both local and national policies as they would give the world a better chance of properly addressing the most pressing social challenges.
"The lack of parental leave policies in Malaysia is a pressing issue that affects both parents and employers," said Datin Mina Cheah-Foong, Managing Director of The Body Shop Malaysia. "We hope that this debate will spark a wider conversation on the importance of parental leave and lead to meaningful policy changes that can improve the lives of working parents in Malaysia."
The program simulates a parliamentary seating, where participating debaters will play the role of state legislators. Throughout this program, the youths will have the opportunity to increase their awareness and knowledge on the law-making process, while exposing them to the rules, procedures and ethics that need to be adhered to, in every state legislative proceeding. The organiser and Soft Skill Training Partner the Malaysian Institute of Debate & Public Speaking (MIDP) will shortlist and divide the debaters into groups of 5 versus 5, representing the government and the opposition.
The debate is set to take place on May 27, 2023, and will be livestreamed on Malaysiakini and event partners’ social media. The organizers encourage all interested parties to attend and participate in the discussion.
It also allows the audiences to vote for the motion they agree with through a voting platform. This is to show that we practice democracy whereby the decision made is not only through the policymakers but the citizens as well.
There will be awards such as the Best Debater Award and the Most Popular Award, given to the debaters that are deemed outstanding by the panel judges and most voted by the audience. The winner will stand a chance to win cash prizes up to RM1000. Don’t miss out on the first episode of this year's Youth Parliamentary Debathon! Stay tuned to the organiser’s social media postings.
About Youth Parliamentary Debathon
The Youth Parliamentary Debathon series aims to empower youths aged 16-25, and discusses important issues in Malaysia through a parliamentary simulation where participants will play the role of parliamentarians. Through this program, the youths have the opportunity to increase their awareness and knowledge of the law-making process, thus exposing them to the rules, procedures and ethics that need to be adhered to in every parliamentary proceedings. Visit the website to find out more about the series in 2019 and 2022.
The 2023 Youth Parliamentary Debathon is organised by Malaysiakini, and KiniEvents. Event Partners include The Body Shop Malaysia as Changemaker Partner, Taylor’s College as the Youth Empowerment Partner, supported by Ministry of Youth and Sports, Experiential Design Team (EDT) as the Metaverse Partner, Malaysian Institute of Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP) as the Soft Skills Training partner, UndiSabah, Undi18, The Risers, Institutes of Research and Development of Policy (IRDP), Malaysian Youth Association for Diplomacy and Policy (MYADP). To find out more about partnership opportunities with Parliamentary Debathon 2023, please email us at [email protected]
For any enquiries, please contact
Iman Ridzwan
Events Producer
Shuhada Natasha
Event Coordinator
