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| mock session in progress |
When an all-boy school debate team marched into the state level competition in another district, I had no choice but to accompany them for the 3-day event. SMK Dato Jaafar won the Johor Bahru district level competition this year and the team which comprised of two form 5 students and three form 4 students were given the responsibility to go on another huge endeavour at a higher stage.
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| having the most important meal of the day |
The competition was held in Segamat which was about three hours' drive away so we started our journey a day earlier on Saturday, the 22nd of June and put up in a hotel in town. We were lucky as one of the students' father, Mr. Faizal, was there with us throughout the event, not just to drive the team but also to assist us during the preparation as well as to support during the debate sessions. We arrived quite late in the evening as there was a very bad traffic jam on the way to get out of Johor Bahru as well as on the highway to Segamat.
The competition was held at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Johor Branch. The place looked new and conducive for this debating activity.
The first round was between Johor Bahru against Ledang, or was it Tangkak? It was the prepared session where the motion was given earlier but the debaters had to draw lots to choose to be either the government or opposition. The motion for the first round was: This house believes that the benefits of affirmative action in college admissions outweigh the costs.
The verdict: SDJ as the government won and hence the motion should stand.
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At the same time, I managed to see a few familiar faces at the venue but the one whom I had not met for a long time was Mr. Soh Swee Hock from Batu Pahat, my team leader for SPM marking.
to be continued...
