News
Lanka makes history with first-ever international Tamil debating victory
Sri Lanka’s Tamil Debaters’ Council has made history, clinching its maiden international debating crown through the National Development Squad’s victory in Malaysia.The Sri Lankan delegation emerged champions at the Sampanthan Paindhamizh Chudar 5.0, becoming the first non-Malaysian team in the history of the competition to win the championship.
This achievement officially opens the international championship trophy cabinet of the National Tamil Debating Development Pool, signalling Sri Lanka’s arrival as a serious force in global Tamil debating.
The Sri Lankan team that clinched the historic title at the International Tamil Debating Championship organised by University Utara Malaysia (UUM) consisted of:
Hareish Jeyaruban – C/ Royal College (Captain)
Michael Jenushan – St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna
Sivajiny Pratheepan – Methodist Girls’ High School, Point Pedro
Lakshmitha Sivasankaran – Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College
In addition, Sri Lanka was represented by multiple teams across Malaysian universities. The delegation included a team that participated in the University of Malaya (UM):
Niranchan Yukhappiriyan – S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia
Tharanigha Thavarubarasan – Kilinochchi Maha Vidyalayam
Sri Akshaja Reji Janakan – Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College
A Presentation Team also represented Sri Lanka at the University Utara Malaysia:
Saravananirthika Meenachi Sundaram – Bishop’s College, Colombo
Pragathishri Ramachandran – Ladies College Colombo
Thanenthiran Karthihan – C/ Royal College
An introduction to Tamil Debating at UPSI
Surranitha Suthagaran – Bishop’s College, Colombo 03.
Sangavi Thuraichelvan – Bishop’s College Colombo 03.
All these students were guided by the President of Tamil Debaters’ Council, Sajishnavan Sivachandrathevan, followed by Sathurshanan Manoharan, Thiviyan Mathiruban and Umaiyall Thuraichelvan of the council.
Following the championship victory, the Sri Lankan delegation was formally felicitated by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia, Rizvi, at the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
During the meeting, Rizvi commended the students for their discipline, academic excellence, and dignified representation of Sri Lanka on an international platform. He also held discussions on the future potential for annual debating initiatives and cultural tourism–based exchange programmes between Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
The High Commissioner further took time to educate the delegation on the history of the Ceylonese Tamil community in Malaysia, highlighting the longstanding historical and cultural ties between the two nations. In a gesture of continued engagement, he connected the delegation with the President of the Ceylonese Association of Malaysia through a direct phone call, opening avenues for sustained people-to-people collaboration.
This delegation is also notable for being the largest Tamil school-based student delegation from Sri Lanka to represent the country in Malaysia, spanning five different Malaysian states in a single tour. The Sri Lankan teams represented the country at:
University Utara Malaysia (UUM), Kedah
University of Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur
University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Terengganu
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Perak
Observers have described the championship victory and the diplomatic engagement as a turning point in the history of Sri Lankan Tamil debating, opening new academic, cultural, and competitive avenues beyond national borders.
The Tamil Debaters’ Council of Sri Lanka noted that this achievement reflects years of structured training, discipline, and vision under its National Tamil Debating Development Pool, and expressed confidence that Sri Lankan school debaters will continue to gain recognition and respect on international platforms.
Family sources have confirmed that the interment of singer Latha Walpola will be performed at the General Cemetery Borella on Wednesday (31 December).
In an environmental initiative commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy, the Western Naval Command organized a cleanup programme at Galle Face Beach on Saturday (27 Dec 25).
The programme focused on the removal of substantial solid waste littering the beachfront, including accumulated plastic and polythene debris. All collected wastey was systematically disposed of utilizing methods designed to safeguard the sensitive coastal ecosystem.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to the cause, the cleanup effort saw the participation of the Commander Western Naval Area and a group of over 200 naval personnel.
Sri Lanka’s environmental protection framework is rapidly eroding, with weak law enforcement, politically driven development and the routine sidelining of environmental safeguards pushing the country towards an ecological crisis, leading environmentalists have warned.
Dilena Pathragoda, Managing Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), has said the growing environmental damage across the island is not the result of regulatory gaps, but of persistent failure to enforce existing laws.
“Sri Lanka does not suffer from a lack of environmental regulations — it suffers from a lack of political will to enforce them,” Pathragoda told The Sunday Island. “Environmental destruction is taking place openly, often with official knowledge, and almost always without accountability.”
Dr. Pathragoda has said environmental impact assessments are increasingly treated as procedural formalities rather than binding safeguards, allowing ecologically sensitive areas to be cleared or altered with minimal oversight.
“When environmental approvals are rushed, diluted or ignored altogether, the consequences are predictable — habitat loss, biodiversity decline and escalating conflict between humans and nature,” Pathragoda said.
Environmental activist Janaka Withanage warned that unregulated development and land-use changes are dismantling natural ecosystems that have sustained rural communities for generations.
“We are destroying natural buffers that protect people from floods, droughts and soil erosion,” Withanage said. “Once wetlands, forests and river catchments are damaged, the impacts are felt far beyond the project site.”
Withanage said communities are increasingly left vulnerable as environmental degradation accelerates, while those responsible rarely face legal consequences.
“What we see is selective enforcement,” he said. “Small-scale offenders are targeted, while large-scale violations linked to powerful interests continue unchecked.”
Both environmentalists warned that climate variability is amplifying the damage caused by poor planning, placing additional strain on ecosystems already weakened by deforestation, sand mining and infrastructure expansion.
Pathragoda stressed that environmental protection must be treated as a national priority rather than a development obstacle.
“Environmental laws exist to protect people, livelihoods and the economy,” he said. “Ignoring them will only increase disaster risk and long-term economic losses.”
Withanage echoed the call for urgent reform, warning that continued neglect would result in irreversible damage.
“If this trajectory continues, future generations will inherit an island far more vulnerable and far less resilient,” he said.
Environmental groups say Sri Lanka’s standing as a biodiversity hotspot — and its resilience to climate-driven disasters — will ultimately depend on whether environmental governance is restored before critical thresholds are crossed.
By Ifham Nizam ✍️
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