Speaker 1 (Government team - Prime Minister)

Good morning to my respected speakers, cautious time keeper, honorable adjudicators, members
of the opposite team and not to forget members of the floor.

Before I put forth our team’s case, I would like to define today’s motion that reads:

‘This house would prosecute parents over ‘Basikal Lajak activities.’

According to the Oxford online dictionary,

Prosecute means to conduct legal proceedings against a person or organisation.

Parents means a person’s father and mother.

Basikal Lajak activities means any activity which is carried out by riding or using Basikal
Lajak which in English we call it Overshoot Bicycle.

Based on the definitions, we, the Government Bench will read our case line as

‘This house would prosecute parents over Basikal Lajak activities’ among teenagers on the
ground that parents are the people responsible to provide supervision for the children.

Today I as the Prime Minister will introduce my fellow team members along with our arguments.

I (AYU ALEEYA BT SURYAMULYONO) as the 1st speaker will present our 1st argument which is

Irresponsible parents

Our 2nd speaker (AMANINA HUMAIRAH BT ABDUL RAHMAN) will deliver the other 2
arguments which are

Age factor

And

As a deterrent factor

Last but not least, our 3rd brilliant speaker will rebut and crush the oppo’s arguments and prove that our
case line is right.

Today, we the government team strongly believes with the motion ‘This house would prosecute
parents over Basikal Lajak activities’.

Without further ado, let me put forth our first argument which is irresponsible parents.

Ladies and gentlemen / members of the hall.

First of all, as stated in our case line, parents are not only the people who live closest to
teenagers but they are the ones who live the longest with them that is since the teenagers were
born. They were pure clean slate when they were babies. As parents, we have to do our part to
make sure that these babies will grow up as useful human beings. In the olden days, parents
always remind their children not to do this and that, and each time their children come home
from school, these parents will make sure that their children are at home and are not allowed to
see friends or go out on their own without the presence of any family member. In those years,
parents believe that by restricting the children’s movement, many unwanted incidents would
be avoidable.

Ladies and gentlemen & members of the floor,

back to the motion for today. If you haven’t seen basikal lajak before, let me describe it for
you. This Basikal Lajak has common features like any other bicycles. The only differences are
it’s handle bar is at lower level than the seat is plus it is also quite low unlike the ordinary bike.
Children especially teenagers triggered by influence and curiosity will be tempted to modify
their bicycles. As a result, these bikes are no longer safe for use especially on the highway. With
no brakes and no proper position of the seat, anything can happen on the road including the
unexpected accidents.

Moving on,

just imagine how difficult the lives of some parents were on those days just to make ends meet.
What I would like to point out is they surprisingly could still watch over their children.
According to a research carried out by Stern and Smith (1995), the findings show that children
with parents control over their activities are less likely to get influenced by peers or other
deviant factors.

However, from present scenario, sadly to say that parents are 24/7 absorbed in their work,
never check on their children’s activity and when their children are caught doing illegal
activities these parents will never admit that they have neglected their children. These children
become wild because the parents show lack of attention and love to their children. Bear in mind
that children over the age of 10 or more specifically age 12 are held to have attained the
age of criminal responsibility as prescribed in Section 82 and 83 of Penal Code [Act 574]
that says: Act of a child under 10 years of age. Also, Act of a child above 10 and under
12 years of age, who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding. Moreover, it
is fair enough to prosecute parents because as an analogy, if your neighbour’s cat
accidentally broke a flower pot in your garden, are you going to blame the cat? Of
course we will blame the cat’s owner and if there was any compensation to be made
then it was by the pet’s owner.

Next,

I would like to share a news report about an accident that occurred on 12th of April
2022 in Jeli, Kelantan. Two underage teenagers each was riding a motorbike collided
with each other and succumbed to death in the middle of the night. It was found that
both were only 14 and 15 of age. Can you imagine that? But the question is. What were
they doing outside late at night? And. Did their parents know that they went out at that
hour? This is already an example that can open our eyes to see what harm irresponsible
parents can cause on others.

Members of the hall,

based on our first argument, we, the government team strongly propose today’s motion.

With this, I rest my case. Thank you.