By Tan Xin Ni (Pixie) The inaugural Kuala Lumpur Youth Literary Arts Festival (KLYLAF) took place from 24 to 26 June this year – and there’s No Invitation Necessary! That’s […]
By Tan Xin Ni (Pixie) The inaugural Kuala Lumpur Youth Literary Arts Festival (KLYLAF) took place from 24 to 26 June this year – and there’s No Invitation Necessary! That’s […]
Yan Cheng, or more fondly known as Cheng, is a corporate trainer with a legal background and a passion for soft skills development. With two years of experience, she has designed and delivered impactful training sessions across various sectors, guiding participants from students to senior executives. Her expertise lies in equipping individuals with essential workplace competencies, ensuring they gain practical skills that can be applied immediately in their professional journeys.
Her approach emphasizes practicality, leveraging real-world scenarios and participants’ collective experiences to foster deeper learning. Cheng has led and facilitated training sessions for clients such as AstraZeneca, Johor Civil Service Academy, Sanofi-Aventis Malaysia, and Infineon Technologies. Through her structured yet dynamic sessions, participants have demonstrated visible improvements, gaining confidence and refining their communication, leadership and problem-solving skills.
As a former Chair of the Malaysian Debate Council and debate club president, Cheng developed a strong foundation in interpersonal communication and leadership, which she integrates into her training programs. She was also the youngest in her cohort to earn HRDCorp’s Train-The-Trainer Certification, underscoring her commitment to continuous learning. Passionate about professional growth, Cheng consistently refines her methodologies to empower individuals with real-world skills that drive success in today’s dynamic business landscape.
Emellia was a corporate advisory and litigation lawyer turned compliance executive for multinational GLCs in Malaysia, specialising in Corporate Governance and Whistleblowing matters. In 2019, she left her corporate job to serve as the CEO of the Malaysian Institute for Development of Professionals (MIDP). Under her leadership, MIDP cemented its role as a leading human capital development institute advancing soft skills competencies among students and professionals. In 2020, Emellia founded Speak Up Malaysia, and is currently serving as its Managing Partner.
Beyond her track-record as a prominent soft skills corporate coach and speaker, Emellia is also known as a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) advocate in the country. Her expertise spans over 10 years on various workplace ethical issues, people and culture matters, as well as psychological safety. Emellia is also a consultant for various Ministries, Government Agencies, Regulators, MNCs and GLCs alike working hand-in-hand to create policies, procedures, mechanisms and practices that promote safe spaces for all.
Following her key role in the drafting and lobbying of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill over the years , Emellia has been appointed in 2024 by the Ministry of Women, Children & Community Development to preside as a Member of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal. Emellia is currently leading the project to draft the Corporate Governance Guidelines on DEI in Malaysia to provide a benchmark and best practices towards closing the various gaps within the workplace today.
Wesley is an advocate of common sense debating. He is a firm believer that debating can be easy, and that with the right techniques and steps, anyone can debate.
Coming from a Chinese-educated background, his debating career is a testament to that fact. He was Asian Semifinalist, 2-time National Finalist, Top-10 Nationals Best Debater, and Champion of multiple tournaments.
He has also coached various institutions locally and abroad, and is currently coaching Sunway University. Wesley’s classes are fun but intense sessions designed to form a good grounding in debating fundamentals.
Kelviin is one of the most senior active trainers in the Malaysian Debating Circuit with over 10 years of International debate and debate coaching experience. Kelviin has coached various schools over the years, including KDU UC, Garden International School, SMK Sri Permata and others. He has also conducted various workshops all around Malaysia and Singapore – teaching debate to thousands in the process. Most recently he served as the head coach of the Malaysian National Debate Team under the purview of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, where he led the National Team to a historic first rank break at the world championships in Croatia. Kelviin has enjoyed his fair share of success as a debater himself, having been a 3-time Malaysian National Finalist, Champion of the Malaysian Debate Open and an Asian Semifinalist. Individually he was ranked the 5th Best Speaker in Asia in 2019 and has collected countless speaker awards here and abroad.
Terence is an accomplished debate coach and champion, with notable achievements in China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. He was crowned the Malaysia BP 2022 champion and recognized as an Asian BP quarterfinalist. Earning over 20 Top 10 speaker awards, including at prestigious tournaments like the Malaysian National Intervarsity Championship and the Royals Intervarsity, Terence’s expertise is evident. His passion lies in inviting people to explore new perspectives, embracing knowledge and socializing with curious minds. For him, the joy of debating transcends competition; it lies in delving into principles, discovering facts about the world, and fostering intellectual growth. Winning is merely a gratifying byproduct of his genuine enthusiasm for the art of debate.
Syafiq’s a seasoned debater who started off initially as a public speaker. As a public speaker, he has participated in multiple competitions where he represented his school and positioned himself amongst the top 5 speakers in a national level competition.
His public speaking experience also have led him to become MC for formal events either during his school days or during his Uni days. Using the skills he learned in debating he prepares his student to make speeches that are engaging, impactful and most importantly Memorable.
As a public speaking trainer, Syafiq believes in being there for his students. Engaging them with questions and thought experiments to encourage a critical mind. Syafiq lessons also include a global perspective keeping the students informed on major events as well as breaking them down to be understandable to his young learners.
Amy started debating in her first year of undergrad in Bachelor’s of International Relations in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. She believes her debating skills have helped her to be one of the top students in her class. She also believes that debating is beyond just competition but also an important set of soft skills that help you grow as a person.Her experience in debating started from being the Malaysian National Novice Finalist in 2018 which was the first tournament she joined to being crowned the Debater of The Year Award (Outside Klang Valley) in 2021. Apart from debating, Amy has also been invited to judge internationally such as in India, Bangladesh, Khazakstan, and was awarded the Top 10 Best Judge in Japan British Parliamentary Debate Championship in 2020. She has coached debate teams from high school to varsity level.
Rachel is a university student and an English educator-in-training, who is well-versed in teaching English. She has vast experience in organising English language camps and activities, and she aims to help students realise that English is fun and not at all intimidating!
Rachel’s love for the English language stems from having been exposed to its wonders from a young age, and this passion has grown via her experience in the spoken and written word. She hopes to instill the love of English in her students and encourage them to begin venturing beyond the use of English in the classroom. Rachel believes in establishing a fun, supportive, and conducive classroom environment for students to engage their creativity and learn to express themselves. In class, students will be encouraged to critically analyse and talk about various issues, and they will be given plenty of opportunities to use the language for communicative competence and creative expression.
Amirah has been involved in debate and Model United Nations since high school, with experiences ranging from participant, judge, trainer and also organiser. She was the Malaysian representative to the 2019 ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission of Human Rights Youth Debate in Bangkok, and has participated in multiple MUN conferences, winning awards and serving as chairs, with a particular niche in Dewan Rakyat. Having joined MUN during university, she realised the importance of such activities for the Malaysian youth, and is working towards providing more opportunities and avenues for youth, regardless of their background. Through her involvement with various NGOs, she has also been involved with youth programmes such as the EU-ASEAN Youth Diplomats Programme (funded by the European Union), Parlimen Digital and Belia Bawah Bayu Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah 2021. She believes that youths should be involved in both domestic and international policy frameworks, and aims to teach youths to understand the policy making process and also other skills such as problem solving, critical thinking and analysis, research, writing and public speaking.
Tahsin’s interest in geopolitics began when he was gifted a world atlas book at 7. His involvement in Model United Nations started as an admin at the 2016 Asia-Pacific MUN conference.
Since then, Tahsin has actively participated as a delegate in numerous MUN conferences, both at the national and international levels, earning various recognitions, including Outstanding Diplomacy, Highest Commendation Award, and the Best Delegate Award as well as a mention in a News Strait Times article. He has also served as a chair/judge in several conferences.
Furthermore, he played a crucial role in his alma mater’s MUN club (IIUM MUN), serving as the club’s secretary-general in 2019-2020. Under his leadership, the IIUM MUN 2019 Conference was successfully held. Tahsin aspires to create an inclusive environment for students to develop critical skills in understanding, analyzing, and speaking on topics in all ranges of complexity and influence.
Graduating from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, Hiffni brings a unique perspective to his training sessions. Currently serving as a Policy Adviser with the New Zealand High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Hiffni’s role involves advising Aotearoa New Zealand Government officials on bilateral Trade & Economic matters and other relevant topics. In his previous role as Special Officer, he worked closely with Cabinet Ministers, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Senior Minister of Defence, where he prepared speeches for international forums, press statements, and social media posts. Hiffni’s passion for youth-related issues is evident through his tenure as the Head of the Socioeconomic Committee as a Member of Youth Parliament, where he participated in youth advocacy under the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
As a public speaking trainer, Hiffni combines his government experience and advocacy for youth with a dedication to effective communication. His sessions are engaging, interactive, and focused on helping individuals enhance their public speaking skills, express ideas confidently, and leave a lasting impact on their audience.
Rafiq is a Malaysian and Asian debate champion with over 6 years of experience in debate education. He won the Malaysian National Intervarsity Debate Championships and the Asian BP in 2014, as well as over 10 other tournaments across Asia. He coached MCKK to 3 straight Prime Minister’s Cups (2014-2016) and HELP University to the Quarterfinals of Asian BP in 2015. In his class, Rafiq prioritises knowledge of current issues, confidence in speech delivery, and having fun whilst debating.
By age 24, Samuel Desmond Tuah was already a Lecturer for SEGi University where he taught Law to aspiring lawyers for over 4 years. Samuel’s journey in debating boasts achievements like guiding teams to the Quarterfinals of the Yayasan Cup and orchestrating SEGi’s team to the Swinburne Open Grand Finals ’19 and the Sarawak Open Grand Finals ’22 as well as a 3rd place finish in the Executive College Debate Open.
Beyond Debating Samuel is also a certified HRDCorp trainer (TTT) as well as serving in the Youth Parliamentary Socioeconomic Committee advising the Youth & Sports Ministry from 2019 – 2023. He is a current member of Majlis Perundingan Belia Sarawak advising the Sarawak State Government on State Youth policies.
Samuel prides himself on not only teaching his kids debating but to form character, determination and confidence that will benefit them years after his final class.
Alia is a certified educator with a Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language. With over 6 years of experience in teaching & sales, she provides a unique blend of experience where she applies theory (from her teaching background) & practical application (from her sales background) curating lessons that are not just insightful but effective as well.
Alia believes that nothing can be taught without sparking the interest of the student. With this in mind, she curates her activities & lessons to be fun. Employing tactics such as roleplaying, narration creation & engaging in group activities where she encourages participation through goal orientation.
Alia strives to provide a safe and understanding environment for her students to learn the important lessons to equip her students with the necessary soft skills to thrive in today’s world.
Cellini is currently serving in the business development of a local startup. Prior to her current role, she dabbled in policy research & writing, where she advocates for stateless children’s Right to Education, among others. Cellini’s passion for debate flourished during her varsity years where she actively participated and excelled in numerous championships. Her notable achievements include being an Asian grand finalist in 2017 and being invited to the core panel at international debate tournaments around Australia, Korea and China. Before the pandemic, she spent a year abroad in Shanghai as a professional debate trainer for an American education company based in the region. The experience and exposure gained from her past debating years still continue to fuel her interest in promoting informed discussions and meaningful public conversations on critical human rights matters.
Ainie is an executive committee member of MUDA. She is also an accomplished legal practitioner and has established her own law firm, Nurainie Haziqah & Co, where she serves as the Managing Partner. She is well-known for her extensive involvement in social work and her interest in politics. She has volunteered as a legal advisor for local NGOs, focusing on issues such as domestic abuse and women’s rights. Ainie co-founded three NGOs: Girl2Leader Malaysia (G2L), Happy Bank Crew (HBC), and Humanitarian Aid Selangor. G2L empowers young girls from the age of 16 onwards, focusing on community-based issues and leadership. With her expertise and experiences, Ainie is frequently invited to speak on topics such as local politics, social work, and legal issues. Ainie’s ultimate goal is to contribute to making Malaysia a better country to live in.
YB Adam Adli Abd Halim (born July 3, 1989) is a Malaysian politician and student activist who has served as the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan since December 2022 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hang Tuah Jaya since November 2022. He is a member of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH coalition. He has also served as the 5th Youth Chief of PKR and Deputy Youth Chief of PH since July 2022.
Nailah Huda is a news anchor and journalist in both broadcasting and digital media platforms with Astro Awani. She is experienced in presenting news, hosting programmes, producing content, reporting news as well as conducting interviews. Nailah is deeply motivated to speak truth to power and against injustice.
Established in 2010, Epic inspires, mobilises and empowers individuals to live extraordinary lives dedicated to creating a positive impact around them. This is best shown through Epic’s flagship initiative, Epic Homes, which focuses on building homes for marginalised indigenous communities while bridging the gap between the rural and urban divide. To date, Nearly 7000 volunteers were mobilised to build homes for almost 200 families in 16 villages across Malaysia.
Epic has also been proudly involved in community development projects around the region, while also establishing itself as a consultant to organisations from multiple sectors, including the Malaysian government and most recently the Obama Foundation.
John-Son’s work has also won him recognition and awards; amongst which include being accepted into the prestigious Ashoka Fellowship, The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Dedication 2017, being listed in Forbes 30 under 30 2016, and SME Malaysian Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2017. John-Son also served on the Board of Directors of Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) from 2019-2021.
For the last 30 years, Mr Jerald Joseph has been a human rights defender and an
experienced trainer consultant with a focus on issues concerning the rights of the Orang Asli community, elimination of racial discrimination, and economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). With this extensive experience, he has made significant contributions to promoting non-discrimination and combating racial discrimination in Malaysia.
Mr Joseph has served as a Commissioner of SUHAKAM and chaired the Working Group of Complaints and Monitoring. He has also been actively involved in various human rights CSOs, including leading NGOs reporting to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group in Geneva.
Additionally, he holds advisory and leadership positions in international and regional organisations such as Forum ASIA, International Movement for Catholic Student Asia-Pacific (IMCS), Pax Romana ICMICA Asia Pacific, and board memberships in Pusat KOMAS and Greenpeace Southeast Asia. His dedication to human rights extends to his involvement in governmental committees, including the Consultative Council on Foreign Policy and the Independent Committee on Migrant Workers. He continues to contribute as a human rights consultant and trainer both locally and globally.
Colin Nicholas founded the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) in 1989 and has been the Coordinator of this small volunteer-run organisation since then. COAC works with Orang Asli – the indigenous minority communities in Peninsular Malaysia – to help build their capacity for the advocacy of their rights and for their self-development.
He received his PhD (with distinction) from the University of Malaya in 2000, writing on Orang Asli politics, development and identity. Colin has authored several popular and academic articles and published a few books on Orang Asli and indigenous issues.
Colin was also an expert witness in seven Orang Asli land rights cases, several of which were precedent-setting. He is also associated with JOAS, the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia, and theChiangmai-based Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP).
A notable and highly respected Semai (a Malaysian Aboriginal people) leader, Amani has devoted most of his life to campaigning, advocating, and defending the rights of his people to their lands and livelihoods for more than three decades. Popularly known as Bah Tony (his Semai name) by the Orang Asli communities, he is the first Orang Asli graduate from University of Malaya, with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics awarded in 1979. He is also the first male Orang Asli admitted into the legal fraternity. In an interview with the media, Bah Tony revealed that he wanted to be a lawyer to seek justice for his people through the courts and other legal avenues. As a lawyer and social justice activist, Bah Tony has been involved in several Orang Asli land claim cases as a legal representative as well as in supporting roles.
He served as the President of the Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Association from 1987 to 1991 and is currently the Deputy Chairperson of the Malaysian Bar Council’s Committee for Orang Asli Rights.
Eliana is a Orang Asli youth from the Jakun tribe from Kampung Petoh, Pahang. She served as a coordinator for the collective programme Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli (What Says the Orang Asli Women) and is a Youtuber that uses videos and short films to drive social change and fight for Orang Asli rights. With the group Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli, Eliana trains female Orang Asli youths that are interested in creating YouTube content. She is also an active panellist and facilitator for film screenings and sharing sessions at multiple schools, including private schools (Chinese Independent School), government schools and universities.
Nurul Wahidah is an accomplished academic and researcher in visual communication and new media. She is passionate about education and enjoys motivating students to learn new things. She earned her Ph.D. from Universiti Sains Malaysia and is dedicated to encouraging critical thinking and a dynamic learning environment. She has made significant contributions to the field of learning by utilising the innovation of digital media platforms as a teaching approach, and she has received a number of awards and recognition for her efforts. And learning never stops as she continues on her path to greater success. Btw, she also enjoys cooking!
Shakirah Rahman is a Senior Partner at Speak Up Malaysia which focuses on enhancing workplace ethics, eliminating gender and sexual harassment, as well as creating safe spaces through training and various tools to improve compliance, corporate governance and organisational culture. She is also a regional Head of Growth in the Education Technology sector where she develops organisational strategies and policies, including policies on child protection and safety in online spaces. Passionate about gender rights, she has been a member of Young Women Making Change (YWMC) Malaysia since 2014, pushing for legal reform and public education on sexual harassment. Through this initiative, she went on to participate in the drafting of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022. She previously facilitated workshops with Projek Layang-Layang educating adults on child sexual abuse. She has also served on the British High Commission’s Successor Generation Initiative Advisory Board as well as the National Youth Consultative Council.
Firzana founded Malaysia’s first youth-led child sexual abuse prevention NGO, Monsters Among Us (MAU). Currently, she serves as the interim President of Protect and Save the Children, a child rights NGO providing educational tools and capacity building for adults to combat sexual violence involving children. She is also the Advocacy and Outreach Officer at KRYSS Network, focusing on projects pertaining to meaningful internet access as a human rights and bodily autonomy for students. Previously, she was a Programme Officer with ARROW’s Information and Communications team for almost two years working on projects on gender equality and the harmful practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). She is legally trained in civil law (LLB) and Syariah Practice (DLSA) and has been called to the Bar in 2021. She is also an alumni of the YSEALI Academic Fellowship and has participated in Indonesia’s Women Ulama Congress as an observer in 2022.
Harinder Sekhon, a renowned professional athlete and high school mathematics teacher, brings a unique blend of athletic prowess and academic expertise. As a two-time world record holder in the categories of “highest single leg box-jump” and “highest seated box-jump,” Harinder’s exceptional achievements exemplify his dedication to pushing boundaries. Currently training with the national long jump team, he has also represented the nation in cricket, showcasing his versatility and commitment to sports. With an unwavering belief in the value of hard work, discipline, and dedication, Harinder inspires individuals to strive for excellence in all aspects of life.
Leeroy Ting is a law graduate who is deeply passionate about public policy and leadership. He currently leads the Regional Public Affairs function at Carsome, Malaysia’s first unicorn and Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform. Prior to this, he established and led the Public Policy and Government Affairs team at Shopee Malaysia – growing the role from a team of 1 to a team of 12 spanning 3 distinct functions. Leeroy also has meaningful experience in Government, having served as a Special Officer to the Minister of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs and Perdana Fellow to the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is also an accomplished debater, having won multiple speaker awards and crowned champion of various national and international competitions.
Julius Ho is the Co-founder and CEO of Arrivo. Arrivo is an AI Company that builds innovative Artificial Intelligence products starting with License Plate Recognition. The mission of the company is to create Artificial Intelligence products which have low entry barriers so everyone can adapt Artificial Intelligence into their life with ease.
Julius also believes that Artificial Intelligence will transform everyone’s life one day and be part of everyone’s life. In 2020, Julius and James decided to quit their first job and founded Arrivo together because they believe they have a purpose and that’s changing the world using AI. With AI being more sophisticated, Arrivo is ready to push the boundaries and create more meaningful products that make Artificial Intelligence even more friendly to use.
4 years into the entrepreneurial journey, Julius always has faith in the purpose especially in this quote “Protect your purpose and your purpose will protect you.”
Currently pursuing the Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in Taylors, I have always been an avid fan of debate and public speaking. Other than the mental rigour found in the sports, I enjoy planning and hosting events, creative work and reading! I especially find passion in events where personal growth is parallel with contributing back to society, so other than being involved with law related clubs, being a part of AIESEC is also a way of realising this for me.
Tariq has been involved in debating for almost 2 decades in a plethora of roles: as a debater, he won multiple championships and participated in regional and international competitions. As a coach, he’s trained students in South Korea, China, and Thailand to win their own competitions and represent their respective countries. Tariq took part in public debates regarding minimum wage and school autonomy on BFM. In his legal career, he worked at Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill and a billion-ringgit retail conglomerate.
Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar has been working in human rights since 2009 with, and for various organisations such as Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) and the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism & Human Rights (MCCHR aka Pusat Rakyat LoyarBurok). He employs various modalities in his advocacy, including facilitating workshops to train new advocates, public speaking engagements, and also engagement with policy and law makers. He has contributed to MCCHR’s Activating Malaysians – DIY Toolkit and designed their IdolaDemokrasi workshop, put together SUARAM’s 2011 Annual Human Rights Report, and participated in former UN Special Rapporteur for Health, Dr. Dainius Puras’ country visit to Malaysia in 2014 as a client-advocate. He was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2011, and that is the reason why he has chosen to work in the niche of mental health and human rights. He is also the founder of Rangkaian Solidariti Demokratik Pesakit Mental (SIUMAN), a collective of lived experience advocates pushing for inclusion of the disabled in governance.
Nara Shahab is the Co-Founder of Bolehspace, a social enterprise, established to highlight and share issues related to disability. It started from the intention to build a social media platform to create an online community for the disabled during the pandemic. I became a disability advocate starting from the year 2017 when I became a Professional Communication student in UiTM. To date, I have given multiple talks and sharing and the most notable one would be Hari Terbuka Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia 100 Hari in KLCC back in December 2021 as the moderator for one of their Urban Cafes.
Currently, I am one of Maybank’s employees who strives to give her all to open more doors for disabled out there while playing my role in the society as an advocate for social issues such as #JusticeforBella, accessibility, education and employment of the disabled.
Meera read Law and also completed her Masters in Law in Intellectual Property and Shipping Law. She worked as a Commercial Litigator. In 1995 Meera became a member of the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and was elected as President of WAO in 2000 for several years. Meera was part of a 6 member NGO team that went to New York in 2006 to present before the CEDAW Committee, when the Malaysian government was reporting. In 2010, Meera was elected as President of the Association of Women Lawyers (AWL) and she now remains as a Committee Member.
Meera is a part of a 6 member NGO team of the Harapan OKU Law Reform Group that has re-drafted the Persons With Disability Act and presented the draft to various Ministries. In March this year , she was appointed by the Government to be part of the Special Project Team, representing the Bar to amend the present Persons With Disability Act . Meera has on various occasions been on BFM and presented to various Ministries on the need to address Disability Rights in Malaysia.
Fahda Nur is an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya and was called to the Bar in 2001. Fahda’s twenty (22) years of practice has focused primarily on litigation. Formerly an associate at the law firms of Zain & Co. and Tommy Thomas, Fahda is currently the Managing Partner of her own law firm, Fahda Nur & Yusmadi.
Fahda was the former recipient of the National Youth Award (1999) and Commonwealth Youth Award (1999) who continued her passion to work towards community empowerment and is currently focused on issues affecting women and the disabled. In 2017, she was named a Member of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (A.M.S.). She is currently a trustee and director of a foundation and member of the Board of Advisors to Anak Istimewa Selangor (ANIS), after completing her term as Chairman of Majlis Tindakan OKU Selangor (MTOS). She is also a mother of three and was gifted with a special needs daughter born with Down Syndrome.
Noraishah Mydin bt Haji Abdul Aziz, PhD was born on the 3 rd of May 1975 with a severe congenital defect known as lipomyelomeningocele. Despite being born with a high spina bifida, she learnt how to walk with the aid of orthoses and crutches and completed the Malaysian education system before reading Developmental Neurobiology at University College London. She made senior lecturer on the 1 st of September 2007 and has since done everything in her power to fight for the layman in Malaysia. She abhors any form of patronage and will do everything in her power to champion hardwork and judicious methods of meritocracy. On the 5 th of November 2022, Dr Noraishah became the 1st woman
Person With Disability to contest for a Malaysian Parliamentary seat.
Dr. Anthony Chong is the co-founder and secretary of the Malaysian Sign Language and Deaf Studies Association. He graduated with a PhD degree in Sociology and two masters, namely Linguistics and Deaf Studies with a focus on Cultural Studies. He was the recipient of the World Deaf Leadership Scholarship, funded by the Nippon Foundation for his second master’s degree.
He has presented papers on Deaf People and Culture at various conferences. He has authored several articles on topics related to the Malaysian Sign Language and Deaf community. The focus of his study is mainly on the Malaysian Deaf and for this, he is actively
involved in Deaf community projects through the association which allow him to conduct research on Deaf people. He is a Deaf activist for more than 20 years with multiple roles: advocate, educator, facilitator, speaker, and researcher.
He was invited as speaker and facilitator to talk about Deaf people, Deaf culture and Malaysian Sign Language. He also has wide experience in organising various programme, such as international camps and training courses with local associations. His deafness since birth does not stop him from doing what he wishes, which is to see better development in the community.
Keerat is an enthusiastic and motivated 19 year old undergraduate who is eager to learn and grow. She is currently the President of the Scholar’s Club at Taylor’s University and was previously the 1st Runner Up at the English Speaking Union Malaysia Public Speaking Competition in 2021. Keerat is a recipient of the Talent Scholarship from Taylor’s College and Taylor’s University. She has a great passion for the betterment of the world and how the younger generation can do so, which is reflected through her charity work, especially regarding animal rights.
Emellia was a corporate advisory and civil litigation lawyer turned compliance executive for a multinational GLC in Malaysia. Throughout this time, she was entrusted with Corporate Governance matters, while managing the Whistleblowing channels and cases within the organisation.
In 2019, she left her corporate job to serve as the CEO of MIDP. Under her leadership, MIDP cemented its role as a leading institute on soft skills education in Malaysia, both in the education and corporate sectors.
Emellia is also the Managing Partner of Speak Up Malaysia. She is currently leading the project to draft the first ever Corporate Governance Guidelines on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in the country. She was a part of the team to draft and successfully lobby for the passing of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill with the Ministry of Women, the Attorney General’s Chambers and Parliament. Emellia is also a consultant for various other Ministries, working hand-in-hand with the Government to create policies, mechanisms and cultures that promote safe, inclusive and productive spaces for Malaysian students and workforce.
Dr. Ong Kian-Ming is Program Director, Philosophy Politics & Economics (PPE) at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. He is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Yusof-Ishak Institute of Southeast Asia Studies (ISEAS). He is a former two-term Member of Parliament in Malaysia from 2013 to 2022 representing the Democratic Action Party (DAP). He was the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) from July 2018 to February 2020. He was a former Fulbright Scholar and holds a PhD in Political Science from Duke University, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. He was formerly a lecturer at UCSI University, a researcher at the Socio-Economic Development and Research (SEDAR) Institute and the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Studies (INSAP) and a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the KL office. He was an ASEAN Scholar and completed his “O” and “A” levels in Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College respectively.
YB. P Prabakaran is a Malaysian politician and law student who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batu since May 2018. He is a member of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, and was an independent before joining PKR. He has also served as the Division Chief of PKR of Batu since July 2022. He served as the Youth Chief of PKR of the Federal Territory from February 2020 to August 2022. He is also presently the second youngest MP at the age of 27 after Sungai Petani MP Mohammed Taufiq Johari who was born a month later than him. He was the youngest MP from 2018 to 2022 after Johari was elected. However, he is the youngest to be elected at the age of 22 years, 90 days in 2018 in the history of Malaysia.
YB Senator Puan Hajah Fuziah Salleh is is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister Salahuddin Ayub as well as Senator since December 2022. She served as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of religious affairs in the PH administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and former Minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa from July 2018 until February 2020 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kuantan from March 2008 to November 2022. She is a member of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH coalition. She also served as the Women Chief of PKR from July 2020 to July 2022 and Vice President of PKR from November 2010 to August 2014 as well as the State Chairperson of PH of Pahang from March 2019 to September 2022.
Saraya Mia is a broadcast journalist in Astro AWANI who among others, anchors and produces It’s About Youth, a current affairs talk show that delves into issues concerning young Malaysians and to inspire youths to speak up for change.
Being in the news and current affairs industry for about five years, topics such as climate, wild life, education and women and children’s rights have always been her beat as she aims to become the voice of the unheard.
Goh Cia Yee is a criminal lawyer with extensive experience in handling cases involving prisoners in remand, persons under investigation and detainees without trial for offences such as murder, drug trafficking, immigration and many others. He also provides legal assistance to complainants in cases of police misconduct. He is also a member of the Young Lawyers Movement, a group of public-spirited individuals advocating for better working conditions in the legal profession. In his spare time, he channels his passion for human rights in his writings and articles, hoping to contribute to a larger journey of change for the nation.
Katrina Jorene Maliamauv is a human rights activist who has worked for over a decade upholding and defending the rights of all persons, particularly migrants, refugees and persons in various forms of slavery. Currently serving as Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia, Katrina leads the organisation in their campaigns to defend and protect freedom of expression, abolish the death penalty, defend the rights of migrants and refugees, end police violence, and promote an intersectionality of issues and rights. She has a BSc in Psychology, and is a Chevening Scholarship recipient with a Master’s degree in Applied Human Rights. She is unwavering in the pursuit of justice, is a feminist, and a believer in the power of hope, radical love, and collective action to reimagine and create a more inclusive, just and equal world for all.
Sharon Wah is the co-founder of MISI: Solidariti, a youth collective aiming to teach the utility of intersectional perspectives and bring out the value of direct action in Malaysian activism. She was actively involved in the fight against custodial deaths in 2021, having worked as a campaign member for the IPCMC cluster alongside SUARAM, lobbying for change through a petition with over 250k signatories, and spoken on various panels— some of which have landed her in some “interesting” encounters with the police.
Jernell Tan is currently the Documentation & Monitoring Coordinator at Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM). She is the former Information & Communications Officer at All Women’s Action Society (AWAM). On the side, Jernell is also currently involved in the area of mental health, via the youth-led and youth-run NGO Mental Health Aid Association (Nyawa). She is an avid fan of depth, breadth and frameworks.
Heidy Quah is a champion of human rights. At just 18 years old, she founded RFTR, an organisation that has been making a real difference in the lives of refugees in Malaysia for 10 remarkable years.
Now at 28 years old, Heidy’s influence extends far beyond Malaysia, as she guides policy and corporate responsibility efforts both locally and internationally. At the moment, Heidy wears multiple hats, including being the Expansion Lead of Pinkcollar, Malaysia’s first ethical recruitment agency for migrant workers. She’s also an Associate Professor at Taylor’s Lakeside University and a PhD supervisor at Australia Catholic University.
Over the past decade, Heidi has received numerous accolades for her work. In 2017, she was named a recipient of the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award. And in 2020, she was honoured with the South East Asia Women Of The Future Award for her ongoing contributions to human rights and social equity in the region.
Amy is an international relations graduate driven by a profound passion for politics, education, and youth empowerment. Leveraging her background in IR and debating, she excels in providing platforms for young individuals to voice their opinions, question norms, and challenge the status quo. Aside from serving as the Content and Marketing Officer at MIDP, her work revolves around creating opportunities for youth to speak up and empowering them to make a positive impact. Through her role at MIDP, Amy continues to make a difference by fostering an environment of critical thinking, engagement, and growth.
Bawani is a notable figure in the realms of politics, law and activism. She currently serves as the Deputy Secretary General of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and also serves as the Chairperson of PSM in Perak. She is a lawyer by profession, and is also the Managing Partner of Messrs Bawani Nur, a law firm based in Kampar, Perak. She stood as a candidate in GE14 in DUN Malim Nawar as well as in GE15 in DUN Ayer Kuning.
Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas is a young politician from Sabah. She holds a law degree from
the University of London, and completed a Masters of Laws from the University of The West
of England. Throughout her career, Jo-Anna has held several political positions, including serving as the Deputy Head of Wirawati of Parti Warisan Sabah, Head of Wirawati of Tuaran Division, and as the former Political Secretary to the Chief Minister of Sabah, YB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Shafie Apdal.
Additionally, she has been actively involved in welfare and community programs in empowering interior locals of Sabah, women and youth as well as a deep passion in early childhood education. With her diverse background and experience, Jo-Anna strives towards having a deep understanding of the needs of her community and having a clear vision for the future of Sabah.
Bryan kicked off his varsity debate career by making it to multiple local novice and open finals in his first year at IIUM. Since then he has been the vice president of the IIUM English Debate Club in which he helped coordinate and organize various debate tournaments for his university. He has been very active in the debate scene and his notable achievements along the years include recently being the ESL Grand Finalist at the prestigious Oxford Inter-Varsity Debating Championship 2022 and a ESL Semi-Finalist at the prestigious Cambridge Inter-Varsity Debating Championship 2022 as well as making it to the knockout rounds of major tournaments such as the Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship 2021, United Asians Debating Championship 2020 and Australasian Inter-Varsity Debating Championship 2021. Bryan’s classes are matter packed, filled with strategy and very interactive, he believes that every student has their own unique potential just waiting to be unlocked.
Asvine Pillai is the Course Senior Executive & Trainer Management at MIDP. Her background in Diploma in Education (TESL) and Bachelor of Education (Honours) – TESL, helps her understand the importance of having a proper pedagogical approach in training and she also helps to develop the training syllabus in MIDP.
Asvine has spent the past 3 years teaching as the Senior Teacher for English, Science, PJK and MUET subjects from Year 4 up to Form 6 for primary and secondary schools in both the Government and Private sectors. She is passionate about public speaking and performing arts. She has been actively involved in the scene and her other experiences includes being a judge for the SKSJ Public Speaking Competition 2016, Art Director and Crew for a play production titled “The Curse of Lusitania” at the Performing Arts Theatre in Management and Science University. Overall, she is a very fun, interactive and engaging educator with lots of interesting hobbies.
Tess first started debating competitively in University. Under team Malaya, she debated and judged numerous tournaments and championships both locally and internationally. She went on to be an ESL Semi-finalist in Australasians Debating Championship 2018 and Finalist of the Malaysian National Royals 2018 before graduating in 2019. She also has experience teaching internationally in countries like China and Qatar. As a full time educator now, Tess works with children and teenagers on a daily basis and has over 5 years of experience in curating lessons that are effective and interactive.
Even since she was little, Alka has always loved speaking. A former national public speaking champion, Alka has won the Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor Public Speaking Challenge Trophy, Youth Speaks for the Nation Elocution Contest, and several other accolades.
Alka also began taking an interest in international relations and policy issues, leading her to take part in Model United Nations Conferences. Through MUN, she has won awards including Best Delegate, Most Outstanding Parliamentarian, and Most Diplomatic Delegate. Now, she is a climate activist and founder of the Malaysian Youth Climate Action Pact, former coordinator of the Malaysian Youth Delegation Capacity Building Working Group, as well as former contact point of the Human Rights Working Group in the Youth Official Constituency to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change. A lover of unicorns and all things pink, Alka is now pursuing her Bachelor of Economics in USM Penang.
Sharyfa fell in love with the art of debating five years ago when she began her journey. In her first year of competitive debating, she managed to bag the Novice Overall Best Speaker award at UT MARA Open 2017. Since then, she has appeared in numerous break rounds of debate tournaments, such as being a three-time semi-finalist of the Malaysian National Intervarsity Championship and a two-time grand finalist of the Borneo British Parliamentary Championship.
Apart from debating, Sharyfa enjoys judging debates and has judged international competitions across Asia, including China, Bangladesh, and Singapore. She views her involvement in being a judge as an integral part in the development and growth of young and upcoming debaters. Most recently, she was awarded as the Overall Best Judge in the Malaysia National Schools Debating Championship 2021. As a coach, Sharyfa has been a part of several workshops and has found a passion for teaching the next generation of debaters. She is a firm believer that the skills that come with debating are fundamental in everyday life. Hence, she is committed to ensuring her classes will not only aid students in becoming great speakers but also great critical thinkers. She is excited to share her vast knowledge with her students in an interactive, accessible, yet fun way.
Danesh began his competitive debate journey as a freshman representative for University Malaya’s famed debating club in a local tournament and has continued debating since. He has collected numerous accolades, namely two-time Asian Quarterfinalists, Open Octofinalist of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships (Australs), Semifinalist of the World’s Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) English as Second Language (ESL) Category. He has also made the Cambridge IV Finals (ESL) and was Champion of Australs (ESL) in 2020 while bagging the finals best speaker award. Locally, Danesh has won 3 national titles and has made multiple top 10 best speaker lists. He looks forward to having informative and enjoyable classes.
If Tariq’s love for debating were a child, they would be taking SPM right now. Having won multiple trophies for Universiti Teknologi MARA and making it to the semifinals of international tournaments such as the All-Asians and Asian British Parliamentary Championships, he was later appointed the Chief Adjudicator of Australs in 2013. He has taught in Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong, and his students have proceeded to represent their illustrious universities in the United Kingdom and United States. Tariq believes that in allowing each student’s inner voice to flourish and blossom. His philosophy, whether in debating or in weekly quizzes he regularly participates in, is simply: whether you win or lose, learning something new is its own reward. Fun fact: Tariq coached or coached the coaches of half the debate trainers here at MIDP.
Hanania is a budding talent in the public speaking world while also competitively debating internationally. Hanania is passionate in youth and women empowerment and she has emceed 2 massive international events that uplifts women and children alike. She launched herself in the debating scene by being one of the top 10 Novice Speakers in Malaysia. She is always looking for ways to share her knowledge and experience in advocacy and public speaking by being an invited speaker in workshops, and forums. Hanania is a member of Brand Integration, Youthcare Malaysia where she works to integrating the movement to an entertainment-friendly advocacy. Hanania offers a unique perspective to public speaking as she values confidence in individual speaker and will work tirelessly to harness the talent she sees in her class.
Salleh started debating in the year 2020 since being elected as Vice President at their college’s debate club and has broken opens at over 20 tournaments since. As a novice they won the Asia Novice Debate Open 2021 while being the 2nd best speaker. Nationally, they have broken at the Malaysian National Inter-varsity Debate Championship 2021 while being the 2nd best speaker at that tournament and subsequently was a member of the adjudication core for the Malaysian National Universities Debate Championship in 2022. Salleh’s most notable achievements include making the Open Semifinals for Doxbridge 5, Uhuru Worlds 2022, an open break at Doxbridge Worlds 2022, as well as the Open Grand Finals for East Coast Debate Open 2021, East Malaysia Open 2022 and Korea Inter-varsity Debate Association Open 2022 where they won their first open tournament. As an adjudicator they’ve judged the Division 1 and 2 finals of the Singapore Primary School Debate Open 2022, and was the 2nd Best Adjudicator at Hanoi Debate Tournament 2022. Salleh is extremely competitive and is looking forward to bringing that into their teachings.
One fateful afternoon, Elia decided to take a peek into his local varsity debate training and ever since then, he was hooked. Elia fell in love with the sport and sincerely believes that his years of debating contributed to building the person he is today. In his debating years, he held the Vice President title of the IIUM Debate Club in which he had participated and excelled in over 30 local and international tournaments combined. Elia is also an active adjudicator in the scene whereby he has been invited to adjudicate debate tournaments in Cambodia, Vietnam and China in the past couple of years. Locally, he has racked several notable achievements including the top speaker at the Malaysian National Debating Championship 2021, Malaysia’s largest university-level debating championship. Aside from debating, Elia also teaches public speaking as he believes that being introduced to critical thinking skills from different sports shapes youths holistically and prepares them for the future.
Iqmal has been a passionate speaker ever since 2015 when he first entered into the world of debating. He began his journey in Model United Nations in 2018 and has attained a plethora of awards ever since. The most recent of which was the Most Outstanding Delegate Award in the 2022 Taylor’s Lakeside Model United Nations. Apart from MUNs, Iqmal also loves the nitty gritty work of legal research which propelled him to become a Finalist of the Philip C. International Law Moot Court Competition (European Rounds). Equipped with the skills of advocacy, research, negotiating skills and his love towards meaningful conversations & above all, listening to new insights, he hopes to pass on this knowledge and passion to those he meets.
Sri started dabbling in public speaking at the age of 13. She did it to overcome her fear of speaking in public. With consistent effort, she managed to overcome it and became a deputy prefect in her school. During her studies at UiTM, she also became the emcee several events. One of which was for Induction Week and she did it for 3 semesters consecutively. Currently, she works as a Corporate Trainer and Policy Specialist at a well-known IT firm in Kuala Lumpur. She spends her time communicating with stakeholders and giving policy presentations to Operators within the project. Sri believes that public speaking helped her to secure the best opportunities that was presented to her and she wishes to share it with her students. Her goal is to inspire young minds to be creative and confident in portraying themselves. Everything is possible once you believe in yourself.
Amirah has been involved in Model United Nations conferences on national and international levels. Amirah has recently been awarded as the Outstanding Delegation in Youth Summit for Model Global Environmental Negotiation 2021 organized by Peking University School of International Studies and World Wide Fund for Nature Beijing and a Honorable Mention delegate in Student Energy Model United Nations Conference (SE-MUN) Process Engineering and Energy Days organized by the University of Indonesia.With a passion in policy making and the science behind it, Amirah aims to create an inclusive discussion on both foreign and local issues in her class.
Lois is a university student who has been teaching English to young students aged between 6 to 17 for the past 2 years. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Education at the University of Malaya. In 2020, she graduated with distinction for her Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). She is an active proponent of youth empowerment and development. As a teacher, Lois is a strong advocate for creative expression, freedom of speech, interactivity and engagement, as well as critical thinking in the classroom. Well-versed in conducting English proficiency classes, camps and activities, she believes wholeheartedly in creating a positive, supportive snd safe space for students to develop self-confidence and express themselves. With encouragement and guidance, she hopes to inspire her students to discover new facets to the English language and realise their full potential.
Fresh from the Master in Public Policy programme at King’s College London, Aina brings with her over 8 years of debating experience and 9 years of teaching experience. She was recently selected to give a TEDx talk in London where she presented her research on unpaid care work. In her varsity years, she won eight national titles and represented Malaysia at various international tournaments. Aina is a full-time legal professional who loves spending her weekends teaching children about current affairs and the art of public speaking. When she sees her students passionately arguing for women’s rights, quality education and universal healthcare, she knows that her job is done.
Sandra has been actively involved as a member of the Model United Nation community for the past 7 years. Her accomplishments include chairing at International Model United Nations, several best delegate awards and most passionate speaker at MCKLMUN, PenangMUN, SUNMUN, and MONMUNIC. Outside of MUN, Sandra has also won the Policy-Making Competition held by Skills Career Youth in conjunction with the Sheffield Malaysian Students Association, earning her a mention in the Star newspaper. Sandra is passionate about passing on her knowledge and giving back to the MUN community and looks to make her classes an engaging experience for all.
Taqiyuddin Redzuan has always had a burning passion for debating ever since being exposed to the debating scene in his high school days. His achievements in the debating circuit include being the ESL Semifinalist of Korea Pre-World Universities Debating Championship 2020 and ESL Quarterfinalist of Doxbridge Worlds 2021. On top of his stellar debating achievements, he has judged multiple tournaments both locally and internationally during his competitive debating era. Taqi has always believed in improving access to the younger generations by providing the same transformative tools of speech and critical thinking that he was fortunate enough to receive. He is a fun and cheerful person that will surely impart great knowledge to his students and inspire them to be better speakers and better people.
Emellia is a lawyer by profession and a speech coach by passion with her expertise as a litigator and coaching experience for the past 9 years, Emellia is one of the most renowned speech trainers in Malaysia. Emellia is Malaysia’s national champion in 2012 and was awarded the top 10 best speaker awards 6 times in both Malaysia and Singapore. Internationally, she was a semifinalist of the Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship 2 times in a row and a quarterfinalist of the United Asian Debating Championship. As a judge, Emellia has broken in multiple international competitions including in Singapore, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. As a coach, Emellia has successfully trained a group of students to win the Asian Schools Debating Championship in 2014 and rank top 10 in the World’s Scholar’s Cup in 2017 and 2018. Emellia’s passion in education has led to her appointment as CEO of MIDP.
Azim’s passion for communication and soft skills training was sparked by an introduction to debate and public speaking. He has excelled both competitively, becoming a two-time Malaysian National debate champion, as well as numerous achievements that have brought him from Australia to China, and South Africa. He also takes an active measure to develop new speakers and encourage active participation in his tenure as the Chair of the Asian and Malaysian Debate Councils respectively. Even from his days as a student, the development of soft skills training has been his interest.
Hailing from a background in Communications, Azim makes it his core tenet to not just develop effective communication skills, but to also make it entertaining and informative. With his years of experience in training, he believes that critical cognition and speech is a craft that can be taught, honed, and perfected through study and practice.
Angel is passionate about speaking efficiently. She is a strong advocate for students to be opinionated and expressive with their thoughts.
Have had been in the F&B business, she understands the importance of being articulated with words and presenting a spirited presence so she always managed to win the hearts of customers and colleagues with her service. As for her hobby, she gives credit to her family for instilling a habit of reading and loves nothing more than sitting with her nose buried in a book.
As a dedicated reader, academic success wasn’t difficult for Angel as she graduated with honours in Bachelor of Education in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and is currently pursuing another degree in Bachelor in Legal Studies. Not to mention, her vast collection of books. As for her teaching career, Angel has always believed in improving the lives of others through education. She has taught in an SMK and provided private tutoring to students of all ages, therefore has experience in teaching students of various ages. She has shown herself to be someone who upholds admirable standards unto all her students and expects nothing less than constant improvement of oneself.
Angel is a highly motivated, enthusiastic, and dedicated educator who wants all children to be successful and expressive learners.
R.AGE Investigative Journalist and host turned Broadcast Journalist, Emcee, and Voice Over Artist. Myrra Baity has a wide range of experience speaking to the public through various mediums. Aside from those mentioned above, she is also a featured spoken word poet who has performed for poetry exhibitions such as “My Malaysia Is…” and “Urbanscapes Jalan Dalam show”. As an avid debater since the age of 16, Ms Baity has represented her state in the Datuk Wira Cup in high school and was among the Top 10 best speakers at the Gender Debates in University. As a person, she only has one goal in life, which is to help people, she has exhibited this through her 3-year-long run as a National Campaign manager and ideator for the award-winning #Standtogether Kindness Bullying Prevention Campaign, where she ideated and executed 4 nationwide programs for High school and Primary school students alongside Unicef Malaysia, TeachForMalaysia and the Ministry of Education.
Syasya Fooad is a current Final Year English Linguistics major from IIUM, and is expected to graduate in 2022 after finishing her write up about a stylistic analysis of millennial breakup songs. She found passion in all things oratory and public speaking from as early as 8 years old. She began with an interest in Malay poetry recitals and Arabic choral speaking, and her interest bloomed to critical public speaking and debating. Her interest had earned her and her team the Semi Finalist position during the 2016 IIUM Interschool Debating Competition, a record-breaking achievement as the first SMK to break into the semi final rounds. Ever since then, Syasya occasionally coached for Malay debating at her alma mater, while expanding her interest in a new oratory gig – emceeing. To date, Syasya is an active freelance emcee for 3 years, but with an impressive record of events as she had also hosted and moderated several international events, including those held by government organizations such as MACC and MOE. With her experience too, she actively organizes monthly presentation skills workshop ‘Upgrading the Basics’ at several local universities to help others improve their basic presentation skills. Her module has helped more than 400 university students nationwide.
Syasya believed that it was her interest at a very young age that brought her to where she is today, and she wishes to bring the same message to more young talents through MIDP as she joins them in 2022.
As a performer through and through, Azureen has spent her whole life in front of an audience. Either through her acting in musical theatre, public and choral speaking competitions, or debating tournaments, With years of experience in being an event coordinator and facilitator for team building corporations, Azureen is no stranger to presenting herself in a composed, warm manner. Currently working as an E-Commerce Manager and Sales Strategist, Azureen spends her days negotiating contracts, communicating with investors, and giving presentations on current and future campaign projects. Spends her time giving talks relating to her industry and participating in events and conferences from her management of international brands. Azureen has the sole goal of nurturing creative thinking in her students as well as inspire them to be comfortable and confident in themselves.
Povind is experienced in team management, mentoring and coaching. During his tenure as coach and Vice President of his University Debate club, Povind trained and led the debate team in both weekly training sessions and tournaments. He also helped to grow the debate presence in the Northern region of Malaysia. Some of his notable experiences are as an Open Finals adjudicator at China Pre-Nationals Debate Championship 2021, Novice Finalist at Northern Debate Open 2020, and Overall Best Speaker at Northern University Malaysia Debate Championship 2018.
Sharyfa fell in love with the art of debating five years ago when she began her journey. In her first year of competitive debating, she managed to bag the Novice Overall Best Speaker award at UT MARA Open 2017. Since then, she has appeared in numerous break rounds of debate tournaments, such as being a three-time semi-finalist of the Malaysian National Intervarsity Championship and a two-time grand finalist of the Borneo British Parliamentary Championship. Apart from debating, Sharyfa enjoys judging debates and has judged international competitions across Asia, including China, Bangladesh, and Singapore. She views her involvement in being a judge as an integral part in the development and growth of young and upcoming debaters. Most recently, she was awarded as the Overall Best Judge in the Malaysia National Schools Debating Championship 2021. As a coach, Sharyfa has been a part of several workshops and has found a passion for teaching the next generation of debaters. She is a firm believer that the skills that come with debating are fundamental in everyday life. Hence, she is committed to ensuring her classes will not only aid students in becoming great speakers but also great critical thinkers. She is excited to share her vast knowledge with her students in an interactive, accessible, yet fun way.
Kiki started debating in 2019 but has broken into more than 20 tournaments that are held across the world as a speaker. Asides from being crowned as the champion of Guangdong Debate Challenge and Macau Inter-Tertiary English Debating Competition in 2021, her most notable achievement is reaching the ESL Quarterfinals of the World Universities Championship in 2021, Open Semi-final of Asian British Parliamentary Debating Championship in 2021 and Northeast Asian Debate Championship in 2020. Besides that, she has been the chief adjudicator of multiple tournaments and has successfully made her way to judge the EFL Final at the United Asian Debating Championship in 2021. Her classes are designed to help you to overcome structural barriers as a non-native speaker and to inspire you to view debating in various perspectives.
Kimberley entered competitive debating at the age of 14. As a speaker, she ranked 6th and reached the Open Octofinals in the 2021 Asian Championship. One of her proudest achievements was when she partnered a young debater in KDU’s Professional-Amatuer tournament where they emerged as Champions. This is a testament of how much she enjoys guiding & working with young debaters as they strive to become phenomenal speakers. As an adjudicator, she successfully made her way to judge the ESL Quarterfinals at the World Universities Debating Championship and was awarded the Outstanding Adjudicator of the Year Award consecutively for 2019 & 2020 by the Malaysian Universities National Debating Council. Kimberley’s classes are designed to challenge young minds to think critically in formulating their own thoughts and opinions whilst also inspiring them to speak with confidence!
With multiple championship titles under his belt while debating for University of Malaya, Patrick is also the reigning Asian champion upon winning 2021’s United Asian Debating Championship. Adding to his list of most notable achievements are Grand Finalist of the World Universities Debating Championships for the English as a Second Language (ESL) Category and ESL Champion of the Australasians Inter-Varsity Debating Championship. As an adjudicator, Patrick has judged in more than 13 countries and has served on the core adjudication panel of over 30 tournaments including the Asian British Parliamentary Championship. He was formerly a co-coach of the Malaysian National Debate Team under the purview of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, where he led the team to a historic first rank break at the world championships Patrick’s wit and humour as well as his amazing debating skills will make your journey to becoming a champion debater a fun one!
Daniel is no stranger to local and international debating as his debating and judging accolades are scattered throughout Asia. His achievements in the debating circuit include being a Grand Finalist of the Seoul Open and Guangdong Debate Challenge as well as bagging top speaker awards on the way. He has also made his mark in major tournaments where he was a semi-finalist of the Australasian Championships ESL Category, Malaysian Nationals and broke as a judge in both UADC and the Australasian Championships. His commitment to coaching has seen him develop local schools to teaching debates internationally. Daniel’s classes are designed to inspire you to view debating in perspectives and to embrace YOUR development journey.
Hilmy is one of Asia’s best debaters throughout his varsity career. Currently, he is the head trainer of the IIUM Debate Club. He was a Grand Finalist at the Asian Debate Championships in Vietnam and the World Universities Championship in Cape Town and was recognised as Malaysia’s Debater of the Year in 2019. As a trainer, he has trained students all over Malaysia and China. Experienced, professional and friendly, Hilmy is always excited to help his students to be the best version of themselves.
Jonathan is an accomplished coach and mentor for Model United Nations (MUN). With over 8 years of experience in MUN, he has received the honour to chair and win delegate awards at both local and international MUN conferences. He was a chair at the Asia Youth Model United Nations (AYIMUN) 2020. He has won best delegate and honourable mentions at Penang MUN, TayMUN and Johor MUN. Furthermore, as a YSEALI fellow (a programme by the U.S. State Department) he was selected to represent Malaysia to study Civic Engagement and International Human Rights in association with the U.N. Institute of Training and Research (CIFAL Atlanta) in the U.S. Jonathan is passionate about sharing his experiences and knowledge to bring out the best of people and is excited to meet you in his class!
A TESL graduate from the University of Malaya. Aiman has been actively involved in conducting several English programs, one being a theatre showcase which promotes the use of the English language through the medium of theatre. He is also teaching English to urban poor students under a research project named PEARL (Pedagogy of English Acquisition Among Urban Poor Learners) which focuses on the learning of English through a fun an interactive way. Aiman has led several high impact projects including an education exchange program in Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Aiman is passionate in engaging and empowering the youth with being fun, friendly and supportive as his main traits. In his class, Aiman aims to create a safe zone for students to freely express their opinions and learn without the fear of commiting mistakes.
Irfan is a university student who has been teaching English to children for the past 3 years. Adequately experienced in conducting English camps as well as English proficiency classes, Irfan is known for being cheerful, friendly, enthusiastic and supportive in the classroom. As a teacher, his central style in teaching is one which is interactive and engaging to ensure that his young students are able to gain the most from his class. Irfan believes that students should be encouraged to express their own opinions and share their thoughts freely in the classroom. He is also experienced in public speaking as he has been engaged to emcee multiple notable events such as the Biennial Intervarsity Games 2018 and TedxUM 2019.
Iman Hassan has been incredibly passionate about debating since her first year in university. Her achievements in the debating circuit include being the ESL Quarterfinalist of the World Championships in 2020 and the ESL Semi Finalist of the prestigious Cambridge Inter-varsity in 2019. She has reached the Finals of multiple other local tournaments such as Malaysia Women’s Open 2018 and Malaysia Debate Open 2017. She has judged tournaments across Asia including Singapore, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Her achievements aside, Iman really enjoys teaching debating and wants to inspire the upcoming generation to continuously think critically and articulate their thoughts with sophistication. She believes that debating should be as fun as it is informative and hopes to share her knowledge and experience with all of her students!
Allison Jong is an English Literature graduate from University Malaya who has been passionate about debating since the age of 15. She was the champion of Malaysian Royal Inter-varsity Debating Championship and Australasian Inter-varsity Debating Championship (ESL Category) in 2017. Allison has judged more than 60 tournaments around the world and was the 3rd best judge in the Asian World Schools Debating Championship in 2016 and 5th best judge in Asia in 2017. She has coached and conducted multiple debating and public speaking workshops nationwide and finds that training debaters is where she feels most fulfilled. Allison is always cheerful and fun in her classes and her positive energy is very contagious. She makes sure her students can learn to the best of their capabilities and inspires them to go beyond their potential.
Priyasree is an English teacher and freelances as a corporate emcee. Her decade old emceeing career has witnessed countless events on various national and international stages including a number of ASTRO TV shows. She has also spoken at global conferences and events attended by the former PM and DPM of Malaysia, local and international dignitaries, corporate leaders and NGOs. Priyasree is a language and literature major who is passionate about teaching self-expression through public speaking. She loves exploring intellectual virtues through literature and discourse. Her interpersonal and persuasive skills are her strengths in motivating students to participate in a classroom culture of leadership, opportunities and reflections by encouraging students to think out of the box, brainstorm ideas, express individuality and articulate opinions.
Ainin is currently a master’s degree student pursuing Teaching English as Second Language (TESL). Graduated with distinction, she was awarded the Royal Education Award 2020 for her astounding achievements and contribution to the community. Ainin is an experienced public speaker who is passionate about education and women’s equality. She represented Malaysia in a series of international events across the world and was given recognition by ASEAN University Network (AUN) for her speaking abilities and captivating speeches. Ainin has a vast coaching experience and her students are the central focus in her approach. Ainin aims to bring the best out of every student through engaging sessions filled with fun and meaningful activities. She is an avid believer that with the right guidance and support, every child will eventually unleash their utmost potential.
Having taken TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) in his diploma years, Shah spent some time teaching English in primary schools in Terengganu, before furthering his studies in English linguistics and literature, where he now also teaches public speaking to university students. Fascinated by the sway of words and their delivery; Shah took the interest and refined it as he could, participating in tournaments from Model United Nations to youth conferences, winning multiple awards as best speaker, as well as representing Malaysia in the International Public Speaking Competition in London in 2017 against 40 other countries. Shah is always enthusiastic to share and help others in becoming the best communicators they can be and believes that anyone, through their words, may voice the great expanse of human emotion and expression.
Aissa is a Cambridge graduate working as a legal counsel for a property development firm in Kuala Lumpur. She is the winner and finalist of 3 national public speaking competitions, the champion of 6 national debating tournaments and a former corporate litigator in a premier law firm. Aissa has always been eager to speak and educate others on how to best express themselves. Over the years, she has conducted various speech-related classes, competitions and workshops locally and abroad for a wide range of students. She casually shares her public speaking tips on her website and shares her view on education as a columnist for with the New Straits Times. Aissa is supportive and caring towards her students to ensure they are able to maximise their potential and are comfortable expressing themselves in her class.
Hafiz is no stranger to Malaysian debating. During his time in varsity debating, he became the Malaysian National Champion in 2019 and has spoken in the knockout rounds of the Asian Championships 3 times. He was also the English as a Second Language Quarterfinalist of the World Championships in 2020. Hafiz judged the knockout rounds of the Asian Championships as a junior, and multiple Grand Finals locally and internationally, in Thailand, South Korea, China, and the Philippines. He has coached students in local schools and abroad, mainly in South Korea & China. He believes that debating should be fun and rewarding to students. He is committed to creating a nurturing and supportive environment in his class, while being intellectually stimulating and getting at the heart of debating fundamentals. He looks forward to helping his students achieve their goals!
Having come from humble beginnings, Irtza was quick to turn his dream of representing his university on an international level into a reality. In 2018, he was an English as a Second Language (ESL) category finalist in the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Inter-Varsity tournaments. Furthermore, he was also an ESL category Semi-Finalist in the World Universities Debating Championship and recently a Semi-Finalist in the 2019 Asian Championships. Irtza believes that every child is unique and special in their own way, and that he can coach them flexibly to ensure that they can learn and grow at their own pace. Irtza’s class is interactive, intellectually stimulating, and a fun packed session, where every student gets a comfortable environment to participate and add on to discussions
Hana Zawawi is the 2019 Malaysian National Best Speaker. She has been a part of varsity debating for 4 years with many achievements in that time. In the international scene, Hana is a well-accredited debater and judge, having been crowned Australasian English as a Second Language (ESL) Category Champion and also reaching the ESL Quarterfinals of the World Universities Championship. Her experiences have made her one of Malaysia’s best in the competitive debating scene. Debating aside, she has also had experiences training not only locally, but also internationally in countries such as China. Her friendly and warm demeanour makes her a trainer that will always make learning comfortable and fun but most importantly, a trainer you can trust.
Silla Alam began her debating career in the first year of her law degree and in just a few years she has managed to be crowned the Malaysian National Champion and the Malaysian Women’s Champion in 2018. She has also appeared in the Pre-Quarterfinals and Octofinals of the Asian Championships in 2018 and 2019 respectively, as well as the English as a Second Language Semifinals of the prestigious Cambridge Intervarsity in 2019 and the largest debating competition in Asia Pacific, Australs 2020. She has been the chief adjudicator of multiple local tournaments and especially enjoys adjudicating high school tournaments as she is passionate when it comes to the growth of the Malaysian debating scene. She finds great joy in sharing her knowledge and is keen to start teaching Malaysia’s upcoming new talents.
Mika is one of the most successful debaters of her generation. As a speaker, she has been awarded Overall Best Speaker of Asia 3 times, has won the national championship back home in the Philippines 3 times, and has graced the Asian British Parliament (ABP) Championship grand finals. Her forays into major international competitions outside of Asia have been equally as impressive, making the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) Open break and the Australasian Inter-varsity Debating (Australs) Open Quarters, both in her first and only attempts.In addition, she has worked as a trainer and adjudicator in over 15 countries. But beyond the debate accolades, she is also an incredibly passionate, hardworking, and patient individual, and this translates into everything she does — especially teaching!