By Zasika Musdi
HASSANAL Bolkiah Boys Arabic Secondary School was named overall champions of the Malay Debating Competition between secondary schools, colleges and private education institutions yesterday. Along with the best speaker of the competition, Adi Aismat bin Lamat, they opposed the motion "Punishment for traffic offenders should be increased". They defeated the proposition team from Perdana Wazir Secondary School with a judges` vote of three-to-two.
A total of eight secondary schools and colleges took part in the competition with the grand finals taking place at Dewan Raya Radio Television Brunei (RTB) yesterday.
The winning team comprised Suhardi bin Hj Mahadi, Adi Aismat bin Lamat, and Zati Hanani bte Dato Seri Setia Hj Rajid.
According to Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Development Dato Paduka Hj Md Yusuf bin Hj Md Hassan, debating competitions such as this contribute to the capabilities of the students as it initiates and encourages fluent and quick-witted talks through the development of constructive ideas or opinions.
In other words, to voice out these ideas or opinions, one should understand and know extensively the subject or topic that is to be debated, he said. Additionally, a "reading culture" is also important and should be the norm in a student`s life, while information derived from technological info-communication such as the Internet should be substantiated and the content made relevant, he added.
The permanent secretary said ideas and opinions should not only consist of substantial or quantitative content, but should also be delivered in a fluent and interesting way. Communication should be clear and concise, he added.
Among the points argued by the winning team were that increasing the punishment poses no benefits as in most locations, road infrastructure is very poor and punishment would create unrest and protests towards the government, due to psychological and economical reasons.
They also argued that increasing punishment is unacceptable as some citizens are not well off financially, which may result in thefts and other social ills. They suggested two alternatives, to create awareness such as "Road Safety Awareness" and to increase the quality of driving schools and driving tests.
Source : www.brunei-online.com (25 April 2007)
