Debates: Should US end all support to Saudi Arabia?

THIRTY-two teams from 20 institutions representing six countries — United Kingdom, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia — congregated at the recent Quest International University Perak World Universities Peace Invitational Debate 2017 held at WEIL Hotel in Ipoh.

Dubbed QIUP WUPID 2017, the competition saw teams of two debaters representing their university in three rounds — preliminaries, quarter-finals and semi-finals — which ended with the top four teams which proved their worth by winning their rounds in this keenly contested competition.

At the grand finals with the debate motion titled THBT (This house believes that) the United States should end all support to Saudi Arabia, University of Sydney represented by Clyde Welch and James Pacino won RM10,000 and a trophy.

The other finalists from three teams — Louis Collier and Tan Teck Wei (University of Oxford), Razzaq Fazali and Sarah Tay (London School of Economics), and Colin Wu and Lucas Li (National University of Singapore) — received RM2,000 each while Welch won RM1,000 as best speaker.

WUPID 2017 gave the university students a competitive platform to showcase their skills in critical thinking, knowledge of a vast array of topics as well as their confidence in debating and public speaking.

The competition attracted some of the most talented and brightest young minds. It also showcased the best in what Malaysia’s debate community has to offer.

Read more: New Straits Times