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Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP)Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP)
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Events

The Transformative Power of Poetry: Reflections on the Malaysian National Poetry Slam

Posted on 6 January 20236 January 2023 by MIDP
06
Jan

Written by Amy Suhana , Edited by Emellia Shariff. When I was younger, I viewed poetry as nothing more than a tedious subject. It was a form of art made […]

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Posted in Events
Soft Skills Education

Debate IS our culture

Posted on 2 November 20223 November 2022 by Azim Nadzari
02
Nov

Source: BFM Radio By Azim Nadzari Last week, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri rejected the offer of a debate between himself and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, citing that political debate is […]

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Posted in Soft Skills Education
Events

Behind-the-Scenes with Two KLYLAF Interns

Posted on 28 July 202229 July 2022 by MIDP
28
Jul

By Eriya Khongsuwan & Phoebe Heather Law We, Eriya and Phoebe, had the opportunity to lend a hand as interns in the Kuala Lumpur Youth Literary Arts Festival 2022 (KLYLAF). […]

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Posted in Events
Events

Discovering Rising Young Writers For The Stage At The Kuala Lumpur Youth Literary Arts Festival

Posted on 21 July 20222 November 2022 by Tan Xin Ni
21
Jul

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 […]

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Soft Skills Education

Of Hard Stumbles & Soft Skills

Posted on 20 June 202226 July 2022 by Emellia Shariff
20
Jun

By Lee Yan Cheng & Emellia Shariff There are two types of people: those scared of interviews, and those who love them. Be it a scholarship or job interview, most […]

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Posted in Soft Skills Education

Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP)

MIDP is an educational institution that works on improving soft skills literacy and accessibility in Malaysia through communication skills training, critical and creative thinking, arts education, as well as character building for various stakeholders. MIDP is recognised as the leading institute for soft skills education.


Information
  • No. 11A, First Floor, Jalan SS15/2A, 47500 Subang Jaya Selangor
  • +603-5612 7769
  • info@midp.edu.my
© 2021 MIDP | Powered by MICES Technology
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Leadership Team
    • General Policies & Procedures
  • Education
    • Weekly Classes
    • Trainers
    • Hire A Trainer
    • Workshops
    • Competitions
  • Corporate
  • Calendar
  • Consultancy
  • Flagship Events
    • Malaysian National Poetry Slam 2022
    • Kuala Lumpur Youth Literary Arts Festival (KLYLAF) 2022
    • Youth PACT 2022
  • Media
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Download
  • Contact Us
Bryan Sim

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

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.

Tessminder Kaur

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.

Alka Kaur

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 Habshee

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 Aggarwal

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.

Rafiq Saladdin
Tariq Maketab

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

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

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.

Elia

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.

Syafiq

Syafiq is very passionate individual when it comes to debating. His journey started from high school when he joins Public Speaking tournaments before joining competitive debating in varsity. As a debater, his achievements begins with being the Novice Runner-Up for the Malaysian National Intervarsity Debating Championship (MNIDC) 2019 as well as bagging the top 5 novice best speaker in his first year of debating to being the finalist for the Malaysian National Intervarsity Debate Championship (MNIDC) 2021 and being the 5th best speaker of the tournament. As a trainer, Syafiq aims to assist the students to the outmost of his abilities as a way for him to give back to the debating community of Malaysia. His passion for debating is the drive for him to help other people enjoy debating just as much as he does.

Iqmal Hazim

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.

Terence Aaron Anthony

Terence has coached students that have made it to national-level debate finals in China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. He derives joy from inviting people to look at ideas from angles they are unfamiliar with. Winning just happens to be a happy side effect.

Sri Haleela Ibnu Hadjar

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.

Pemung Jae by Wordsmiths of Kuching
Wordsmiths of Kuching (WoK) will be presenting a multidisciplinary performance with a Sarawakian flair for KLYLAF 2022. As the general theme is ‘No Invitation Necessary’, our performance will be titled ‘Pemung Jae’ which means ‘Gathering of Friends’ in the Kenyah language. It is also the title of a traditional Kenyah folk song that speaks of being together with friends.
Friends need no official invitation to be in our lives. They are already part of us, in our gatherings of lives. WoK will be exploring this theme in the spoken word. The performance itself will also express this in a casual set up.
There will be four performers. Lofrine Layam, a singer-songwriter and musician, will be playing the contemporary version of ‘Pemung Jae’ with the sape, the traditional Orang Ulu musical instrument. Maclean Patrick and Celine Tiang, both poets of WoK, will present a spoken word piece written specifically for this occasion accompanied by the melody. Throughout the entire performance, Angelina Bong, poet and visual artist will be doing live painting at the side with the music and words as her muse.
The performance duration is about 15 minutes, are child-friendly and will be recorded prior to the event.
Wordsmiths of Kuching (WoK) is a group of storytellers, performance poets, spoken word artists and those interested in bringing their page to the stage. WoK has been around since 2014, holding regular in-house events before the pandemic hit, and has since branched out into areas such as writing chapter poems and commissioned pieces. The performers for KLYLAF 2022 comprised of Angelina Bong, Celine Tiang, Lofrine Layam and Maclean Patrick.
The M8 Collective - 3 AM Ngembut
3 AM NGEMBUT is a showcase that presents code-mix (Eng-Mal) poetics with ambient music. This
collaboration explores the narrative of small-town wonders and the quotidian identity that followed suit,
bridging language while attempting to tear down any barriers regarding Malaysiana (poetic) norms. An
honest and naïve approach with an ethos echoing Projek Rabak’s founder, Mohd Jayzuan’s “Literature is
Nothing.” 3 AM Ngembut aims to have fun and present poetry ‘seriously’ as something non-serious.
The M8 Collective is a duo from Muar and Ipoh. Blending lo-fi aesthetics with Malaysiana spirit, Azizan’
Afi (M8 Collective) and Jack Malik (Projek Rabak & M8 Collective) brings poetry that infuses millennial
nostalgia, small-town magic and code-mixing between English and Malay.
Trainer - Amirah Idrus

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 Gwyn Peter

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.

Aina Salleh

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.

Wesley Wong

Wesley is an Asian semifinalist, two times National finalist, and two times champion of Taylor’s Debate Open. Part of the successful BAC team, he entertained debaters and judges with his casual, witty, yet efficient debating style. Since then, he has coached and judged locally and internationally, notably being elected as the Deputy Chief Adjudicator of the Nationals, and coaching the Australasian Debate Training Initiative. Being fluent in English and Chinese, he is also able to explain concepts in both languages. As a coach, Wesley prides himself on providing valuable insights on current affairs, incisive feedback, and clear guidance — all in a supportive and conducive learning environment. Wesley is highly competitive, and hopes to bring that spirit to his students. As opposed to more rigid approaches to debating, he places more emphasis on common sense, clarity, and most of all, in having fun along the way! Debating has opened many doors for Wesley, and he hopes to help the next generation of debaters achieve the same.

Irene Sandra Fabian

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

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 Shariff

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 Nadzari

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.

Angelica Guillan

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.

Myrra Baity

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

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.

Azureen Tarmizi

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

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.

Amy Suhana

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 be one of the top students in her class. She also believes that debating is beyond competition and an essential 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.

Sharyfa Habshee

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 Liew

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 Tegjeu

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!

Patrick Cheang

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 Muk

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 Yazid

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.

Thought Leaders

Master the art of critical cognition and pitching.

Learn various thinking strategies and techniques to reason with logic and wit.

Unleash your inquisitive nature by questioning common ideas, values, concepts, and narratives.

Learn to problem solve while crafting persuasive and informative content through research.

Build a culture of knowledge and critical thinking at a young age.

Poetry & Drama

Master the art of poetry and performance.

Learn literary techniques, creative writing tools and artistic expression of ideas.

Develop acting skills, theatrical expression and captivating stage presence.

Learn to analyse and interpret canonical works of literature (poems and plays).

Build confidence and overcome the fear of speaking up.

Future Diplomats

Master the art of diplomacy and persuasion.

Learn various strategies and techniques of argumentation, mediation and advocacy.

Develop the muscle to critically analyse and empathise with complex global issues.

Learn to problem solve and negotiate creatively.

Build confidence and overcome the fear of speaking up.

Competitive Debating

Master the art of debating and persuasion.

Learn various strategies and techniques of argumentation and rebuttals.

Develop the muscle to critically analyse and empathise with complex global issues.

Learn to problem solve with logic and wit.

Build confidence and overcome the fear of speaking up.

Holistic Learning

Master the art of debating and persuasion.

Learn basic strategies and techniques of argumentation and rebuttals.

Unpack fundamental WSC subjects across the political, historical, scientific and social spectrum.

Learn to create intelligent and witty content.

Build confidence and overcome the fear of speaking up.

Public Speaking

Master the art of public speaking and persuasion.

Learn various speech strategies and delivery techniques to captivate audiences.

Develop the manner, structure and style to boost stage presence and improve charisma.

Learn to create intelligent and witty content.

Build confidence and overcome the fear of speaking up.

Eloquent Juniors

Master the art of storytelling.

Learn basic strategies and techniques of communication and persuasion.

Develop the muscle to form opinions, express ideas, empathise and engage with others.

Learn to create narratives and tell stories.

Build confidence and overcome the fear of speaking up.

Jonathan Dason

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!

Aiman Nazri

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.

Rachel Jong

Rachel is 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 encourage her students 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.

Irfan Nazir

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

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

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

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 Azman

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.

Shah Nizam

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.

Ain Aissa

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 Muh Riza

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!

Irtza Soomro

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

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

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.

Kelviin Pillay

Kelviin has been debating for 8 years and coaching for 6 years. In that time, he has achieved accolades such as being crowned the champion in one the most competitive open debate competitions in Asia, the Malaysia Debate Open. He was also a semifinalist at the Asian Championships along with winning several other major tournaments. Kelviin is one of the most established debate coaches for high schools in Malaysia. He was formerly the head 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. Kelviin is also a 3 times national finalist and was ranked as the 2nd best speaker in the country that year. He enjoys teaching and making his classroom a fun and disciplined learning experience!

Mika Filoteo

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!