KUCHING — Tradition met talent when JCI Malaysia’s English debate team swept aside regional giants to win the 2025 JCI Asia Pacific English Debate Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Across four intense days (12 – 15 June), Team Captain Lunnie Gan (JCI Kuching) led Tan Lik Wei (JCI Petaling Jaya) and Albert Loi (JCI Kuching) to unanimous victories, proving that clear thinking and calm delivery still rule the art of persuasion.
The format was no picnic. Motions ranged from global trade to climate justice, and opposing teams brought heavyweight reputations from Japan, Australia, and Hong Kong. Yet the Malaysian trio relied on an old‑school formula—rigorous research, tight structure, and crisp rebuttals—bolstered by the modern edge of real‑time digital fact‑checking. Judges praised their “clean logic and unmistakable unity,” noting how the first‑speaker’s framing flowed into the second‑speaker’s data and the captain’s knock‑out summaries.
Winning Asia Pacific means more than a trophy. It grants Malaysia the right to represent the region at the JCI World Congress in Tunisia (4 – 8 November 2025). Preparations are already under way. According to Gan, the squad will double training hours and seek sparring sessions with university teams nationwide: “We respect the old drills—case files, cue cards, mock rounds—but we’re also embracing AI debate analytics to sharpen our timing.”
Support has poured in from every JCI chapter. Veteran mentors remind the young stars that Malaysia last topped this tournament a decade ago, when handwritten cue cards still dominated. Today’s win signals continuity with that heritage while pointing forward to a louder, faster, global stage.
Closer to home, JCI Kuching—established in 1956—continues to prove that civic leadership and articulate advocacy go hand in hand. On 21 September 2025, the chapter will host the National Sustainable Development Award Ceremony, backed by the Sarawak State Government. President Albert Loi sees the debate win as fuel for that larger mission: “We argued for progress in Mongolia; now we want to deliver progress here in Sarawak.”
Readers eager to cheer the team or learn more about JCI’s upcoming calendar can contact 2025 JCI Kuching CD Membership Loh Loong Hui (016‑877 5279), EVP Mark Teo (014‑590 9888), or President Albert Loi (013‑570 3363).
Victory overseas, service at home—that’s the Malaysian way, tried and true, yet always looking ahead.
