28 – 30 March 2014 – The 13th annual Health Science Debate Open (HSDO 2014) was recently organised by the International Medical University (IMU) Debating Society (IMUDS) in its Bukit Jalil Campus. This Asian Parliamentary style debating tournament attracted 22 teams from various universities, institutions and even working adults from all around the world. Teams of three competed on motions related to the health science theme set by our highly qualified chief adjudication panel comprising of Tariq Maketab, Siron Pereira, and Sherilyn Ooi. 
After four preliminary rounds, quarters and semi-finals, a team from UT MARA (Emellia Shariff, Ahmed Faris and Jasmine Ho Abdullah) and a composite team Dixie Normus (Timothy Andrew, Brett Fraser and Aditya Mitra) emerged as finalists. A tough fight ensued between the finalists on the motion This House Condemns Medicalization and Dixie Normus bagged the championship this year. Best speaker of the grand finals and the tournament went to Brett Fraser, an American gentleman who came all the way to join forces with Aditya from Singapore and Tim from Malaysia.
“…a very well-run tournament, with only minor areas of improvement.”
Soon after the tournament, a tournament report done by Malaysian Observational Bureau (MOB) revealed that HSDO 2014 pulled off remarkable ratings with an overall score of 81%. In fact, this is the highest rating any tournament held in Malaysia has achieved so far. According to the report, the participants rated the debating venue, tournament and the motion set categories as the most excellent. Even the lowest score in any category was 78 %, which is only marginally lower. As quoted in the MOB report, “This is indicative of a very well-run tournament, with only minor areas of improvement.”
Given that the capability of the organising committee to run an excellent tournament is now recognised and HSDO has already attracted international participation, it is laudable that we can look forward to more high quality debate tournaments by IMUDS and HSDO to become one of the premier tournaments in Malaysia. This will not only fulfil HSDO’s goal in promoting awareness and encouraging active discussions in the field of health science, but also elevate IMU’s reputation in both local and international debating community. (Article contributed by Lalina Priya Murugan, Secretary, HSDO 2014 Organising Committee)
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