KUCHING: Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus clinched the runner-up spot at the Premier of Sarawak Debate Challenge Cup 2026, with both its teams advancing to the semi-finals of the state-level tournament.
Swinburne Team A, comprising Adrian Kamarn Ignatius Nyaleng, Joel Jack, Mohamad Haziq Solamee @ Halmi and Muhammad Adib Rusydan Suharman, progressed to the final after defeating Swinburne Team B in the semi-finals, according to the statement.
Swinburne Team B comprised Anselm Johnson Lu Piin Cherng, Christian Martin, Nur Alia Farhana Abdul Hakim and Rachael Chai Xin Ru.
The other semi-final saw Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak defeat Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to advance to the final against Swinburne Team A.
In the final, Swinburne Team A represented the government side against UiTM Sarawak on the motion “This House believes that Bintulu Port’s greatest investment for the future should be in Sarawak’s young talent, rather than infrastructure.”
The closely contested round saw both teams engage with how investment priorities could shape Sarawak’s future, with UiTM Sarawak emerging as champion, the statement said.
Adrian said the team wanted to show that debate could be enjoyable and still lead to success.
“I feel that debating should be fun for everyone and should not be serious all the time.”
Joel said the team had agreed from the outset to focus on enjoying the experience rather than chasing results.
“It was also really enjoyable to meet friends from other institutions, as well as new people who share the same passion and interests as us.”
Organised by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak and hosted at UiTM Sarawak from Aug 15 to 18, the tournament brought together 74 participants from 10 institutions of higher learning under the theme “Engaging Minds, Advancing Sarawak.”
The teams were guided by Swinburne Debaters’ Club advisor Dr Christina Yin.
