And the first motion is……

Neill doing roll-call

“This House would legalised same sex union“

And so it begins. The tournament kicked off at around 1030am with Neill calling the roll-call for the participants. A swing team had to be formed because there was an odd number of teams in the total tab. By 11am, teams started to make their way to their respective debate rooms. With a total of 11 rooms, one is spoilt with which debate to listen to. First round ended at around 1230pm.

Speak your heart out!: Human Rights Debate 2008 Opening Ceremony

© Malaysian Bar (Used with permission)
Contributed by Noor Arianti Binti Osman

Kuala Lumpur, 9 December 2008 – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) turns 60 on 10 December 2008. In celebration of this commemorative year and the Human Rights Day this year, the Bar Council Human Rights Committee is organising the ‘Human Rights Debate’ tournament, which will be held at KDU College from 9th to 12th December, carrying the theme: UDHR @ 60 and still not all is right.

The event was officially opened today at the Bar Council Auditorium by renowned humanist, activist and former ISA detainee, Dr. Syed Husin Ali.

Keynote Address and Official Opening by Dr. Syed Husin Ali

Let me first of all thank the organizers and the Bar Council for inviting me to officiate the opening of your Human Rights Day celebration tonight. Truly, I feel deeply honoured. In our society it is indeed extremely rare for a person outside the political mainstream and not holding any high official position in government to be invited to perform this role. Small as it may seem this gesture is indeed significant because it shows time is indeed achanging.

Secondly, I must congratulate you young lawyers of the Bar for celebrating this Day by organizing a debate amongst students. This is an innovative if not a creative move. I understand that this is the first time the Bar Council celebrates the Human Rights Day in this manner. I am told that the debate has attracted about 150 student participants from various schools inside and outside the country. I do not know if it is also the first competition of its kind in the whole world. Be that as it may, I salute all of you.

HR Debate 2008: Welcome Address by Ambiga Sreenevasan, President, Malaysian Bar

© Malaysian Bar (Used with permission)
Contributed by Ambiga Sreenevasan

Every day should be Human Rights day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted in response to the atrocities of World War II but we have nonetheless seen these atrocities repeated time and again since then.

If you had caught a CNN special programme called “Scream Bloody Murder” this weekend, you would have seen how so often governments sacrificed human rights to politics resulting in the needless loss of thousands of lives in horrendous acts of genocide.

Everyday we read of various acts of inhumanity perpetrated by man upon man.  Genocide is at one end of the scale.  Along the scale are many other acts of torture and cruelty. Unfortunately many are state-sanctioned. The death penalty, whipping, detention without trial, the torture of prisoners.&anbsp; These are but some.  And unfortunately they exist in Malaysia.