Sang Timur school wins English debate contest

JAKARTA (JP): SMU Sang Timur from Jakarta won the inaugural English debating competition among high schools in Indonesia on Tuesday after successfully defending a position that "developed countries should have a monopoly over nuclear weapons".

The team comprising Heidi, Sonny Kurniawan and Jonathan defeated the host team of Sandy Karman, Patrick Lukas, Pramudya Oktavinanda from Canisius High School by a narrow margin of 5-4 according to the nine-person jury.

The debate, which used the Australian parliamentary format, was organized by the Canisius English Forum (CEF) in cooperation with the British Council in Jakarta and Deakin University, Monash College, Kangan Batman Tape, Blue Mountain University and CALS College, all from Australia.

Sang Timur and Canisius teams edged 26 other participants from Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung and Semarang in reaching Tuesday's final.

"Developed countries should monopolize nuclear weapons because they have sufficient funds to maintain them as well as the power to ensure proper use," Sonny, who was also voted as the best speaker in the tournament, argued.

Other high schools taking part included SMU Angela, Bandung; SMU Regina Pacis, Bogor; SMU Loyola, Semarang and Jakarta's SMU Pangudi Luhur, Theresia, Tarakanita I & II, SMUN 8 and Christian high schools PSKD I, II, III and V.

The event also featured competitions on presenting ideas -- won by SMU Gonzaga, SMUK III and SMU Pelita Harapan, all from Jakarta -- and on telling stories -- won by SMU Don Bosco, SMU Canisius and SMU Bunda Hati Kudus, all from Jakarta. (edt)