LAWASIA 2011: TURNING UP THE HEAT

A ‘step-up’ is how I view our performance in the LAWASIA Moot Competition 2011. Two out of 5 teams( Khairil’s and farhan’s team) qualified to the final rounds and one of them finished as the second runner-up with the highest total raw score for the final rounds. Two of our mooters (Khairil Khalid and Farhan Zafry)was listed in the top 5 of the entire mooters of the competition. More than that, some of the judges were also astonished with our team’s performance; most of us received personal encouragement, positive feedback and invitation to pursue internship and chambering from the bench. The two day competition revealed the fighting spirit that I’ve never imagined; we mooted tooth and nail, our legal acumen beyond the mediocrity level and on top of that, the most precious hidden treasure that we discovered throughout this competition would be the teamwork. Frankly speaking, mooting is not about personal achievement but it is the reflection of team dynamic and I was impressed with the high- level of understanding and mutual tolerance among the mooters.

It was amazing to see how our promising and future mooters- Farhan Zafry, Dayang Mazidah, Marlysa Razak, Hannah Nasir, Ellena Razif, Afif Daud, Zaidatul Aqilah and Asmarina Sakila worked from scratch with their impeccable research skill. They too,diligently improved their advocacy skills during the training session. The experienced mooters- Khairil Khalid, Arina, Alia Amran, Auzan Syaidi, Atiqah Razif and Fikri did well by providing guidance and support to the team. The strategy was tremendous - the uprising mooters laid down the basic ground and we- the experienced mooters, strengthened the ground firmly. Everyone played their role not only as a mooter but also as a moot team.

The most notable value during this competition would be the determination and zealousness to win. Personally, I was amazed to see that everyone took this task seriously; the mentality of training ground was totally vanished as everyone wanted to meet each other during the final rounds. Special mention to Alia Amran’s team; they won 2 rounds unanimously but their triumph was denied by the total raw score rules and up until now I still believed they deserved to meet Khairil’s team during the final rounds.

Words can’t describe on how these unsung heroes dedicated their tireless effort and endless time to the team: Dr.Irwin, Madam Mazlina Mahali, Miss Ummi and Mr.Iqbal. All of them deserved our utmost admiration and salutation. It is also noteworthy to give our respect and thankful to our captain- Khairil Khalid who postponed his trip to India just because for this competition. He is, indeed a dedicated and the most down-to earth captain I have ever worked with after Mama Shai. It is also paramount to mention that LAWASIA 2011 would be the final competition for my most charming and stylish co-counsel, Arina Lum. She disembarked her career as the UiTM mooter gloriously; I never felt her ‘ratu ’ effect since the IMLAM Competition 2010 and during this competition, this ‘WOW’ factor sparkled again and she elegantly turned down ATC’s dream to win during the preliminary match. Thank you for your one year sacrifice to UiTM Moot team.

Last but not least, it is an honour for me to moot with all of them- Khairil Khalid, Arina Lum, Alia Amran, Auzan Syaidi, Ellena Razif, Farhan Zafry, Dayang Mazidah, Marlysa Razak, Hannah Nasir, Afif Daud, Zaidatul Aqilah, Atiqah Razif, Zulfikri Ibrahim and Asmarina Sakila. When I was far from home for two weeks in order to complete this mission, they were indeed my family and it was a pleasure for me to share the time to eat, pray and moot together.

This competition would be another benchmark for us to moot beyond our present level as the stake will become higher from now onwards. We need to keep our faith and believe that we can beat any team- even the so called ‘immortal’ and unbeatable team in moot competition. The time of being inferior had lapsed; and now the other universities will feel intimidated with our participation in any competition. But still, never be arrogant to the humble and never be humble to the arrogant. Pay our respect to our learned opponents and praise them if we think they deserve to.

Last but not least,

‘’ Winning is not final, defeat is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts’’

Thank you for the outstanding achievement in LAWASIA 2011 and yes, the journey to glory continues!