Speechless...I really am. WE WON !
I mean...it's really unbelievable. Maybe for those who have
won this trophy for the past two years, it ain't a big deal. But for us, for me, it's the
perfect finale for something I had dreamt about six years
ago. Yeah, that long.
Okay, okay, so you have no clue what I'm writing about.
Well, this year, 1999, we won the PPM Malay Debate for the first time since our double in
1992-93. In between, we entered two Malay finals and one English final, only to lose in
each of the finals. Tough luck, huh ? What more, last year, we advanced to the final, only
to lose to SEMESTI-the team which we beat this year. Revenge is sweet, but the
sweetest thing (for a debater) must be winning PPM.
So now, the story. It all began in 1994.
I wasn't yet a Collegian, but was an avid debater. I
remember my mom telling me about the Malay College. Among the things she said Collegewas
famous for, was debate. And so I began dreaming about going to this esteemed institution
and debating for it. I mean look who debated for it-among others personalities such as
Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Dato' Seri Sanusi Junid, Hishamuddin Rais, Dato' Kamaruddin
Jaafar, Rehman Rashid, Saifuddin Abdullah, Suhaimi Sulaiman, Adlan Benan Omar... the list
goes on and on.
While debating for my primary school, fate had it that we
meet SRK Kampung Tunku... which had this really talented debater among their speakers-none
other than Ahmad Azizi. I was speechless when it was my turn to speak as I was starting to
agree with his arguments ! The motion ? Tinggal di rumah pangsa lebih baik dari tinggal di
rumah teres.
And by a sheer twist of fate, I met him again as both of us
were offered to study in the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. Azizi entered the the debating
team in that year, while I just kept wishing my dream
would come true. It came in the guise of the Form One-Form Two Carnival 1996 when one of
the debaters asked me to join the Form Two team in their discussions. And what eventually
happened was I got the chance to debate as there were only three boys left.The next year
saw me joining the College team. I was really overjoyed,
I was on the way of fulfilling my dream. As a reserve, I
joined the PPM contingent to Penang for the North Zone PPM. In a replay of the PPM final
in 1996, we went down to STAR. But we didn't lose hope. We prepared for 1998...
Although I was no longer in the PPM squad, I stayed with
the team. Egos aside, I knew that I was with one of the most talented College team ever
and that the PPM trophy was within reach. The rather young team dazzled the audience and
opponents alike, making its' way to the final. Only God knew how devastated we were when
our opponents got to retain the title. Silently I prayed that next year-my last year in
koleq, we'd get this Holy Grail of Malaysian debate. Of course, in my dreams, I pictured
myself up there-debating in the final. But you can't get everything that you want...
So with winning the PPM in mind, we geared ourselves. I got
into the squad again, and if not for my poor performance, would've been proud to don the
College colors for the first time, in a friendly.
Nevertheless, we kept on winning and I got my chance to debate for quite a handful of
times ( in my standards ). In the inaugural Dato' Shukor Trophy ( National Debate
Competition ), we won the district
level, followed by defeating an entirely new SEMESTI team in the state finals and finally,
winning the national finals agaist SMAP Kajang.
But no way that made our determination to win PPM lesser.
We excelled in MOZAC, setting a perfect finale against, yes, them again, SEMESTI. We
sacrificed entirely our week-long holiday, preparing for the finals. The fith formers are
going to seat for our SPM trials next week, but that did not deter us.
Each and every one of the debaters struggled valiantly, sacrificing hours of sleep,
ignoring the tiredness that were building inside us and worked hard for our objective-the
Trophy.
And so we went to the BTP Audiotarium nervously, asking
each other, can our dreams be fulfilled ? Are we capable of becoming winners ? Before the
debate, Ayahanda Alimuddin Hj Mohd Dom gave us a rousing speech, motivating us to do our
best. We did our usual brotherhood of course. The stage was set...
I wasn't up there, on the stage. To accompany me, however
were the rest of the spirited supporters who came all the way from Kuala Kangsar to watch
whether 1999 would indeed be a glorious year for the College. The ruggers, footballers,
hockey players and so many more had done exceptionally well, breaking records and such.
Could we emulate them ? The debate was fiery, the atmosphere tensed. You could almost feel
the tension. The debate ended...
We prayed to God that hopefully we would win. And may this
victory make us a better human being...
And, we won... I clapped and cheered loudly, as the other Collegians. I hugged Ajeez, who
kept repeating "I can't believe it!" To touch the trophy, finally was one of the
proudest moment in my life. After the euphoria sort of lessened, we prayed together,
thanking Allah for
this long awaited victory. The Victory.
I'm at home right now, barely 5 hours home from the audiotarium. What I write here, I had thought about on the journey home.
It's really historic. The whole PPM competition itself was
an idea of a distinguished old boy-our second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak. He also
donated the BM PPM trophy. It was first held at the College.
The trophy was designed by another old boy, Dato' Baharuddin Kassim. And our victory this
morning made College the team that had won the competiton for the most times, along with
KISAS at four times. We had gone to the finals for a total of eight times, a record that
is unequalled by no other team in it's 26-year history. In other words, the trophy has
returned to the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, into the arms of its' supposedly rightful
owner-the Malay College of Kuala Kangsar.
Thanks to Ayahanda Alimuddin, Cikgu Ejazi, Cikgu Jamaluddin
and Cikgu Azizah, Abang Azli, the debating team, all the Collegians and everybody who made
this dream come true. This dream of mine. Alhamdulillah. Without Allah's blessing, we
wouldn't have gone this far, what more achieve this 'double'. And remind me to fulfill my nazar,
will you?
The fourth speaker of the glorious team of the glorious
year of 1999.
