The Gandhi Memorial Trust Invitational Debating Championship (GMTIDC) 2023 is a prestigious debating competition founded in 2016 to promote Gandhian Principles to varsity students in Malaysia. As Mahatma Gandhi himself believed in the power of dialogue and peaceful resolution, participants will be debating topics centring around Gandhian Principles, such as Satya (Truth) and Ahimsa (Non-Violence). The GMTIDC is co-organised by the Kuala Lumpur-based Gandhi Memorial Trust and MIDP. This competition aims to mould the Malaysian youths into future leaders, showcasing the Gandhian Principles set by Mahatma Gandhi in their thoughts, attitudes and behaviours. GMTIDC had 3 preliminary rounds, and at the end of the preliminary rounds, the top 4 teams will then qualify for the Semifinals. This year’s edition was hosted from 9-10 September 2023, and participation from 16 different institutions in Malaysia, including the likes of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), and Brickfields Asia College (BAC), amongst others.
After 3 preliminary rounds, Team Malaya 1 (Muhyuddin Ahsan, Kuhan Karttikeyn and Rashrvin Pillay) managed to break first, whilst Team Malaya 2 broke second into the out-rounds of the competition. Although Brickfields Asia College knocked out Team 2 on a slim 3-2 split decision in the semifinals, Team Malaya 1 defeated the institution mentioned above in the Grand Finals unanimously, 7-0 decision and concluded the tournament unbeaten!
We were crowned Champions of the GMITDC 2023 on the 2nd of October during the Official Launch of the 2023 United Nations International Day of Non-Violence at the Royal Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur. This grand event saw the attendance of multiple honourable figures like Mr Sree Harry Nadarajah, the Chairman of the Gandhi Memorial Trust, Mr B.N Reddy, the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia and even Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan, who also received the GMT Public Service Award.
We are delighted that Ahsan from Malaya 1 was awarded the Finals Best Speaker of the Tournament. Additionally, 5 debaters from Malaya were crowned the top 10 best speakers of the tournament. Kuhan Karttikeyn was the Overall Best Speaker, Ahsan received the 2nd Best Speaker award, Rashrvin Pillay received the 4th Best Speaker award, Benjamin Tan received the 6th Best Speaker Award, and Imran Zamil received the 10th Best Speaker award.
