FT 2012: UI-ITB Hybrid Dai-Rahman Wins in Second Attempt

Rifan Ibnu Rahman & Ahmad Naufal Dai

Ahmad Naufal Dai, a former Universitas Indonesia debater, and Institut Teknologi Bandung's Rifan Ibnu Rahman teamed up for  Founders Trophy in 2011 and reached the final. This year, Dai-Rahman tried again and took home the top prize -- the Papuan sculpture. For Dai, it was his second FT victory after winning Indonesia's toughest debate tournament in 2009. From that year on, he has always appeared in the final FT debate, sitting on the opposition bench. He is the only male debater who has won FT twice.

In the final, they spoke as Opening Opposition and knocked down the motion "This House condemns the push for an international protocol against blasphemy", which was proposed by #1 Muhammad Pandu/Luthfi Abdurrahman,  ITB graduates who championed NUEDC in 2009. The closing teams were #2 Ahdiat Permana/Roderick Sibarani, students of UI's economics faculty, and Dimas Hokka/Riza Aryani who grabbed the Australs ESL title for UI last year. It was the third time in a row that the FT champions were debaters from OO in the final.

The best speaker award went to Luthfi Abdurrahman who became the only male debater who has topped the FT individual tab twice. He also took home three books after getting the highest score in three separate rounds.  FT motions derive from books donated by UI alumni, which  will later go to the best performance in that round. The other books also went to speakers associated with Bandung universites. His partner Muhammad Pandu bagged two and so did Dwita Aryani from Universitas Parahyangan. The best speaker in the final was Rifan Ibnu Rahman who has topped the IndoDebate Debater of the Year list for almost the entire year.

FT also gives out prizes to novices without prior varsity BP debating experience. This year, the best novice speaker title went to Ibrahim Hanif from Universitas Gadjah Mada who reached all the way to the semifinal with his veteran partner. ITB freshmen pair Aulia Widyaputra & Muhammad Lutfi won the best novice team award.

FT is an annual tournament held by English Debating Society UI, the pioneer of competitive debating in Indonesia. FT organisers are always new EDSUI recruits with supervision from seniors and support from the alumni corps.