Lessons learnt from a good debate

WE ARE FAMILY: Ahmad Maslan and his family. (From left) Father Maslan Sabran, mother Aminah Sabran, daughter Nurul Izzatul Syahirah (sitting in front), son Lukman Haziq and wife Noraini Sulaiman.




HUMBLE BACKGROUND: Ahmad Maslan’s parents live in this house in Benut.



READY TO CONQUER WORLD: Ahmad Maslan when he was a student in New Zealand.

Lessons learnt from a good debate

Ahmad Maslan; Interview by Satiman Jamin
2008/06/25

I WAS born 42 years ago in Kampung Parit Haji Yusof in Benut, Pontian to my rubber tapper parents.

At the time, rubber price was so low, to earn a living as tappers meant their lives were shackled by poverty.

The entire village shared our plight and the inhabitants went without basic amenities like electricity, running water and paved roads.

The village only enjoyed these amenities in 1996, a year after I became the political secretary to the then cooperatives and entrepreneur development minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed.

My parents knew the importance of a good education to lift oneself out of poverty. They constantly reminded their children to excel in their studies.

In 1978, when I was in Standard Six, I went on a school trip to Kuala Lumpur and one of the places that we visited was Parliament.

I made up my mind then that I wanted to be a member of parliament, when I was told that our country was run from that building.

The SK Sri Bahagia, Lubuk Sipat, Benut, which I attended was not only handicapped by the lack of physical infrastructure, we also had to study English without an English teacher.

Despite all the setbacks, I managed to get 4As and a B for my Ujian Penilaian Darjah 5, or Standard Five assessment, the predecessor of the current Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), in 1977.

By virtue of coming from a poor family and a rural school, I was given a place to study in SM Sains Johor (SMSJ), a boarding school in Kluang in 1979.

One of the extracurricular activities there was Bahasa Malaysia debates, where classes were pitted against each other.

From Form Two, I represented my class in the Bahasa Malaysia debates, learning how to put my points forward with supporting facts and how to argue for a given motion without being argumentative.

It all came naturally to me, emulating senior debaters to employ expressions, gestures and intonation to boost my arguments.

By the time I was in Form Three, the oratory skills that I honed was sharp enough to enable me to be selected as part of the school debating team.

I was surprised because, wnormally, the school debating team would consist of seniors in Forms Four and Five.

The pinnacle of the inter-school debates at that time was the Perbahasan Piala Perdana Menteri, where the finest schools all over the country sent their best debaters to win the coveted trophy.

So there I was, at just 15, facing formidable senior debaters from other schools in the mother of all debating tournaments, but I did not let the enormity of the mission overwhelm me.

Despite our efforts, we lost in the quarter-finals but we stayed in Kuala Lumpur to follow the competition till the end, which the Malay College Kuala Kangsar won.

Interestingly, now, as a member of parliament, I collaborated with a member of that MCKK debating team on several matters as he happens to be the current Deputy Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

The next year, we lost in the semi-finals. We managed to get into the finals in 1983, when I was in Form Five.

We faced the Kolej Islam Klang team in the final, and I was the first debater for SMSJ, proposing the given motion of “Pembangunan yang berterusan mendatangkan lebih banyak keburukan dari kebaikan kepada alam sekitar dan kehidupan manusia” (Continuous development brings more harm than good to the environment and human life).

Both teams were evenly matched in debating skills, but we lost as we were proposing an inherently indefensible motion.

The captain and first debater for the opposing team from Kolej Islam Klang, Idris Ahmad, is also involved in politics now as a member of the Pas central working committee.

I learned a valuable lesson from the defeat, one that is useful in carrying out my duties as a representative of the people of Pontian in Parliament.

Now I have the advantage of putting forward motions in Parliament instead of defending a motion of debate thrust upon me by others, I learned to ensure any motion I put forward now is carefully built to withstand whatever resistance it may encounter.

After all, debating for the good of the people is far too important to lose, even more so if caused by a bad motion.

After 30 years, I have finally realised my ambition to be a member of parliament.

Education is indeed a great equaliser, enabling me, the son of poor rubber tappers to work with sons of former prime ministers in Parliament.

Ahmad Maslan is the Member of Parliament for Pontian

(sumber: www1.nst.com.my/.../20080625142831/Article/