KOTA SAMARAHAN: Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak is considering opening a premier debate competition to higher learning institutions from Sabah, Brunei Darussalam and Kalimantan.
This follows a successful staging of the grand finale of the inaugural Premier of Sarawak Debate Challenge Cup (PSDC) 2026, which drew about 800 spectators.
Several potential venues for the next edition have also been identified, while discussions with strategic partners and the corporate sector are expected to be expanded to support the scale and development of the competition.
“We are looking at the possibility of taking PSDC to the next level with the involvement of Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan,” said PSDC 2026 Deputy Chairman and AZAM Sarawak Strategic Communications, Media and Youth Relations Manager, Hassnal Hakim Junaidi.
He said the attendance of 800 spectators at the grand finale was a positive indication of public interest in a competition that highlights the thinking and debating abilities of the younger generation.
“The response from 800 spectators at the inaugural edition gives us confidence that debate has much greater room to grow in Sarawak. We have the talent, we have the passion and we saw firsthand the level of commitment among young debaters throughout the competition.
“The question now is how we ensure this momentum does not stop after just one competition,” he said.
He said one of AZAM’s concerns was the lack of continuous platforms in Sarawak for young debaters to undergo training, compete against different opponents and improve their abilities outside the competition season.
In this regard, AZAM is developing the concept of a “Debate Village platform to bring together the debating community in Sarawak for training, mock debates, sparring sessions, as well as technical and debating strategy development.
“We do not want to only look for debaters when a competition is about to begin. If we want our standards to improve, development must take place throughout the year.
“The Debate Village we are developing is not a new competition, but a development platform. We want debaters to have a place to train, test their arguments, learn from one another and consistently build higher standards,” he said.
He said AZAM was also developing plans with the Malaysian University Debate Council (MADUM) to explore suitable forms of cooperation, particularly in technical development, training and strengthening debating standards.
“We want the standards to grow as PSDC expands. Having more participants alone is not enough. The competition must become more competitive, debaters must improve and the quality of debate must also increase.
“The first edition has shown that we have debaters who want to compete and a community that wants to watch them. Now our task is to build a platform capable of taking that potential further,” he said.
