Scio me nescire. In his famous work Republic, Plato quoted this maxim by Socrates, which means “The only thing I know is that I know nothing”.
Taking inspiration from the Greek philosopher’s words, Sunway College students recently organised the Sunway Model United Nations (SUNMUN) 2019, attended by 161 delegates from secondary and tertiary educational institutions across Malaysia and abroad.
Model United Nations (MUN) is an educational simulation of the United Nations committees, where students can role-play as UN delegates.
SUNMUN 2019 secretary-general Nicholas Sim Ting Yen, 18, said the conference was a platform for participants to have stimulating debates on current issues and a great avenue for youth to learn about important world affairs.
Sim, who completed his A-levels in Sunway College, said: “Many schools and students are still unaware of the existence of MUN and how crucial it can be to develop politically aware young adults to make smart decisions. This is important in the wake of the ‘Vote 18’ bill being passed, which effectively lowers the voting age from 21 to 18.”
The three-day conference saw students engaging in fruitful discourse in simulated UN councils and parliamentary houses, such as the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UN Development Programme, Dewan Rakyat and the House of Commons.
“The Dewan Rakyat debated on motions like reviewing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and alleviating the B40. Both topics are crucial to show students a glimpse of the East Malaysian political situation and to see the solutions they can come up with.
“Our Crisis Council simulated a rewritten history, which had the Bay of Pigs invasion became successful in overthrowing Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Our House of Commons also debated Brexit,” said Sim, who is planning to pursue a degree in Politics and International Studies.
SUNMUN 2019 deputy-secretary general, Leo Paul Larkin, 17, said their objective to hold MUN in Sunway College was a success.
“Recently, the Education Ministry started to recognise MUN as a co-curricular activity, so we wanted to make a more accessible platform for students from government institutions,” said Larkin, who recently completed a foundation in Science and Technology at Sunway College.
On the final day of SUNMUN 2019, selected students were honoured with awards at the closing ceremony.
Low Gro Wen, 21, from the University of Nottingham United Kingdom, clinched the Best Delegate award for the Crisis Council.
Low said: “I completed my A-Level in Sunway College in 2016. SUNMUN was where I grew up, faced various challenges and made many fond memories. It became a home conference of sorts and meant a lot to me.”
Having won the same award in SUNMUN 2016 and 2017, Low said despite being driven to win, it was not an easy feat.
The law student said: “I faced the most experienced crisis council in my entire MUN career, with respectable delegates with glowing reputations in my council. I knew I had to try harder. I debated, lobbied and influenced to the best of my abilities.”
The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) received the best Best Group Delegation Award.
IIUM student Shah Nizam Mazlan, 22, who was a delegate in Dewan Rakyat, said: “It was another success in a string of awards from earlier this year. It definitely proved we have the potential and provided us with great motivation to work and harness it even further.”
UNHRC co-chair Tahsin Fuad Hasan, 22, from IIUM, said it was the third consecutive win for the IIUM MUN team this year.
“Our members are motivated and dedicated in diplomacy and policy-making. We hope with this momentum, we can make our own conference in November a success too,” said Tahsin Fuad.
Through SUNMUN, students learnt invaluable skills and lessons which are applicable in their studies and future workplace.
Shah Nizam said: “The conference was highly educational. I was able to peer into the processes involved in diplomacy, lobbying, and lawmaking among others in a council simulating the national parliaments.
“It was a great insight into the hows and whys of governance in general.”
Sim, who has a passion for Politics, History and World Affairs said that he has learned to manage his time well with MUN.
“I can now better plan out my schedules in order to balance my studies and my MUN career. I have also become more confident in asking questions and speaking to others.
“In addition, MUN has taught me the ability to do research and learn things on my own as delegates have to research their own stances and learn topics by themselves,” said Sim, who aspires to be a civil servant upon graduation.
Being one of the older delegates, Low knew that retiring from MUN is an inevitable future.
“Throughout my time delegating, I have learnt that you cannot accomplish anything alone and you need a team.
“You lead, nurture and guide, but you should not dominate. My experiences in SUNMUN have taught me to give credit where it is due, be humble, always strive to be better, innovate, show leadership, be creative, and help others.
“I am ever grateful that I embarked on this journey because of the experiences I had and the many friends I made along the way through networking in council and at the conference. I will treasure these experiences and friendships for a lifetime,” said Low.
For institutions interested to host their own MUN conference, Larkin said that early planning is crucial.
“Organisers need to plan properly. I often see hurdles coming up in other conferences as a result of a lack of planning, such as poor positioning of council rooms and Wi-Fi issues. Good communication is also vital. A breakdown in communication is often the sole cause of many issues in any aspect of the conference,” said Larkin.
Sim added that SUNMUN 2019 was a stepping stone to greater things.
“We were able to give all the participants a good time. After speaking to a few delegates who were new to MUN, I was glad to hear that SUNMUN had inspired them to continue on their MUN career as they were all very enthusiastic about joining new conferences in the future.”